Episode 179: Mariners Offseason Wish List - Free Agents

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[00:01:25] Welcome to episode number 179 of the Marine Layer Podcast. It's the first edition of our Mariners off-season wishlist. We'll take a look at three free agents that we think the Mariners should go after.

[00:01:55] But if you are, make sure you're downloading the episodes. Make sure you're leaving a five-star review. Go rate and review. That really does help us out if you do.

[00:02:01] And on social media, you can follow us across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube shorts at MarineLayerPod.

[00:02:08] Let's get it rolling.

[00:02:21] And we welcome you to this episode of the Marine Layer Podcast, part of the Just Baseball Podcast Network.

[00:02:27] Recording on Monday evening, November 4th.

[00:02:31] One of the most important weeks in our history, Lyle. Do you want to know why?

[00:02:36] It's because Mitch Hanegar picked up his player option for the 2025 season.

[00:02:42] Doesn't it feel like a weight just got lifted off your shoulders?

[00:02:46] I think a weight just got lifted off Mitch Hanegar's shoulders, yeah.

[00:02:50] Yeah, he had a real tough decision in front of them.

[00:02:54] What do I do here? They're offering me $15.5 million?

[00:02:58] Ian?

[00:03:00] It's either that, hit free agency, and get a one-year deal for league minimum.

[00:03:06] I mean, he must have been tossing and turning.

[00:03:08] There's a guy in here that we're going to reference among my wish list who got a one-year deal for $1 after coming off a season very similar to Mitch's.

[00:03:17] And I'm sure this player would have definitely benefited if he had a player option to stay with his team last year for $15.5 million instead of signing for $1 million.

[00:03:30] It's a really difficult decision.

[00:03:32] I was about to say, you mean $1 million, right?

[00:03:34] You just said one year for $1.

[00:03:37] Yeah, close enough.

[00:03:38] Close to the same thing, Lyle.

[00:03:39] Come on.

[00:03:40] It was one year for $1 million for this said player who we'll get to.

[00:03:44] But not a tough decision for Mitch Hanegar.

[00:03:46] However, now that they know he's going to pick it up, and I think they've known this for a while now, they just needed to get the formalities out of it.

[00:03:53] So this money is now added on, expected, added on to the payroll.

[00:03:58] I hope this isn't something that comes out of left field and jury's like, oh, I thought we'd have $15 million to spend.

[00:04:04] Uh-oh.

[00:04:05] Now we don't.

[00:04:06] Now is when they need to get creative with how that Mitch Hanegar money gets used and where it sits in the importance of this payroll structure.

[00:04:18] Two things with that.

[00:04:19] Number one, if they actually thought Mitch Hanegar was going to decline his option and they weren't factoring that into what payroll could look like, everybody in that front office is delusional.

[00:04:30] Now, I don't think that.

[00:04:31] I think they fully are well aware that Mitch Hanegar was going to pick that up.

[00:04:34] So they know.

[00:04:36] I'm sure it's been factored in for a while.

[00:04:38] But number two, I said it a couple weeks ago.

[00:04:42] I'll say it again.

[00:04:43] If this organization and more specifically this ownership group is serious about winning, there will be no bigger tell than how they handle Mitch Hanegar in 2025.

[00:04:54] If he's on the roster, that says, yeah, we don't care that much about winning.

[00:04:58] We just don't want to have a sunk cost.

[00:05:01] If they're serious about winning, they will let him go and eat the money.

[00:05:06] They could let him go.

[00:05:07] Like, yeah, you could cut him or what some other people have suggested is you trade him with prospects somewhere else and dump the money.

[00:05:18] That's always an option to make a shitty option.

[00:05:22] Yeah, it's a shitty option.

[00:05:23] It's also a shitty option to just sit there and eat the money because they made the trade for a subpar player.

[00:05:30] If they give up real prospects, actual prospects that can help this team because they don't want to eat 15 and a half million dollars.

[00:05:40] That's sad.

[00:05:41] That is sad.

[00:05:42] That is sad.

[00:05:43] But we could also be dealing in the reality that they need that 15 million dollars to spend elsewhere.

[00:05:48] Like, if they were able to sign one of these guys we're going to talk about here today, but they have to give up prospects to shed the money to do it, would you do it?

[00:05:57] Sure, but are they actually going to spend that 15 and a half million dollars elsewhere?

[00:06:00] They salary dump Gino last year, didn't go reuse it elsewhere, and then as a result you got back Seve Zavalo and Carlos Vargas.

[00:06:09] I'm not guaranteeing they do, but that's the reason.

[00:06:13] It is unacceptable to dump Mitch Hanager's contract sending prospects away and not do anything else with that money and just not spend and keep the payroll at 145, 146, 147 million dollars.

[00:06:27] Instead of going higher than you need to.

[00:06:29] Yeah, that's unacceptable.

[00:06:31] We can agree on that.

[00:06:32] But if they had to do that to free up space to spend, yeah, it's sad, but it's also a winning mood what we've been clamoring for.

[00:06:41] Like, seriously, it is.

[00:06:43] All right, if they're going to go use that 15 and a half million dollars to sign somebody of actual impact or trade for somebody with a contract of actual impact, fine.

[00:06:52] If they trade him away with real prospects just to eat that money, we're going to have a real, real problem.

[00:07:00] It's just however you think about it, however you listening or watching or thinking about this.

[00:07:05] Are we thinking about Mitch Hanager relative to expectations or relative to what we want?

[00:07:09] Because it's two completely different things, Lyle.

[00:07:12] Because, like, I would say what we want is for them to cut him and eat the money.

[00:07:18] But what, like, within reason of what they're probably going to do would be packaging him away and trading him or just keeping him on the roster, which, like we said, should not be a thing, but might be anyway.

[00:07:30] So we'll have to see.

[00:07:32] That cost now is guaranteed for the Mariners coming up here in 2025.

[00:07:36] Should we add on some costs for the Mariners in 2025 as we dive into this wish list?

[00:07:40] Anything else?

[00:07:41] There were a couple other transactional notes.

[00:07:43] Anything else you wanted to touch on with those?

[00:07:46] No, they're pretty standard.

[00:07:48] You have to put injured guys back on the 60-man roster.

[00:07:51] It's telling they're keeping Jackson Kowar around because I think they thought he could be really good before he had the injury.

[00:07:56] I think they think he could be a really good bullpen arm once he's back.

[00:07:59] So I'm not shocked they kept him around.

[00:08:01] Obviously, Brash went back to the 40-man roster.

[00:08:06] They put that guy, Blas Castano, on the 40-man roster.

[00:08:09] Those are kind of the moves.

[00:08:10] I don't think there's anything to really sit here and talk about.

[00:08:13] There's nothing that noteworthy with it unless you had something.

[00:08:16] No, I didn't.

[00:08:17] I'm just kind of ready for baseball to be back.

[00:08:18] I kind of miss it already.

[00:08:20] It's been almost a – no, it's been less than half a week.

[00:08:26] Let me ask you this.

[00:08:27] Are you ready for Mariners baseball already to be back or just baseball?

[00:08:31] To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to spring training already.

[00:08:36] Just a little bit.

[00:08:37] We're in different places.

[00:08:38] You know why I think that?

[00:08:39] Do you know why I think that?

[00:08:40] This is the first weekend of Daylight Savings this weekend.

[00:08:44] I'm going to be honest.

[00:08:45] When I rolled back here to my apartment at about 4.30, it's getting dark out already.

[00:08:50] And when that happens, you know baseball is pretty far away in that sense.

[00:08:56] So I'm just kind of looking forward to the double whammy of, yeah, baseball being back would cool,

[00:09:00] but that also probably just means the sun's not setting at 4 o'clock anymore.

[00:09:04] So that would be nice.

[00:09:05] So it's a win-win.

[00:09:07] I guess.

[00:09:08] I'm not mentally ready to have this team playing baseball games again.

[00:09:11] I'm really not.

[00:09:12] When I say – I'll keep saying it.

[00:09:15] 2024 broke me badly.

[00:09:17] I ain't ready to have that back in my life yet.

[00:09:20] I need a lot of time to recover and even attempt to get myself mentally prepared for another baseball season in 2025.

[00:09:27] But it's going to be hard if this offseason is going to be as miserable as we think that it has a chance to be.

[00:09:32] So, sorry.

[00:09:33] I'm being negative.

[00:09:34] We're going to try to be positive on the show.

[00:09:35] I was going to say, hold on, hold on, hold on.

[00:09:36] Are we switching roles?

[00:09:38] Are you going to be the negative one and I'm going to be the optimist?

[00:09:42] Dude, I'm telling you I was crushed by living through that season this year.

[00:09:48] So we'll see.

[00:09:50] Well, you say the offseason is going to suck and I'm right there with you.

[00:09:54] I don't think they're going to have a phenomenal offseason.

[00:09:57] The optics don't seem great.

[00:09:59] The only way to literally offset that, Lyle, is to play baseball, though.

[00:10:03] That's the thing.

[00:10:05] Like, you can have a crap offseason, but then your team plays this outlier great year, which we're just begging for.

[00:10:11] We're just begging.

[00:10:13] Can everyone just have a good year at once?

[00:10:16] Can 2001 happen again?

[00:10:17] I'll go through 20 more years.

[00:10:19] It's 2001, please.

[00:10:21] Or can this franchise just decide to actually try and win and not just through hitting on low-cost pitchers and prospects?

[00:10:30] Actually go spend.

[00:10:32] That's what I ask.

[00:10:33] Don't rely on an outlier season.

[00:10:36] But that's a given, right?

[00:10:38] Well, yeah.

[00:10:39] Yeah, because that's a given.

[00:10:40] Everyone wants them to try and win.

[00:10:42] What we don't actually get, though, is like, can the Mariners get lucky for 162 games?

[00:10:50] Everyone else does?

[00:10:53] Look at the franchise you're talking about.

[00:10:55] They don't get lucky.

[00:10:57] Even the Marlins have lucked into a World Series.

[00:11:03] The Diamondbacks have lucked into a World Series.

[00:11:05] Well, 0-1, they were really good.

[00:11:05] I'm talking about 2023.

[00:11:08] Cardinals.

[00:11:09] Somebody.

[00:11:09] Somebody.

[00:11:11] Like, why can't that happen?

[00:11:12] That's what I'd be looking forward to, Lyle.

[00:11:14] Because, you know, it would be great for this podcast and great for the mood of this podcast.

[00:11:18] Like, we're just stuck in this swirl of negativity just of this pessimism of the offseason.

[00:11:24] Like, winning solves all of it.

[00:11:28] Right?

[00:11:29] So, like, we got to March.

[00:11:30] We got to April.

[00:11:31] We got to May.

[00:11:31] And it's like, oh, they're playing well.

[00:11:33] Wouldn't this be fun?

[00:11:35] They roll this current roster out on the field right now.

[00:11:38] What is your confidence level that they're going to go out and have an outlier year and win?

[00:11:43] Not high, but you can't predict outlier years.

[00:11:46] No, you can't.

[00:11:48] That's why they're outlier years.

[00:11:50] We're legitimately flipping roles in real time here.

[00:11:53] I'm telling you.

[00:11:55] We don't.

[00:11:55] What do we always say?

[00:11:56] When we hop on this podcast, we're transparent.

[00:11:58] What I'm saying on this pod is exactly what I'd tell any of you if I met you in person.

[00:12:03] And my guard is up right now.

[00:12:05] I've got real trust issues.

[00:12:07] Not that every fan doesn't.

[00:12:08] When you're a fan of the Mariners, this is what happens.

[00:12:10] But especially after this year, yeah, I'm going through it right now pretty bad.

[00:12:14] Maybe this is my version of coping.

[00:12:17] And this doesn't excuse past performance.

[00:12:20] Let's not get this all tied up here with the listeners and with you, Lyle.

[00:12:25] Well, this doesn't this isn't me excusing any of the past actions and past performances of Mariners players or of the, you know, will of the organization.

[00:12:35] I just think it'd be kind of cool.

[00:12:38] It'd be very cool.

[00:12:41] But I I'm usually the one that gets my hopes up preseason and maybe by February, I'll still do that if they surprise us this winter right now.

[00:12:50] Right now I'm having real issues when they traded for Teoscar Hernandez right when this podcast started.

[00:12:55] I was fired up about it when they finally made some of the moves that they made last offseason, getting Polo, getting Gregory Santos, all that stuff.

[00:13:03] I was fired up about it.

[00:13:04] I usually find a way to do that.

[00:13:06] So maybe by February I will.

[00:13:08] But I was also fired up and excited about what the potential of what they could do in each of the last two offseasons going into those offseasons right now.

[00:13:17] I don't feel that at all.

[00:13:20] That's fair.

[00:13:20] And let's breathe.

[00:13:22] Let's what?

[00:13:23] Well, however, I say all that, but then also have to remind myself, I keep forgetting they're going to trade for and extend Kyle Tucker.

[00:13:30] So I just got to I just got to wait for that day.

[00:13:33] We do have that to look forward to, which is nice.

[00:13:35] It's it's inevitable.

[00:13:37] So you can never say, Lyle, that they're not trying to win because they're going to trade for Kyle Tucker and then extend them immediately.

[00:13:44] So, yeah.

[00:13:45] All right.

[00:13:45] That's a that's a winning move, right?

[00:13:47] That would be.

[00:13:48] That would be what we call a smart strategy.

[00:13:51] OK, good.

[00:13:52] See, look, we're breathing optimism back into this thing.

[00:13:55] It's like a fire that was almost out and all of a sudden Lyle's come back to life.

[00:13:59] Yeah.

[00:14:00] Right.

[00:14:00] When you think I'm out, you pull me back in.

[00:14:05] Go get a Vladdy trade after that.

[00:14:07] No, I'm down.

[00:14:08] OK, but trades for another episode.

[00:14:10] Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[00:14:12] We're going to we're going to save trades for another episode.

[00:14:14] This is free agents.

[00:14:16] Free agent wish lists.

[00:14:18] OK.

[00:14:20] Now, I ask you because we're going to decide in real time here.

[00:14:24] What we did for this episode is TJ and I each picked for a free agent wish list that we each put together separately.

[00:14:30] An A level guy, a B level guy and a C level guy that we want to see the Mariners go get in free agency.

[00:14:37] Do we start with the A level guys or do we end with the A level guys?

[00:14:42] Let's end with the A level guys.

[00:14:44] OK, let's keep it.

[00:14:45] Let's keep everyone waiting.

[00:14:46] And I want to know before we start these offseason wish lists.

[00:14:49] I want to just to drop a note in that we mentioned on Friday's episode and I want to mention here again.

[00:14:54] So I mentioned that Lyle and I are looking ahead to the 2025 season and us here at the Marine Layer podcast are looking for sponsors.

[00:15:02] If you would be interested and want to look to grow your business in 2025, we're looking to grow our business too.

[00:15:07] And we think would make a great pairing if that would be something you're interested in.

[00:15:11] Send us an email.

[00:15:12] Marinelayerpod at gmail.com.

[00:15:14] Send us a DM on Instagram.

[00:15:15] Send us a DM on Twitter.

[00:15:17] We'd be happy to work with you through a number of platforms.

[00:15:20] So please hit us up if you're interested in something like that.

[00:15:23] We look forward to hearing from you.

[00:15:25] OK, so C level one first, Lyle.

[00:15:29] Who's your C guy?

[00:15:32] C level free agent.

[00:15:34] A level of a guy that certainly by no means a bad player.

[00:15:38] It would be the team going on the cheap end and trying to get some value out of a guy that either was once good and isn't quite the same player or you believe in the upside of a guy.

[00:15:48] So who did I go with here?

[00:15:52] J.D. Martinez.

[00:15:55] He was a free agent.

[00:15:56] He was just with the Mets last year.

[00:15:59] His 2024 stats were OK.

[00:16:02] Nothing crazy.

[00:16:04] 235 average.

[00:16:05] 725 OPS.

[00:16:06] 108 WRC+.

[00:16:07] Played 120 games.

[00:16:11] You know what?

[00:16:11] I'll let you respond to this first.

[00:16:13] I don't want to go down too much of a rabbit hole before you have a chance to reply.

[00:16:17] Would have been really nice if they signed him in 2018.

[00:16:20] Oh, I think if I think if the Mariners went ahead and signed him back in his prime, it would have been perfect.

[00:16:25] Now, would they totally redeem themselves by signing him for 2025?

[00:16:31] No.

[00:16:33] But doesn't mean he wouldn't be.

[00:16:36] It doesn't mean he couldn't provide value for this team.

[00:16:39] He's a DH.

[00:16:41] Mariners currently need DH production.

[00:16:46] And he's been good legitimately every year of his career.

[00:16:49] Every full season he's played in the big leagues since 2014.

[00:16:53] He has been awesome.

[00:16:55] He's a complete hitter.

[00:16:57] His bat speed hasn't dropped off a lot.

[00:16:59] Overall production, a little bit with age.

[00:17:01] He'll be 38 next year.

[00:17:04] But for a C-level signing, he'll cost $7 million.

[00:17:11] Yeah.

[00:17:12] Not the worst thing in the world.

[00:17:13] If that.

[00:17:15] Yeah.

[00:17:15] So, does he come with flaws?

[00:17:18] Sure.

[00:17:19] He doesn't hit lefties very well anymore.

[00:17:20] Or sorry.

[00:17:21] He doesn't hit righties very well anymore.

[00:17:23] He kind of...

[00:17:24] I don't want to call him a left-handed platoon.

[00:17:27] Because you probably need him in the lineup more than that.

[00:17:29] But the splits are a little drastic.

[00:17:32] The guy this past year?

[00:17:34] He did what?

[00:17:36] He hit...

[00:17:37] Not hit.

[00:17:38] He had a 683 OPS against right-handed pitching.

[00:17:40] He had an 836 OPS against left-handed pitching.

[00:17:42] Now, a 683 OPS in 2024, in today's modern era, it's about league average.

[00:17:48] It's about a 100 WRC+.

[00:17:50] It's just he was much better against lefties than he was righties.

[00:17:53] So, he's not perfect.

[00:17:54] But I will say, a season ago with the Dodgers, dude had a campaign.

[00:18:00] Campaign and a half.

[00:18:02] 37 years old, he had 33 homers, 135 WRC+, and 113 games.

[00:18:08] All of J.D. Martinez's peripherals from 23 and 24, they're not that different.

[00:18:14] So, if you're somebody that believes in underlying numbers and believes that those things should give you a decent indicator of who a player is or isn't,

[00:18:23] then there is a world where you can say, look, J.D. Martinez started the 24 season injured.

[00:18:28] He might have had a tough time getting back up to speed from that because he missed all of spring training, or a good amount of it.

[00:18:34] He missed a good amount of the start of the season.

[00:18:37] And maybe in 2025, despite the age, he can just bounce back.

[00:18:42] So, that is one way to look at it.

[00:18:44] There's some more to dive into with this.

[00:18:45] But is it fair to say that there is a chance a lack of a spring training cost him last year?

[00:18:50] Yeah, especially for someone of his age.

[00:18:54] You need, like, he needs his rest, but most players do need rhythm.

[00:19:03] And it's still, even without the spring training, you mentioned some of those underlying numbers.

[00:19:08] They were good.

[00:19:09] We're talking 88th percentile quality of contact, 92nd percentile, like, sweet spot percentage.

[00:19:17] We're talking a high barrel rate, the bat speed was still up there.

[00:19:21] Most of those expected numbers were good.

[00:19:23] What concerns Mariners fans, Lyle, for good reason, is his strikeout rate sucked.

[00:19:30] And what happens with most hitters, with the current version of T-Mobile Park,

[00:19:36] is you take their strikeout rate outside of T-Mobile Park, bring them inside T-Mobile Park,

[00:19:42] and you add a few percentage points.

[00:19:44] And how does that affect their productivity in that standpoint?

[00:19:48] So a strikeout rate last year was 28.5%.

[00:19:52] Do you want J.D. Martinez at a 31% strikeout rate in your lineup next year?

[00:19:58] I'd probably live with it.

[00:20:00] Here's why.

[00:20:01] Number one, what did the Mariners attempt to do just one offseason ago?

[00:20:05] They said, our problem is strikeouts.

[00:20:08] Let's rid ourselves of them.

[00:20:10] Not only did they fail, they miserably failed.

[00:20:14] All the guys they brought in that they thought were going to help cut down on strikeout rates,

[00:20:18] all skyrocketed their punchouts.

[00:20:22] So I'm done with that.

[00:20:23] I'm done with the whole cutdown on strikeouts thing.

[00:20:25] If you find somebody that doesn't strike out, great.

[00:20:28] I will be all for it.

[00:20:29] I'll be over the moon.

[00:20:30] You find 15% strikeout rate guys to get on your team,

[00:20:33] I'll be thrilled.

[00:20:35] But I'm not signing a guy because he strikes out at this point.

[00:20:38] Because you tried that once.

[00:20:39] It failed.

[00:20:40] Terribly.

[00:20:41] So I'd rather just get a guy in that can actually hit and you deal with the strikeouts.

[00:20:46] I have another point to this, but I'll just say to that first point,

[00:20:50] I think there's some validity to that.

[00:20:52] Okay, then let's add some more context with the strikeout numbers.

[00:20:55] It would be a 31% strikeout rate and odds are his WRC plus would be around what it was in 2024,

[00:21:02] which was 108.

[00:21:03] 31% strikeout rate and a 108 WRC plus at age 38.

[00:21:10] Those are the numbers.

[00:21:13] Still sounds like a hell of an upgrade from what they got from DH in 24.

[00:21:18] Does it help solve their problems?

[00:21:23] Helps.

[00:21:24] Might not get you all the way there, but again, this is a C-level move

[00:21:27] for a team that says that signing top-end free agents isn't a smart strategy.

[00:21:30] So I'm trying to thread the needle here.

[00:21:33] If there's some of you out there that are in the comments or thinking to yourselves,

[00:21:37] well, just go sign Anthony Santander.

[00:21:38] He's perfect.

[00:21:39] Yeah, he would be perfect.

[00:21:40] Are the Mariners going to go sign him?

[00:21:42] Every indicator points to no.

[00:21:44] So I hope they do.

[00:21:45] That would be a great solution.

[00:21:47] Are they going to do that?

[00:21:49] If the answer is no, I'm trying to find other options here.

[00:21:52] How about a non-stats reason why?

[00:21:55] You can't sign J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner this offseason.

[00:21:59] We've talked a little bit about re-signing Justin Turner, whether it be for clubhouse impact,

[00:22:03] whether it be for a bench bat.

[00:22:05] And his hitting profile, while his expected underlying under-the-hood numbers aren't quite as good

[00:22:13] as J.D. Martinez's is, he still has, like J.D., there are similar overall production hitters

[00:22:21] this year.

[00:22:21] His own niche when it comes to being a productive hitter in the Mariners lineup.

[00:22:26] Especially when it comes to just making contact when you need to.

[00:22:31] Like, he's still got that even, he's going to be 40 next year.

[00:22:35] So if you put this into context, the Mariners cannot sign J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner because

[00:22:41] they're very similar players at this part of their careers.

[00:22:46] And you would ask yourself, who would I rather have?

[00:22:49] J.D. Martinez or Justin Turner?

[00:22:52] And then you could lead yourself to answer and sign whichever one you want.

[00:22:58] I will say, to your point, a roster that has J.D. Martinez, Justin Turner, and Mitch Garverall

[00:23:05] on it, that doesn't give you a ton of versatility.

[00:23:07] So I'm with you there.

[00:23:07] He's asking for no versatility, a lot of outs on the base pads, and probably three or four

[00:23:15] losses because of it.

[00:23:17] They can't be that big, old, and clunky on the base pads.

[00:23:22] Maybe, but they need to hit.

[00:23:25] They need to run the bases too.

[00:23:27] This team sucks on the bases.

[00:23:29] Well, they kind of suck at a lot of things offensively, so I'm trying to fix something.

[00:23:34] Do you know what helps scoring runs?

[00:23:36] Running the bases well.

[00:23:37] Yeah, I mean, you're right.

[00:23:39] You are right.

[00:23:40] Here is my last point on J.D. Martinez.

[00:23:42] And then we'll move on.

[00:23:45] I'm going to read you some numbers, and I want you to tell me what you think of them.

[00:23:49] 319 average, nine bombs, 945 OPS, 15 extra base hits, 44 total hits in 36 games.

[00:23:58] What do you think of that just in a nutshell?

[00:24:01] Those sound like good numbers.

[00:24:03] Those are J.D. Martinez's career numbers inside T-Mobile Park.

[00:24:08] For all the talk about the batter's eye and the inability to hit in Seattle, there's a guy who's got enough of a sample size to say he can hit here.

[00:24:19] How many games was that?

[00:24:21] 36 games.

[00:24:23] Okay, it's not the world's biggest sample size, but it's not four games.

[00:24:28] It's not five games.

[00:24:29] You're talking about 36 games where he's got a 945 OPS in that building.

[00:24:32] Now, I'd love to jump to the conclusion and say, Lyle, Lyle, too small of a sample size, can't make a conclusion off of 36 games, da-da-da-da-da-da-da.

[00:24:46] Well, Mitch Garver didn't have a hit at T-Mobile Park until this year, and how did he hit at T-Mobile Park?

[00:24:54] Not great.

[00:24:55] Yeah, unfortunately, the results on the field say otherwise, so I guess I'm cooked.

[00:25:00] I have no rebuttal.

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[00:26:30] Who's your C-level player?

[00:26:33] My C-level player, you might have heard of him, Yohan Mankata.

[00:26:38] Do you think Yohan Mankata would be a good fit?

[00:26:42] Not really, but go ahead, make your sales pitch.

[00:26:47] Well, he used to be a number one prospect, so he's talented.

[00:26:51] He's had two fairly decent seasons in his career at the plate, 2019 and 2021, where he showed

[00:26:59] he can be an above-average bat at third base, which is something the Mariners desperately

[00:27:05] need.

[00:27:06] He's coming off a lot of injuries in Chicago.

[00:27:10] He's played only 208 games in his last three seasons in Chicago, which doesn't help.

[00:27:17] He only played 12 games last year.

[00:27:19] It's hard to get a pulse on this guy of what he has left in the tank, because he showed upside

[00:27:29] at times, but also his lows are not good, because he has a hard time staying in rhythm because

[00:27:37] of these injuries.

[00:27:38] It really saps him, seriously.

[00:27:42] So if they could somehow scrounge 80% of his 2021 season and assign him, I assume he's

[00:27:51] getting a one-year deal, because he's coming off a five-year deal, and the five-year deal

[00:27:54] was just not great for the White Sox.

[00:27:58] They could somehow get 80% of his 2021 season.

[00:28:01] That would be fantastic.

[00:28:02] His 2021 season was in the WRC+, in the 120s, F4 just under three.

[00:28:11] It was good.

[00:28:13] Like, legitimately good.

[00:28:16] So he's got the talent.

[00:28:18] He's a switch hitter.

[00:28:18] All these things.

[00:28:19] I think it all works out when he's healthy.

[00:28:23] That's the problem, though.

[00:28:24] He's just not healthy.

[00:28:25] You're also talking about a season where he played really well that was four years ago.

[00:28:31] Are you going to get that guy?

[00:28:33] I don't know if you are.

[00:28:35] The other part of this is, I'm going to propose the same question back to you that you threw

[00:28:39] at me about J.D. Martinez.

[00:28:40] Is this not a guy that just hampers your roster versatility?

[00:28:44] Is he not just a DH at this point?

[00:28:46] Can he even still play the field?

[00:28:47] He didn't play at all last year.

[00:28:49] The one game he played in, he was a DH.

[00:28:51] And the last time he played a season in the field, his defense was awful.

[00:28:56] He's not a straight DH, though.

[00:28:58] And his defense has been pretty up and down his whole career, even when he was young.

[00:29:02] And we're also talking about the Mariners who have turned bad defenders into average to

[00:29:07] plus defenders.

[00:29:09] I wouldn't be too worried, especially a third baseman, that he couldn't come to Seattle

[00:29:14] and just be average defensively, which is what all the Mariners would need.

[00:29:17] They'd want him to be healthy.

[00:29:18] They'd want him to walk.

[00:29:19] And they'd want him to be average defensively.

[00:29:21] Like, he could do that.

[00:29:23] If he could do all these things, he could be a quasi-valuable player for the Mariners.

[00:29:29] Can he be more valuable in a full season at third base than Josh Rojas?

[00:29:34] Because the bar there is a two-war player.

[00:29:37] Yes.

[00:29:38] Moncada can still be a two-war player?

[00:29:40] I can't guarantee that because you can't guarantee he'll stay healthy.

[00:29:43] Rojas was healthy all season, which helped him a lot.

[00:29:48] But Moncada has just not been very healthy, which is his big hamper, which is why this

[00:29:57] is a C-grade or C-level target.

[00:30:03] But he's really shown that he can be a very productive player when he's healthy and things

[00:30:07] work out.

[00:30:08] And also, Lau, let's consider the organization he's been in.

[00:30:11] Is it the most inspiring place in the world?

[00:30:16] No.

[00:30:17] Yeah.

[00:30:18] That's what I'm saying.

[00:30:19] Like, he's hurt.

[00:30:20] They've got to fly on crummy planes all over the place.

[00:30:23] Just not a very great atmosphere to try and generate success.

[00:30:31] Not saying the Mariners are the flag bearer in that by any standard, but it's better than

[00:30:38] the White Sox are.

[00:30:39] So think of him in a new environment around all these players.

[00:30:44] The fact that he switch hits.

[00:30:45] You can have him play third.

[00:30:47] He wouldn't cost a lot of money.

[00:30:48] He's only going to be 30 next year.

[00:30:52] And if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out.

[00:30:55] It's a one-year deal.

[00:30:56] You let him go after that.

[00:30:57] Okay.

[00:30:59] If he's really that bad, you could let him go mid-season.

[00:31:02] But yeah, if you get him on a one-year deal and he puts up a two-and-a-half win season,

[00:31:05] awesome.

[00:31:06] Just injuries, bad defense, hasn't hit in a long time.

[00:31:11] I'm not saying it can't work, but I'm skeptical enough about this offseason as a whole, and

[00:31:17] I would say I'd be fairly skeptical about a Yohan Moncada signing.

[00:31:20] Yeah, not saying it's a safe signing by any measure.

[00:31:24] Definitely not.

[00:31:25] Especially with his 29% career strikeout rate.

[00:31:28] You said you're not looking at strikeout rate, but I look at Yohan Moncada's combination

[00:31:33] of injuries and strikeout rate, and that's a bad combination.

[00:31:37] So somehow he magically doesn't strike out at a 30% clip and is above average and doesn't

[00:31:44] get hurt.

[00:31:44] It might actually work out.

[00:31:46] Wow.

[00:31:47] Strikeout rate, injuries, not a good combination.

[00:31:50] And yet, here we sit with TJ saying, I'd sign him.

[00:31:53] Well, he says he's going to cost $4 million.

[00:31:55] And he could put up two war.

[00:31:58] That's fair.

[00:32:00] This is what we call hedging.

[00:32:02] Wow.

[00:32:02] We're hedging the market.

[00:32:04] You're mentally hedging already.

[00:32:07] Yeah.

[00:32:07] Yeah.

[00:32:08] All right.

[00:32:09] We're going to get to our B-level players here.

[00:32:10] Before that, let's take a pause, talk to you guys about our friends over at Pagatch's Pub

[00:32:15] 85, which is an awesome place to go have a night out with your friends.

[00:32:19] You guys know that.

[00:32:20] You can go watch games.

[00:32:21] You can go have some great food.

[00:32:22] You can go have some drinks.

[00:32:23] You can go play some pool.

[00:32:25] It's November.

[00:32:26] College basketball is starting this week.

[00:32:28] There are going to be games left and right.

[00:32:30] Obviously, there's football going on, college, NFL.

[00:32:32] You got hockey.

[00:32:33] You got basketball.

[00:32:35] Whatever you want.

[00:32:36] You can head over there.

[00:32:37] There's 20 TVs in that place, so pick what you want to watch.

[00:32:40] It'll be on.

[00:32:40] And then if you go during happy hour for some awesome drink specials, those are Monday

[00:32:44] through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m.

[00:32:46] Drinks are $3 and $4 on the happy hour menu.

[00:32:49] Those are pretty good deals.

[00:32:50] You're probably not going to find deals better than that.

[00:32:52] So head over there.

[00:32:53] Get some happy hour drinks.

[00:32:54] Go watch some games with your friends.

[00:32:56] That's all over at Pagatch's Pub 85 over in Kirkland.

[00:33:01] All right.

[00:33:02] B-level.

[00:33:03] This is more the level of a player where they might not be a superstar, but it's somebody

[00:33:08] that if you sign them, you should be excited because they can really have a chance to help

[00:33:12] the team.

[00:33:13] My guy.

[00:33:15] I picked here.

[00:33:17] Ha-Song Kim.

[00:33:18] Formerly of the San Diego Padres.

[00:33:20] His numbers in 2024 were 233 average, 700 OPS, 101 WRC+, 2.6 fan graphs war in 122 games

[00:33:31] played.

[00:33:32] You are signing this guy because he is a premier defender.

[00:33:36] That's where the value comes from.

[00:33:38] I'm a huge fan of this idea.

[00:33:40] I'm a huge fan of it.

[00:33:43] Because you have plus defense at third, you have average defense at short, and you've had

[00:33:47] subpar defense at second base last year.

[00:33:51] You could add a plus defender at any of those three positions signing Ha-Song Kim.

[00:33:56] Let's not get it twisted for people looking at his war numbers because he had a four war

[00:34:02] last year in 23.

[00:34:03] It was about two and a half in 24.

[00:34:07] As Lyle said, most of that's coming from his defense.

[00:34:10] So don't expect him to really...

[00:34:14] It's the right terminology.

[00:34:15] Like, break out offensively?

[00:34:17] He's not going to break out offensively.

[00:34:19] Like, he pretty much is who he is at the plate.

[00:34:22] He's shown that the last three years.

[00:34:25] But, you know, his offensive numbers are what you probably want a stabilized J.P. Crawford

[00:34:32] to be.

[00:34:32] Right?

[00:34:33] I think so.

[00:34:35] That's fair.

[00:34:37] Could I also say that his 101 WRC plus, number one, that's a 9% upgrade over Jorge Polanco

[00:34:44] from 2024 if you put him at second base.

[00:34:47] And number two, that 101 WRC plus would be the highest weighted runs created plus a Mariners

[00:34:56] second baseman's had since Robinson Cano.

[00:35:00] So if that's his weakness, but he's still going to be league average to above league average

[00:35:05] as a bat and play elite defense, that's your best second baseman you've had in seven years.

[00:35:09] What would be interesting is what the Mariners would decide if they signed him.

[00:35:13] Is he playing short?

[00:35:15] Is he playing second?

[00:35:16] He probably should play short, but he could play either.

[00:35:20] Now, I will be fair to J.P. Crawford.

[00:35:22] He had a very good defensive year last year.

[00:35:24] Nine defensive runs saved.

[00:35:25] Really had a resurgent year with his glove.

[00:35:29] I also know that, look, J.P.'s aging.

[00:35:32] His range isn't great.

[00:35:34] While he did rack up a lot of saved runs, we know his range isn't otherworldly.

[00:35:39] He feels like a guy where if you finally slid him over to second base, you'd have the potential

[00:35:43] for a really good defensive second baseman.

[00:35:45] But with Kim having a little bit more range, you could put him at short.

[00:35:48] So if you're asking me what I would do, yeah, I'd probably do that.

[00:35:51] What the Mariners would do, it's tough to say.

[00:35:55] They could go either way.

[00:35:56] Point being, you have those two as your middle infielders.

[00:35:59] It's a much, much better defensive alignment that's going to provide you a lot more value.

[00:36:03] You could probably put Kim at third too, but his bat doesn't play quite as well there.

[00:36:08] So his value is going to come up the middle of either being at second base or at shortstop.

[00:36:15] He's got such an interesting offensive profile because he actually, his approach at the plate

[00:36:20] is solid because he doesn't strike out a ton and he walks a bunch, which are two amazing things.

[00:36:25] Problem is, he still manages to not make good enough contact to hit for a high average and

[00:36:30] he doesn't hit for power.

[00:36:32] It's a remarkable combination.

[00:36:34] Like you manage to control the zone so well despite presenting not quite like, not say

[00:36:42] next to zero because he is an above average hitter, but he's not really a threat at the

[00:36:46] plate.

[00:36:47] Like so like credit to him for, for figuring that out.

[00:36:51] Cause it's, it's, uh, it's interesting.

[00:36:54] He's got a, he's certainly a unique player that has his own way to bring value, but he

[00:37:00] would be an immensely valuable piece to the Mariners.

[00:37:02] Like certainly he's also a plus runner.

[00:37:04] Uh, you mentioned the defense, the approach at the plate, like he's, he brings it all really.

[00:37:09] And there is a world where the offensive year he put up in 2024 is on the lower side for

[00:37:15] him because the previous two years he was 5% above league average in 22 and then 10% above

[00:37:21] league average in 23.

[00:37:22] Again, when you look at WRC plus, he can be a little better than a 100 guy, especially

[00:37:28] because when you look at Petco park versus T-Mobile park, when you look at park factors,

[00:37:32] we all know Seattle's the hardest park to hit it in baseball.

[00:37:36] Number two is Petco park.

[00:37:39] So I don't know if the transition for Hassan Kin from San Diego to Seattle would be that

[00:37:43] drastic.

[00:37:44] Now he's probably not going to hit at home very much.

[00:37:46] And his stats in San Diego tell you exactly that he didn't really hit at home.

[00:37:50] He did more of his damage offensively on the road, but you know what?

[00:37:53] You play 81 at home.

[00:37:54] You play 81 on the road.

[00:37:55] You're going to hit more on the road and play great defense and find a way to accumulate

[00:37:59] value.

[00:38:01] Do it.

[00:38:01] However, you have to do it.

[00:38:03] There's not that much of a difference between a 110 and a 101 though.

[00:38:07] I don't think it's all within the margin within the margin of error.

[00:38:11] I think 9% is a decent difference.

[00:38:15] I think it's in the same group, same grouping of offense.

[00:38:18] But if he's consistent, that's fine.

[00:38:23] Consistency is great.

[00:38:24] Mariners haven't had consistent production anywhere in the lineup besides Cal Raleigh.

[00:38:34] That's it.

[00:38:35] So if they could sign a second baseman and do the same exact thing three years in a

[00:38:40] row, I'm in.

[00:38:41] Three years of a 105 WRC plus at second base with plus defense.

[00:38:46] Sign me up every single day of the week.

[00:38:48] Yeah.

[00:38:49] He is not going to anchor this offense, but he will give you significantly more value

[00:38:54] than the second base position has had.

[00:38:56] And the Mariners need to win games.

[00:38:58] Hasan Kim will win you more games.

[00:39:00] That is a fact.

[00:39:02] I will say before we move on to yours, what is the ballpark of what you think his contract

[00:39:08] would be?

[00:39:08] Because that plays into this too.

[00:39:10] I'm thinking somewhere in the four year, $60 million range, 15 million bucks a year.

[00:39:16] Roughly.

[00:39:16] You try to bank on them to put up two wins a season, because if you do that, that lives

[00:39:21] up to what a $15 million contract should be.

[00:39:23] They say one war is worth about $8 million and he should be able to do that from defense.

[00:39:28] I was going to actually say three for 45.

[00:39:30] So we're there.

[00:39:30] We're in the same ballpark.

[00:39:32] It's just how many years would the Mariners want to commit to Hasan Kim?

[00:39:36] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:37] Those are pretty close.

[00:39:39] Yeah, that works too.

[00:39:41] Sign me up for that.

[00:39:42] My B-level player is one of his teammates and one of the biggest breakout players in

[00:39:47] Major League Baseball this year, Jerickson Profar.

[00:39:50] Now let me read off a couple of his stats.

[00:39:52] If you didn't realize this, I hope you realize this now.

[00:39:55] Jerickson Profar, the former number one overall prospect, had a 139 WRC+.

[00:40:01] He hit 24 homers.

[00:40:03] He was worth over four wins above replacement.

[00:40:07] I mean, truly one of the best stories in baseball this year.

[00:40:12] Just for some context, Jerickson Profar was the worst qualified player in baseball in 2023.

[00:40:18] The worst, like last in F-War in 2023.

[00:40:22] And yet he was named an all-star starter this year because he broke out in a major way offensively.

[00:40:27] So let me present this question to you, Lyle.

[00:40:29] How do you feel about adding Jerickson Profar to this baseball team?

[00:40:37] Intrigued, but I still have a couple questions.

[00:40:40] Number one is what position would he play?

[00:40:42] Mostly he played the outfield in San Diego.

[00:40:45] We know the outfield's a little bit crowded here in Seattle.

[00:40:48] And number two, I think the biggest question on my mind, and I would assume most people's,

[00:40:54] is can he sustain this again?

[00:40:56] He was phenomenal last year.

[00:40:58] Phenomenal.

[00:40:59] Phenomenal.

[00:41:00] He was a huge part of the reason why the Padres had such a great year.

[00:41:03] But I would say there's a difference on when you outperform a $1 million contract

[00:41:08] rather than when you're expected and have expectations to play up to a $12 to $15 million per year deal.

[00:41:18] My pushback to that is there's nothing that says the results are fluky.

[00:41:23] Find the fluke in his profile.

[00:41:27] This year there wasn't one.

[00:41:28] It's just that he's had such a long track record of a lack of history.

[00:41:32] And maybe that's not fair.

[00:41:33] Maybe he really tapped into something this year that is going to change him for the long run.

[00:41:37] I hope it does.

[00:41:38] Let me put into perspective for some people why he's a different player.

[00:41:43] He used to be one of the softest hitting hitters in baseball.

[00:41:47] Like one of his average exit velocity is like hovers in the 87s.

[00:41:52] He went to go work out with the Tatises this offseason.

[00:41:55] When he came back, he made some adjustments to his swing.

[00:41:59] I believe he instituted more of a leg kick in his swing this year to help him generate a little bit more power.

[00:42:06] And he jumped his average exit velocity up this year four miles an hour.

[00:42:11] There's nothing really fluky about that.

[00:42:13] He was able to add significant damage to his swing while keeping his offensive approach.

[00:42:20] That's what he was missing.

[00:42:22] He's had an awesome offensive approach.

[00:42:24] He's walked.

[00:42:25] He's limited his strikeouts.

[00:42:26] But he hasn't been able to hit the ball hard enough.

[00:42:28] Now he has.

[00:42:30] And it has led him, Lyle, to a season where the only hitters who are more valuable than jerks and profar

[00:42:39] were Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Jaron Duran, Jackson Merrill, and Yordan Alvarez.

[00:42:46] And then profars right after that.

[00:42:48] Like, that's it.

[00:42:51] That's pretty good.

[00:42:53] So, there are some...

[00:42:55] I'm very intrigued by his profile.

[00:42:57] Is he going to start another All-Star game in his career?

[00:42:59] I would say odds are no.

[00:43:01] But is he going to...

[00:43:02] Could he be a productive hitter for the rest of his career?

[00:43:04] I think he can.

[00:43:05] Like, seriously, there's a lot of extremely promising trends in his offensive profile.

[00:43:11] Where is he going to play?

[00:43:13] Well, he's played seven...

[00:43:14] Well, he's played seven...

[00:43:14] All seven field positions in his career.

[00:43:17] Not including pitcher or catcher.

[00:43:19] So, you could play him anywhere.

[00:43:21] Is he going to be great?

[00:43:22] No.

[00:43:23] But again, the Mariners have the ultimate cheat code in Perry Hill.

[00:43:26] Just be average.

[00:43:27] That's it.

[00:43:29] Mm-hmm.

[00:43:30] Sure.

[00:43:30] If you're going to stick him at second or third and are banking on his offense to sustain,

[00:43:34] great.

[00:43:35] That would be awesome.

[00:43:36] I would sign all the way up for that version of jerks and profar.

[00:43:39] I am going to throw in a joke here.

[00:43:40] You ask, is there anything fluky about him?

[00:43:43] I would say the only thing fluky in all of your line of reasoning there is not even on-field

[00:43:50] baseball related.

[00:43:52] Was he only hitting with the Tatises this winter?

[00:43:56] Was he only working out with them?

[00:43:59] If he was, great.

[00:44:00] This is all sustainable.

[00:44:01] Now, if he's taking certain medical advice from the Tatises, the Mariners may run into

[00:44:05] problems if they sign him.

[00:44:08] Well, that's true.

[00:44:08] But what have we always said about the Mariners, Lyle?

[00:44:11] They haven't tried hard enough.

[00:44:12] And that includes cheating.

[00:44:14] That's true.

[00:44:14] If you're not cheating, you're not trying.

[00:44:16] So.

[00:44:17] That is true.

[00:44:19] And hey, you know, again, we're just making a joke about this.

[00:44:24] But he is, again, when you hit the ball significantly harder, people are going to raise an eyebrow.

[00:44:29] So.

[00:44:29] But everything else about his profile is fantastic.

[00:44:32] Seriously.

[00:44:33] Yeah.

[00:44:33] He's got a great, he's got a great hitting profile.

[00:44:36] San Diego knocked this one out of the park and shout out to him for nearly being out

[00:44:40] of baseball and instead turning around and he's going to cash in big.

[00:44:44] I would imagine his contracts can be very similar to Hassan Kemps of what we projected.

[00:44:49] Teams aren't going to go long with him since he's already in his 30s now.

[00:44:53] But like a three or four year deal.

[00:44:56] I think I think that would be certainly fair for jerks and profile.

[00:44:59] And I think he would fill a very valuable role on this team.

[00:45:03] Yeah.

[00:45:04] So all jokes aside, because again, we're just messing around.

[00:45:07] We're joking.

[00:45:07] Yes.

[00:45:07] If the Mariners sign jerks and profile profile, sign me all the way up.

[00:45:11] I would guess he'll get a little less than Kim just because the track record isn't quite

[00:45:15] as long.

[00:45:18] So not that much less, but maybe three for 30 to 35 instead of three for 45.

[00:45:24] Maybe he'll get 10 to 12 million a year.

[00:45:27] I would do that in a second.

[00:45:29] Same.

[00:45:30] But I would.

[00:45:31] I think that's fair to say.

[00:45:33] Maybe.

[00:45:33] I mean, maybe you feel differently.

[00:45:34] In my mind, it is fair to say that people probably feel a little bit safer about Hassan

[00:45:40] Kim's profile than profile just because of the long term track record.

[00:45:44] Even though profile, like you said, did plenty of things this year that say this should sustain

[00:45:48] and turn over to some extent.

[00:45:50] Contracts still work that way.

[00:45:51] Sometimes you get paid for the player you've been rather than the player they expect you

[00:45:55] to be.

[00:45:56] And if that's the case, he may get a little less.

[00:45:58] But it's three for 36 for jerks and profile.

[00:46:02] Yeah.

[00:46:03] I'll ink that pen to paper.

[00:46:04] And defense is, I think, a little more sustainable than offense is, especially from unproven offensive

[00:46:10] players outside of one season like jerks and profile is.

[00:46:16] Right.

[00:46:17] And it's going to be really hard to get him away from San Diego.

[00:46:19] It seems like he really likes San Diego.

[00:46:21] Right.

[00:46:22] And if he just had such a great year there with a team that's winning in a place where he

[00:46:25] clearly enjoyed playing, how do you get him to go somewhere else, especially to a place

[00:46:30] that is impossible to hit?

[00:46:32] We'll find out, I guess.

[00:46:34] Beg.

[00:46:35] Yeah.

[00:46:38] Overpay.

[00:46:39] Yeah.

[00:46:39] Overpay.

[00:46:41] Buy him a Lambo.

[00:46:43] Give him Jeff Bezos' old house since he moved to Miami.

[00:46:47] Does he get proceeds from the box yard like Juan Soto?

[00:46:51] Sorry, Jerkson.

[00:46:52] You're not worth enough for that.

[00:46:54] Because this, the Mariners could afford him liquid.

[00:46:56] We assume.

[00:46:58] We assume.

[00:46:59] Don't need to hedge future value on that.

[00:47:02] Yeah.

[00:47:02] Okay.

[00:47:03] A-level guy.

[00:47:05] We already talked about Juan Soto on a previous podcast.

[00:47:08] If you want to go listen to us talk about the idea of the Mariners signing Juan Soto,

[00:47:12] it's out there.

[00:47:13] And you can go listen to that.

[00:47:14] I think you all know, along with TJ and I knowing, that there is no doubt in anybody's

[00:47:20] mind that the top guy on every single person's wish list this winter, whether you're a Mariners

[00:47:24] fan or anybody, signing Juan Soto.

[00:47:26] So yes.

[00:47:27] Is that our number one A-level guy?

[00:47:29] Of course.

[00:47:30] But we already talked about him.

[00:47:31] So we're going to pick some different guys.

[00:47:33] Who did I pick?

[00:47:35] If you were going to have me rank out my free agent tiers of bats and who's the most valuable

[00:47:40] guy to sign this winter, Soto's one.

[00:47:43] But I'll move right down to the guy that would be number two.

[00:47:45] Give me Alex Bregman for a variety of reasons.

[00:47:50] I'll just start with this.

[00:47:52] If I see comments saying, I don't want him because he was an Astro and he was a cheater

[00:47:59] and I can't root for that guy.

[00:48:02] Bullshit.

[00:48:03] If the Mariners make some post-season run with Alex Bregman leading the charge, there's

[00:48:08] no chance in October when you've got a sold out crowd at T-Mobile Park for a playoff game.

[00:48:13] You're going to be sitting there in crunch time when Alex Bregman's got a chance to take

[00:48:17] the lead and say, I'm rooting for this guy to strike out because seven years ago he cheated

[00:48:21] and I didn't like him.

[00:48:22] He wasn't nice.

[00:48:24] No shot.

[00:48:25] Get out of here with that if you're going to respond with that in the comments.

[00:48:28] You don't want Bregman for other reasons.

[00:48:30] You don't like his profile.

[00:48:31] You don't think he's going to age well.

[00:48:34] Well, listen to that.

[00:48:35] If we hear he was an Astro and he cheated, we're not even going to respond.

[00:48:41] There are very obvious monetary concerns with signing Alex Bregman, just starting off with

[00:48:46] the fact that he's going to ask for more and longer than what he's coming off of contract-wise,

[00:48:52] which was five for $100 million, which is a lot and significantly more than the Mariners

[00:48:57] have ever paid for a free agent hitter under this regime.

[00:48:59] However, let's pass through that fact and let's actually look at the baseball player.

[00:49:04] Shouldn't matter that he's an Astro.

[00:49:06] Lyle and I spent a ton of time on this podcast talking about how much we wanted Carlos Correa.

[00:49:11] That didn't end up working out.

[00:49:13] We talk, we go, we spend time and time and time and time and time again begging for Kyle

[00:49:21] Tucker.

[00:49:25] So, we can't draw the line at Alex Bregman.

[00:49:28] We can't draw that line at Alex Bregman.

[00:49:31] And he actually does things that would very much benefit the Mariners.

[00:49:35] They could really use his services at third base.

[00:49:40] It's high contact.

[00:49:42] It's good defense at third.

[00:49:44] He walks a lot.

[00:49:45] He doesn't strike out.

[00:49:47] Is he a great hitter?

[00:49:50] No.

[00:49:51] I think when he was a great hitter, he had a little bit of wink-wink help.

[00:49:55] But can he be good?

[00:49:56] Yeah.

[00:49:57] Yeah, he can be good.

[00:49:58] He was good this past year.

[00:50:00] He was a 118 WRC plus hitter in a down year for offense.

[00:50:04] He hits 25 bombs a year.

[00:50:05] He plays great defense.

[00:50:08] Does not strike out.

[00:50:11] Am I hell-bent on only signing guys that don't strike out?

[00:50:15] No.

[00:50:15] We just talked about J.D. Martinez.

[00:50:16] If you've got a star player that also happens to strike out 12% of the time like Alex Bregman,

[00:50:21] am I interested?

[00:50:22] Yes.

[00:50:23] He doesn't swing and miss.

[00:50:24] He doesn't chase.

[00:50:25] He draws his walks.

[00:50:27] Sign me right up for that guy.

[00:50:29] Can I also throw one more thing at you here?

[00:50:32] Remember a couple years ago how third base was one of the deepest positions in baseball?

[00:50:36] With just star after star after star.

[00:50:39] After a long period of time in the game where third base did not have a lot of stars in the 90s and the early 2000s,

[00:50:46] it was few and far between.

[00:50:47] They had their run of guys.

[00:50:49] Now all of a sudden it's kind of reverted back to the old.

[00:50:52] Listen to the guys that had really good offensive seasons at third base this past year.

[00:51:00] There were eight guys.

[00:51:02] Eight guys that played third base this year that were qualified hitters with a 115 WRC plus or better.

[00:51:09] Jose Ramirez, Rafael Devers, Manny Machado, Matt Chapman, Alex Bregman, Isak Paredes, Eugenio Suarez, and Alec Boehm.

[00:51:21] Now let me paint that picture for you when you look at those eight guys.

[00:51:25] Five of those guys aren't going anywhere.

[00:51:27] J-Ram's not.

[00:51:28] Devers is not.

[00:51:29] Manny's not.

[00:51:30] Chapman's not.

[00:51:31] He just signed that huge extension.

[00:51:32] And Geno just had his club option picked up because the Mariners decided to salary dump him last year because they decided he was cooked.

[00:51:39] Well, now he's going to be in Arizona.

[00:51:41] He's not coming back to Seattle.

[00:51:43] So five of the eight above average second baseman or productive offensive.

[00:51:46] Sorry, second baseman.

[00:51:47] Productive offensive third baseman aren't going to be available to you.

[00:51:52] Isak Paredes is probably not going to be available to you as well.

[00:51:56] He was just traded for.

[00:51:57] He has three years of club control.

[00:51:59] He's not going anywhere.

[00:52:00] That leaves Alex Bregman and Alec Boehm.

[00:52:06] And third base is what many would say is far and away the Mariners' biggest need.

[00:52:10] There is an epidemic in baseball these days for third baseman.

[00:52:14] Star-studded third baseman.

[00:52:16] There are not a lot of options out there for how this team could seriously improve the hot corner.

[00:52:21] And if you're serious about it, go get one of the best guys.

[00:52:27] And in terms of, oh, it's not the most convenient offensive option, but it is the most fun.

[00:52:35] I love the idea of Pete Alonzo or Christian Walker at first, but Alex Bregman would be more fun at third base.

[00:52:43] And you would, would you have the best third baseman in the AL West?

[00:52:51] Probably.

[00:52:52] Him and Josh Young.

[00:52:54] At this point, it's probably a coin flip.

[00:52:56] Sure as hell is an Anthony Rendon.

[00:52:58] Sure as hell is an Abe Toro.

[00:53:01] Those are two studs.

[00:53:03] Easy.

[00:53:05] Those are two great, those are two great players.

[00:53:07] But it would give, it would be just a significant impact.

[00:53:13] And just the Mariners, they really missed that production they got from Geno at third in 2022.

[00:53:19] Like, let's not forget he was the second best offensive player on that playoff team.

[00:53:26] And since that point, they haven't had that sort of production at third base.

[00:53:30] And shockingly enough, they've had wildly inconsistent offensive performances since then.

[00:53:38] How could they miscalculate that so badly?

[00:53:41] I know he started the year really bad.

[00:53:43] First half of the year wasn't good.

[00:53:45] But his season as a whole was.

[00:53:47] He clearly is not cooked.

[00:53:52] It wouldn't have happened with a pitcher.

[00:53:55] No.

[00:53:56] Can I say this too about Bregman?

[00:53:58] Put all the numbers aside.

[00:54:00] Is he a perfect player?

[00:54:01] No.

[00:54:02] We've outlined that.

[00:54:03] He hasn't hit the ball that hard.

[00:54:05] Might be an interesting profile in terms of how he'd fare in Seattle.

[00:54:08] We've talked about he's not an elite hitter anymore.

[00:54:12] He'd still be very good.

[00:54:14] And almost as important, he plays the game so pissed off all the time.

[00:54:20] He's got fuel.

[00:54:21] He's got a chip on his shoulder.

[00:54:23] He plays with fire.

[00:54:25] And over the last two years, look, it's not that the Mariners don't get excited for each

[00:54:29] other and lift that trident up and get hype for each other in the dugout.

[00:54:33] But it does feel like there's been times over the last couple of years, 2024 especially,

[00:54:39] where maybe they lacked a little energy.

[00:54:41] I think Alex Bregman could do a lot for that clubhouse.

[00:54:45] Not only would he be an established veteran presence, not only could he probably do wonders

[00:54:49] for somebody like Julio, but the clubhouse as a whole, just setting a standard, setting

[00:54:55] an expectation, coming to the ballpark fired up and ready to play every day.

[00:54:58] That would do a lot for this team.

[00:55:01] Yeah, it would.

[00:55:04] And we've tried to tie that in with veteran leadership.

[00:55:07] We've tried to tie that in with Julio.

[00:55:10] But it's just not consistent.

[00:55:12] Signing Alex Bregman would.

[00:55:14] They're just going to balk at the price.

[00:55:16] Well, you need an adult in the room.

[00:55:18] That is facts.

[00:55:19] If Justin Turner comes back, that obviously qualifies.

[00:55:21] If you sign Alex Bregman, it also qualifies.

[00:55:23] Having an adult in the room, been there, done that, star player, won World Series, and

[00:55:29] could change a clubhouse.

[00:55:30] Will the Mariners do it?

[00:55:31] Absolutely not.

[00:55:32] As we finally get to the end of this Alex Bregman segment, because he's going to demand

[00:55:36] a lot of money.

[00:55:37] And as we know, we've said it, what, once, maybe twice so far this episode?

[00:55:40] It's never too many times this offseason.

[00:55:43] Signing a guy like that, not a smart strategy.

[00:55:47] So you can't do it.

[00:55:48] Let's be completely honest.

[00:55:49] Does Alex Bregman want to play in Seattle?

[00:55:52] Absolutely not.

[00:55:53] One, he probably hates the Mariners.

[00:55:55] Number two, his agent is Scott Boris.

[00:55:57] And number three, he probably looks at this ballpark and says, yeah, I don't

[00:56:00] want to hit there.

[00:56:01] I'd want him to hit here, but he probably doesn't.

[00:56:04] I don't know if this means anything to you or anybody.

[00:56:07] This is probably reading too much into tea leaves.

[00:56:11] Alex Bregman does do some YouTube content.

[00:56:13] He's done it for a while.

[00:56:14] And I remember a couple of years ago, him watching a video about his top five ballparks

[00:56:18] to play in.

[00:56:19] Some guys say Seattle.

[00:56:20] Mike Trout obviously loves it.

[00:56:22] There's other guys that really like playing there.

[00:56:23] Brent Rooker.

[00:56:25] Wasn't on Bregman's list.

[00:56:27] Now, there were 25 ballparks that weren't, but just something I noticed.

[00:56:32] Wasn't on his list.

[00:56:33] He's made a lot of trips there.

[00:56:34] Didn't say anything about it.

[00:56:35] Now, we'd learn more if he made a bottom five list too.

[00:56:38] Right.

[00:56:40] If he put T-Mobile on there, then we would know.

[00:56:43] Right.

[00:56:44] Which I think that'd be hilarious.

[00:56:46] I think he should do that.

[00:56:49] We need content.

[00:56:50] It's the off season, Alex.

[00:56:51] Get going.

[00:56:52] Well, would that be good content?

[00:56:53] Because if he does that, that basically debunks even the hypothetical of signing him here.

[00:56:57] Right now, we've got an open canvas.

[00:56:59] Until he doesn't sign here, we can talk up the idea of him signing here.

[00:57:03] He puts out a list saying, I hate hitting at T-Mobile Park.

[00:57:06] I feel like it's over.

[00:57:08] But those videos do well for us.

[00:57:11] That's true.

[00:57:11] They do.

[00:57:12] It's probably already over right now.

[00:57:13] It's just technically not because he hasn't signed anywhere else.

[00:57:17] Let's get to my A-grade option on my wish list.

[00:57:22] I think of this as a best case scenario.

[00:57:26] Could they swing Willie Adamas?

[00:57:30] Could they do it?

[00:57:33] We're going to do most of this segment being positive like we did about Alex Bregman.

[00:57:37] So let's play the exercise.

[00:57:38] Let's say, sure.

[00:57:39] Let's say you could swing Willie Adamas.

[00:57:41] He is one of the younger free agents, which has to be appealing.

[00:57:44] You know he's a great defender.

[00:57:46] He can hit 25 to 30 bombs in a season.

[00:57:50] Yeah, there's a lot to like about the guy.

[00:57:53] It is an elevated version of Ha-Song Kim.

[00:57:56] A guy that racks up a ton of value because of how great he is on defense.

[00:58:00] While he can also really hit.

[00:58:04] 92nd percentile batting run value.

[00:58:07] He hit 32 home runs this year.

[00:58:09] He was worth nearly five fangraphs wins above replacement.

[00:58:13] Only struck out 25% of the time.

[00:58:16] And get this.

[00:58:17] Get this stat about Willie Adamas.

[00:58:19] There have only been four short stops in Major League history.

[00:58:23] Hit 30 homers.

[00:58:24] Drive in 100 runs.

[00:58:26] And steal 20 bases.

[00:58:28] It's Willie Adamas.

[00:58:32] It's Alex Rodriguez.

[00:58:34] It's Trevor Story.

[00:58:36] And it's Bobby Witt Jr.

[00:58:38] That's it.

[00:58:39] It's a pretty good group for Willie Adamas to be in.

[00:58:42] And you'd sit there and you look at his WRC Plus from this year.

[00:58:45] Who's at 119.

[00:58:46] Which is a good mark.

[00:58:48] The only short stops who were better than him offensively this year were all the best players in baseball essentially.

[00:58:55] Bobby Witt, Gunnar Henderson, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor-Trey Turner.

[00:59:01] They're all pretty good players.

[00:59:03] Those are great players.

[00:59:05] I have a couple questions.

[00:59:08] Do his previous two years at the plate scare you at all?

[00:59:11] WRC Plus in 2022 was 109.

[00:59:14] 2023 was 94.

[00:59:16] He hit this year.

[00:59:17] He really hit.

[00:59:18] He doesn't always consistently hit.

[00:59:22] He's not consistent.

[00:59:23] He's off the Mitch Garver tree.

[00:59:26] Goodyear.

[00:59:27] Average year.

[00:59:28] Goodyear.

[00:59:29] Average year.

[00:59:31] And that comes with some of his profile.

[00:59:34] It does walk a little bit.

[00:59:35] He does strike out a little bit as well.

[00:59:36] And he's had noted problems in the past of hitting at certain ballparks.

[00:59:42] Do you remember why he got traded from Tampa?

[00:59:44] Couldn't hit at Tampa.

[00:59:45] Couldn't hit in that ballpark.

[00:59:46] Mm-mm.

[00:59:47] So they traded him to Milwaukee where he has, he's flourished.

[00:59:51] He hasn't been totally consistent.

[00:59:53] But he's been good enough to potentially earn $25 million a year on the open market.

[00:59:58] The projection for him right now is six years for $150 million.

[01:00:02] Could be a little bit less than that with the current TV revenue issues that a lot of teams are facing.

[01:00:08] But that's where his value is currently at.

[01:00:11] And that's pretty good for a shortstop because if you think about it this way, those six shortstops I rattled off before him.

[01:00:17] Again, let me just repeat this list.

[01:00:19] Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor, and Trey Turner are the only shortstops more valuable than him in Major League Baseball.

[01:00:28] Those are all players worth over $300 million.

[01:00:32] Willie Adamas is going to be worth half that.

[01:00:34] But his value is not half theirs.

[01:00:38] Right?

[01:00:40] You make a good point.

[01:00:43] I would be all for Willie Adamas because you're probably not signing Alex Bregman.

[01:00:47] You're almost definitely not.

[01:00:49] You are almost certainly not signing Juan Soto.

[01:00:52] It's not a smart strategy.

[01:00:53] Sorry, it just kicked in there again.

[01:00:55] Sometimes I can't help myself.

[01:00:56] It just comes out and I can't help myself to stop it.

[01:00:59] My bad.

[01:01:02] Anyway, this feels like one of the more realistic but also upper echelon possibilities.

[01:01:10] It's still low odds, but it feels like in the realm of the A-tier free agents, he feels somewhat more in the realm of possibilities.

[01:01:21] But would you pay a guy nine figures to essentially be a defense-first guy?

[01:01:27] Because there is a world where if he struggles here, then you're paying him to essentially play good defense.

[01:01:34] But the guy you invested all your chips in through your free agent resources isn't really moving the needle offensively where we know this team has to get better.

[01:01:43] That's just a risk you're going to have to take though.

[01:01:48] Because like third base, after him, where are the options?

[01:01:53] Non-free agency, that's for sure.

[01:01:56] They're all in your farm system.

[01:01:57] That's what the answer to that is.

[01:01:59] And you're not getting any of those guys to be an everyday player for at least another year.

[01:02:04] So if that problem is getting fixed this year and you want to have the best option, this is your best option.

[01:02:13] And let's note that if they sign him, he is definitely playing short.

[01:02:17] There's no ifs, ands, or buts.

[01:02:19] If you're giving him nine figures, he's playing shortstop.

[01:02:21] J.P. Crawford's going to second base.

[01:02:23] That's how this arrangement will work out.

[01:02:26] But you mentioned the age too.

[01:02:28] That's why this makes more sense for the Mariners.

[01:02:30] Like their constant paranoia of free agency is old players declining.

[01:02:35] He's not old.

[01:02:38] If he's not old, that should make him more realistic and more worth investing the money in.

[01:02:43] And you know what?

[01:02:44] If you give him a six-year deal, he's going to come out of it at age 34?

[01:02:50] It's not that old.

[01:02:51] You're getting most of the prime years of a player in that case.

[01:02:56] Mm-hmm.

[01:02:56] The odds are you're also not going to get his best seasons offensively in this ballpark.

[01:03:01] Because Milwaukee's a better hitter's park than T-Mobile is.

[01:03:05] Not by that much.

[01:03:06] Not by that much, but still, T-Mobile Park is pretty clearly last on that list.

[01:03:14] So you wouldn't expect him to just totally light the world on fire.

[01:03:19] But value is value, Lyle.

[01:03:21] Because they've just...

[01:03:22] The problem is they've had this combination of bad hitting and bad defense at some positions.

[01:03:27] Bad hitting and good defense at some positions.

[01:03:29] And then good hitting, bad defense at some positions.

[01:03:31] He can, in his best years, give you both.

[01:03:34] They just don't consistently have that on the infield.

[01:03:37] Mm-hmm.

[01:03:38] Like, Gino, in 22, was the last guy to do both of those things in the same season.

[01:03:44] Mm-hmm.

[01:03:46] I'm all for Willie Adamas.

[01:03:48] Don't let me turn people away.

[01:03:50] I wanted to just play a little bit of devil's advocate.

[01:03:53] Ask you all the questions.

[01:03:54] Make sure all your reasoning was well thought out, which, of course, it always is.

[01:03:58] I still just wanted to test you.

[01:03:59] But yes, I would be all for Willie Adamas.

[01:04:03] Sign the guy.

[01:04:04] Especially to the point that he isn't old.

[01:04:09] Alex Bregman and say, we're going to sign him at age 30 or 31 and he wants eight years.

[01:04:13] Eh, we get a little nervous about that.

[01:04:15] If they're looking at a guy like...

[01:04:17] Who's another example in free?

[01:04:19] Anthony Santander.

[01:04:20] Little bit on the older side.

[01:04:22] Doesn't really have defensive value.

[01:04:24] Maybe they get a little worried about that.

[01:04:27] Willie Adamas can play both sides of the ball very well.

[01:04:29] And you would not be signing him at an age that he should age out poorly.

[01:04:35] This one makes a lot of sense.

[01:04:37] And they should look long and hard at this one.

[01:04:41] Because you've got him at a young age.

[01:04:42] You've also got Juan Soto at a young age.

[01:04:44] But, I mean, we know that's not happening.

[01:04:46] So, yes.

[01:04:48] Willie Adamas makes a lot of sense.

[01:04:49] I would be over the moon to sign him.

[01:04:51] Would I be a little worried about his offensive profile in T-Mobile Park?

[01:04:54] A little.

[01:04:55] But at the very least, you know the backbone of Willie Adamas is he's going to play good defense.

[01:04:58] So, you say that his DRS this year was among the worst in baseball.

[01:05:03] Negative 16 this year.

[01:05:05] Now, the previous two years before that, he had been excellent.

[01:05:08] I do raise an eyebrow a little bit, though.

[01:05:12] Of...

[01:05:12] Is that an aberration?

[01:05:15] Because going from like a plus 8 to a minus 16 is insane.

[01:05:23] What was his OAA?

[01:05:24] That doesn't sound right that he was just a bad defender all year.

[01:05:26] I'm pretty sure his OAA was a lot better.

[01:05:27] His OAA is a little bit more consistent.

[01:05:28] And his OAA in 23 and 22 were in the 95th percentile.

[01:05:33] And this year he was still in about the 70th percentile.

[01:05:37] Right.

[01:05:37] So, his range is good.

[01:05:38] But the execution of it was...

[01:05:40] You know what?

[01:05:41] I'll say this.

[01:05:42] If you're talking about bringing Yohan Moncada in here and letting him play defense.

[01:05:46] And you say, well, Perry Hill can make an average.

[01:05:48] Then, Perry Hill should be able to take a gold glove caliber defender.

[01:05:52] And keep him as a gold glove caliber defender.

[01:05:54] Especially when he's in his late 20s and he's not really aging.

[01:05:58] That's a fair point.

[01:05:59] It's not going to be the stamp leader that you bring in.

[01:06:03] Like Lyle was talking about.

[01:06:05] And bringing an Alex Bregman personality type into the clubhouse.

[01:06:08] To fire everyone up and motivate them.

[01:06:10] And bring that championship drive and energy.

[01:06:12] Not to say Willie Adamas can't be that guy.

[01:06:15] But Alex Bregman is a little bit more proven than that guy.

[01:06:17] That doesn't mean you can't have great baseball players on your team.

[01:06:21] Because the goal of the Mariners coming up here in 2025.

[01:06:23] Is to add as many great baseball players onto their team as possible.

[01:06:27] So they can go win a World Series.

[01:06:28] And Willie Adamas is a step towards that.

[01:06:32] Hypothetical.

[01:06:33] You can sign Willie Adamas.

[01:06:35] The Mariners are the ones that win his free agency bidding war.

[01:06:39] But you have to bring back Jesse Winker to pair with Willie Adamas.

[01:06:44] You know, I think I'd do that.

[01:06:45] Because Winker hit this year.

[01:06:48] You know those two have major beef, right?

[01:06:52] Oh my god, I forgot that.

[01:06:55] So actually, definitely yes.

[01:06:56] That would be so entertaining.

[01:06:58] You can count on me waiting for you in the parking lot.

[01:07:02] I think that would be a fantastic twist to the Mariners season.

[01:07:06] Would it work out?

[01:07:06] Not a chance.

[01:07:07] But would it be really entertaining?

[01:07:09] Yeah.

[01:07:10] Yes, it would.

[01:07:11] How long would it take to have a Dee Gordon-Jean-Segura fight between those two in the clubhouse?

[01:07:15] Not very long.

[01:07:17] To Jesse's credit.

[01:07:20] Because I think we'd heard that Scott Service wasn't a huge fan of his defense.

[01:07:25] Why would he?

[01:07:26] I can't imagine Dan Wilson was either.

[01:07:28] Or some of the current players in the Mariners' core.

[01:07:31] So, I don't think Jesse Winker would only have a problem with Willie Adamas.

[01:07:37] No.

[01:07:38] There's no chance Jesse Winker will ever be back in a Mariners uniform.

[01:07:42] Almost definitely.

[01:07:43] I guess if he's in his late 30s still playing, it's a totally new regime.

[01:07:47] He's somehow still hitting.

[01:07:49] And they say, yeah, you can come DH.

[01:07:50] Maybe then.

[01:07:51] But even then, it still seems very, very low.

[01:07:53] At least we'll always have the three-run home run he hit down.

[01:07:56] Ten runs in that meaningless Sunday game we were at after they clinched.

[01:08:00] Oh, you mean Jesse Winker hits huge homer to cut the deficit seven?

[01:08:03] Yeah.

[01:08:05] Okay, Chris Paul.

[01:08:08] Yes.

[01:08:08] Sign me up for Willie Adamas.

[01:08:10] Okay.

[01:08:10] For all you guys listening, you've heard our A-level guys, our B-level guys, our C-level guys.

[01:08:15] The awesome thing about Mariners fans and baseball fans in general, everybody's got different ideas.

[01:08:20] I am sure you guys listening have ideas.

[01:08:23] So, send them to us.

[01:08:24] You want to DM them to us?

[01:08:26] You want to drop them in the YouTube comments?

[01:08:27] That's the best way.

[01:08:28] You drop them in the YouTube comments.

[01:08:30] That's the best way for us to see them.

[01:08:31] That's the best way for us to engage with them.

[01:08:32] You can do it in any form you want.

[01:08:34] We're just telling you the best way is probably in the YouTube comments.

[01:08:37] So, send us your ideas.

[01:08:38] Who do you want to see them sign?

[01:08:40] Who do you want to see them not sign?

[01:08:41] Do you like our ideas?

[01:08:42] Do you hate our ideas?

[01:08:44] World's your oyster to let us know.

[01:08:45] So, please do that.

[01:08:47] With that, that'll just about wrap up this edition of the Marine Layer Podcast.

[01:08:50] You guys know the drill.

[01:08:51] You want to listen to the full form podcast.

[01:08:53] You can do so wherever you get your audio pods.

[01:08:55] Make sure if you do that, you rate and review.

[01:08:58] Give it five stars.

[01:08:58] It really only takes a minute or two to do, guys.

[01:09:00] And if you do, you're doing us a huge, huge favor if you are.

[01:09:04] So, do that.

[01:09:05] Download our podcast episodes on that audio side.

[01:09:08] If you're watching on YouTube, like, comment, subscribe.

[01:09:10] Hitting that subscribe button is key.

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[01:09:21] That's TJ.

[01:09:22] I'm Lyle.

[01:09:23] As always, we thank you guys for tuning in.

[01:09:25] We'll talk to you soon.

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