Episode 210: Early Spring Training Storylines + Ty Dane Gonzalez (Locked On Mariners)

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode number 210 of the Marine Layer Podcast. We welcome on Ty Dane Gonzalez from Locked On Mariners. We'll talk about the start of spring training and Ty's expectations for the 2025 season. We'll also give our early observations from the Mariners' first few days in Peoria.

[00:00:30] Drop a like, leave a comment, and follow us everywhere across social media at MarineLayerPod. And if you're new and want to check out our Patreon, we just started that over the last week or two. Go check that out if you want to listen to ad-free episodes. No ads. You can go over there and do that. Another way to support us. Finally, I know, long intro to you guys today, but last thing. First live show, Thursday, this Thursday, by the time you're listening to this podcast, one day away.

[00:00:57] 6 p.m., Thursday, February 20th, Moss Bay Hall in Kirkland. Cannot wait to see you there. It's going to be a blast. Let's get it rolling.

[00:01:18] And we welcome you to this episode of the Marine Layer Podcast, part of the Just Baseball Podcast Network, recording on Monday afternoon, February 17th. Lyle, I think the Mariners were targeting the wrong Red Sox infielder all offseason. Oh, they were. Because we saw two quotes today come out of Boston, or more so out of Florida. You had Tristan Casas, the man the Mariners were targeting in the offseason, say, I'd love to be a Red Sox for life.

[00:01:48] And he understands that that doesn't always happen, and a lifetime can be a long time. But he said, I want to be a Red Sox for life. Meanwhile, you had one Rafael Devers, big scoops, come out today and say, oh, we just got this all-star level third baseman. Would you be interested in moving to DH so he can play third base? He says, no. No, I will not be moving off of third base. So, Rafi, I've got some great news for you, buddy.

[00:02:18] Welcome to Seattle. Let's give it up for Rafael Devers, the newest Seattle Mariner. It was not like a soft no. It was not an I'll think about it no. It was no. And you'd think, Lyle, his manager would come out in sport and say, you know, I believe in Rafi. He's one of our best players. This is a guy I believe in. This is why we signed him to a long-term deal. What did Alex Cora say, Lyle?

[00:02:48] He said, I'm Bloom's in St. Louis now. Whatever promises were made when he was here, doesn't matter to me. He's in St. Louis. Well, that's a ringing endorsement of your star player. I am kind of shocked Alex Cora said that. I'm going to be completely honest. Taking the path of not supporting the best player on your team is, what's a good word for it? Shaky?

[00:03:18] He's certainly going to ruffle some feathers. And if people want to get technical and say Jaron Duran's the best player on the team, fine. He had the highest war. He had the highest MVP finish last year. But the face of that team is Rafael Devers. He's making the most money. Yeah. So. How's staying in order there in Boston? That's good. So Rafi. We have space for it. Mariners need a third baseman still. And we love Polo, but he can just. Rafael Devers is coming to Seattle. Well, there's an easy solution here.

[00:03:48] Polo just goes back to second base. Now. That's true. Now. Would that be in the running for the single worst defensive infield in the history of baseball? Oh, it's got a chance. But. Would I sign up for it? To get Rafi's bat in this lineup? 100 out of 100 times. I wouldn't even think twice about it. How many runs on average would Mariners pitchers ERA go up because of this infield? Are we thinking half a run? No. I mean, it wouldn't be good.

[00:04:18] Here's a positive about all this. Like, we're spitballing and we might just be full of shit when we talk about the Mariners trading for Rafael Devers. Here's the thing. He's due. $315 million on that contract. That's the total value of that deal. He's going to make anywhere between $29 to $32 million between now and until that contract expires. Guess what won't happen if the Red Sox eventually have to move off of Rafi?

[00:04:44] Which, by the way, they don't have to because he's under contract for 10 years and he is going to have to play baseball games. But there's no chance they offload that entire contract. So whatever team would actually be interested in Rafi would get him at a discount.

[00:05:26] I don't. This is not going to get traded to the Seattle Mariners. I know. I know we're the kings of cooking up hypotheticals and ideas in the offseason, even if they're totally unrealistic and out of proportion. So we're not breaking our embargo here and we're not breaking our self-made rule saying we were done speculating about hot stove things. Because we're acknowledging he's not going to be a Mariner. However, in this hypothetical scenario, which we are totally full of shit and just spitballing, Red Sox would probably trade him.

[00:05:57] And he's perfect for Seattle. You know why? Why? Well, first of all, the Mariners don't like paying full price for free agent players. But as I just talked about a minute ago, they wouldn't have to pay full price for Rafi. You give up a little bit of prospect capital. The Red Sox know they cannot. They literally could not trade that entire contract. It's $300 million. They're not trading all of it. The Mariners owed Robinson Cano $120 million and they could only trade away half of it. Yeah?

[00:06:27] Well, yes. Yeah? Okay. That's start number one. And start number two is the Mariners already know they're not paying all that money. Because the Mariners, with most long-term deals under the current ownership group, haven't seen the whole deal through. Oh, they'd dump his contract. They would dump his contract. However, I'm really trying to sit here in real time and decide how much further I want to take this whole thing.

[00:06:53] Because I half don't want to do it and half want to keep our promise of people saying, yeah, we're not going to go down this rabbit hole. And part of me wants to say, you think this ownership's taking on a contract of over $300 million when they wouldn't even spend $15 this offseason? All right. That's it. I just stopped myself in real time. I'm not going to do any more. Because we're full of shit. I'm admitting we're full of shit. Okay. Lyle, is this realistic? Absolutely not. Would it be fun? Hell yeah. Are we going to talk about it? Are we going to talk about it?

[00:07:23] Absolutely. I mean. Dude, Rafael Devers can sit crisscross applesauce in the infield dirt during innings on defense if he wants to. If he's going to hit the way he's going to hit, you can do whatever you want. If Rafael Devers was a Mariner, would they make him bunt? If they did that, I would break my TV in half. Loud Inj, your old school's coming back, so he has to. Oh.

[00:07:52] I'm going to be just spiraling during games this year when I'm watching bunt. You know what? Let me make a promise. We're going to be in Peoria in a week. I'm going to take a video of the two of us watching bunt drills. And then we can turn the camera back to us, and I'm going to say, I want to fucking throw up.

[00:08:18] By the way, that is your reminder, everybody listening, that if you're going to be in Peoria from February 24th to March 1st, come say hello because we'll be there. Looking forward to it, Lyle. It is coming up. We've got some really cool stuff planned. Again, we're blueprinting how we're going to go about everything that week. Right now, we've got some ideas in the works, and we hope to bring you guys as much as we possibly can. We're going to be busy that week. That's for sure. And that all being said, if you see us down there, tell us.

[00:08:48] Tell us you're going to be there. Come find us. We would love to talk ball with you guys. 100%. But before that, Thursday, our first live show, as Lyle mentioned in the open, 6 p.m., Thursday, February 20th, Moss Bay Hall in Kirkland. As of the time this comes out, tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in Kirkland. And if you can only make it for part of it, if you only can come for a late dinner to catch the last little bit of it, I'm guessing that's going to be the trivia part of the live show.

[00:09:16] We're really, really looking forward to this opportunity at Moss Bay Hall this week. So if you can make it, it doesn't have to be for the whole time. I know people have responsibilities. But, I mean, we'd love to see you. We've already gotten some really good feedback about it. We've gotten some people telling us they're going to show up and come hang out and watch and grab a drink. It is Thursday. It's almost the start of a weekend. We'd love to have you guys. I mean, this will be awesome.

[00:09:40] And it's going to lead in what we hope is a long and fruitful partnership with the beer hall throughout the season. Yeah. And even though we'll be technically done with the live show portion of it after the trivia, if you guys want to do mini mic fan interviews and you want to answer questions, if you've got takes to rip off about the offseason, the season, we're going to do fan interviews while we're there with our classic mic after the show. So if you want to rip off a take then, come find us. If you just want to talk with us afterwards, come find us.

[00:10:09] If you've got questions for us, like I said on the last show, I'm giving people homework. If you are going to show up, come with a question for us because we want to answer your questions. We want to answer your questions very badly, in fact. So bring us a question when we do our live Q&A with the fans because we're going to do a couple different sections of Q&A. So bring a question. It's going to be really fun. Genuinely, I think it's going to be really fun. And we've gotten some very positive feedback about it so far. So we hope to see you guys there.

[00:10:37] We already had one person tell us he's coming down from Canada to watch the show. Will we have anyone further? That's pretty crazy. That was pretty crazy. Where's my phone? I got it. You don't have to get up. I have it right here. Some people are prepared, unlike you. It's fine. Oh, okay. I don't like being distracted during the show. Okay. This was from Bailey. And he said, hey, I'm coming down from Canada. Do you think there will be space? We said, absolutely. We would love to have you.

[00:11:06] Shout out to you for making the drive and being nice enough to dedicate some time to do that. So shout out to him. I can't wait to meet him on Thursday when he's there. So yeah, if you're planning on traveling further than that, tell us. And don't let the idea that, like as Bailey's concerns emitted in his message, worried about being too crowded. First of all, if it was too crowded, really good problem to have. The place is pretty big.

[00:11:34] So Lau and I might have go into cardiac arrest if the place gets too full to accommodate everybody. So I wouldn't make that a concern. Yeah, no, it's not pretty big. It's very big, I would say. So there is going to be no issues with space. And like you said, if it gets to the point where there is, I would be over the moon. If there's legitimately standing room only space in this place. I've not put my money on that it's going to be like that.

[00:12:03] I think we are going to get a lot of people that are going to show up. But if it was standing room only, that would be, like I said, I don't know what I'd do. Like TJ said, I'd probably go into cardiac arrest. Yeah. Okay, last thing before we get to a couple of spring training notes and before we talk to Ty. We did start a Patreon within the last couple of weeks. So if you guys would like to support us, please feel free to go over to our Patreon. It's linked in the description, both on YouTube and on audio. You can listen to us ad-free.

[00:12:31] We're hoping to add some extra content on the Patreon as the season goes along. Some live chats, perhaps some extra episodes. So if you want access to that, the Patreon would be the way to do it. You can support us directly. That money goes straight to us. And we very much appreciate it, just as we really appreciate you guys. So if that's something you're interested in, you want some extra content and you want access to us, the Patreon would be the way to go. We are definitely going to add more stuff.

[00:12:59] And I'm not even going to say it's going to take until the start of the season. I'm not going to promise it's before then. But just give us until basically after spring training. February might be the busiest month the two of us have had in a long time, just between the live show, between spring training, between we took a trip with our friends, etc. After that, we are definitely going to add more stuff to the Patreon. So we want to talk to you guys again. There's definitely going to be live chats in there. There's definitely going to be some other things we incorporate. So go sign up. It's going to be really cool.

[00:13:26] And it's going to be a way for us to interact more face-to-face with a bunch of you guys. Let's get to some of these spring training notes and nuggets. The first big news, Lyle, that we have to talk about, taking a look at Peoria, the Mariners have a cricket bat that they're using. Oh, yeah. You were big on this this week. I'm scrolling this week looking, all right. I mean, it's a new regime for the Mariners. I'm seeing a lot of new quotes out there, new approach,

[00:13:53] a lot more team mentality, etc., etc., etc. And then I scroll and I see Dom Kenzone holding a cricket bat. Well, that's not a baseball bat. No, that's a cricket bat. And I did get some answers, Lyle. We posted here on Monday this morning about it, reacting to it. And I straight up admit it. I'm like, I don't know what this does. Really.

[00:14:19] It looked like, to be honest, it looked like Dom was posing for a photo with that thing. So I'm like, what are they really doing with that? And there were some people who actually gave some very useful explanations on what that cricket bat does and helps out with teams when it comes to hitting the baseball and how it helps their swing. So it's great. I think it's maybe our first little indication. I don't know if Scott or Jared DeHart ever used something like that. I could be wrong.

[00:14:46] It definitely wasn't promoted on Mariner's socials the last few years. If they did end up doing it, it would have been something they would have done in the back. So if that is the case, and I'm going to just assume here that they don't, if that is the case, I'd say that's like our first little sign that they're really trying to make some changes here and going back to some basics when it comes to hitting. Sure. I'm not going to pretend like I know what this does.

[00:15:14] I can tell you in my baseball career, which was, you know, incredibly lucrative, getting to play all the way through the highest level of high school. Whoa, whoa, whoa. You beat Corbin Carroll. Don't talk yourself down. I did beat Corbin Carroll. That's true. I have a ring sitting. I have a ring with my name on it and my possession about a high school state title game. Now, was I a glorified cheerleader on that team? Maybe, but not important.

[00:15:39] Anyway, I cannot say I ever used a cricket bat in high school. Edgar knows a hell of a lot more about hitting than I do. So if he thinks it's useful and Kevin Seitzer thinks it's useful, then I'll defer to them. I just can't say that the two of us have ever really seen anything like that before. Now, there were some people getting mad at us on social media saying like... I call it a paddle. I call it a paddle. People weren't happy about that. Oh, that's right. It does kind of look like a paddle, but I get it. It's a bat.

[00:16:09] Some explanations people gave us for that, which all makes sense. Keeps them from not dropping their back shoulder, I imagine, as much. Cricket bats are two to four pounds heavier than baseball bats, so it helps with bat speed. It also helps with balance since players have got to deal with a heavier bat. I would imagine that also comes with swinging more in control and not swinging out of your shoes, which, gee, Lyle, is that a problem the Mariners had, especially last year? What? The Mariners swung and missed a lot and often got away from their approach?

[00:16:39] That doesn't sound right. And then, of course, we have the anything except signing a free agent bat. Well, I think somebody added in a comment saying ownership bought 50 of those cricket bats for $19.99. Oh, yeah. Last serious one here is they have training bats that are flat to help you square up the ball better. Make sure you're not rolling over. Okay.

[00:17:03] I mean, I'm in for all of these things because Mariners offense scored the 21st most runs in baseball last year, and they need to score more. And hopefully this helps. And they struck out at just unfathomable rates. So, yes, whatever puts more bats to balls, great. That would be awesome. Other storylines, if we want to get a little bit more serious, I would say the first. Serious? I mean, wow. I would say the first 18 minutes or whatever of this podcast have not been.

[00:17:31] I'd actually call them a little unserious. We were talking about trading for Rafael Devers. He said he wanted to play third base. I just happen to know of a team that needs a third baseman. Yeah. Most of the stories so far have been revolved around pitching and specifically the bullpen. And the reason for that is not all the position players have been there yet. Monday was the deadline for position players to report. So now everybody is in camp. The first full squad workouts on Tuesday.

[00:18:01] So now everybody's there. But the storylines that have come out so far have mostly been around the pitchers. And there's a lot of exciting stuff with a bullpen that needs a lot of reinforcements in 2025 because it had a down year last year. So you can pick your poison with this. If there is a storyline in the bullpen that's caught your eye so far, what is it? We're skipping past Randy showing up with blonde hair. Well, I was going to get to that later. But okay, yes. I just tried to get us on a serious note. And now you're back to Randy with blonde hair. Okay, fine, fine, fine.

[00:18:31] Serious note. Brash is back on the mound. He was throwing only fastballs, I believe, today. Which was nice. That's great because he's arguably the most important piece of the Mariners' bullpen. But the one I was most excited to see is that Gabe Spires got his velo back. Let's go, Gabe. Let's go, Gabe. Hey, there are the Seattle Times and Divish wrote an article about Gabe and some of the struggles he went through last year. And it checks out with a lot of the stuff we could just see watching on TV.

[00:19:01] It was mentioned in the article that Gabe, you know, he got off to a fast start last year. But then after he had the rotator cuff injury, he came back and he said his arm was essentially dead. He said he felt like his arm was a lot weaker and he couldn't match the velo. Like, get some of these stats. Gabe only threw six pitches over 95 miles an hour in 2024 after throwing 224 pitches over 95 in 2023. It's massive.

[00:19:28] And for Gabe, you know, the harder you throw, usually the better your stuff is going to be. So he spent all offseason training. He lifted really heavy and he was throwing like right as the offseason started. He said he postponed vacation. He right as the season ended, he went back, started long tossing and lifting heavy weights. And it is appeared to pay off because this dude was popping the mitt in Divish's words.

[00:19:53] He said it was some electric stuff coming out of his left hand, which is so exciting to see because a dominant lefty is a pretty rare breed in a bullpen. And the Mariners had one two years ago when Gabe was throwing the way it was and Sauce was throwing the way it was. Mariners didn't really have that as much last year. So getting Gabe back to full health is just so important. And he's the best. Like Gabe is an awesome dude. So it literally couldn't happen to a better guy. I mean, you just look at his profile from a year ago when he was healthy.

[00:20:23] Remember we called him the chase rate king for a decent bit because he was in the 100th percentile of the league in chase rate. Yeah, and he's the first pitch strike king. Yeah, exactly. Now that wasn't happening last year. And I think a lot of that had to do with the injury. We never knew for sure. But after that April, when things started to go a little bit south for for Gabe Speyer, we're just watching him on TV. And you could even tell you and I would text back and forth and we just say something doesn't look right. And it's not just that he's having an off night.

[00:20:52] Something just looked off again. Velo wasn't quite there. And he'd gotten so good at throwing first pitch strikes and that was a little off. It just makes sense that, yeah, he was battling something. And clearly he was with that shoulder injury. But Gabe Speyer at his best. Again, he is at the top of the league in getting guys to chase. Top of the league in throwing first pitch strikes. Top 10 percentile of the league at getting ground balls. This is a dominant left-handed bullpen arm when he's at his best.

[00:21:19] And if he's really healthy now, I cannot wait to see 2025 Gabe Speyer. Not just because we root our tails off for him, but because it could help the Mariners immensely. Mariners really need that this year. Another one. We spent a lot of last spring training talking about guys adding pitches. Splitters, most importantly. Our guy Emerson Hancock added three pitches this offseason. Three. Great.

[00:21:46] His repertoire last year, as you remember, fastball, sinker, change, slider. And for the most part, it got Emerson by. He gave up some hard contact at times. Didn't get a whole lot of swing and miss. So he shows up to this spring training. I'd be curious to talk to him about it once we get down there on the first day for us on Monday. Added a curveball, a cutter, and a sweeper to his repertoire. He's junking it up a little bit. Maybe he feels like he has to at this point.

[00:22:15] Yeah, he might. The fastball is just... We don't know what his fastballs look like in the last few months because we haven't seen him throw this offseason or this spring yet or anything like that. But for the most part of last year, we know his fastball was, you know, it's set low to mid-90s. So maybe he feels like if he doesn't have the same fastball anymore that he once had at Georgia that he wants to mix a bunch more things in and change speeds and keep guys off balance. And if he's going to throw just the kitchen sink at people, sure.

[00:22:46] Whatever he thinks is going to work for him. He's clearly worked pretty hard on some adjustments this offseason. And I'm excited to see how it plays out for him this spring. And I'm glad to see that even though, you know, he knows that he is firmly entrenched as the number six starter in this whole ordeal. And he has still absorbed the traits of the rest of these guys to go out there and continue to tinker and to continue to add and to continue to get better. So it'll be exciting.

[00:23:10] It'll be exciting spring for him to see how he looks, how he throws those pitches, how many of those pitches actually make it to the season. I think that would be very curious. Yeah. Another thing I picked up on, Logan mentioned it in his press conference today. Yeah, on Monday. Gilbert, you mean. Yeah, Logan Gilbert, not Logan Evans. Logan tried throwing a splinker this offseason. He was working on it. But he said he had to scrap it, unfortunately.

[00:23:40] I'm disappointed. I love the splinker. I think the splinker is a phenomenal pitch. Uh-huh. But Logan had to scrap it. He said he was going to try the two-seamer, but also said that Cal doesn't like his two-seamer, therefore also might not make it to the regular season. Now, in terms of guys who don't really need to improve all that much, I mean, I feel like Logan Gilbert wants to get better. But in terms of what he just did last season, I feel like what he's doing works pretty well.

[00:24:10] So, interesting tidbits there from Logan that even he is still continuing to add and add some really fun pitches. You didn't really expect Logan Gilbert to come into spring training and say, yeah, all the pitches I threw last year, I'm just going to carry that over. No. No, I didn't. Like, he's trying, but he might have, like, found those pitches that, like, are really dynamite and the rest of them don't really fit as much of his profile. Like, the two other pitches he mentions that he's throwing are sinker types. Logan Gilbert's not a sinker baller.

[00:24:38] Again, but it's like an itch for him. He can't not tinker. It's like, it's just who he is. He has to add something. He wants to try to add things. He's just always looking to improve and get better, which I commend the hell out of Logan for that because he's never settling. I don't know if any of these new pitches he's been working on will really carry over to the regular season, similar to what you said. But, I mean, if he wants to test them out in spring training, I'd be interested to see what they look like. Yeah. So, we'll have to see with that.

[00:25:08] Anything else stand out to you? I think there's a couple Dan Wilson things that tickled my fancy. I would say two quick things, and then we can start to transition our way over to our conversation with Ty. One is Jackson Kowar, which maybe some people don't even know that name. He came over in the Kelnick trade, I think. Right? Yeah, I was going to say. I'm not going crazy, right? He came over in the Kelnick trade. So, he came over in that trade, but he got Tommy John last year, so he never pitched.

[00:25:37] He's a guy that was drafted pretty high when he came out of college, out of Florida as a starter. Didn't work out as a starter. Now, he's been transitioned to a bullpen arm. And I got to tell you, that first bullpen he was throwing, that stuff was popping out of his hand. The dude throws hard. What's Jackson Kowar's 2025 going to look like? That's to be determined. But is there a world Jackson Kowar could be a valuable bullpen arm for the Mariners? Yeah. I think there is. That's what they traded for him. That's what they thought they were going to get.

[00:26:04] They thought they were going to get a piece in every full season bullpen piece. That's what they anticipated last season. It was a big part of the bullpen not being as deep last year. I think once they got to spring training last year, Jackson Kowar was at the top of their mind of being right in the middle of that bullpen as sort of a mid-leverage piece. But they didn't get it because he was hurt. But now, based on how he's ramping up, we'll see when he's available. Do we know if he's good to start the season? Do we know that?

[00:26:33] They haven't said that, I don't think. I haven't seen any reports about it, but he got Tommy John around the time that we were in spring training last year. At least that's when it was announced. And for relievers, it's usually more like a 12 or 13 month recovery rather than the 18 it takes for starters. So roughly he's on the doorstep. If he's on the same recovery path as Brash, then in theory he could. Right, because Brash didn't get his Tommy John until June.

[00:27:02] Yeah, May, June. I think it was like late May. And if that's the case, and he's almost ready now, he's going to be back by late April, they say. Yeah, maybe Kowar can be ready by opening day. We'll see. That could be important. What was your other one? Oh, Luis Castillo gave a quote today. Inevitably, it was obviously going to happen. He was asked about all the offseason rumors that were surrounding his name in trade talks.

[00:27:29] And his response to it through an interpreter was, and I quote, I didn't really have a big reaction. I mean, still left in my contract. Is that no trade clause? But if the team would have come to me in some negotiation, who knows what happens? End quote. I take two things from that. One, it doesn't really sound like any trades got to the 10-yard line. It sounds like all this Luis Castillo speculation was, for the most part,

[00:27:55] either speculation or very, very early stage trade talks. But number two, I don't know. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. I wasn't there in person. We weren't there in person to hear him say it live. But the whole who knows what happens? I don't know. That doesn't sound like he's all that enthused. Would you be, though? Because he signed an extension of state here, and they're trying to dump his contract. No, and this is the whole problem. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it.

[00:28:25] In real time here, I'm not going to go back to hot stove mode. I'm not going to go back into ranting and raging mode. But, yeah, you would be unhappy. Of course you would. I honestly don't take anything away from this. That feels like a nothing burger quote. All right. I hope you're right. Who knows what happens is the ultimate hypothetical, you never know. Like, I could say anything. I could tell them, yeah, I could tell them anything.

[00:28:52] Or we could say what Divas said, where Divas said he would ask the Mariners, okay, give me $3 million more, and you buy me out. I'll waive it. Like that. That's what he could mean. He's just like, okay, I understand it's business. So, in a business sense, give me $3 million more, and I'll waive my no-trade clause. I guess. I hope he's still enthused about pitching in Seattle, though. Because, again, this was the whole problem with it being this public about these trade negotiations.

[00:29:22] It's not going to sit well with the player. Does it matter if he's enthused or not? Like, he's under contract. No, but it helps in terms of motivation to pitch and pitch well for a team that you want your guys to care about. I hope he has motivation to pitch well, because I would imagine he still wants another contract after this one. And he's also got to know, even if the team is thinking about trading him, there is no better place to pitch. Right. So, why would you half-ass it? That's not what I'm saying.

[00:29:51] Now you're, I think, twisting my words a little bit. That's not what I'm saying, that he's going to half-ass it. That's not what I'm getting at. But. Even if he was thinking about that. There should be some perspective here, understanding, you know, you sign a contract, a team might trade you. Never, ever, ever would I think Luis Castillo, of all people, is half-assing anything. Dude works his tail off. That's not what I'm getting at.

[00:30:14] But in your head, there's a difference between what you do on a start day and go out on the mound and what you do in your bullpens and what you do between starts getting your work in. And what you're thinking to yourself all hours of the day about, what does this club really think of me if they're shopping me around, you know, not even two years after signing an extension. That's what I'm getting at. It's not about a lack of drive to perform. I would never question that about Luis Castillo.

[00:30:39] It's more about just what are his feelings at this point toward the organization. That's fair. And if he had not great feelings towards the organization, I would tell him, all right, well, get in line. I don't know how we're supposed to defend that at this point. Luis, could I interest you in grabbing the mic at our live show here on Thursday and asking us a question about ownership?

[00:31:10] Well, if you want to fly back for just a night, buddy, we'll be over at Moss Bay at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Feel free to take the mic. In fact, I will personally guarantee in spite of all our awesome dedicated listeners that are going to show up to that, you get first crack at the mic. Nobody's going ahead of you. If you decide you want to fly back and ask us a question at our live show about feelings toward the Mariners organization. I have a couple more things before we get to our interview with Ty. Quick ones. All right.

[00:31:39] Both regarding to Dan Wilson. Number one, I don't know if I want to take this one too much out of context, but Cal Raleigh was noting that it felt like more of a team environment this year than it has in years past. I thought that one was interesting coming from the leader of the team and he's crediting Dan for that. Well, that's good. I mean, nobody's closer on that team player wise with Dan Wilson than Cal Raleigh is. And if Cal feels like that, then good. If Cal feels like it's more of a team environment, that's a positive.

[00:32:07] And it would, I would say, check out with some of their offensive approaches, especially last year. It did feel like a very individualistic offensive approach last year. And that does definitely means a lot. And the other one is we're just going to have to see this when they go out and actually win games early in the season. But Dan Wilson is stressing how much every single game counts, which is nice. It's refreshing to hear. There's there's hopefully no. Oh, it's early. It's like, no, no, you guys have missed the playoffs by a game.

[00:32:35] Let's let's not roll over in an April or May game. Yeah, that's nice to hear. Well, Dan's absolutely right. Considering the last two years, they have missed the playoffs by one game. Yes, every game matters. Dan's absolutely right with that. I don't I don't want to hear any quotes about how, yeah, it's early and these things happen in baseball, etc., etc. If we have to watch Austin Gomber throw eight shutout innings against the Mariners for the Rockies at some point this year.

[00:33:04] Well, they just need a button and then they won't get shut out. Dude, I think we need to actually take people along for this journey about how much we really hate bunting. So I'm going to I'm going to put a pin in this. You listeners, fans, everybody. You can hold me accountable to this. I'm going to start posting reactions during the year when I have to watch bunting, even if it works. Even if Luke Raley drops down a perfect, beautiful bunt that ends up being a hit and moves runners over, etc.

[00:33:32] I'm still going to be mad about it and I will document it. So you guys are perfect. I think you're perfect for that. You know why? Because when you like clench your face, you have the vein. I know. It's perfect. You're just like watching the bunt. You're like. And it's not on purpose either. It's just like I guess it's just how it is. But you get we should both do it this year, though. We should. Yeah, we should. To bunting. All right. That sounds good. Yes.

[00:34:02] Watch the YouTube so you don't just hear awkward sounds. It's me clenching my hydroflask. Now you're biting your hydroflask. That's our reaction to that's our reaction to if we have to watch bunting. No, we should just say we should just send Dan Wilson some of those videos. This is what we think when you drop down bunts. Now, I know you don't take our opinion even point. Oh, oh, oh, oh, one percent seriously. However, this is what we think. Yeah. All right.

[00:34:32] We're looking forward to talking with Ty. Before that, let's take a quick pause. Talk to you guys about our friends over at Pagatches Pub 85. It's over in Kirkland. We'll keep talking about it with you guys because it's well warranted that we do. It's an awesome place to go hang out with your friends. Guys, spring training games start on Friday. Friday. Games are back in action. And if you want to go watch games with your friends, whether it's spring training, whether it's college basketball with March Madness around the corner now, etc., there's 20 TVs in that place. You've got plenty of space, plenty of options, plenty of things to do if you want to plan a

[00:35:02] time with your friends. Play pool. You can play darts. You can have some great, great food. And if you show up during happy hour, drink specials are awesome. They're $3 and $4 from Monday through Friday, 2 to 6 p.m. Again, that's $3 and $4 drinks for some awesome happy hours. So all of that is over at Pagatches Pub 85 in Kirkland. We haven't talked to Ty yet, but definitely looking forward to getting his perspective on the start of spring training.

[00:35:27] We'll touch on some of these storylines, I'd imagine, and then see what the mindset is for this 2025 season. Like, what are the expectations? What standard should we all hold Dan Wilson and Jerry DiPoto and everyone else to as they go into the season? What would happen if they fail? All of these things I think would be really good to get Ty's perspective from. We've become friends through this content creator community, which has been totally awesome.

[00:35:56] And, you know, as two of the bigger Mariners podcasts, it's cool that we're able to work together and collaborate on these types of things because Ty and Colby do a really awesome job with Locked On. So we're glad to be a part of the community that they also really helped usher in. Yeah. The whole community has been awesome. And you've heard some of the people that we've become friends with on here with us. You've heard Ben Ranieri on with us, who does an awesome sub stack page called C-Level. You've heard the Mariner Mojo guys on with us. This will be Ty's second appearance on with us.

[00:36:25] And yeah, even though we've never met face to face because he lives in the Toronto area, we have all become friends through this community. And obviously we really enjoy their stuff. And we always enjoy talking baseball with Ty on and off the podcast because he's awesome. And I'm going to guess most of you guys listening to this know who he is because I think there is a lot of overlap between our two shows, which makes sense. So if you have listened to him before, you guys know he's awesome. If you have not listened to him before, well, here's me telling you he's great. And we're looking forward to talking to him. We won't keep you any longer.

[00:36:55] Let's get you to the interview with Ty Dane Gonzalez. All right, we got Ty Dane Gonzalez on with us, host of the Locked On Mariners podcast with Colby Patnode, also the head of Mariners coverage at Emerald City Spectrum. We'll get into that a little bit, Ty. Congratulations on the new gig. But I wanted to start off since I think all of us are into this new wave of positivity now. Both of our podcasts here spent our time in the negative pool, on the negative side this offseason.

[00:37:25] And now we've turned the page to positivity with baseball being back and spring training underway. So I want to ask you, what is your favorite part about baseball ramping up again? That I feel excited about baseball again, which is far more than I can say about how I felt the last few months. I was talking to Colby about this on our Patreon show yesterday. And I was like, today was the first day that I woke up and I was like, I was actually excited to talk about ball for the first time in like five months.

[00:37:54] Because like there's games being played this week. Like we're actually going to watch the Mariners play a baseball game on Friday. So I'm excited about that. You know, it's always exciting, even though, you know, the offseason was offseason and blah, blah, blah. We don't need to rehash everything. It is exciting to see Julio Rodriguez play baseball again. Cal Raleigh played baseball again. Randy Orozarena played baseball again. Victor Reblis, et cetera. You know, this pitching staff, of course. So really excited to see all these guys hit the field again.

[00:38:22] Yeah, it's so easy, obviously, to get caught up in everything that goes on in an offseason. And we certainly did. We are not free of blaming that in any way. And I take that head on. Neither are we. Right. So and it's easy to do because that is what is prevalent. That's all the information that's out in front of you at that point. But then, yeah, you start to see all the storylines coming out of spring training. And then you start to play the games in your head and think to yourself after seeing a bunch of the reporting and all the videos, just to use one example.

[00:38:50] The bullpen, which there was plenty of questions about it for fair reasons going into the year. But then you start to see the videos and you start to see how Brash is progressing well. And Santos looks healthy and Gabe Spires throwing 95 again. And all these things start to spin in your head, right? It's like, oh, yeah, this bullpen can be good. This bullpen can bounce back. Have you had any of that in the first few days? Yeah, I mean, there's obviously a very high ceiling for this bullpen. I do have my concerns, though, because it was a legitimate problem and kind of an overlooked

[00:39:18] problem for this team, especially in the last month and a half of the year. And they just asked way too much of Andres Munoz, who was an absolute dog. But I mean, they asked the guy to complete a freaking five out save in the second game of the year. And it's insane. You know, and then they continuously asked him to do that. And because obviously, you know, their plan. I really liked what they had done with the bullpen heading into the season last year. You know, they got too much, which was great to see. Like they went out and they traded for Santos and they got Ryan Stanek. I was like, that's awesome.

[00:39:48] And then obviously, you know, Brash gets hurt and Santos isn't able to start the year healthy and all that stuff. And, you know, so things change kind of on the fly. And they they didn't do as well of a job as they have in the past where they've been able to pivot midseason with the bullpen and actually put together a pretty respectable group. Like, again, it actually wound up kind of becoming a bit of a problem for them towards the end of the year. But now that guys seem to be healthy, Santos seems to be healthy.

[00:40:18] Brash is apparently on the way back. There is a high potential Spire, like you mentioned. I mean, the Spire is healthy. He has the potential to be a legitimate high leverage left handed arm out of the pen. So if they're able to keep these guys healthy, then there's definitely a lot of upside here for this bullpen. But I do have my concerns specifically, like what is Gregory? Santos going to look like is 2023 Gregory Santos actually real? Or is this a guy that is going to suffer regression or is going to continue to get hurt?

[00:40:49] Brash, I mean, the timeline that they put on Brash is very optimistic. So, you know, I wonder how real that is. And if we're eventually going to hear like, all right, he's he's been pushed back, you know, maybe May and then May becomes June and then June becomes the all star break. What have you. Right. But we'll see. But I also worry about once he gets back, what is he going to look like? It's still going to be a very violent delivery. How is the elbow going to hold up because of that?

[00:41:17] But but yeah, like you said, I mean, they have they have a lot of potential here and even some of their middle relief guys give it give it a nice balance. You know, with bizarre. I think Bizarro was awesome in the month of September. Trenton Thornton has hold it has held it down. And they also have a lot of really interesting guys that they you know, they have in the pile and a couple of guys that they drafted last year. So, yeah, I think at the end of this, they're going to have a pretty good bullpen. One way or the other. Who outside of the the I'd say assumed bullpen bubble you think can make an impact this year? If you were to pick one guy.

[00:41:48] Ooh, Hunter Cranton. And that's something that we've heard about quite a bit. That guy has real stuff and he's someone that I don't think needs a ton of time down in the minors. He's only pitched and I think he pitched in Modesto last year. Was it ever? I think it was Modesto. Yeah, it was Modesto. It was eight innings. I think he already has major league stuff. Like, I don't think he really needs to. I don't think they really need to find out what he what he has down there. So I think that's someone that we could see relatively soon.

[00:42:15] And he's someone that could have a significant impact on the bullpen. Another guy, too. I know you asked for one, but I'll give you a couple other guys. Brandon Garcia. I think his stuff could absolutely play up out of the bullpen. And again, if you can get a legitimate high leverage left hand reliever, you know, maybe you have that inspired. But I think you could also have that in Brandon Garcia. He's someone that I'm very high on specifically with that cutter. I think he's someone that can attack both lefties and righties equally and very effectively.

[00:42:44] So I'm really interested in that. And when they kind of determine like, hey, let's let's ramp them up and see, you know what he looks like coming out of the pen, because I think that will happen at some point this year. I don't know if it's going to be right away. They might keep him stretched out. And then finally, out of just like the guys in the pen or out of the guys in the pile, rather like the minor league arms that they've put together, you know, the minor league signings, rather a couple of guys stand out to me. One is Adonis Medina. That change up is ridiculous.

[00:43:11] And they don't really have a change up out of the bullpen right now. Like Trent Thornton has a change up. He doesn't really use it. Edward Bizzardo has a splitter. He doesn't really use it. Santos has a change up. He doesn't really use it. So if Medina is actually able to impress or if Medina is actually able to find success with some of his other offerings and throw strikes, that change up could be another lever for Dan Wilson to pull in games.

[00:43:39] And then Shintaro Fujinami has massive, massive stuff that no one's been able to figure out. And this is probably it for him because, I mean, with the reputation that the Mariners pitching development has built for themselves, if anyone can figure it out with Shintaro Fujinami, it's them. And if they can't do it, as far as I'm concerned, then no one can. So we'll see. But he's someone that like if they actually get him to throw strikes, the rewards could be massive. I was just waiting and waiting to hear you say Neftali Feliz. But no.

[00:44:09] Yeah. Yeah. So I'm the only one who's going to only one who's going to jump out and say, like, the first time Neftali throws 98 at spring training. What's the reaction going to be? Hey, hey, hey, I'm down. Isn't he two years away from Hall of Fame eligibility, though? Yeah. Because I don't think I don't think he's thrown a big league inning since 2021. Should we get in the way of that, though? Because obviously Neftali Feliz, first ballot Hall of Famer, of course. Uh-huh.

[00:44:39] Has to be. No, I'm with you on all those. What is his VLO these days? Do we think it does it cross 90? Does he still throw 90? I have no idea. I haven't heard. I didn't even know that he was still pitching until three weeks ago or whenever they signed him. I don't blame you considering he's thrown, I think, five big league innings in the last seven years. So, yeah. By the way, another guy that kind of is in that mold, Drew Pomeranz. That's fun. I don't, you know. He was, I mean, four years ago, he was like one of the best lefty relievers in the entire game.

[00:45:09] And he basically hasn't pitched since then. But hey, that's a fun day. I'm just to see, hey, Drew Pomeranz is wearing Maris uniform. Why not? I mean, what could go wrong? A left-handed throwing bullpen arm named Drew in the Mariners spring training? Well, one was a starter. It still hurts. It still hurts, TJ. I resent you for that. And I resent Jim Leland, too, for that. For those who don't know what we're talking about, you are referencing Drew Smiley throwing

[00:45:37] 98 miles an hour in the World Baseball Classic only to come back to spring training and say his arm is soggy. That ruined the word soggy for me. Not that that was ever a great word to begin with, but you get what I'm saying. Yeah. No, I'm with you about all those bullpen arms. Those are, Medina we haven't talked about as much, although that's a great call. But we've certainly talked about Fujinami. We've certainly talked about Cranton a little bit. Let me pivot because we've been talking about the bullpen arms, but I'll turn it back to

[00:46:05] you to pick a breakout star of spring training because TJ and I did this. Mine was another name you just mentioned, Brandon Garcia. He was my pick as a spring training breakout star and what he could do out of the bullpen. And TJ picked Cole Young. So I'm putting you on the spot a little bit. But if there's somebody you think could really break out this spring, who is it? I kind of feel like it's someone that probably doesn't have a lot of bearing on the Major League roster, or at least from our standpoint.

[00:46:34] They're all Dom Canzone again. I think he's just someone that is going to rake in Peoria. I still don't have high hopes for him in terms of a full Major League season. But I feel like Canzone is the perfect guy to just rake in Peoria and for people to go, oh, wait, maybe he's finally figured out. Only for, you know. But we'll see. But more in the spirit of the question. Yeah, I think Cole Young is bound for a pretty good spring training to make a pretty significant impression.

[00:47:03] I can just easily see people asking us on our show, like, hey, do you think he should make the opening day roster, all that stuff? I'm really interested to see, like, if he actually can force the Mariners hand this spring, if that's actually possible. Or if, you know, they go, look, you did have a good spring, but you also only have 552 good, but not great plate appearances above a ball. Let's see if you can continue this momentum into AAA.

[00:47:31] And then if you have a good month of April, then we'll talk about it. But yeah, he's like the obvious thing. The problem is, really, with this team, again, sorry to go back to offseason discourse. They didn't do a whole lot. They didn't bring in a whole lot of new names. So I think we pretty much know what we're getting out of most of these guys. Like, you know what to expect with a lot of this roster. So it is hard to kind of pick someone out. But yeah, I think Cole Young's a really good call.

[00:47:59] And, you know, I hope, I'll say this, I hope that Harry Ford is a standout in spring training. He could really use a confidence boost heading into the minor league season. And if he could start hitting for some power and then carry that over, it seems like he might start the year in AAA. I think that's what Jerry said on Joe Doyle's show a few weeks ago. So if he can carry that into Tacoma, because that was the big thing last year. He didn't hit for power.

[00:48:26] So if he can start hitting for a little bit of power and start to rebuild that confidence, I think that could pay huge dividends for him. So I'm rooting for Harry Ford to be a standout over the next six weeks. Definitely want to see a lot of these breakout guys. I mean, that would be awesome. Those are always some of the most fun parts of spring training. But as I've tried to emphasize as much this offseason, I mean, the focus ultimately comes back to the 26-man roster and what these guys are going to do in the first few months of the season. And it starts here at spring training.

[00:48:55] I'm curious what you think, Ty, since Lyle and I are going down to spring training next week. What kind of clubhouse do you think we're walking into? I think you're going to see a refreshed clubhouse. I think you're going to see a clubhouse that needed a refresh, that needed to hit the refresh button. Kind of like, I mean, it did seem like that actually, you know, that was what the hope was when they fired Scott Service and hired Dan Wilson, that it kind of just alleviated the pressure.

[00:49:23] You know, that was built off of blowing the 10-game lead and the offense being horrific and all that stuff. It did seem like some of that weight was lifted off of those guys' shoulders. And that's a big thing. Like, how does Dan Wilson carry that over into, you know, his first full season? Because now he's not in substitute teacher mode. Even though he was named the full-time manager right out of the gate, he still was like the substitute teacher.

[00:49:52] At this point, we have nothing to lose. The manager already got fired, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, right? So that dynamic has shifted. But I do think that the clubhouse is going to be a bit more relaxed, a bit more refreshed. I think that, you know, I'm sure that Wilson and company, they've spent the last few days down there with these guys, just selling them on the idea that, hey, we did a lot of really good things in those, what was it, 33 games that Wilson managed?

[00:50:20] 34 games where they went 21 and 13. The offense was actually like top three in a lot of categories for those 34 games. Like, let's just build on that momentum, right? And the messaging is going to be the same. They brought in more people to help, you know, deliver that messaging. And, you know, it's a couple of new voices specifically on the offensive side of things. So things are a bit more fresh. The philosophy is a bit more simplified.

[00:50:46] So, yeah, hopefully you guys see, you know, players that just, they don't have as much on them as they did heading into camp last year. Because, obviously, the disappointment of 2023 and then eventually the way that, you know, 2024 went. If we want to look through the positive lens here and stay on the topic of the offense and the offensive philosophy, how much do we think we could really see that change for the better for the Mariners this year?

[00:51:12] And if you want to kind of dive into this and the difference between the last hitting regime and this one, I remember Jarrett DeHart's whole thing was, and I'm not saying this was wrong, and this probably works for a lot of teams, but it was get your best swing off, which probably led it sometimes to what we saw over the last couple of years. It would lead to some strikeouts. The Mariners would try to absolutely pulverize the best pitch they saw on in a bat, and it would lead to some punchouts and some swing and miss, where Edgar and Kevin Seitzer's philosophy is clearly a bit more old school. It's about more bat to ball, stay up the middle.

[00:51:42] Could that type of thinking really do wonders for the Mariners here in 25? Yeah, I mean, it did in those final 34 games. Like I said, I mean, again, this offense went from one of the worst in baseball to top three in a lot of categories in those final six weeks of the season. Now, is that sustainable? Who knows? But if they can just be top 10, we've talked about this over the course of 2023 and most of last year, that with this pitching staff,

[00:52:09] if they can just be above average, this team can win a lot of ballgames, a lot of them, right? So, yeah, this approach of more so just taking what the pitcher gives you rather than waiting out for the pitch that you want, right, that you're hoping for, it certainly helped them last year and in those final few games, and hopefully that continues this year. And I think it aligns well with quite a few of the hitters

[00:52:37] that they have in place. I mean, it did wonders for, I mean, it's going to do wonders for Victor Robles, who is already basically that guy, right? And like Donovan Solano is a guy that aligns very well with that philosophy too. I think it's going to take a lot of pressure off of Julio, you know? And I think guys are still, look, you're obviously not going to change the approaches, especially of veteran hitters. They're going to do what they've always done their entire career. Like they might make a few tweaks here and there based off of things,

[00:53:07] recommendations that you have. But, you know, Jorge Polanco isn't going to change his entire offensive profile even after the year that he just had just because Kevin Seitzer, you know, says so, right? So guys are still going to do what they do. But I think overall they've brought in, and this goes back to what they did, you know, during the season last year, they brought in some guys that align better with that philosophy. And I think that they have an offense that is better built. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination,

[00:53:36] but it is better built for what the meta of winning ballgames in T-Mobile Park is, which is you got to put the ball in play and you got to let your athleticism take over. And so like, do you feel like there'll be something that we could notice at spring training that this effect here has taken effect on Julio? And he will take that step forward for this year. I don't know about specifically spring training. I think that's more so something that we're going to learn in the first few weeks of the regular season. I think spring training,

[00:54:07] I don't know how much of the actual philosophy we'll see. It's probably just more so guys trying to get work in, trying to get swings off, stuff like that, working on things, you know, pitch recognition, all that stuff just to get back into the swing of baseball, right? Being in baseball shape, you know, baseball shape goes beyond just like physical conditioning. It's mental as well. So I think that's more what we're going to see in spring. But yeah, the first few weeks of the regular season, absolutely is going to be very interesting to see just how different this offense looks and how similar.

[00:54:37] Well, how different it looks from the service era, the service to heart era and how similar it looks to, you know, the post service to heart era and those 34 games. So what would you want to see in those first few weeks? Just a continuation of what we saw in those, those last 34 games, right? Putting the ball in play, using your athleticism to your favor, getting things like, I think, you know, what was it? Luke Raley.

[00:55:07] I think Luke Raley said this. I might be wrong. Maybe it was someone else, but I believe Raley said, it felt like at times last year, all of us slumped at the same time. And it did feel like that watching the team. I think they have, they have guys in a, and then they have a philosophy in place. That's going to at least put up some roadblocks to that, where at least someone is going to get the ball rolling at one point or another. And again, like Donovan Solano has been the beacon of consistency, right?

[00:55:35] He's not an exciting bat by any stretch of the imagination. Dude's consistent. He hits for a high average. He puts the ball in play a lot. He's really good at that one particular thing, which blows my mind that even though he's a part-time player, this guy still only signs for like two, three, $4 million every single year, right? Because I've seen teams spend a whole lot more on worse bets, frankly. So, you know, I think like Victor Robles, even though I do expect regression from him, because I mean,

[00:56:02] the guy was basically a fringe MVP candidate after joining the marriage last year. So I don't think that's going to continue with love for that to continue. But I think Robles is someone that can be kind of, of a roadblock for that. I think Donovan Solano is another guy that can just like block off like the entire off seat or the entire offense just falls off a cliff, you know? So, um, yeah. And then like JP Crawford is another guy that is more than capable of being that guy, as long as he stays healthy. And I'm,

[00:56:30] I'm really curious to see him this season, specifically what work he got in during the off season. And, you know, um, what has he done in order to make sure that, you know, last year doesn't happen again. Yeah. Is there anything you've pinpointed with him, with JP specifically about, this is what he needs to do to get back to at least some form of what he did in 2023. It may not be the full form ever again, but what besides staying healthy, you feel like he's got to do.

[00:57:00] I, it's, it's such a difficult question because I saw a lot of the similar things that we saw in 2023 from JP, just in terms of process. I do think the injuries did play a big role. I think in general, like 2023 JP Crawford, we just need to, uh, you know, admit this or accept this. That's not who he is. Like that was an insane year that he had, but that's not who he is. What he should be though. It's like a one 10 WRC plus bet,

[00:57:30] which is, which is great. And especially if he's like your nine hole hitter or your eight hole hitter, that is fantastic. So it's getting back to at least like finding some sort of balance between 2023 and pre 2023, where he was kind of just like hovering around being a league average bat. Is there some sort of middle ground that he can find there? I don't know specifically if that's a tweak that he needs to make, or if it overall is just, he needs to stay healthy,

[00:57:58] but overall the goal for JP this season has to be finding that middle ground, right? You can't be an 87 WRC plus or 89 WRC plus here. You can't fall off a cliff by 47% like he did last year going from 2023 to 2024. So if he can give you a 100 to 105 to 110 WRC plus, that would do wonders for this offense as a whole.

[00:58:23] Do you feel like he's going to have more pressure on him this season than any other season? Not just because of what last year was like, but because he's the only position on the entire infield. That's not an experiment besides Cal. Let's go time for him, right? Cause like he's, he's getting towards the end of that contract. He's going to hit the market soon. And, oh, look, Cole Young's about to be up.

[00:58:49] Cole Emerson's probably going to be a part of the equation at some point in the next 18 months. Right? And who else, what else could the Maris potentially do in between now and the time JP, JP's contract finally runs out? So yeah, he, I mean, he has to get back on the horse. There's, there's no way around that. Like he can't be the guy that he was last year because the Maris are going to have to do something else. Cause while he,

[00:59:17] we actually did see some strides from him defensively last year amidst all the injuries and the offensive struggles. He actually was better defensively than he was the two previous seasons. He's not a good enough defender to warrant keeping him in the lineup. If he's running out an 85, 90 WRC plus like it's not, you know, I don't mean this as an insult to JP, but it's not a, it's not a Brennan Ryan situation, right? It's not where like the defense is so elite.

[00:59:46] It doesn't matter what he does at the plate. Like JP has to give you some value at the plate. And if he doesn't, then yeah, the Maris are going to have to do something different here in the next few months, next winter, what have you. So yeah, it's kind of a make or break season for JP. This is one of the final ones I've got for you, which is on this topic. Cause we're kind of rattling through some offensive players here. We're talking about what needs to go right for them and what they need to do to start strong out of the gate and continue strong throughout the year.

[01:00:15] Besides Julio, cause he's an obvious one. Do you have an X factor in this offense? Who is the most important bat in this offense to turning this season or turning last season into the rear view mirror and having at least above average offensive year? There's so many options for this. I know it could be literally anyone. Honestly, I mean, like, I think, you know where you're going to get out of Cal Raleigh. The first two names that come to me, that came to mind when you asked that question though,

[01:00:43] Victor Robles again, cause like he's probably going to regress. How much is he going to regress though? Is he going to regress all the way to be in Washington nationals, Victor Robles? Then you got a legitimate problem on your hands. Or is he just going to regress to be in like a one 15 WRC plus, like a solid role player, maybe a two one player when it's all said and done with the defense and base running and all that. Like, what are you exactly going to get out of Victor Robles? I think the possibilities are infinite with Robles this year.

[01:01:14] The other one is Randy Rosarena. He's the, the big name that you've attached your, your, your horse to, right? He's, he's part of the off season, right? Not to, not to get back into off season discourse. I know, I know, I know, I know, but like, right. You know, we, we feel like we've whatever. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to do that. I feel myself getting baited into it. I'm not going to do it, but I was going to say, if you keep going with it too much longer,

[01:01:43] you're going to bait me back into it. It doesn't take me, it doesn't take much to bait me back. So, so, but I would, I would say like, he is, he has to be a huge part of this offense. He has to be Randy or Rosarena again. And he wasn't mostly as a Ray last year, right? Like as a Mariner, he was pretty good, but he has to be that one 25 WRC plus guy who, you know, on, because look, even if Julio has an MVP season this year,

[01:02:12] he's going to slump at times. Just what happens. This is the nature of the game. He has to be the guy that kind of picks up the slack. When those stretches happen, when Cal is, you know, one or two for his last 34 or whatever, like Randy has to kind of be that stabilizer and the lineup. So that's another guy, but I mean, it could be Mitch Garver, right? Is odd year Garver an actual thing? Like, do they actually get something out of him? And he's the DH that they thought he was going to be last year for them.

[01:02:42] Luke Raley can, can Raley do what he did last year again? You know, JP is another guy, like for all the reasons that we just talked about. So again, yeah, your question, there's a million answers to your question. Cole Young could also be, a big part of that, by the way, or just overall the second base position. Like, what are you going to get offensively out of Ryan bliss and tell him more and all that. But yeah, the two names that really stand out to me, because there's just so many variables,

[01:03:13] Robles and, and, and a Rosarena for sure. Pivoting to the rotation tie. If you were to take your guests, which starter takes the biggest step forward this year, after all their excellence they had last year, which one would it be? Bryce Miller. Bryce Miller. Like I, it's a pretty easy answer. I think Bryce Miller is going to establish some stuff. Hot take time. I think Bryce Miller is established, is going to establish himself this year as one of the 10 best starting pitchers in baseball. Wow.

[01:03:40] I think he's a legitimate Cy Young contender this year. Is he passing Logan? I think so. Wow. I legitimately believe, I legitimately believe so. I, I am very high on Bryce Miller. He is, he's really freaking good. Like, and now I'm really curious about this cutter. I'm really, really fascinated about this cutter. Cause now you got this cutter and that splitter to attack lefties with. Ooh, boy.

[01:04:10] Ooh, boy. And then you could throw that fastball. Oh my God. Like I just, I'm so excited about the potential of Miller this season. And that's not to discredit George Kirby. That's not to discredit Logan Gilbert. That's not to say like those guys are like a tier below or what have you, or those, those guys are going to take a step back or they're going to plateau this year. No, it's just, I think the sea, the, the sky is the limit for Bryce Miller right now. And I think he's, he's,

[01:04:40] he's got it all figured out now. And I think we're really going to see the full package come to come, come together because we started to see that over the course of 2024, he just got better and better. And that splitter got better and better and better. And it was one of the, I mean, this guy developed a splitter over the course of an off season and it immediately became like one of the nastiest pitches that I saw all year last year. So yeah. And the fact that he's a tinkerer, that he continues to work on his craft. That's really exciting to me.

[01:05:09] Just like Logan Gilbert, he's a tinkerer as well. And we've seen what that has done for him. And I think Gilbert's another guy that could still tap into another gear. I think the guy that I'm most interested in is George Kirby. Is there actually another year there? Or is this just who he is? Right? Like, is he actually able to get more swing and miss more? So is he actually able to limit the damage, right? When things do get out of hand, because last year things got out of hand in a couple of games and he just let it unravel. You think about that Detroit game where like,

[01:05:39] it wasn't really his fault. his defense did him no favors in that game, but he just let that continue to snowball. Right? Is he able to, he's someone that it does seem like he has had an issue that he's had issues at times kind of honing his, his emotions or reining in his emotions on the mound. And, um, yeah, so I'm curious about just kind of like overall the, the maturity on the mound for, for George Kirby. Um, and then when you could say, I could talk about all of these guys for hours and hours on end. Right.

[01:06:09] Um, Brian, we was someone that I'm just so stoked to watch this year, but yeah, Miller is someone that I think is going to be, Oh my God. Like I just, I have such high hopes and high expectations for Miller this year because it's just, it's elite stuff that continues to get better. And I just, I don't think we've seen what Miller can, can be. I don't think we've seen his final form yet. If you will. I like this. You're, you're planting your flag. I know you guys do a flag planning segment on your show.

[01:06:38] You're planting your flag and Bryce Miller, similar to how I have with Brian Wu in the rotation. Cause I feel about Wu the way you're talking about right now with Miller. So if both of them do it together, I mean, sign me up a million out of a million times. Absolutely. Absolutely. Last one I got for you, Ty, before we let you go here, tell the people about your new role, which is pretty exciting. Oh yeah. So, um, yeah. Shout out to, uh, to Corbin Smith. Uh, if you guys follow the Seahawks, uh, you, you know, Corbin, he's been covering the Seahawks, uh,

[01:07:07] for the last few years over at SI. Uh, he was my boss over there for, for a couple of years. I was his, uh, co-lead reporter over there. Um, and obviously he's the host of locked on Seahawks. Uh, so we also have the, the locked on connection with, uh, with one another. Uh, he started up this new website. Um, he ended up leaving, uh, SI and decided to do his, his own thing, uh, and, uh, build a, an all Seattle sports website full of,

[01:07:37] uh, coverage that is focused on quality over quantity. Uh, and that's something that I really believe in, uh, and champion, uh, as a, as a content creator myself and a, and a writer myself. And so that was something that I wanted to be a part of. And, uh, yeah, we've been, we've had the, the website open for the last couple of weeks now. We've been posting free content on there on Thursday. We're going to a subscription, uh, based model. Um, and, and we're hoping that,

[01:08:04] that people will support cause there's going to be a lot of good content on there from really talented writers. We're looking to expand, uh, the staff as well, get cracking writers, get sounders, writers, storm writers. Like we want to cover all aspects of, of Seattle sports over there and get some really talented people in there to, uh, to cover the teams and do it as credentialed reporters as well, have boots on the ground. Corbin's going to be credentialed by the Seahawks.

[01:08:33] He's going to be at the VMAQ every single day as he's been the last few years. You know, we're going to have a, uh, I believe we're going to have a credentialed storm reporter. Believe that set in stone. Obviously I'm in Toronto, so I won't be, you know, a credentialed Mariners reporter, but I'm going to be, you know, expanding on a lot of the ideas that we talk about every single day and locked on over there. Um, really get into the weeds of stuff. I think that's also just going to help me in doing the show on locked on more. Uh,

[01:09:00] just help me more with research that it's more just kind of going to be this natural thing that I'm doing already rather than like I'm doing it specifically for the show. Uh, so yeah, I'm really excited about it. I'm really excited about where it's going. I'm currently writing a, an article about Vlad jr and kind of the interesting conversation with the Mariners, uh, with that, you know, part of the, part of the, part of the, uh, yeah. Yeah. Part of the, uh, thesis of this, uh, article is like,

[01:09:30] Hey, don't ask me about Vlad jr in 12 months, please just don't. It's a waste of time. However, maybe at the trade trade deadline, we can talk about it. So, uh, I'm going to dive a little bit into like what the mayor's philosophy has been when it's come to rentals and superstar rentals, but why this year specifically makes more sense to get aggressive on that. If they're in the position to do that. And obviously the blue Jays have to be bad in order for this to be the case, but why this makes sense in, uh,

[01:09:59] this year more than any other year specifically because look, they didn't trade any of their prospects this winter. And also they have the number three pick in the draft. And then they also have the 35th pick in the draft and they have the 57th pick in the draft. Like they're going to add legitimate talent to the, to their, uh, to their, uh, to their farm system. And how many good prospects do you really need? So yeah, that's a good point. And people can find your written work. The website is emerald city spectrum.com. That's correct. Emerald city spectrum.com.

[01:10:30] And, uh, yeah, again, Thursday it's going to a subscription based model, but for the next couple of days, uh, you can still read our stuff for free. Uh, the Vlad junior piece that I'm writing is going to be up there for free. So. All right, we'll go make sure to go check out Ty's work, uh, right over there at Emerald city spectrum. Ty, it's always a pleasure to get you here on this podcast and looking forward to another fun season of Mariners baseball, even if sometimes they don't want us to have fun back. Appreciate it. Absolutely. Yeah. I appreciate it guys. Uh, we definitely need to get you guys on, on locked on here in the next couple of weeks.

[01:10:59] I got to figure out the schedule, but we'll, we'll get that all covered and get you guys back on the show. And, uh, yeah. Uh, also real quick before we get out of here, I just wanted to, you know, congratulate you guys on all the success. You know, I'm a fan from afar. I listen to the pod quite often and, really excited. About you guys, uh, doing your live show at, uh, queen Anne and, uh, looking forward to seeing what you guys do down in spring training. I'm sure we're going to get a lot of, uh, tick tocks and stuff and, uh, looking forward to all the fun information that you get all the guys down there. Well, appreciate it.

[01:11:29] That means a ton, Ty. Thank you so much. Hope you guys enjoyed the conversation with Ty. He's awesome. Like we keep talking about, and we cannot wait for spring training to keep rolling along here. There's already been a bunch of storylines here early on. And now the position players are all there. There's only going to be more and more. We cannot wait to see what the rest of spring has in store. And we'll be sitting here talking about it with you guys with that. That just about wraps up this edition of the Marine layer podcast. You guys know the drill. If you want to listen to the full form podcast,

[01:11:59] you can do so wherever you get your audio pods, make sure to download, make sure to rate and review, leave that five-star review. Again, we're still trying to get those reviews up guys. Leave, leave a review. Tell us what you think, what you like about the show, what you enjoy hearing, what you might want to hear more of. Tell us, make sure to like comment, and please hit that subscribe button on YouTube. Follow us everywhere across, across social media at Marine layer pod. And one final time, you guys with two things, one, Patreon, go sign up for it. It's underway. We kickstarted it. Go sign up.

[01:12:28] And finally, live show, live show, live show, live show, live show, Moss Bay Hall, February 20th. That's tomorrow, Thursday in Kirkland, starts at 6 p.m. We cannot wait to see you there. It's gonna be a blast. That's TJ. I'm Lyle. As always, we thank you guys for tuning in. We'll talk to you soon.

[01:13:26] We're in the next one. We're going to be back to the show. We're going to go to the show. We're going to be back to Shopify. www.popify.de