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00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid. Let's check in with Jeff Nelson of FanDuel Sports Network and also Yes Network, of course, broadcasting on the call for the Marlins and Cardinals series.
00:11And then, of course, we'll be back doing Marlins games in about a week or two and back on Yes Network as well.
00:16So we'll cover both teams with him as we get closer to the trade deadline tomorrow.
00:19Nelly, thanks for making some time here on the show again. Great to see you.
00:23My pleasure, Mish.
00:24All right. So let's get started. And I want to start with Sandy Alcantara.
00:30I know that people are going to lean on me anyway to ask me what's going on in terms of trade.
00:35But I think it's more important for me to ask you what he looks like at this point, because, look, he's been very effective his last two times out.
00:44But it's been in a different way, as you noted on the broadcast and always very eloquently can put it.
00:50So, curveball usage is up. Do you think that what he's doing right now can be supremely effective, either for the Marlins or another team?
00:59Because the results are there. But is that what other teams will look for, just results? You tell me.
01:04I think they do want to look for results because they want to make sure that that I mean, he was not very good at all during the beginning of the year.
01:13The last two starts were good. Like I like you mentioned, I mentioned last night he's doing it a different way.
01:19So a lot of off speed. My opinion that if he does get traded and he goes to another team, I think he goes back to fastball change up.
01:26And what he did in 2022 to win the Cy Young, he still throws 98. I think he's a little bit timid now.
01:33I think he's just trying to get results. And right now, the only way he's getting them is with a lot of off speed.
01:39I think if he goes somewhere else, you're going to see fastball change up again.
01:43Yeah, it's really interesting for me to see sort of this this type of Sandy because I just never have seen it before.
01:49But either way, we'll either today or tomorrow as the trade deadline comes at 6 p.m. Eastern.
01:55All right. So on a positive note for Miami, one player that we know that will be sticking around, by the way, Nellie, I don't know that we would have said that a few months ago.
02:02But absolutely. Now, Kyle Stowers is having one of the best offensive seasons in Marlins history and definitely in recent history.
02:09Twenty three home runs, sixty three runs driven in. And you're watching the same thing as me.
02:14It's just like almost impossible to get out consistently for pitchers.
02:17What has changed for him? Well, you know, he looks if you watch his swing, it's nice and level.
02:24He really doesn't have the uppercut. You know, he doesn't he doesn't chase up top anymore when he was going or even in spring training in the beginning of the year.
02:33You could get him with fastballs up. He's staying away from that pitch and he's hitting a lot of pitches about belt high.
02:39He can cover the outside part of the plate. He's got good plate awareness as far as pitches and where the strike zone is.
02:46And he just exudes confidence. And when you're having a great, great year at the plate, you know, if you have a rough day, it's easy to get over.
02:55If you're struggling day after day, it's really tough because you start battling yourself mentally with Baltimore.
03:01There was just no room. You know, if he was a superstar, if they would have known this, they probably would have never traded him.
03:06But there's just no room in that outfield. I think Peter Benes did a great job with that trade, getting Connor Norby and hopefully he stays healthy.
03:13And that will be a positive for the Marlins. But right now he's their best hitter.
03:17I still don't understand why he's not hitting second or third. I'd want to see this guy as many times as possible.
03:23I mean, he's still hitting fourth to seventh. So that's a little bit mind-bottling for me.
03:27Mm-hmm. No home runs against left-handed pitching. None. Zero this season. Every single one against the righty.
03:33But his numbers are good. His numbers are good against righties anyway, though. There's just no home runs. Interesting there.
03:38Okay. So now let's get to the Yankees who defeated the Rays yesterday. So they get back on track.
03:45And I still think they're very well within striking distance of the Toronto Blue Jays.
03:49But there's been quite a bit of injury news with the Yankees, Nelly, as you know.
03:52So I'd ask you to sort of walk me through this one, because playing in the big leagues, you certainly can speak to this.
03:59So Aaron Judge has somewhat of a UCL injury on a throw.
04:04Look, I don't really buy what I hear from, you know, team speak as far as injuries are concerned,
04:11because they're always going to play the positive here.
04:13Now, Aaron Judge, I know, can DH.
04:16He seems to be, according to what they're saying, almost ready to return as just a DH.
04:21And then I saw Jack Curry report, Nelly, that they got Austin Slater, who's an outfielder, and I know can defend as well.
04:29Are we correlating those two things together?
04:30How are they going to fit this moving forward?
04:34Yeah, you know, there was reports that Aaron Judge was going to have surgery that they were going to wind up maybe shopping Goldschmidt and Bellinger.
04:41You know, that's still a possibility.
04:43Right now, it seems like they're having patchwork as far as filling in holes.
04:47And they're trying to get right-handed hitters that hit well against lefties.
04:50But if you look at the lefties that they're going to face, the Blue Jays really don't have any lefties.
04:54Crochet is the only guy, and he pretty much dominates against anyone.
04:58And same with Scooble in Detroit.
05:00You know, you look at what Austin Slater has done against lefties, and all you hear is it's a strong 261.
05:07I don't know when 261 became strong, but that's what today's game is.
05:12I think, you know, I think the Yankees go out and they try to perceive Judge's injury and probably not alarm too many fans or too many media members.
05:26When the UCL strain, that's usually a precursor to Tommy John.
05:30You hope not.
05:33And when he does come back, and it might be in the Texas series, he's going to miss the Miami series over the weekend.
05:40He's going to be strictly a DH.
05:42Where does that leave Stanton?
05:43He's going to have to go out to the outfield.
05:45And that's all of a sudden could become an injury.
05:48I just don't really understand where the Yankees go.
05:50I think the next, what, 24 to 36 hours to that deadline is really going to decide what they make.
05:58If they make a big move, then they're all in.
06:00But so far, the moves that they made, I'm not really sure which way they're going.
06:05Yeah, they really haven't done very much to really show that they're going to make a big push here.
06:10But, you know, honestly, though, Nellie, a lot of teams have not yet.
06:13I mean, I don't know why, but it's outside of the Devers deal a few months ago.
06:16No significant name has really been moved.
06:19Back to Judge here for a minute.
06:21You mentioned that.
06:22And I do remember Bryce Harper having that and having surgery and Albert Poole's having it, if you remember, and having surgery, too.
06:30I mean, I don't want to fuck on Judge, but I guess conceivably the idea would be he could play the rest of the season with this and then evaluate after the year and decide, right?
06:39Does that sound fair?
06:40I think so.
06:42He just couldn't play the outfield.
06:43He's not going to be able to throw.
06:44And Bryce Harper, when he did come back and he came back a lot earlier than expected, he went to first base.
06:49Just so he didn't have to make that throw from the outfield.
06:52Is that something Judge is going to do next year when spring training, if he does have to have that surgery?
06:57I'd much rather have him in the lineup than in the outfield.
07:00If that's going to be the case, you know, at least he's a threat.
07:04He's a good defensive player, great defensive player.
07:06But it'll be interesting to see if he does come back in those 10 days.
07:12Yeah, we will see after the Miami series.
07:14All right.
07:14Thanks, Nellie, for coming on the show.
07:16Enjoy the rest of the series in St. Louis, and I'll see you in person very soon.
07:20Thanks for coming on.
07:21Okay.
07:22Thanks, Mish.
07:23All right.
07:23Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid.
07:25Of course, Major League Baseball's trade deadline is coming up tomorrow at 6 p.m.
07:28Eastern, and it's for my next guest, and honestly, for me as well, more for my next guest than for me.
07:36It's a very stressful time, but as you're trying to break stories, I don't think people fully understand what goes into this.
07:43They think it's just, like, so easy to do.
07:46It is super, super challenging to be able to beat everybody in the industry, and so I will fight with our next guest, Robert Murray, for some of those stories over the next 24 to 36 hours.
07:57But we always are friends in this industry, and it's competitive, but, you know, Robert, there's no putting the phone down now until tomorrow at 6.
08:07No, it's been that way, and I appreciate you having me on.
08:10It's been crazy ever since this morning.
08:13I was awoken at about 4 a.m. with a bunch of texts and calls, and it seems like today is really when the market is finally starting to open up a little bit.
08:22Teams are becoming more serious, more intentional with their calls and their actions.
08:26So I'm expecting now and then through tomorrow's deadline to just be totally crazy.
08:31So I'm ready for it.
08:33I think we could have some big moves coming, so let's dive into it.
08:36All right, so let's start here because for our shows, Robert, really the key story of the week in baseball because we're a sports betting network is talking about Emmanuel Class A,
08:44who in all likelihood has no chance of being traded because he's on the away list but being paid while they investigate him for sports betting.
08:52So I would imagine we will not hear his name, but the Guardians are one of those teams that are always looking toward now and to the future.
09:00So which way do you think they go here, Robert?
09:02Because any team that wins five, six games in a row is right back in it, but it doesn't seem to be a plan for Cleveland moving forward.
09:10Could they end up moving any other names you think at the deadline here?
09:13Yeah, they're the team to watch.
09:16And even before Class A was placed on leave, they were having conversations with team about Class A.
09:23And then all of a sudden, they just totally shifted gears.
09:26They went from being open to discussing him to then not being willing to discuss him at all.
09:33And teams were wondering, why exactly is that?
09:35Well, obviously, being placed on leave, it totally takes him out of the trade market.
09:39And it leaves so many – it answers or it gives us so many different questions here as to what they could do.
09:48And my guess is we're going to be looking at a sell here from the Guardians.
09:51And Stephen Kwan is the name that everyone in baseball is watching at this point.
09:57I think there's a fair chance that he is ultimately moved.
10:00And the team that, to me, makes the most sense is the San Diego Padres.
10:06And A.J. Prowler loves big moves.
10:09Kwan is not signed to a big salary by any means.
10:11He's controllable.
10:12He's a very good player.
10:13They need an outfielder.
10:15The stars seem to align there for sure.
10:17And we'll see if they're ultimately the team that gets him if he is traded.
10:23But if he is moved, San Diego is the team I'm watching.
10:26Yeah.
10:26It's so fascinating to me how every year Robert San Diego just has more prospects to trade.
10:31I don't get it.
10:32Like every single year they're involved in every deal somehow.
10:36It's a testament to their organization that they could get these guys in a position to be traded.
10:40So other names that are bigger, we'll go through a quick list here of potential players that could be moved.
10:46So of this list here, I see Dylan Cease, Eugenio Suarez, Zach Gallen, Meryl Kelly, Charlie Morton, and Luis Robert.
10:54So I'm going to guess, Robert, of the list that I see here, there are six names.
11:01I got four being moved here.
11:03I got Suarez, Kelly, Morton, and Robert.
11:08And Cease, maybe, but I can't guarantee it.
11:10And the same for Zach Gallen.
11:11I can't guarantee that as well.
11:12So I guess I would throw it to you and ask you if it's the same feeling for you.
11:17Yeah, I think there's a good chance that the majority of those guys are ultimately going to be moved.
11:22But the one that I might disagree with you on is Luis Robert Jr.
11:27And here's why.
11:28This might be controversial.
11:30And the White Sox's stance on this is that they are not going to just give him up just to give him up.
11:37They value Luis Robert Jr.
11:39He's been better since his early struggles.
11:41And they're at least indicating internally that they're willing to pick up his $20 million option for next season and that they're going to have him for at least two more seasons.
11:51To me, that kind of screams posturing and trying to signal the teams, like, up your offers.
11:56But it seems like they're intentional with that thinking.
11:59So whether it's San Diego or the two New York teams or whoever else, they're going to be involved.
12:06But I don't think it's a guarantee that he's moved.
12:08Morton definitely is going to be moved.
12:11Gallen remains to be seen there.
12:13I think Merrill Kelly is a tremendous option for teams looking for pitching depth.
12:16But the one that I'm just not certain about is Luis Robert Jr.
12:19So I think that that's fair.
12:23The one name that I would assume is moved.
12:26But, you know, Robert, I think that this is going to be a 559 deal.
12:30And that's Eugenio Suarez.
12:3136 home runs this season.
12:3387 runs driven in.
12:35What would the motivation for the Diamondbacks be to do?
12:37I mean, I know the motivation for us is because it's fun.
12:40But why would they do anything until they just get the very best and final and trade him right at 6 o'clock tomorrow?
12:46No, that's for sure.
12:47And Suarez is the big trade ship that everyone is watching besides Stephen Kwan.
12:52And Suarez, like, there was a very strong argument that he should have been traded already.
12:58But him getting hit by the pitch the other night sent a scare throughout baseball.
13:02And the team's looking at his bat as the number one option.
13:06But he is going to be back in the lineup today.
13:08He is very likely going to be traded.
13:10There is so many teams that are involved here.
13:12You have the Cubs, the Mariners, the Brewers are kind of lurking in the shadows here.
13:16There are so many different teams that are involved that the price is going to be very high.
13:21They're going to be in position to maximize it.
13:23And thank goodness for their sake that he's healthy.
13:25Because if he wasn't and he went on the injured list with a broken hand or something, it would have set back their, I don't want to see rebuild, but retooling by quite a bit.
13:33Let's close it out with the Marlins.
13:37They have a lot of pieces that could potentially be moved.
13:40I know a lot of folks, Robert, are going to lean on me for this stuff.
13:42But let's get into it here with Sandy Alcantara, who pitched well yesterday, five shutout innings.
13:48There's certainly a possibility, 24, 36 hours, that he has moved.
13:53And there'll be no shortage of teams that'll be lined up to get him.
13:57It just comes down to the same thing.
13:58Miami's not in a rush here.
14:00They can just hold him, trade him in the offseason, or not do anything at all.
14:03But it does seem to be the growing sense is that they're at least seriously entertaining a lot of teams on this.
14:09No, it definitely seems that way.
14:11And you talk to rival teams around the game.
14:13It seems like it's kind of like a 50-50 chance.
14:15And as you said, they can hold on to him and try to have him establish a value to where it was in previous years,
14:22when he was easily one of the best pitchers in baseball.
14:25So they're in a position where they can be patient.
14:27But there's so many teams that are needing starting pitching that they could end up getting an offer that they can't refuse and ultimately move him.
14:35All right.
14:35Robert, charge the phone.
14:37Keep it charged.
14:38Keep it going.
14:38Always be charging.
14:40All right.
14:40We'll be talking soon.
14:41Thanks for coming on.
14:43I appreciate you.
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