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00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid as we break down the latest in Major League Baseball around Leighton's with us
00:05He and I have known each other for quite some time here
00:09So it's always fun to chat and find out who he likes in terms of prospects
00:12And I won't rip him at the end for his opinions because again, you know, everybody, you know, certainly
00:19But thanks for coming on the show. Happy Valentine's Day. Welcome back to Newswire
00:24Likewise, it's awesome to be back on because one I'd love to always catch up with you
00:29Baseball seasons right on the horizon
00:31Yeah, no, it definitely does and look I I guess you know
00:35there's two schools of thought here with the free agency these days is that
00:39It feels like we're always gonna get guys signing in February now until the new CBA comes in in a couple of years and I do
00:45Think by the way, there's gonna be a new CBA and it's gonna be a lot of changes going on a couple years
00:50But for now, we're getting Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman and Nick Pavetta
00:54You know this offseason I think was better than last offseason which was just dreadful all the good players were signing in January and February
01:00But Bregman ends up in Boston and I wanted your opinion on really what this does for them
01:06I I personally I'll give you my opinion that I want yours
01:08I don't think this does anything for them for the future
01:11This is a one-year deal for me when I look at it on paper. This guy has a huge year
01:14He's gonna opt right out reminds me of when JD Martinez signed
01:17With Boston a few years ago with the opt-out opt-out opt-out, although he decided to stay in Boston
01:23What do you make of this deal with Bregman to the Red Sox?
01:25I a hundred percent agree
01:27And I think that's perfect for them and where they're at right because they have these prospects and we're going to talk about it
01:33That are gonna make potentially an impact as soon as this year
01:37But you know for sure are in the long-term plants
01:39Of course in this instance Christian Campbell is the guy that I think a lot of people are saying, okay
01:44Well, what does this mean for him?
01:45He is a guy that can move all over but I think a lot of people were penciling him into second base
01:50But you have to remember that you're hoping that Christian Campbell has a year anything like
01:56Alex Bregman had last year even as he's a couple years into the major leagues
02:00Of course
02:00There's always the pipe dream that he can hit 25 plus home runs and be the monster that he was in the minor leagues last
02:05Year, but this is a Red Sox team that I think is feeling like the American League is a little bit more wide open
02:11And that especially you look at the ALEs the the Orioles didn't do a ton
02:16You're not worried about the Blue Jays the Yankees lose Juan Soto
02:19Like I think you can feel like you add one more piece here
02:22That's proven that you know what you're gonna get and you can feel a lot better about your chances to make a run in
02:282025 but that doesn't compromise the future here and if you do lose Bregman, okay, that's fine
02:33You got Christian Campbell one of the best infield prospects in baseball ready to jump right up and and plug in in
02:392026 and beyond
02:41Yeah, Red Sox do have a really strong farm system
02:44And they added pitching to their win total on the Fandula Sportsbook is 85 and a half
02:49And I think it's not really on the strength of Bregman. It's on the strength that all of a sudden
02:52They have Garrett crochet and Walker Bueller. I mean those were really big ads for them for pitching
02:57They're talking about maybe using a six-man rotation
02:59We're hearing that more and more for other teams as well
03:02Minus 122 to make the playoffs to win the ALEs the long shot same with the American League
03:07but health is gonna determine this and I guess on the positive side if
03:12Walker Bueller throws 150 innings and if Garrett crochet and Bayo and
03:16Gelido and all these guys throw 150 innings
03:18I think Boston could fly over this 85 and a half
03:21But we are dealing with a lot of injury history on the pitching side. So for me, this is a tough call
03:26What do you think? I?
03:28Love the over I agree with everything you're saying
03:30But at the same time you look at this lineup in the balance now that it has they really needed a right-handed bat
03:35And I love what Bregman brings to the table in that ballpark as well
03:39You can already imagine how many doubles he's gonna be hitting off of that green monster there and in his career 41 games in
03:45Fenway Park or against the Red Sox actually should say he's an OPS over a thousand a lot of those games in Fenway Park
03:51I think the OPS is right around there as well. But in terms of the pitching it's definitely volatile
03:56But you look at where the pitching was at last year
03:58It's still a lot better not just because you have the ace at the top and crochet
04:02But I think there's more depth in general as well
04:04Even just better plug-and-play options if it gets to that
04:07I think they were in a spot last year where their plug-and-play options this year were guys that were ending up
04:12You know being expected to kind of grab the four and five spot in the rotation
04:17But I do believe that they're gonna get more out of a Quinn Priester with what they're doing pitching development wise Richard Fitz
04:22Looks like it could be a solid depth arm as well
04:24I do feel as though they have more options than they've had in the past and I think there's a little bit more balance to
04:30The bullpen all of a sudden as well
04:31So if the pitching's even just a little bit stronger, I think that lineup is pretty tough to beat
04:37Yeah, it's definitely gonna be an exciting year. I think for the fans there how many games they win remains to be seen
04:42All right. So going into this season as far as prospects are concerned, you know, let's keep it real
04:47There aren't like the superstars schemes names or Ellie de la Cruz O'Neill Cruz
04:53Merrill I mean, it's a different kind of year in baseball for prospects
04:56It's not to say that guys are gonna come up and not be very good
04:59But there aren't any like huge names coming out. I think the Bregman news maybe elevates the status of one prospect
05:06I know you want to talk about and that is Matt Shaw on the Chicago Cubs. They opted obviously
05:11Not to match the offer that was made by Boston
05:15It would appear that the Cubs were very much in it, but didn't want to match the amount of money or those opt-outs
05:20They wanted to lock them in so that opens the door for door for Matt Shaw. Is he the very best?
05:25offensive prospect going into the season because
05:29None really jump off the page as huge superstars this season. I think if you balance opportunity and ability
05:36Yes
05:36I think if you just balance there just look at the ability Roman Anthony is probably the closest guy to the
05:42Superstars that you mentioned last year in the Boston Red Sox organization, but we just talked about it. There's a ton of backs there
05:47So it's gonna be hard to find
05:49Consistent a bees for a Roman Anthony Matt Shaw now has a clear path directly to third base
05:53The defense has gotten so much better there and what he did at the end of the year
05:57I mean it was really impressive to see the way that he closed out the season and OPS over a thousand over his final 50
06:03games at 335 for 17
06:05585 it's a blend of hitting the ball hard speed a ton of doubles a good feel to hit and the fact that he's gotten
06:12Himself to be coming a solid defender at the hot corner. I think that's part of the reason
06:16I think critical of the Cubs for being a little bit cheap
06:19Chicago freaking cops
06:20But in this instance I can understand not wanting to push your limits when you have a guy that does look like he can plug
06:25And play and hold his own at the hot corner this coming season
06:28All right last thing the hot names right now a weekend Brandon Sproat on the New York Mets
06:33Look out this guy's gonna be a star you buying in on all this early stuff. I
06:38I'm excited about him, but I also think people need to look at you know
06:42What happened to triple-a the zone gets a little tighter hitters get a bit more disciplined all of a sudden that fringy command?
06:47Starts to rear its head a little bit more
06:50I do think he ran out of gas attack
06:51But this is a guy that if he's able to clean things up and in repeat the mechanics a little bit more the stuff is
06:57As good as anybody in the minor leagues. He's up to a hundred plus miles per hour
07:01He's got that Paul Skeen's adjacent splinker a cutter a slider as well that are disgusting stuff wise he could be a monster for them
07:09All right, I'm great to catch up with you, man. I know I'll see you around the ballpark soon. Thanks for coming on Newswire
07:15Thanks for having me looking forward to it