Episode 257: What Will The Mariners Do With The Roster When Luke Raley Returns? + The Potential Odds Of A HUGE Swing At The Trade Deadline (Mailbag)

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode number 257 of the Marine Layer Podcast. It's our mailbag episode. We'll open it up and answer your guys' best listener questions. We'll tackle the Mariners roster conundrum now that Luke Raley is returning and we have our number 10 MLB Draft Spotlight. Your guys reminder, make sure you're staying on top of all of our stuff. And if you want to do that, you can head right over to our website. That's MarineLayerPod.com where you can find everything that you need. It's a one stop shop, you guys, including

[00:00:29] our live show schedule that includes our next live show, which is Saturday, June the 28th. That is just over a week away. We can't wait for it. June the 28th, this coming or next Saturday at 12 p.m. over at Occidental Hall in Seattle. It's right down by the ballpark. It's on Occidental Avenue, brand new, just open. And we can't wait to host you guys for it because it's going to be a blast, man. We're going to have a watch party at one o'clock right after to watch the Mariners against the Rangers.

[00:00:57] And again, live show will start at 12 p.m. where we're going to take your questions. We're going to do trivia. We'll have stuff to give away. Can't wait for it. So if you want to look at our live show schedule, that's over at our website, MarineLayerPod.com. Go get your merch. Sign up for our Patreon. You can find all of our episodes on our website as well. Again, that's all over at our site. And then you can go follow us across social media at MarineLayerPod. Let's get it rolling.

[00:01:21] And we welcome you to this episode of the MarineLayer Podcast, part of the Just Baseball Podcast Network, recording on Thursday evening, June 19th.

[00:01:44] I'm happy to report I will not have to wear any Abe Toro apparel around the ballpark on the podcast. And Abe goes right back where he deserves and where he's always been sucking at Timo Park. They're trading for him at the deadline. Um, no. Are you willing to stamp that? Are you going to force me into another bet here?

[00:02:14] Because if not, I'm going to make you do a bet. Which is what? I don't know. I'll think about it. But there's no, I'm not just going to get pinned. I'm the only one who loses here. Because last I checked, the people who made this bet for me don't actually have to lose it all. That Abe Toro didn't hit a home run. And I was right. No, everyone just keeps going about their day. No problem. I was the only one taking on risk here. That's it.

[00:02:45] Fine. Just note, I already have a bet down. Well, I know you have a bet down. But if it doesn't happen, you don't have to do anything. That's correct, yes. You also didn't have to do anything. Well, I guess. But I don't even know how long it's been that one. What are you trying to argue here? Yeah, you're right. You are right, Lyle. You are right. You had an exit ramp out of this bet the same way I do.

[00:03:15] But here's the problem. Here's the problem with the difference between me and you in this situation. If Abe hit a home run, not only do I lose by watching him hit a home run, then I lose by having to suffer this bet. In your scenario, you win by getting K-Tuck on the roster and only offset it by going up a mountain. Which I hate doing. Congratulations! I hate wearing Abe Toro stuff! You've never worn Abe Toro stuff. Exactly.

[00:03:45] I've never worn it. But for me, it was a lose-lose. For you, it's a win-lose. Does that sound fair? Fine. Guess what? Speak of the devil. It's Kyle Tucker weekend, baby! It's time! You know what they say? He's going to make his pitch to the Seattle Mariners. He's going to homer in all three games this series. Good! Like, make your presence felt, buddy. Do it to him, K-Tuck.

[00:04:14] I hate to report, but... I hate to report... You know how we were sitting here in the offseason and we were thinking... You know, actually, the odds of them trading for K-Tuck legitimately, not even joking... Went up by him getting traded to the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately, the Cubs have one of the best offenses in baseball. They're five and a half games up in the NL Central. And they are almost a stone-cold lock for the playoffs right now.

[00:04:43] I don't think they're trading for him at the deadline. Yeah, I don't think so either. This has now turned to one final ride. One final ride this offseason. To get Kyle Tucker out to Seattle playing in a Mariners uniform. And guess what? If the Mariners are serious about the things that they've put out there saying... That... We have payroll flexibility and we're willing to take on money for the right players...

[00:05:11] Like they've put out there, especially over the last couple weeks... They could be talking about it this trade deadline. But if they're talking about it in general... Good. Do that with Kyle Tucker this winter. Dump everything you have at that guy. Do you think Kyle Tucker would take a one-year, $65 million contract? Oh, that's a good question. That's a good question. Shohei almost did.

[00:05:39] I think we have to give context because not everybody might remember that or have seen when it happened. But there was a Reddit report out there that may very well have been fake. That said Shohei was thinking about and potentially willing to take a one-year, $65 million deal to play with the Mariners in 2024. Wally Rehabber was Tommy John. He'd only hit. He'd get to train at Driveline right in his backyard, etc., etc. And we spent an entire podcast episode talking about it. God, I love the offseason.

[00:06:10] So... Oh, dude! This is going to be our greatest offseason ever. Shohei was great. Do you know how much Kyle Tucker content we're going to pump down people's throats this winter? So much! I've got skit ideas already in my head and written out for social media throughout the winter. That are going to be me tying in K-Tuck going to the Mariners. I think I actually plan to do a video series where I'm essentially writing him Christmas notes or just, like, notes in general.

[00:06:37] And highlighting a million different reasons why he should come to Seattle. I think every different video is going to be a different reason. It's going to be a whole series. How about you actually handwrite him letters to his agency? Dude, that would actually be a fucking sick content idea. I'll do it. Who's he employed by again? Or who's he represented by again? Let's check. Is it... Is it Octagon? I don't know. This is your dude, Lyle. He is represented by... Oh, Excel!

[00:07:06] Dude, I think we actually have some Excel connections! There we go! Dude! I'll do it! You think I'm kidding? I'll do it! We, like... I'm serious. Like, we don't have to get too far into the details of this, but, like... TJ and I do have a couple ties to Excel. So, I think we may have to start putting in the groundwork for this. Start floating some ideas.

[00:07:32] So, Katoch, do you need your own personal media arm in Seattle? Do you need someone to spin the narrative for you about how you're playing? Do you need someone to carry the water on what sort of narratives you need to spin about your time playing for the Seattle Mariners? Well... I have an idea. He can go 0 for his first 60 in Seattle, and we'll spin narratives as to why.

[00:08:00] Listen, the man has to adjust to Seattle temperatures, to the marine layer, to the new ballpark. Look, whatever narrative you want us to spin, we'll spin it. We'll find some numbers extrapolated throughout your career. It's like, you know when else Kyle Tucker went, like, 0 for 60? From, whatever, April 18th to May 1st in 2019 with the Astros. And then, you know what? Guess what he's done for the rest of his career since then?

[00:08:27] It's like, from that stretch, he had, like, a negative 10 WRC+. Since then, and the rest of his career. 140 WRC+. I say Kyle Tucker moving forward is now set to have a 180 weighted runs created plus the rest of the year. After going 0 for 60. We'll spin every ridiculous narrative that you want, buddy. You just gotta say the words and we'll do it. We like... We're like... Dude, yeah, we are... We're your second-hand PR team if you come here. We'll do everything you ask.

[00:08:58] Hmm. So that's your... That is your call right here. Once the season is over, it's actually only just begun. Once the Mariners actually stop playing baseball, then the real battle begins. Then... Then the real mission is upon us. Oh, I've already got an idea. I'll spoil it here and we'll have to actually, like, go out and record it at some point. So...

[00:09:20] I've got a video idea that, like, as soon as the off-season starts, we're gonna have a preset where we record some video of me all, like... I don't know, dressed out, blinged out, whatever. Walking in black and white and slow-mo throughout, like, the city. I, like, go up an elevator, walk out, crouch down, look at the camera, and say, Hey, it's time. Only to then cut to a bunch of Kyle Tucker highlights with some Travis Scott song under it, just hyping him up.

[00:09:49] Am I allowed in this video? Yeah. Yeah, you can be in it, too. Okay. But somebody has to film it. What is blinged out? I don't know. A couple chains or whatever. Like, can we borrow Randy's chain? Are we talking more than what you normally wear? Yeah. Like, can we... I don't know. Can we borrow Randy's chain for this video? That'd be awesome. Yeah, I think you need Randy's chain. You need some sunglasses. This is where we need to get you a jacket. We need you to get you, like, a legit jacket. Like, a big wool jacket. Dude. It's like a designer jacket.

[00:10:19] I am fully down to make this clip for when the World Series ends. Just, like, say it's time, looking all, like, ridiculous, but taking it dead serious, and then cut to a bunch of highlights of him just going off. I really hope Kyle Tucker doesn't sign an extension with the Cubs before we get to the offseason. He's not. Not at this point. No way. Are you sure? It's June 19th. That is malpractice by his camp if they let him sign an extension at this point. What if they offer him $500 million? Guaranteed.

[00:10:52] Yeah, maybe. But I still think they would try and test the market to see what else is out there, because if that's the Cubs' offer, they'd probably come back with that same offer. And you could, if the Cubs would come back with $500 million in free agency, then you would probably get more from somebody else. Someone would probably try and beat that number. But regardless, some players do like $500 million. I do like your idea, Lyle. I'm looking forward to it. Again. That is the June 19th sales pitch to listen to us in the offseason. Oh, dude.

[00:11:20] We are going to be full Kyle Tucker steam ahead. It's going to be my favorite offseason ever. And they better pony up that money, man. Are you sure? I mean, Shohei was pretty fun. Was it fun? Were you having fun at the end? No, but trying to hype up Shohei was fun. Okay. All right. Let's talk some real baseball. We do have one actual Mariners topic to talk about before we get to our mailbag.

[00:11:49] Lots of good mailbag questions. Lots of deadline questions. I'm looking forward to getting into them. There's one really, one I hadn't thought about that is going to be our last mailbag question. And yeah, we'll just have to, that's your key to stick around. You want to listen to the mailbag question. Believe me. It's honestly not something that I think will actually, it will eventually happen. But it's kind of crazy. So stick around for it. You'll want to hear about that.

[00:12:17] But the Mariners do have a conundrum upon them this weekend and this road trip. Lyle, they'll be away from Seattle for a little bit. In that time, Luke Raley is supposed to be back. He played his last game in Tacoma before getting ready to rejoin the big league roster this past Wednesday. The most likely scenario for Luke Raley getting activated to this Mariners roster is going to be Saturday. Because apparently Chris Flexin is supposed to be pitching on Saturday.

[00:12:44] And if Chris Flexin is pitching on Saturday with the wind blowing out, I like me some Luke Raley in that situation there. Not a whole lot of whiff on the mound. A righty Luke Raley hitting a ball like he did in Tacoma earlier this week that he hit a mile. Well, the Mariners are going to have to make some roster decisions on some other guys if Luke Raley is going to get added back to the roster. Where's your mind taking you with this?

[00:13:12] So you're right that Adam Jew did report that they don't think Raley will be back Friday. That he'll be back Saturday. Part of that is because they may be facing Matt Boyd on Friday who's a lefty. So they don't feel the need to change up the roster yet. Because Raley may not even be in the lineup for somebody like that anyway. But to answer your question, it comes down to the possibility of a couple guys. It is either Dom Canzone, Rowdy Tellez, or maybe Myles Mastroboni.

[00:13:39] Those would be the three guys that you would see a roster move be made with to get Luke Raley back on the roster. It's not going to be Donovan Solano for anybody wondering. Donovan Solano is legitimately hitting the piss out of the ball right now. You can get mad, but he has a 154 WRC plus in the last month. On top of that, in that same span, his average exit velocity is 94 miles an hour. Do you want to guess who he's hitting the ball harder than?

[00:14:09] Is he hitting it harder than Cal? In that stretch, he's hitting it better than Cal's season average. Nice. Cal's season average is 92. Isn't that kind of bonkers? Donovan Solano's like, what? 5'7"? Had a 331 OPS leading up to May 20th. And, like you said, 54% better than league average.

[00:14:36] The only way you make your case for Donovan Solano is that if you believe that the stretch he had earlier in the season, from the start of the season to May 20th, is the real Donovan Solano that you'll see this year and not the version you've seen since then. Because it's only been 30-something plate appearances that he's had to get those numbers. But some people might come out and say, okay, but that's just a better role for him than what they were doing earlier in the season.

[00:15:05] So, my most likely guy, if we're working through it. Okay, so let's run down a reason why each one of these guys would stay and each one of these guys would go. Because you can find a reason for all of them. Solano is, the reason he would go is exactly that. Because he was arguably the worst player in baseball for the first month and a half of this season. And for some, that's a legitimate reason. Dom Canzone.

[00:15:29] I'd say the reason for him to stay is that the time he's been up, he's got a 127 WRC+, and he's walked 13, or walked. He's only struck out 13% of the time, which has always been a big issue for him is the strikeout rate. But he's not been striking out a lot. The negative is that he plays the same position as Luke Raley, hits from the same side as Luke Raley, and has an option. And he's 27. Doesn't help him. Rowdy Tellez. Reason for him to stay. Second most home runs on the team. Third highest slugging percentage on the team.

[00:15:59] And I'd never sit there and say, point, that Rowdy Tellez has been the problem about really anything that the Mariners have struggled with offensively this year. Doesn't have an option, though. You'd have to release him. Miles Mastraboni. Well, I'll say this about Rowdy, too. His on-base percentage is 249. That's not good. He's not getting on base. He doesn't play any defense. There is an argument to this. The defense is fine. Is it? It's fine. I mean, he's lost them half a win.

[00:16:29] He's been fine. He's lost them half a win because he has a 250 on-base percentage. I think it's a little bit of both. And that he can't run. It's positional adjustment. It's because a 90 WRC-plus at first base loses you wins. Okay. Less so because the defense is... Like, the defense is fine. It's okay. Like, the defense is not the reason you're going to keep him on the roster or take him off the roster. We've seen bad. That's not... It's better than Demo at first base. Well, yeah.

[00:16:59] Rowdy actually plays the position. Exactly. And let me get to... Before I hear from... Before I'll let you chime in here. The last player is Masturbone. The reason you'd keep him to stay is that he's played four positions this year. The reason to let... The reason to make a move with him is he has an option so you can send him to the minor leagues and he has no choice but to go down. And he's legitimately not a good hitter. And does not make your lineup better. So...

[00:17:26] He just provides a little bit more late-game versatility where he can play other positions. He can run off the bench. The other argument to that, though, is... Now that Dylan Moore is not forced into a position every day because you have Ben Williamson at third. You have Cole Young at second. You'd have Luke Raley coming back. That Demo would be the one to just kind of move around. So there's a pro and con to your bench, too. The pro is you'd have better bats on your bench. The con is... You get late in a game and get past Demo, there's not much flexibility. Because, you know, it'd be Canzone. It'd be Rowdy.

[00:17:56] It'd be Solano. It'd be... You know, it's a lot of guys that kind of only do one thing and don't play a lot of defense. So, it's an interesting call. How you make this decision here comes down to where you want Luke Raley to play. Frankly, I think he's just going to have to take somebody's job. If you're going to put him in right, you send Dom Canzone down. If you want him playing first base, you DFA Rowdy to us.

[00:18:26] I think it'll probably be one of those two. Probably. I don't see them... Yeah, I don't see them moving on for Master. Like, I get kind of sick of Master Boney's back. Because, like, it is legitimately not good. And the fact that he has played a large majority of his starts this year have been in positions where you need offense. And he's not provided any offense, really, whatsoever. But you could sell that as...

[00:18:54] You could sell that as, well, we need someone there. And if he can play multiple positions, great. The place, though, Lyle, where they really do need bat, and which should be a premier offensive position, is right field. Who do you think has the highest OPS on the team in right field this year? Is it Canzone? It is. Yep. He's the only one above average. Right.

[00:19:23] But it's such a small sample that you just don't know. Which, I mean, highlights the issue more than anything. Right. I think it's going to be one of those moves. It'll probably either be Dom goes back to the minors, or they move on from Rowdy. Because even if you move on from Rowdy, Luke can still play some outfield. Donovan Solano, by the way, in his career, he hasn't had platoon issues. Like, you could play him there more often. If you want. Would he be as good if you play him there in less than,

[00:19:50] not totally advantageous situations? Maybe not. But again, look at his splits versus righties and lefties for his career. They're not that crazy different. And if he ends up stinking again, you can, well, then you're at the deadline. Right. And you should probably, you should be looking for upgrades anyways. Right. So, we'll find out, I would guess, Saturday at the latest, obviously, because that's when Rayleigh will probably be back.

[00:20:18] But if they have somebody there on the taxi squad this weekend, like on Friday, we'll probably have an idea. Well, he would be on the taxi squad if he's not. Oh, you're right. You're right. You're right. So, sorry. Scratch that. We'll probably find out Saturday. Interesting conundrum they have. So, okay. So, you're fine. If you were to pick one, just make a prediction. I feel bad doing this because I don't know if I've, it's like calling for people's jobs.

[00:20:47] But if you're going to, there is a roster move that is going to be made. So, if I had to guess, I honestly think it may be rowdy to Les. Canzone is the more seamless one because he has an option. I think he may see it be rowdy. You know, like there, there's definitely, there's definitely the case to be made for it to be rowdy.

[00:21:14] But for a team that's primary way of scoring runs is hitting homers. Do you want to DFA the guy with the second most homers on your team? And by the way, the other guy who's tied for second home run says one home run in the last month and a half. I'm not saying it's an easy call. But I am saying that if you think that Luke Raley is going to fly past rowdy to Les' production,

[00:21:42] then they probably won't lose sleep about it. I'm sure they won't. But yeah, it's, there are multiple ways to go about this. Also, if nobody signs rowdy, if nobody claims rowdy when he's DFA, they can always put him back in AAA if he takes the assignment. No, he, he, in his contract, he can, he can refuse an outright. All right. So if, if somebody, if somebody else were to sign him to a big league deal, sure.

[00:22:10] But if nobody else is giving him that, you think, I would think he'd consider taking it. But he'd probably want to be a free agent and survey all those options first. Maybe. Yeah. So then he could resign, but he'd have to resign, I think, on a minor league deal. Right. So. Interesting situation. The Mariners are in this weekend with Luke Raley, but man, do they need Luke Raley back because the combined slash line of Mariners right fielders this season is 206, 260, 317 with a 576 OPS.

[00:22:44] Not good. No, it is not. It's not. You, you went into this season thinking you were going to get an 800 OPS and 35 steals of Victor Robles. And instead. No. Quite the opposite. Very hard to have a productive offense when you get that from one of your premier offensive positions. That's real tough. And Robles, as we've now found out in the last few weeks, it's not going to be July that he comes back. At the earliest, it's going to be September.

[00:23:13] And it may just be the year that he misses. Unfortunately, he makes it back. So him and him and Ryan Bliss are, I think, on the same path then, roughly. Just about. It's really tough. All right. Let's get to our mailbag here in just a minute. Before that, let's talk to you guys about our friends at Pagotch's Pub 85. If you need a place to go watch some games and hang out with your friends, it's a great spot to do it. It's right over in Kirkland. It's a blast to go hang out at. There's games. There's great food.

[00:23:40] And if you want happy hour specials, they're such good deals, you guys. They're $3 and $4 drinks. 2 to 6 p.m. Happy hours. Monday through Friday. And there's 20 TVs in that place for all the sports viewing that you'd want. So if you want to plan a time out with your friends, it's a blast. You can head over to Pagotch's Pub 85 over in Kirkland. And a reminder, guys, if you didn't hear it in the intro, our next live show. Next live show. You have actually a couple of opportunities to come see us next weekend. I'll throw them both out there.

[00:24:10] The first one that we want you to come out to Saturday, June 28th, Occidental Hall. The new hall location down on Occidental Avenue across from the north end of Lumen Field. We'll be there for our June live show. So Mariners play the Rangers at 1 p.m. We'll be there with a live show at noon. And then a watch party at 1 o'clock. We'll have a ton of good giveaways. They're all right here. Giveaways are all right here next to me. If you're watching on YouTube, you can see I'm pointing off to my right. They're all here. We got a ton of things that we need to give away.

[00:24:40] And anticipating there's going to be quite a few more things for us to give away to you guys for our June 28th live show. Again, 12 o'clock start at the new Occidental Hall location across from Lumen Field on Occidental Avenue. Watch party starts at 1 o'clock. Super, super exciting. Second opportunity you can see us is actually the day before. We announced it on social media today. We're going to be on the top step with hyphen recording also at the Occidental at the hall location on Occidental.

[00:25:09] That will be at Friday at about 4 o'clock. We'll be there with hyphen and come by and say hi to all of us. We'll be there. So whichever day you're going to be there at Occidental Hall that you need to go check out, we will be there with hyphen recording his podcast. We'll actually interview him on this podcast as well the same time on Friday. And then we'll have our live show on Saturday. Plenty of fun opportunities to come see us. It's a fun location. Lyle and I were there for family and friends night on Tuesday.

[00:25:39] It's going to be a really fun location. It just opened and it's so cool, you guys. I'll tell you what. TJ and I will go out after the games on the weekend sometimes. I can tell you after some of these games on Friday and Saturday moving forward, we'll be going out to Occidental to hang out and have some drinks with some of our friends. So there's going to be a ton of opportunities to just kind of come hang out with us moving forward. But your first couple of them are next weekend, two different times. Both our podcast recording with hyphen.

[00:26:09] Again, we'll be on with him. He'll be on with us. By the way, I don't think he mentioned it, but as far as we know, the episode that we're going to be on with him for the top step should air on Root Sports. So the two of us should be on TV for as far as we know, which is going to be sick. So, you know, that I mean, we assume most of his podcasts go up on Root Sports. So that'll be pretty cool. And then, yeah, we'll interview him for our show. We've got we've got a pretty good lineup of guests coming up, you guys. I mean, think about it. We just had Hembo on.

[00:26:38] We had Karabas on, who you know we love. We're going to go on. Should have Pitching Ninja on next week. That's what I was going to say. We should have Rob on this upcoming week. Pitching Ninja, like you said. Should have hyphen on upcoming. Like pretty good slate of guests coming up. And we're recording with hyphen again down at Occidental on Friday. We're doing our live show Saturday at 12. Like come hang out. And as of this week, we did put a feeler out there for one of our bigger guests that we could potentially have. It would be a first timer. So.

[00:27:08] Yeah. You know, you get referencing. Yeah. It may take some time. He's very well known. But hopefully in time we make it happen. Very busy, but for a good reason. So. Yeah. Stay tuned for that. That will be coming up hopefully. Hopefully. Later in the season. If we can work that out. Right. Okay. Mailbag. Starting on Patreon. Xander on Patreon. Reminder, guys. If you want priority for mailbag questions like Xander. Go over to our Patreon and sign up.

[00:27:37] That'll be the best way to be featured on these Friday mailbags. Whatever questions you have for us about the Mariners, about Major League Baseball, about us. Patreon's the way to go. Go sign up there. Patreon.com slash MarineLayerPod. Xander's question is. He is curious, Lyle. What would it take for the Mariners to go out there and acquire Austin Riley from the Atlanta Braves? We floated this idea out there in the offseason because I thought it was super intriguing.

[00:28:05] I thought that maybe the Braves would think about moving on from a big contract, coming off a little bit of a down year. Braves could get some prospects back. They could get some pitching back. The odds of that have probably upped since the last time we talked about it. Now, not by a lot. He's still locked up through 2033. But we also saw a different third baseman who was locked up for a long time just get traded this past week for a team that didn't want to take on his money.

[00:28:35] Now, yes, there was, of course, other external factors with Rafael Devers for why he got moved. Austin Riley hasn't been a clubhouse issue. But if the Braves are losing and they feel like they need a little bit of a reset and they also feel like they might need to clear some space to eventually give Ronald Acuna another contract, maybe they'd think about it. I'm not going to sit here and call it likely. But most teams will, you know, they might say no, but it's not like they're going to just shut down an idea immediately.

[00:29:03] Like they'll listen, I'm sure, if the Mariners were to call and offer something reasonable for it. And on top of that, the Braves are not good this year. They're 11 games back in the East or five and a half games back in the wildcard. This is not a dominant Atlanta Braves team that we've gotten used to the last six, seven years. This team is objective. You could argue just flat out not good. I was looking because some of our some of our other questions relate to the trade deadline as well. Like what teams are going to be sellers? Like who's available?

[00:29:33] You know, who's one of the only few teams that that is this clear of a playoff spot that could sell? It's like the Atlanta Braves right now. They get a month and a half to turn that around. Otherwise, they will absolutely there's a very good chance they sell. They might not sell Austin Riley, but they yeah. Let me sorry. Let me amend one thing. Riley's locked up through 2032. He becomes a free agent in 2033. So again, point being he's he's locked up for a long time.

[00:29:59] But yes, the Braves are a team where if they're not winning, there could be pieces on that roster that they decide to move on from. The only thing about Riley is in the offseason. I was buying the idea that he spent some time on the injured list last year. He didn't get right for throughout the course of 2024. Didn't have his best season. You figure he'll bounce back to being the player. He usually is. He's not having a great year again this year. I'm not saying he's been bad.

[00:30:25] But now over the last season and a half, he's essentially been about a 112 to 113 WRC plus hitter. He's been good about or I should say above average. But that's not the Austin Riley that people have ingrained into their minds. That's that's a slightly above league average third baseman. So if you're going to take on all that money and give up a decent prospect haul to you've got to be sure he's going to bounce back.

[00:30:54] Right now he's roughly a three win player. Give or take with the games he missed last year and with his production this year, he's worth about three wins. He's he's become the last two years after being a legit MVP candidate the three seasons before that about an average ish third baseman. There's probably a season or two left in there of elite offensive play, but he does need some things with his offensive profile to shift.

[00:31:21] He still hits the ball pretty hard while but in terms of like what you look for, especially as a Mariners fan and adjusting to this ballpark. He's a guy who lives on his power. His power is his best offensive tool, but his walk rate has gone down. His strikeout rate has gone up. His swing and miss has gone up. Not good trends for someone who's not in total control of the strike zone and doesn't walk a whole bunch on top of that the money you're paying him.

[00:31:46] These are the most expensive years of his contract and 22 million dollars a year through that 2032 season. By war that contract is worth it. I think exactly actually 816 24 so 24 to 22. He's getting paid 22 roughly if he's a three win player. He's worth 24. So that's about right.

[00:32:08] But if you're taking on you're asking the Mariners at this point to take on about 100 and 161.3 million dollars if you're trading for him at the deadline just to start off. They're not taking on 161 million million dollars. If they did do that the package that Xander suggested to us would not be the that would be an overpay. They would not pay that much if the Braves were to eat.

[00:32:38] 100 million dollars of that different story Mariners get Austin Riley for six seven more seasons and eat 100 million dollars of the contract that Mariners don't have to pay 60 million. Yeah. And then you're going to give up a pretty decent prospect all it would take three prospects that you probably like to go out there and trade for someone who's 28. Right. Now if it was up to us I would say great figure out what it takes for Austin Riley and then sign Kyle Tucker this winter.

[00:33:08] Sadly we know that's not going to happen. So if if the Mariners are serious about taking a swing on a player pay Kyle Tucker please please. And not only for my sake but like objectively you don't have to give up prospects and he's a better player. So yeah. If we just want to keep the common theme while you know how the Mariners also solved their Luke Raley slash first base problem. Sign Kyle Tucker. Yep. Well they should probably do it.

[00:33:37] Our next mailbag question that's also the answer. Yeah. They should probably do that. Anyway. Good question Xander. It's an interesting one. Again we talked about it in the offseason. He's an interesting player. He's somebody I've really liked to watch over the last few years. So again not a terrible idea. All right. Vol. What's up? I was reading this next question. There is this is actually the answer to the question. Yeah.

[00:34:03] Well Vol Creeland on Instagram sends us the next mailbag question which is if no money if money is not an object at the trade deadline who would Depoto spend it on? Kyle Tucker. Kyle Daniel Tucker. Yep. Yep. That would be the most that would arguably the most be the most expensive rental at the deadline. How much is he making right now? Let's see. I would have to assume his are his walk year and our 20. I was gonna say between 25 and 30. But tell me.

[00:34:33] Actually it's only 16 and a half. What the fuck? So he they would only have to pay him. I think they would have to pay him a little over five million dollars. Dude how the hell did he only get 16 and a half mil in arbitration? Must have been because he was injured last year. I don't know. That's a part. It's crazy. Anyway. Pay the man. And I'll hike up Nullox Peak. Who else could they spend it on at the deadline if money was not an issue?

[00:35:02] So this would go into a category of guys that are not rentals. Because again. And the list of rentals that could be available this deadline is not lucrative. I'll continue to say this. I know Ryan O'Hearn's having a really good year. I don't think he's saving this team. You need more than that. You could spend on rentals too. But. Are the guys you're referencing like spending on? Like did you put Brandon Donovan on here? Yeah. Okay. That's an example. That's I'd say future spend.

[00:35:32] I was sort of thinking of this as. They say it's okay to up this year's payroll. So that's what you spend it on. So who's that going to be besides O'Hearn? Who's not making very much. I mean if you trade for Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez. The two of them combined for two months. Will cost you almost. Not over. No. How much would it cost you? Is that nine? It's about a little less than nine million dollars. But the Diamondbacks also came out this past week.

[00:36:01] And said yeah we're not selling. Well the Mariners also came out in the offseason. And said our team's. Is objectively good. And has no holes. Come on Lyle. Think about this entire conversation we had before recording. That we are not going to air out here. Oh we're not? No. Oh there's a lot of interesting stuff in that combo. There are some very interesting things. But I think it's in our best interest not to re-air them. Very very very interesting.

[00:36:31] I think. There are a number of players out there Lyle. That you would have to pay four million. Four to five million dollars. For. For two months of service. For example. Geno's one. You'd have to pay him four and a half million dollars for the two months. Josh Naylor would be owed three point seven million dollars for two months of his services. Luis Robert would be owed if you were to trade for him. And try and resurrect him. Four and a half million dollars for two months. And then on top of that if you want to keep him.

[00:37:00] You'd have to pay him the 220 or at least one or two of the 20 million dollar club options he's got. Ryan Helsley would be 2.7 million dollars for. I don't know. 15 innings you would get out of him. Not. That's a lot of money per inning. And then Marcel Ozuna. Is the. I think. The. One of those names out there that you might not think could be available. But again if the Braves don't turn this thing around. Ozuna is going to be a free agent this offseason. He's a bat. He's.

[00:37:29] You know he's making a decent chunk of change. It's an easy sell candidate for a team that is out of it. He's from the Braves. Yep. Yep. Oh so that joke didn't land. Didn't. You were. You were talking about things that Ozuna's done. And I was trying to land an Ozuna from the Braves joke. Now I got it. Now I got it. So. So Marcel Ozuna and Jared Kelnick. Oh my God. That'd be. That'd be something.

[00:37:59] So. I really don't want to have to do this. Because these are usually the type of topics we want to avoid. And we just basically don't. Spend much time talking about on the podcast. Because we usually focus on baseball stuff. Or just stuff that's entertaining. But. Because you bring it up. I feel like I do have to at least respond with it. Marcel Ozuna does not have the world's greatest track record. Off the field. Like would the Mariners take on somebody like that? They have said they're not.

[00:38:28] But I'm mostly just looking at this from a baseball perspective. And I totally understand what you're talking about. Well this is. A two month rental player. Not someone you are looking to sign. To a multi-year deal. Yeah you're not. It's just an interesting conundrum. Think about it this way. You're also. You didn't offer him this contract. The contract was signed by the Atlanta Braves. Not you. You are still. He's just available. You are still endorsing the player by acquiring him.

[00:39:00] It's a very fair thing to say. And that's what the Mariners could come out and say. Right. So. Depends how bad you need a bat. Right. Some people are willing to sacrifice whatever you need. To get a bat. The Red Sox for example. Needed a bullpen arm. And they have a role as Chapman. Right. Right. Again. Like. You're right. And. And Marcelo Zuna is objectively a very very good hitter. I just wonder if the Mariners would take on the player. More than the production.

[00:39:31] Like. And they. We find it. They could draw the line in the sand. More. More so Lyle. To answer the question. If they wanted to spend on a rental. That is the spendiest rental there would be if he's available. Right. But. But. He would cost less than somebody like. If Kyle Tucker was actually on the trade block. Because. Ozuna's a DH. Prospect wise. Yes. Monetarily. I do feel. This is a money question. Oh. Right. Right. So. Okay. Fair.

[00:40:01] They both make. Well. Take. Tuck makes 16 and a half. Ozuna makes 16. So it's roughly the same amount. You'd have to pay them. Right. Yeah. There will be names out there. But again. If you're the Mariners. And you want to get serious about trading for guys at the deadline. You can look at O'Hearn. But that's not enough. You got to go do more than that. And this is the problem. We've noted that they need multiple bullpen arms. And I think they need multiple impact bats too. So they're going to have to look past somebody like O'Hearn.

[00:40:29] You may have to look at the Brendan Donovans of the world. You may have to look at guys with several years of club control. And out of every name you just listed there. And every name I read off. Which one of those players are you sure is available? Just O'Hearn. Well actually. Sorry. None of them. Are you sure? Yeah. Actually let me retract that. No I'm not. So none of them may be. That's the problem. This is why you spend in the off season when the players are available. No you don't. It's not a smart strategy. I haven't broken that one out in a while.

[00:41:01] Next bill. By the way. I will not actually air out our pre-podcast conversation. However. No you shouldn't. Because I like everything we built for ourselves. I wouldn't like that to. Fine. I wouldn't like that to take a hit. TJ and I may or may not have been arguing for a bit before the show started about spending versus not spending money. That is a very baseline level of what it revolved around. Have we ever had that argument before? Hmm. No maybe. Hmm.

[00:41:28] Next question on the mailbag comes from t.will.24 on Instagram. And his question is. Should slash would the Mariners consider moving Cal Raleigh to first base in an effort to bring up Harry Ford to catch? I appreciate the question. Again we love all our listeners. But no. And I think that's the end of the combo. You don't. Appreciate the question. You don't move your best or your first slash second best defender.

[00:41:59] Platinum glove level defender. Off his position for a prospect. Ever. Doesn't matter how good he's hitting in AAA. You don't do it. No. It's Harry Ford's job to adapt to Cal. Not Cal's job to adapt to Harry Ford. That's how the Mariners are going to look at it. Yeah. The Mariners didn't pay Cal to be a first baseman. They paid him to be their catcher. Also he's got such an unbelievable rapport with this rotation and knows every guy like

[00:42:25] the back of his hand that there's no way they'd move him off a catcher to first base. I'll tell you what. That entire rotation would be pissed if they did that because they all love throwing to Cal. We don't even know what Harry Ford's going to be like as a big league catcher. Again, some of the information we've gotten about Harry in his time in the minor leagues, it's not a knock on him as a person, but just unfortunately, I think he has had trouble at times

[00:42:54] truly leading a pitching staff. I'm not saying he can't catch back there, but being a Cal Raleigh level leader of a pitching staff, I don't think he's cut from the exact same cloth because most people are not to Cal Raleigh's. So I think I would have a hard time believing they would move on from Cal. Yeah. Well, even, and people have made the, we posted a clip today here on Thursday while we're recording this.

[00:43:23] Hembo, who we had on last week? Two weeks ago. Two weeks ago. Man, all these weeks just blend together. Hembo was great, but he's talking about, yeah, Cal Raleigh's bat's valuable from wherever if you DH'd him, if you put him at first. Where I think the lining and the thought process of this question comes from, it's like, all right, well, Cal's this valuable. You can put him anywhere and he's going to be valuable. If he was a bad catcher, then yeah, but he's not a bad catcher. Like, there are some catchers in history. Piazza wasn't a great defender, was he?

[00:43:53] No. Yeah. So, like, Mike Piazza's the example there where it's like, all right, like, if you need to move him and you have this just stud defender, here, you can, you move the catcher to another position and, or you move Piazza to another position and you bring the catcher up. Actually, the perfect example I have of this, because this happened in 2009. So, the Angels had two catchers on their roster at this point, and they were really good. They were really good. This is, Vlad Guerrero Sr. was on this team.

[00:44:21] They had, I don't know if you remember this, Lyle, Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis. Oh, right. Jeff Mathis, one of the probably, or you could argue probably five best or ten best defenders ever behind the plate. He's really good. Like, he has always made pitching staffs better behind the plate catching. Dude can't hit to save his life. He is awful. Awful at the plate. Tough he goes to which if he played a lot more. That's what he would be.

[00:44:51] Mike Napoli is the opposite. Angels pitchers could not throw to him because they were significantly worse with him behind the plate, but his bat was so much better. The Angels ended up trading Mike Napoli away so Jeff Mathis could play more. That's the decision they made with that. Like, that's a scenario where you're deciding, all right, do we want a catcher or a bat in this scenario? That's not the problem the Mariners have right now. So, they're not going to make a decision based off of stuff that could arise like that.

[00:45:20] Right. And Cal does both. He hits and he plays defense. And he truly leads a pitching staff. Maybe lead isn't the right word for Harry Ford. Like, I'm not saying he doesn't command the respect of his pitchers down in the minors. That's not what I meant. It's more like truly, like, controlling that staff. And, like, being a Cal Raleigh level of cerebral with almost knowing what they're going to throw better than what they know they're going to throw. I don't know if Harry Ford's on that same level. At least from what we've picked up.

[00:45:49] So, yeah, I don't think you'd move Cal to first for that scenario. All right, next question. How about Leo on Instagram? He sends us a question. And he asks, Do you predict that the Mariners will make a substantial June trade? Thank you for the question, Leo. No, I don't. How do you predict a June trade? It's more about this. I'll highlight two things. Number one, with the expanded playoff, there's just not many sellers right now.

[00:46:19] And there's not many people that are going to ship off their pieces a month before the trade deadline. You don't see it happen that often in terms of substantial trades. The Devers thing is an exception. And two, we've heard this narrative now much more the last couple years, and I think it's very true. Franchises get swamped with draft prep. That is a real thing. Draft prep and getting set for the MLB draft, which is coming up here right at All-Star Week,

[00:46:48] takes a hell of a long time. So there's not a lot of extra time in between for these teams to be on the phone, calling, negotiating, trying to make trades before the draft's over. This has been a narrative in baseball now much more the last couple years, that when the draft ends, that's when you'll start to hear negotiations pick up. But frankly, teams just do not have the time right now to be balancing both. So that is a part of the reason you see less trades right now too. And on top of that, it's a math equation at this point.

[00:47:18] You go to the standings and count the teams where you could definitively say, this second, we're not competing. We won't be competing a month and a half from now at the trade deadline. So we need to trade someone away. There's like four or five teams you could count out right now that that's the case. The Boston Red Sox are not one of those teams because the situation is completely unique and had to do with dynamics of a player within an organization. You can't predict that. I mean, you and I couldn't have predicted that.

[00:47:46] And we had one of the leading Red Sox people on this podcast two days before he was traded. And there's no way. Jared didn't even know. He knew day up, but he didn't know two days before that there was a real problem between Red Sox, Brass and Rafi. You can't. So that's not something you could just predict. He started, he said in his reaction video to the trade, he was like, I started to get tipped off to some information a couple hours before, but he said to himself, like he almost thought it was fake. Like, there's no way this is really going to happen.

[00:48:16] And then it happened. So yeah, it's very hard to know. And I will say this about the draft too. The reason this has changed more in the last couple of years is because the draft used to be basically now. It was during the college world series where once the draft ended in the middle of June, teams had way more time to negotiate before the trade deadline. So back then you might see more trades happen mid to end of June because the draft got pushed back to all-star week and it lets every college player finish their season. The college world series ends.

[00:48:46] You have a little time before the draft. The draft combine exists, and they made it a true event during all-star week. Now teams just don't have the time for it. They have to spend the next few weeks getting ready for the draft. It's not just one pick they're making, and obviously that's not some crazy statement. You guys know that. But you got to make a lot of picks and prepare for thousands of players and have your scouting reports on thousands of players. So that takes time. Once that's done, you'll see more stuff pick up. Hey, maybe the Mariners should listen to our podcast

[00:49:15] and they would get their draft prep done a little quicker because we have another spotlight coming up at the end of this mailbag. Next question comes from Luke on Instagram, and this is a question for Lyle. Lyle, if not Kyle Tucker, who do you want instead? I mean, Luke just left this totally open-ended. So, Shohei? Mail it in. Yes, like, I want Shohei Otani. The Dodgers are fed up with him trying to play both ways.

[00:49:45] They don't want to manage it anymore. It's time for them to trade him. How about that? I'm down. That's fine. That's fine with me. I mean, if you're asking for other players. The one for 65 is still on the market if he wants to shred up his current contract and go back to 65. I mean, can it be Ronald Acuna?

[00:50:12] He was subtweeting the Braves back when he was on the IL, seemingly unhappy, maybe a little bit of Devers in him. How about him? Actually, yes. That's our answer. Because remember, we spent, like, 15 minutes of a whole podcast talking about that Acuna tweet and saying that if Kyle Tucker goes elsewhere, we are pivoting as a podcast to Ronald Acuna. And that Jared Kelnick sabotaged Ronald Acuna's relationship with the Braves. Yeah. That was it, right? Yeah.

[00:50:42] Dude, Acuna's contract really is just an absolute joke. I know that's not... Which is why it's perfect for the Mariners. It's such a joke. Listen to what's remaining on this deal. I don't think the Braves would move Acuna at this deadline just because they're losing because the man still has three and a half years of club control. But, like, listen to this shit. Acuna's contract, $17 million in 2025, $17 million in 2026. Oh, then it gets better.

[00:51:10] There are two club options in that contract for both 2027 and 2028 where he is making $17 million per year. He is a free agent after the 2028 season where he will be entering his age 31 year. How did his agent let him sign that deal? I don't know. I mean, that contract, again, was eight years for $100 million

[00:51:39] with a couple of club options. Buddy, if you had waited any amount of time to sign later on or just hadn't taken that deal, I mean, if Acuna was going to sign an extension now, he'd be getting $500 million. Maybe he always wanted to finesse his way onto the Mariners and knew this was the only way he was going to make it possible. He had to fit it in the budget. See, here we go. We're spinning the narratives. If Kyle Tucker, for whatever reason, doesn't work out, he's going to. He's going to be a Mariner.

[00:52:08] But if he's not, for whatever point, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, 1% chance something happens that we didn't foresee, we're pivoting to Acuna. Here's another idea for you as we get to our last mailbag question. Yeah, I was kind of blown away by this question. The question comes from Brandon on Instagram and it is, guys, would you sell out your morals to have live golf by the Mariners? Yeah.

[00:52:41] Oh, boy. I got to tell you what. The Mariners could buy every player they wanted if this happened. If you want to present both sides, if this happened, the Seattle Mariners could purchase every single player they wanted. And morals aside, there's not one of you out there that can tell me that idea does not sound intriguing. If you say it doesn't sound intriguing,

[00:53:12] you're lying. I do think there would be people who would put their morals over a baseball team. Hmm. Probably, yes. But at what point do people reach a breaking point where they can't take losing anymore? Well, people would think about humanity versus a game, I think. And here's another thing for you, Lyle. I think you're, you're,

[00:53:42] one of your beefs with the current ownership group is that they're out of touch with the fans. Fair? Yes. Do you think an organization out of Saudi Arabia would be in tune with the fan base? Perhaps not. However, if they were just spending on every player, isn't that being in tune? And you know they would do that. Why? Well, I guess we don't know.

[00:54:12] They could certainly afford it. Well. They'd have no problem buying the team. You don't know if they would buy all the players. The difference between what they were doing with Live Golf, by the way, the company that owns Live Golf is the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia. That's what, that's what would be buying, buying the Mariners in this scenario. And why they had to spend all those money on those golfers is because they needed to build up a tour. Literally. Well, they've already bought a team

[00:54:42] if they were to buy the Mariners. It's already built. It's already there. The stadium's there. The team's there. There's no guarantee they would go out and spend on, say, Juan Soto without thinking they were going to get return on their investment. I'm just saying. You could, you could say, okay, morally this sucks and on top of that, there is no guarantee they go out and spend. The Orioles got new owners this past offseason.

[00:55:12] Did they spend? Perhaps not. Well, actually they did but on the wrong players. Yeah. Which is also part of this thing. It just makes you sit and ponder what everybody's breaking point truly is where you'd sell out. I would not do this. I probably would also not do this.

[00:55:42] But I want to see them win! How about that? I think you can win without selling your team to Saudi Arabia. It is possible. It has been done every year, in fact, for the last 120 years. Perhaps, yes. Again, like, people are getting a look right into

[00:56:11] the mind of Lyle Goldstein here. Like, I am saying no. Let me put it out there. Disavow. Disavow. However, you can see where people's breaking points get to. What I was mentioning earlier on in the podcast, I do actually think this is going to happen at some point. They're going to buy an American sports team, and it could be a baseball team. The rules will get bent

[00:56:41] at some point because you know what all the other 29 owners in baseball look at? Oh, a new owner's coming in and buying? And guess who gets part of that money? money. But is there going to be a salary cap by then? There might be. Yeah, I don't know. It doesn't mean every team's using all of it. Interesting question. And there's things to invest in that is more than payroll.

[00:57:11] Are we making this our podcast thumbnail? We'll live golf by the Mariners. TBD. We need an editorial meeting after we're done recording. All right. Good mailbag as always. Always love the questions. They always make us think. Shout out to you guys. Again, if you want priority on these, go over to our Patreon, go sign up. We'd love to have you get involved. We were just on our monthly Zoom call with some of our top end Patreon members, which is a blast. We'd love to

[00:57:41] have you get involved with that as well. Again, that's all over at our website. It's Marinelayerpod.com. But shout out to you for all the mailbag questions. Well, it is time for our MLB draft spotlight and our number 10 player, Ike Irish. This guy has risen up some draft boards over the last couple months. I know MLB drafts can be very, I know MLB drafts can kind of, what's the right word? They can swing back and forth in terms of prospects you'll see and not

[00:58:11] see toward the top of draft boards as the year goes on, more so even than the NFL draft. But Ike Irish does feel like a bit of a riser, does he not? He does feel like, when you look at somebody who has spent three years in the toughest baseball conference in America and has an OPS of 970 or higher in all three years, including the last two years over 1,000, there's a good reason why he rises up boards a little bit.

[00:58:40] And especially once he showed this year that he doesn't only need to catch, he sprinkled in in the outfield a little bit as a sophomore, but he actually got hurt this year as a junior, he fractured something in his back. So when he came back, he didn't go back behind the plate. He went instead out in right field where actually some people think he's going to be a better fit. So when you look at the bat and the 1,100 OPS, you look at the power, which is solid, and you look at the fact he's a catcher who can go into the outfield and he's got a strong arm while playing in the toughest baseball

[00:59:10] conference in the country, it does make you intrigued a little bit. My worry with Ike Irish, where's the elite tool? There may not be an elite tool, and we've talked about this. This is unfortunately not an absolutely loaded draft. There is not a ton of just super tools in this draft. That's why we talked about Steele Hall at 12, because he might not be a premier offensive player long term, but he's got a premier run tool and defensive tool

[00:59:39] that at his best, if it really all pans out for somebody like Steele Hall, he could be a 4-5 win player each year just off his defense, but with somebody like Ike Irish, you're right, that you are looking for the best tool, and it is his bat, but is it going to translate seamlessly to Major League Baseball? And to even use the example of the guy we highlighted our last episode in Liam Doyle. Liam Doyle had an elite tool. His fastball is awesome. Amazing.

[01:00:08] Yeah, Ike Irish, a good catcher, but again, looks like he's going to be in the outfield. A very solid hitter at a very good school, and a very good team, and a very good conference, which is great, and he's dominating. He did okay with what I was trying to read up on it. There are some scouts who I think are a little skeptical that the power translates, and that it'll only translate if he pulls, but then if he pulls, is he going to be hitting a lot of balls on the ground? So there's a couple things to look at.

[01:00:38] I did go look at his cape stats a profile. His slugging percentages, while his overall batting lines were good, the slugging rates were not. I think he topped out at slugging like 430. No, and shout out to our guys at Just Baseball who put together this awesome draft prospect list for anybody that's interested in the top 300 prospects for this draft. You can go over to JustBaseball.com and check it out. For Ike Irish, he had a 50% ground ball rate in the Cape League. With wood bats, he was hitting the ball on the ground a little

[01:01:08] bit. So we know he's got power, and we saw him do it at the collegiate level, and if the Mariners were to draft him, they would probably put him out in the outfield. But you have to bank on the wood bat translating, and again, you have to bank on that power translating too, because if you're going to take Ike Irish at number three overall, you have to be sure that power is going to translate, because if it doesn't, then he's essentially a hit over power, bad defensive prospect, and

[01:01:37] that's not worth a number three pick. No. And on top of that, this would be the ultimate discount pick if we're talking about money and bonuses. Ike Irish would be almost 22 years old on draft day. It's going to be pretty close to 22. That's as old of a junior as you can get. So he would be signing a solid amount below the bonus slot that the Mariners would have there at number three. And then you could kind of like the

[01:02:07] last two guys, except this one, maybe even a little more, you would be going way over for that 35th pick that you'd have. You'd be trying the Mariners what doubled Ryan Sloan slot value last year. It was one and a half and they went to three with him. I don't know the slot value of 35, but I mean, if you're going two to three under here, you'd probably want to go two to three over there as well. Right. So you'd be looking to sign somebody else later for over slot.

[01:02:35] Ultimately, when the Mariners do not get picks like this essentially ever, I've been adamant about this since they got that number three pick. You have got to take a real swing with that pick. You have got to take a swing on somebody who you think can be a star, just a true difference maker, even in a draft class that's not as loaded. You have got to take a swing with that pick on somebody who could really pan out. Even if there is some risk associated with it,

[01:03:04] take a swing on the ceiling. If you were to take Ike Irish, that's not really taking a swing. I'm not saying he's a bad player. I'm not saying he won't translate. I'm just saying I would like to, I would like the Mariners to punch a little bit up further than this. And I'm with you on that. It's it's he's a very good baseball player, but I don't know if he's, I don't know if he's number three. Yeah. Agreed. So that's our number 10 prospect. We're into the top 10. 12. It'll go right up to draft week, draft season,

[01:03:34] draft day. And then they'll make their pick. Like we said, we are pretty positive. It will be one of the 12 guys that we're going to highlight in this list. So when they take them, you're going to know something about them. So if it's not, the Mariners are trolling us. Oh yeah. Then they're trolling, but yeah, keep tuning in. These have been fun and we're going to keep highlighting them and going down the list as time goes on. So I that's like Irish and that's our show for today too. So yeah, that just about

[01:04:03] wraps up this edition of the Marine Layer podcast. You guys know the drill. You want to find all of our stuff. It's over at our website, MarinLayerPod.com. Go get your merch. We love to see you wearing it, especially with summer here and, and the chance to get some t-shirts, some hats, et cetera. We're going to be rolling out the hats on the website very, very soon. So go get your merch, go sign up for our Patreon. We'd love to have you. And again, our next live show Saturday, June 28th, 12 PM at Occidental Hall. Again, right across the street from the North End of Lumen Field.

[01:04:33] It's on Occidental Avenue. Would love to have you there. Starts at 12 PM for the live show. Then we'll do a watch party at 1 PM for Mariners Rangers. All that information along with all of our episodes, et cetera, is at our website, MarinLayerPod.com. And you can find us all across social media at MarinLayerPod. That's TJ. I'm Lyle. As always, we thank you guys for tuning in. We'll talk to you soon.