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0:46

We are breaking down all aspects of

0:48

Yankee Baseball. This is the Bronx Pinstripes

0:50

Show with your hosts, Andrew Rotondi and

0:53

Scott Ryan. Let's go. Alright

1:03

guys, we're rolling on with our previews.

1:05

We got today to talk about the

1:07

Tampa Bay Rays from Lockdown Rays. Kevin

1:10

Weiss, who has joined us in the past

1:12

multiple times to talk about the team in

1:14

Tampa. You can follow him on the

1:16

X or Twitter or whatever we're calling it these days

1:18

at Kevin Weiss underscore. What's up, Kevin?

1:20

How you doing, man? Doing well. Just

1:23

getting ready for another baseball season. The Rays have

1:25

made the playoffs five years in a row and

1:27

hoping to make it a sixth this season. You

1:31

guys have what I

1:33

think it's always interesting talking to you

1:35

because the the Rays seemingly every year

1:38

are, you know, from from the the

1:40

larger landscape of baseball under the radar

1:43

to Yankees world and the A-L-E-S, everybody's very

1:45

well aware of the way that the the

1:47

Rays operate. And this offseason really was no

1:49

different in the way that they reshape

1:52

their their roster top to bottom

1:54

by not overextending on

1:57

contracts, you know, making sure that

1:59

they're getting, you know,

2:02

good, young, controllable value for some

2:04

of the guys that are looking

2:06

to get bigger deals. And the

2:08

Rays did it again. And you know, following

2:11

last year where you started out so

2:13

hot, didn't look like they were going

2:15

to lose a game at the beginning

2:17

of the season. It was a 13 and 0, I think.

2:19

And then, yeah, 13 and 0, I think, set a major

2:21

league record. Yeah, it was, it was wild. I

2:23

was like, you know, I remember looking at the standings

2:25

on a daily basis. I'm like, wow, we're really 13

2:28

games out of first place already. This is a, or,

2:30

you know, however many games out of first place that

2:32

this is, this is not starting well. And

2:35

then, you know, at one point you guys were 51 and 22 came back to earth

2:37

a little bit, but

2:40

there were a lot of injuries. You guys dealt with

2:42

a lot of stuff. And then obviously the whole off

2:44

the field, the Wanda Franco situation, which is just, you

2:47

know, it's just a very unfortunate situation.

2:50

It's a, it's a situation where we're going to talk

2:52

a little bit about the baseball, but

2:54

seemingly a bad guy behind the scenes. It's

2:57

something that a fan base, it's

3:00

just, it's not something that anybody ever wants

3:02

to have happen to their team

3:04

or obviously a player

3:06

on their team. You learn more about who they are

3:08

and what they do. It's

3:11

just unfortunate. And

3:14

but talking about baseball, it's a tough spot for

3:16

the Tampa Rays understanding how they extend a big

3:18

contract. And they don't normally do that to a

3:20

guy like that to play a pivotal position on

3:22

the baseball diamond. Yeah,

3:25

man, just your first thoughts coming into the season with,

3:28

with coming off of what you guys did last year.

3:31

Yeah, I think there's general optimism.

3:33

I think that while

3:35

the Rays will always lack in

3:37

true top end talent and star

3:39

power and even more so this

3:41

year without me being without

3:44

Wanda Franco, of course, I don't think personal

3:46

opinion that he plays another game in a

3:48

Rays uniform and having to play baseball again.

3:51

Yeah. Baseball in general. And

3:53

I mean, well, that can be

3:55

saved for another day, but I think they

3:58

have a lot of depth. Um, positional

4:01

player wise, pitching wise, and a

4:03

lot of versatility as they always

4:05

do. But, um,

4:07

I don't, I

4:10

don't necessarily peg them to win the division

4:12

by any means, but I still think

4:14

that they're good enough to be a 92 to 93 win

4:17

team. That's kind

4:19

of where I, I put them at right now.

4:21

I think with the young players that are still

4:23

trying to find their way and the new players

4:25

still trying to find their way, there could be

4:27

some growing pains the first couple of weeks or

4:29

first couple of months of the season before everything

4:31

really gels. It could be the opposite of last

4:33

year where they shot at a big age, 13

4:35

and Oh, there could be some ups and downs,

4:38

uh, to begin the, the 2024 season and kind of see

4:41

where it lies from there. But I

4:43

think, um, people are excited

4:45

to see some new faces and to see how

4:47

they, they can perform and build off, uh, past

4:49

seasons as well. Like Josh Lowe, for example, I

4:51

know he's going to miss the first couple of

4:53

weeks of the season, but, um, you

4:56

know, he had one of the more impressive

4:59

all around seasons, um,

5:02

in baseball, you know, hitting two 90, 20 homers,

5:04

32 stolen bases. Um,

5:07

he could hit and put damage to each

5:10

and every pitch, just seeing what he can

5:12

do this season and building off, uh, what

5:14

he did last year. So there's, um, I

5:17

think there's going to be a lot of, a lot of

5:19

fun, interesting storylines this year. So

5:22

the big storyline coming in, you

5:24

guys obviously made the, uh, that

5:26

blockbuster trade with the Dodgers trading

5:28

glass now and many Margot, um,

5:31

receiving, uh, Ryan Peppio, I'm saying that correctly.

5:33

And, uh, and, and Johnny, Johnny DeLuca, who

5:36

unfortunately just got hit by a pitch. Uh,

5:38

it looks like he has a,

5:40

has a broken hands going to be out a few weeks. Right.

5:42

So, so what are your thoughts on the glass now trade? So

5:45

I think it was fully be expected. I mean,

5:48

that was, um, the worst kept secret throughout the

5:50

entire off season. And the regular season that teleglass

5:52

now is going to be owed $25 million in

5:54

2024. The

5:57

rays don't do that. They never have

5:59

in problem. They never will so something

6:01

had to give and they

6:03

found a trade partner that they like to work

6:05

with Los Angeles Dodgers There's a couple teams throughout

6:07

baseball that the Rays really do

6:09

like to make transactions with one of them So

6:11

Dodgers one of them's the Mariners the

6:14

Miami Marlins as well Cleveland Guardians another

6:16

and I think you They really got

6:18

about the best deal that they could because

6:21

not only did they shift off kind

6:24

of glass now in his salary, but many

6:26

more go who Um Averages

6:29

player they were set to

6:31

owe him ten million dollars. So that was also

6:34

a big piece of the deal is Whoever

6:37

we trade Tyler glass now to they

6:39

have to take Manny Margot off our hands as well

6:41

We don't want to be stunted with that contract and

6:43

that's exactly what happened I think the Dodgers ended up

6:46

flipping Manny Margot because they didn't really want anything to

6:48

do with them But I think they got

6:51

the Rays got two really solid pieces

6:53

in Ryan Peppio and Johnny DeLuca DeLuca

6:55

seems like Can

6:57

do Everything type of guy

6:59

in a real effort hustle type

7:01

of dude He kind of reminds me a little bit of Johnny

7:03

Gomes if he's able to put it together But of course, he's

7:06

gonna miss the first couple weeks with

7:08

that hand injury, but otherwise he

7:10

was gonna

7:12

be pegged to be the the

7:14

fourth outfielder and and really Filling

7:17

in on all three outfield spots when Randy needed

7:19

a rest or Siri needed a rest or Josh

7:21

Lowe needed a rest So we'll have to see

7:23

what he can do when he can come back

7:26

because Wrist injuries hand or

7:28

injuries not easy for a hitter. That's something that's

7:30

gonna take some time To

7:32

get you know back into the swing of things

7:34

and adjust to major league pitching But I think

7:36

the fan base is excited for him Ryan Peppio

7:39

as well. I think that with

7:41

the injuries and You

7:44

know, obviously Shane McLean hands out for the

7:46

year. Jeffrey Springs is is out till milk

7:48

midseason at leash Duras muscle

7:51

as well And then we

7:53

heard Taj Bradley has a has an

7:56

issue of himself Peppio is

7:58

probably gonna be forced into the rotation this

8:00

year as well and he doesn't quite bring

8:02

the electricity that Tyler Glass now does but

8:04

he seems to have a workable

8:08

change up to go along with the solid fastball

8:10

and I would not be surprised

8:12

if opening day or whenever

8:15

the opening day roster is announced that

8:17

you see him as the

8:20

number three, number four, number five start. The back

8:22

end of the rotation is probably where he plugs

8:24

in this season. Yeah, he's a big

8:26

guy too. He's got that. I read

8:28

a couple scouting reports on him. It seems like his decent

8:32

fastball but that change up is really

8:35

his plus pitch. So like

8:37

you said, man, that was not a surprise

8:39

to anybody. So the fact that they were

8:41

able to turn that around and get players

8:44

of this caliber I think is impressive

8:47

given the the

8:50

transparency of the situation. You

8:53

also traded Luke Rayleigh and

8:55

you have a shortstop now it's seemingly

8:57

although Caballero coming over from the Mariners

8:59

has that defensive versatility in the infield.

9:01

Is he going to be slotting in

9:03

as the everyday shortstop to start the

9:05

season? Yeah, that seems to be the

9:07

role and especially with Taylor Walls injured

9:09

to start the season that I know

9:11

Caballero when he was playing with the

9:13

Mariners he was mainly a second base

9:15

guy with some inventory at short but

9:17

I think that that was the purpose

9:20

of the trade with the status unknown of

9:22

of Wanda Franco or the expectation that he's

9:24

not going to be available this season. We

9:26

have to find a guy that we can

9:29

more or less feel comfortable

9:31

with playing every day and that's what they

9:33

have in Caballero. And of course he's not

9:35

going to be able to bring the offensive

9:37

and defensive firepower that Wanda

9:40

does. Not many players or athletes

9:42

can do that but I think he's going to

9:44

be a solid piece in there

9:46

and I think there's some more untapped potential. He's

9:48

a younger player and I just think with more

9:51

reps and coming into that

9:53

that race system where they really do take care

9:55

of you and put you in the best positions

9:57

to succeed he should be in a pretty good

9:59

position. spot and I wouldn't be surprised if by

10:01

the end of the year he's a one and a

10:03

half to two war player. And

10:07

he also has a fun style of

10:09

play where he gets into the mind

10:11

and headspace of the opposing pitcher and

10:14

he'll steal a bag, he'll occasionally

10:17

pull one for a home run. So

10:19

he's an interesting player but yeah, he's

10:21

really the guy that's going to be

10:24

quote unquote the everyday shortstop. The Rays don't

10:27

have many everyday players which is why I

10:29

say that but at the end

10:31

of the year I wouldn't be surprised

10:33

if you see him at 120, 130 games at that position. And

10:37

I forgot about walls and the injury there. It's

10:40

crazy when we talked about the hot start that

10:42

you, I mean hot is an understatement, start that

10:44

you guys had to the beginning of the season.

10:46

But man did you get just

10:49

pummeled by injury in the,

10:52

especially in the rotation that obviously you

10:55

lose your shortstop

10:57

who's supposed to be the face

10:59

of your baseball future. It's

11:02

an incredible blow but specifically

11:04

the pitching, it seemed like it was

11:06

just like tech, tech, tech. McClanahan goes

11:08

down and it was just one of

11:10

those things that I didn't know how,

11:13

I don't know how any team could

11:15

really persevere through that but the Rays

11:17

ended up obviously 99 wins, second

11:19

in the division only a couple of games out but

11:22

didn't have the firepower for the playoffs. So

11:25

the understanding that Caballero

11:27

is going to start most likely

11:29

at shortstop, you mentioned DeLuca obviously

11:32

is injured here. You guys also

11:34

added veteran Ahmad Rosario. Is he

11:36

slated for this like super utility

11:38

role because I know that they're

11:40

potentially experimenting with him in right

11:43

field. And if that

11:45

experiment is successful and he's able to platoon or get

11:47

some more playing out there, it seems like you have

11:49

a more clear path

11:51

forward for one of your prospects Curtis

11:53

Mead. So can you talk about that and

11:55

just how you think you guys are going to be using them? Yeah,

11:57

that's kind of the ideas and I know that. You

12:00

know, when Rosario was with the guardians that he

12:02

was not really getting good metrics at shortstop You

12:05

know some of the outs above average and defensive

12:07

runs saved didn't really like him But he's a

12:10

guy that in a pinch if you need him

12:12

to play short He can do that especially with

12:14

the injury of Taylor walls should something to happen

12:16

to to caballero But I think that is the

12:18

idea that they're going to move

12:20

Rosario around, you know when um When

12:23

Brandon Lau needs a day off that there's a

12:25

lefty on the mound. That's where he can play Rosario

12:27

at second base um now that

12:29

you have uh injured outfielders multiple

12:32

injured outfielders to start the season between

12:34

Josh low and Johnny DeLuca Um that even

12:36

more so clears a path for Ahmed

12:38

Rosario in the corner outfield So I

12:40

think you're going to see a lot

12:42

of action from him to start the

12:44

season in right field I think

12:47

that also opens a lane for Richie Palacios

12:49

to make the opening day roster. Um, he

12:51

was acquired from the Cardinals uh

12:54

in the uh, Andrew Kitchridge trade, so the

12:56

the race traded kids rich got the salary

12:58

salary off the books and and um Palacio

13:01

who's an intriguing prospect and player I think can

13:03

can help the raisin some respect But it was

13:05

a no-brainer for the raise I mean one and

13:07

a half million dollars for a guy who's you

13:09

know played in the bigs for six seven years

13:12

Uh has a home in the Tampa Bay

13:14

area has some desirable skill sets. He he

13:17

with the raise love the versatility They love

13:19

the aspect that You can

13:21

platoon him if needed. Uh, and I think that

13:25

Depending on how that goes. Um and depending

13:27

on how like Curtis Mead and Jonathan Aranda

13:29

are moving along The raise could also say

13:31

in May or June say hey, we we've

13:34

got what we needed out of Ahmed Rosario

13:36

We're ready to trade him to somebody else

13:38

and then really give more of the reps

13:41

and opportunities to one of those younger players

13:43

So he's he's really just a stopgap guy.

13:45

I think until they're ready to To

13:48

pull the trigger full time on some of these other guys and

13:50

we haven't even mentioned junior cam and arrow who's going to start

13:52

the season in triple a but um

13:55

That was kind of the the idea behind it

13:57

and he's also just a guy that um the

13:59

young players can learn from because he's got

14:01

a lot of experience and he's, he's, you

14:04

know, played in multiple markets. And I think

14:06

that he's going to be a really, really

14:08

solid piece for the race for at least

14:11

the first half of the season, give or

14:13

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You need Indeed. Reese's

15:15

peanut butter cups are the greatest, but let

15:17

me play devil's advocate here. Let's see. So

15:20

no, that's a good thing. Definitely

15:23

not a problem. Reese's

15:25

you did it. You stumped this

15:27

charming devil. For

15:30

the most part, obviously shortstop being

15:32

different, but the lineup is, is

15:34

relatively intact. Obviously, low

15:37

is, is starting on the shelf. But once

15:39

he's back, I mean, you guys have obviously

15:41

Yandy Diaz who had a tremendous season, um,

15:44

you know, hitting three 30, the, the OPS was

15:46

a, I think he had a 158 OPS

15:48

and then you had multiple guys with 20

15:50

home runs, uh, a razorina. I

15:52

can't believe he's still only 29 years old. That's crazy. It

15:54

feels like he's been in the league for, for, you

15:56

know, 10 years. Um, but yeah,

15:59

how do you feel about the. offense because

16:01

it does seem like relatively intact from last

16:03

year. You guys were able to score

16:06

runs and kind of the, you

16:08

know, the way that I've always seen this raise

16:10

offense over the years is they, a lot of

16:12

bats, a ball, a lot of, you know, spraying,

16:14

spraying around the, uh, the diamond. And they have

16:16

a lot of base runners that are just clogging

16:19

up the base path, um, and try to make

16:21

things happen. Yeah. I think it's, it's going to

16:23

be a, a similar recipe

16:26

this season. Um, again, missing

16:28

wonder Franco is, is a big hit, uh,

16:30

being without Josh Lowe for the first couple of

16:32

weeks is a big hit, but they still have

16:34

the main stage. Um, Yandy Diaz, I don't know

16:37

if he's going to be as good as, um,

16:39

a near MVP season last year, but you always know what

16:41

you're going to be able to get from him. Randy

16:44

is always consistent. You're going to get 20

16:46

bombs and 20 stolen bases and 30 doubles, and

16:48

he's going to hit you to 62

16:50

70 and he's going to play 150, 155 games. So

16:53

he's going to post on a regular basis, which is

16:55

very impressive. I think a big,

16:58

big thing to watch out for big things to watch out

17:00

for is Isak Prentice. Can you

17:03

replicate what he did last year with being

17:05

a slugger? He legitimately was a slugger last

17:07

year. I know all his home runs were

17:09

to the pool side, but he was putting

17:11

up similar numbers as Rafi Devries, for example.

17:13

Um, and then Brandon Lau, I

17:16

think the health of him is

17:18

really, uh, important and imperative if he's able

17:20

to play a full season and

17:22

get back to, you know, um,

17:26

2019 2021 Brandon Lau, just

17:28

something more than what he did

17:30

this passing. He's got to stay on the field

17:32

one way or the other. I think that's, that's

17:34

a big, big, important piece because he's just another

17:36

middle of the order bat that you can, uh,

17:39

include there or not. And then Harold Ramirez, like,

17:41

I know this has also been a big topping,

17:43

uh, talking point is when is

17:45

he going to get moved? When is he going

17:47

to get traded? But right now with all the

17:49

injuries throughout spring training, there's not really, uh, you

17:52

kind of have to keep them on the roster at this

17:54

point. He's a, a perennial 300

17:56

hitter and, uh, he's just going to,

17:58

um, Find ways

18:00

to get on base and move the ball around

18:03

and I think that's an important piece to have

18:05

especially when you have some Some

18:07

higher strikeout guys on the roster like Jose

18:09

Siri and Renee Pinto who's the

18:11

new starting catcher with the race So I think

18:14

you're gonna see some timely home runs.

18:16

You're gonna see a lot of stolen bases There's

18:18

a lot of athletes on

18:20

this roster and it's gonna make for for some

18:22

fun times I think for the

18:24

Rays offense, but I wouldn't expect there to be

18:26

a Standard one

18:28

through nine. I mean, there's probably gonna be

18:30

you know, 150 155 different batting

18:32

orders from game one to game 162 because

18:35

that's just what the race do and with all the Platoons

18:38

and giving days off and lefty righty matchups and

18:40

substitutions There's gonna be a lot of a lot

18:42

of guys are gonna get opportunities in a fast

18:45

this year Yeah, Kevin Cash is

18:47

gonna get the opportunity to manage a baseball

18:49

game Yeah on a on a daily basis

18:51

and something I read that it's crazy again

18:53

how time flies But it looks like he's

18:55

gonna be he's gonna be the all-time Winning

18:58

his manager for Tampa what

19:00

first first couple months of the season, right? He's

19:03

not very far off of Madden right now Yeah,

19:05

which tells you a couple things. It's a relatively

19:07

new franchise 25 26 years and

19:09

there's been a lot of bad moments in the

19:11

franchise and Cash is

19:14

definitely going to surpass that record because that

19:16

was one of I mean that was really

19:18

the biggest extension of the offseason was The

19:20

Ray is locking up Eric Neander the

19:23

president of baseball operations and Kevin

19:25

Cash through What we think

19:28

will be a new stadium So they're gonna be in

19:30

a raised uniform a raised organization through 28 29 20

19:32

30 We

19:34

don't know the exact terms of the deal, but that

19:37

was a big priority For

19:39

the Rays in the offseason. They didn't extend,

19:41

you know any players like they did I

19:44

think it was last year where they they locked

19:46

up Yandy and Jeffrey Springs and Pete Fairbanks that

19:48

might happen sometime this season, but

19:50

they really wanted to Cement

19:55

the the leadership of the organization

19:57

because it really does move

20:00

and go as, as neander and cash

20:02

go. And there's such a good combination

20:05

together because a lot of times you hear

20:08

throughout baseball that there's some headbutting

20:10

between the guys in the C-suite and the

20:13

guys that are, you know, old

20:15

school ballplayers that are on the field, but

20:17

they really do gel together. And I think

20:19

that's, that's an important factor going forward. Yeah.

20:22

You look around the league too, as far as like

20:24

most valuable, uh, you

20:26

know, front office or, or GM

20:28

and, uh, or, you know, brass,

20:31

who's making decisions in the, in the, in

20:33

the front office and the manager, they're arguably

20:36

the most valuable because of

20:38

the way that the rays form their team

20:40

and the way that, you know, they lead

20:42

lean so heavily into their, you know, their

20:44

formula that, that has been tried and true

20:46

now for, uh, for, for many

20:49

years. So, all right, the, you talked about the

20:51

offense, got some, uh, some of these trades out

20:53

of the way. Thoughts on

20:55

the rotation, obviously, Zach Efland is

20:57

going to be leading the charge here, uh, with,

21:01

uh, with, with the rotation as the, uh,

21:03

you know, the, the old guy, the, the guy

21:06

leading the, uh, the, um, the

21:08

spots out here. Aaron Savalay came over last year

21:10

full season with him. That's interesting. I think there's

21:12

a lot of upside and then, uh, you know,

21:14

it seems like the, uh, what Zach Little and

21:17

then probably the rest of that rotation with

21:19

Peppio and, and how it's going to get shaped out.

21:21

But how are you feeling about the rotation

21:24

and the starting pitchers understanding that bullpen

21:26

is a big factor here. So maybe

21:28

touch on the, the, you know,

21:30

the full pitching staff as a whole,

21:32

because that's how you guys operate. You

21:34

deploy pitchers, not necessarily starters and relievers.

21:37

Right. For sure. And I think, um,

21:39

you mentioned the, the relievers, they, they

21:41

added Tyler Alexander, they've got Chris Davinsky

21:43

back. They signed Phil Maiton for I

21:45

think $6, $7 million a pop. I

21:47

think he's going to be really, really impressive and

21:50

special for this team. And then, um,

21:52

you have, of course, you know, Pete Fairbanks and

21:54

some other guys that you can fill in from

21:56

there, but the rotation to start the season is

21:59

a little bit. humdrum because of

22:01

the injuries as it plays today

22:03

according to the experts you do

22:06

have Efland

22:08

number one Savali number two

22:10

littel three peppio four and

22:12

Jacob Wagas pak number

22:14

five now I want to see what

22:16

the rotation looks like a couple months

22:18

from now where hopefully you have Taj

22:20

Bradley available You have Shane Bose available

22:22

and then the player they

22:24

signed from Japan on a minor league contract with

22:29

Sawa I want to see how he can develop

22:31

and how he can be deployed. I think that

22:33

will bring For some

22:35

really really interesting times as well But

22:37

I think the bullpen is it's

22:39

as stacked as it can be I mean it

22:42

with eight nine guys and there's even guys that

22:44

they're just not gonna be able to give opportunities

22:46

to of course until injuries happen But they

22:48

can keep going down the list like Kevin

22:51

Kelly might not make the opening day roster

22:53

Manny Rodriguez Might not make

22:55

the opening day roster. So there's

22:57

a lot of a lot of fun Movement

22:59

to talk about in that respect,

23:02

but I think they'll be able

23:04

to do what they always do where it's you know pitching

23:08

Pitching staff by committee where you're gonna see a lot

23:10

of the starters go four or five

23:13

You might see an opener in there and

23:15

then it goes to the bullpen for you

23:17

know six seven eight nine where everybody has

23:19

a different type of arm angle and delivery

23:22

and pitch style and

23:24

that's just how they confuse

23:26

and make it difficult on hitters,

23:29

but the rotation certainly

23:31

isn't as strong as it could be

23:33

if Shane McClanahan was available if If

23:36

Springs was available if rest muscle was available.

23:39

I mean you have like an all-time injured

23:41

rotation it's crazy to think about it in

23:43

that respect, but I Really

23:47

do want to see what what Bradley can do

23:49

to build off of what Bosque can do to

23:51

build off of and what? The

23:54

Japanese import can do this

23:56

season as well because he spurned Major

23:59

League off to sign with the Rays on a

24:01

minor league deal. And I think

24:04

that could be an intriguing ad

24:06

there. Why did he do

24:08

that? What's the storyline behind? So the

24:10

storyline generally is he

24:13

feels that, the Rays pitching

24:15

lab and coaching staff are just

24:18

great at churning out

24:20

and maximizing pitchers to their highest

24:22

potential. So he felt that the

24:25

best opportunity for him to succeed in the

24:27

major leagues was with the Rays. Even if

24:30

it was on a minor league deal to

24:32

start. And that makes sense. He gets called

24:34

up. It's sort of, I guess, like a

24:36

split contract where when he gets added to

24:38

the major league roster, he'll get like 3

24:41

million in change. So it's not like he's

24:43

gonna be a league minimum player

24:45

for the entire year. But that was really

24:47

the idea and the impetus behind that. And

24:50

if he has a strong year, just

24:53

like so many other Rays

24:55

pitchers, they go on to

24:57

riches and fame with other

24:59

organizations. Just

25:02

the millions of dollars that the

25:04

Rays have earned pitchers

25:06

to make money elsewhere is

25:08

pretty impressive. So that's probably, that's kind of

25:10

the idea behind it and why

25:12

he made that decision there. And the Rays

25:15

also have, not saying other organizations don't have

25:17

experience with it, but they've

25:19

done, I think a relatively good job of, when

25:22

they bring in a player from Japan, making

25:24

sure that they're comfortable and

25:27

settled. They have a translator. They

25:29

have that adjustment period and that

25:31

they're taken care of, so to

25:33

speak. It's not like they're, okay,

25:35

you gotta do your own thing. They really

25:37

work hard to make sure those players are

25:40

cared for in the transition to the States or

25:42

a new country. So

25:45

you mentioned Rasmussen Springs and Boz,

25:47

but Rasmussen and Springs, do they

25:49

have an opportunity to come back

25:52

later in the year? Is

25:54

that kind of where they're projected? Are they a

25:56

late summer ad at best case?

25:59

Yeah, that's... That's kind of the idea of

26:01

what I've heard varying timelines, but I think that's,

26:03

it's something like August-ish

26:06

timeframe. So think of

26:08

it as a trade

26:10

deadline acquisition in that respect.

26:14

And when they do return, I don't necessarily

26:16

think it's plug and play in the rotation.

26:19

I think it might be one,

26:21

two innings at a pop, maybe a bulk

26:23

reliever, something like that to really work them

26:25

in to where they're fully comfortable. It's not

26:27

just like, okay, they're healthy and ready to

26:29

return. Now they're ready to go out and

26:31

pitch six, seven innings. I don't think that'll

26:34

necessarily happen until 2025. And

26:36

then Shane Bos is closer. Are

26:38

you expecting, obviously this, he was a, he

26:41

was a highly touted prospect. You

26:43

know, still has that, that live arm. Are

26:45

you expecting him to be

26:48

a contributor this year or is this, has he,

26:50

have you fizzled on him a bit? No,

26:53

I think, I mean, his,

26:55

his talent is, is amazing.

26:58

Where, when he made his major league

27:00

debut several seasons ago and he

27:02

had four, four really

27:05

above average pitches and he

27:08

looked, he had so much charisma

27:11

and composure on the mound where it just

27:13

looked like he was pitching a little

27:15

late game, like nothing faced him and the

27:17

repeatable delivery. Like there was so much about

27:21

his style of play and what he brought to the

27:23

table that was like, this guy could be a

27:26

better version, a right handed version of Shane McClanahan more or

27:28

less. But I think, I think

27:31

they're really going to take their time with

27:33

him, that they're going to slow

27:36

track him to the majors. I think

27:38

that's the idea where, you know, again, day one, he's not

27:40

really going to be available, but I want to see what

27:42

he can do. You

27:45

know, when it gets to May, June, July, something like that.

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28:20

guys have been rumored for now a very long

28:22

time about getting a new stadium. I've

28:25

seen multiple plans in Tampa, in

28:27

St. Pete. It

28:29

seems like maybe there's some traction moving forward. I

28:31

don't know. What's the latest on

28:33

the stadium and has the local community accepted the

28:35

fact that it's going to be in St.

28:38

Pete? Yeah,

28:40

so it's if

28:43

and when it gets built, it will 100% be

28:45

in St. Pete just because the raise will be

28:47

able to capitalize on all the redevelopment that is

28:49

available there. But a

28:51

vote for the

28:53

St. Petersburg City Council is expected

28:55

in May. So we should have

28:57

some finality to the situation around

29:00

then. And

29:02

then if and when they

29:04

give the vote of approval, which I

29:06

think ultimately will happen, then construction is

29:09

expected or supposed to start sometime

29:12

in October of this year. And

29:15

that way they can be ready for opening day 2028, I

29:18

guess. And the idea behind

29:20

the new stadium and just

29:23

all the redevelopment that's going to happen there

29:25

is to make it similar

29:27

to what the Braves have

29:30

in Atlanta with the battery. So think of the

29:32

battery in

29:34

St. Petersburg. That's what the raise and the

29:36

city and the county is going for at

29:38

the end of the day. And

29:41

do you think it's going to still in St.

29:43

Pete? I know that's a huge reason why people

29:45

aren't going to a lot of the games and

29:47

why attendance is where it is. Does

29:49

the new stadium change that

29:52

even though it's in a location that's

29:54

still a problem for the local area? Maybe

29:56

for a little bit. I don't think they're going to break

29:58

any records as far as the. the attendance goes, I

30:01

think the first couple years, there'll be that newness factor

30:03

where you'll be really impressed by the stadium totals at

30:05

the end of the year. But I think the idea

30:07

behind it all is there

30:09

is going to be a lot

30:11

of new hotel rooms and a

30:14

lot of new condos and residential

30:16

areas surrounding the stadium. So that

30:18

should feed itself into better attendance

30:20

and then all the shopping,

30:23

dining, entertainment that'll surround the stadium

30:25

and the infrastructure, I think that'll

30:27

just bring new buds into the

30:30

seats as well. So I wouldn't be surprised if, you

30:32

know, even though it is in St.

30:34

Pete, I think when everything is all built out

30:36

that they'll still average or they'll be able to

30:38

average, you know, 20 plus thousand fans a night.

30:40

But at the end of the day, I really

30:44

don't think that the Rays care

30:46

all that much about attendance. It's

30:48

just about capitalizing on all the

30:51

property that's around because they're gonna

30:53

be able to make money hand

30:55

over fist on anything that's built

30:57

surrounding that new ballpark. Interesting.

31:00

Okay, we're asking everybody who comes on for the

31:03

A-L-East previews for a bold

31:05

prediction for the A-L-East. You got something up your

31:07

sleeves and what you think is gonna happen this

31:09

year? Oh bold

31:11

prediction for the A-L-East.

31:15

Wow, I got to think about that. I

31:17

guess is Adley Rushman MVP. I'll

31:20

go with that. Oh wow, okay.

31:23

Do you think the Orioles are going to

31:25

run away with the division? Obviously Yankees

31:28

are retooled a little bit but we

31:30

just dealt with some pretty significant news

31:32

with with Cole. Could have been worse

31:34

but we'll see what happens. How do

31:37

you think the whole division shakes out? I

31:39

do think that the Orioles will more or

31:42

less run away with it. I

31:44

think the addition of Corbin Burns is definitely

31:46

a big factor and just all those young

31:48

players getting bigger and better to some extent

31:50

I think is big.

31:53

I definitely

31:56

see the Red Sox finishing last. The

31:59

Orioles finishing And then it's gonna

32:01

just be a ship shape a

32:03

shape shift of all the other teams of

32:06

the Orioles the Yankees in the Rays I

32:08

think there's gonna be a lot of movement

32:10

throughout the season You

32:12

know, I'd probably see the the Yankees second

32:15

the race third And

32:17

then the Blue Jays for something like that

32:20

But I I definitely see the

32:22

bookends being the Red Sox

32:24

and Orioles and then everything else that happens

32:26

in between It's a little

32:28

bit more difficult to pinpoint from my perspective.

32:31

Yeah, I agree. I think there's some Uncertainty

32:35

within the middle and there's gonna be a bunch

32:37

of teams beating each other up But but the

32:39

world's are gonna be tough. They're they're Uber

32:42

talented. They still got more coming up. It

32:44

seems like every every other month and

32:47

they're gonna be tough to beat now they have a little bit of You

32:51

know experience which is which is which is tough and

32:53

I I agree with you on Adley Rushman I don't know

32:55

if he's gonna be MVP, but The

32:58

guy's gonna be a Hall of Famer. That's I pegged him. Yeah,

33:00

like the day one guy. He just looks the part He just

33:02

looks he looks like he's the the

33:04

absolute real deal. So I saw him coming up

33:08

Through the the tides a little bit in Norfolk,

33:10

which was which was fun But yeah, and what's

33:12

what's crazy about that not to interrupt here, but

33:14

they also have a new ownership group Which means

33:16

yeah, that's true. They're ready money spending money and

33:18

and really making an effort now going forward That's

33:21

probably the scariest thing for the division actually with all

33:23

of the talent that's on their roster Right, like they

33:25

actually have people that are willing to

33:27

spend some money. Yeah, Blake Snell. Come on down to

33:29

the Orioles All

33:31

right, Kevin appreciate you coming back on man You

33:34

know have hopefully it's a it's a fun year

33:36

and and we'll touch base later in the season,

33:38

but thanks for coming on, bro Yeah, absolutely. I

33:40

always enjoy it Hey

33:44

guys, thanks for listening to the Bronx pinstripe show

33:47

Make sure you find us an iTunes and subscribe

33:49

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34:02

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34:04

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34:07

guys for your support. We really appreciate it and

34:09

go Yankees.