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00:00Alright, if you're a tapped-in sports fan in the Bay and you already know that the Giants
00:09announced on their Justin Verlander Zoom that they are out on Roki Sasaki, that's not the
00:18news that we have.
00:20We have new news in a moment.
00:26But first, it's time for Triples for Autism.
00:28It is brought to you by Pettinelli Financial Partners and the Autism Society San Francisco
00:33Bay Area.
00:34The Warriors made, count them up, 10 three-pointers on Friday in Indiana, even though they didn't
00:40seem to have any players on their team that night.
00:44But there were enough to make 10, and that's just enough for another donation from Pettinelli
00:49to the Autism Society San Francisco, so that game was not a total loss.
00:54There was no Steph Curry and others, but he healed.
00:57He made three, Guy Santos a couple more, and five others, including Quentin Post, each
01:03made one.
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01:30Nice.
01:31All right.
01:32Here we go.
01:33Roki Sasaki.
01:34Yeah?
01:35According to Jeff Passan, has narrowed his field down to three teams, and will officially
01:48decide on a team by the closing of his posting window, which is in 10 days.
01:54So sometime over the next week and a half, by January 23rd, which is next Thursday, we
02:00will know where Sasaki is going to go, and Passan has the three teams.
02:06So here they are.
02:08Number one.
02:10Number one is the Toronto Blue Jays.
02:12All right.
02:13The Toronto Blue Jays.
02:15Number two.
02:16A finalist.
02:17Number two.
02:18John Sally.
02:20The Santiago Padres.
02:24And that is team number two.
02:26Number three.
02:29The Los Angeles Dodgers.
02:31Of course.
02:32Go Dodgers.
02:33Right.
02:34I mean, why wouldn't he?
02:35The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres are two of the three finalists for
02:40Roki Sasaki.
02:42The Toronto Blue Jays seem to be in on everyone the same way they were in on Shohei, so let
02:48me just make this edumacated.
02:49Sounds like the Canadian Giants to me.
02:51A little bit, a little bit.
02:54This is an edumacated and percentage play.
02:57Right, right.
02:58Roki's coming to the division, but not here.
03:01No, he's going to the Dodgers.
03:03Yeah, probably.
03:04So you've got Otani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki.
03:10I mean, if I'm Roki Sasaki and I'm looking for some sort of familiarity, wouldn't you
03:15go to a place where there are other players from where you're from?
03:20Super mysterious.
03:21I don't think anybody, like this is one of those where like we don't know what makes
03:24him tick and they made a big deal out of like having other Japanese players on the team
03:29is not, that's not what Roki wants.
03:32What Roki wants is the development process because he's so young still and he's raw.
03:39So he can throw the ball, you know, through a brick wall, but he needs to be developed
03:45into a pitcher, not just a thrower.
03:47And so that's what he was looking for with the development process.
03:51And so I would say, you know, based on farm systems and the way they've gone and whatnot,
03:56like don't rule out the Padres.
03:58It might be the Padres.
04:00And the Padres and Dodgers have been considered the favorites all along.
04:03So they have made the final stage.
04:05But not the Giants.
04:06Not the Giants.
04:07And we knew the Giants were out last week, right?
04:11Well no, today is when they announced, no, the Giants made the like, there were like
04:15eight teams that got a meeting.
04:17Like he didn't grant a meeting.
04:18They all asked because he's cheap, you know, like he's not going to cost that much.
04:23So they all asked and I think eight teams were granted a meeting.
04:26The Giants were one of those, but they have not made the final three.
04:30It feels kind of like a reality show.
04:32And the Giants did not make it to the last episode.
04:35And there you go.
04:36But at least they have Verlander.
04:37At least you got a 40 year old coming off a year where you had a 5.48 ERA.
04:42So you got that going for you, which is nice.
04:45Felt sarcastic.
04:47It was sarcastic.
04:48Okay.
04:50So instead of, and I, again, Roki Sasaki, will he be a major league pitcher this year?
04:55Maybe, maybe not.
04:56Feels like he might be more of a, I don't know if he's going to the minors, but I mean,
05:01he's not like 18.
05:02He's 23.
05:0323.
05:04Yeah.
05:05But you know, if he's looking for development, maybe he's not ready to come in here and shove
05:08right away.
05:09Maybe not.
05:10But at the same time, I know that, you know, a lot of major league teams are doing a lot
05:12more, at least trying to develop at the major league level or trying to prioritize that.
05:18I would imagine he's going to be on the, uh, the major league roster unless something goes
05:21sideways.
05:22Okay.
05:23But, uh, but yeah, it looks like NL West is likely.
05:26Right.
05:27And the Giants are already all set with their pitching.
05:29You know, I don't agree with that.
05:31I don't agree with that.
05:32And again, that was more sarcastic.
05:33Oh, it was.
05:34Okay.
05:35I mean, you've got, I mean, they've got like, I mean, they've got seven or eight starters.
05:39Sure.
05:40I mean, if you count the guys.
05:41Guys who can start.
05:42Guys who have started.
05:43Well, and if you count the guys who are like on the doorstep, guys, the Hayden bird songs
05:47and the land and roops, right.
05:48Right.
05:49Who right now don't necessarily project to be in the rotation, but they could, they could
05:52end up in the rotation based on, you know, injury and whatnot.
05:56You got Keaton Wynn and Kyle Harrison hopefully has a step forward here.
06:02He's supposed to be in the rotation, but the projected rotation would be Harrison, Hicks,
06:08Verlander, Robbie Ray, Logan Webb.
06:11That's your projected starting five.
06:13No bird song.
06:14No.
06:15Okay.
06:16But he may, but, but that could change.
06:18Right.
06:19Sure.
06:20That could change.
06:21And Hicks becomes an interesting one for me.
06:22Like, is he going to be able to graduate to where he can throw 150 innings through about
06:27a hundred last year.
06:29So can he take that step forward?
06:31Because he was amazing through about seven or eight starts last year.
06:34And then he kind of flattened out and then he basically got shut down, right.
06:39Based on innings limit.
06:40Yeah.
06:41I'll move to the bullpen.
06:42Right.
06:43And, and yeah, so I don't know.
06:44I don't know if they're planning to do that again where Jordan Hicks is like first half
06:48of the year starter.
06:50And but I know, you know, they're still using the line that they're very excited about their
06:56young guys.
06:57I'll say this little bit of if you want to call it insight from somewhat inside the organization
07:06and this will not shock anybody.
07:08But look, Buster Posey has been the president of baseball ops for a total of zero games
07:14so far.
07:16This is season one.
07:17And I know that that doesn't feel that way because the Giants are always telling us that
07:24they're in a win now mode and and Buster is Buster.
07:28So let's put it this way.
07:30I think the organization is feeling great about the way Buster is being received by
07:36the sport, by free agents, um, philosophically, I think they feel phenomenal about everything
07:44Buster wise.
07:46Might take a minute though.
07:48Might take a minute to undo some of the things that had been done because it's a very, very
07:53different philosophy.
07:55So now you have a farm system that is set back because now you're going to make, start
07:59changing philosophies.
08:01So yeah, might take a minute.
08:03Yeah.
08:04I don't think it's going to surprise anybody though because nobody's, nobody thinks that
08:06they're the Dodgers or the Padres this year or even the Diamondbacks, you know, while
08:10it takes a minute, it would be nice if you had more major league free agents who you
08:15could actually look at and say, all right, there was a big injection.
08:18You got Willie Adamas.
08:20It's only January 13th.
08:21You're right.
08:22But I don't know what other big names are still out there.
08:25I'd have to check the, uh, check the wires and first baseman and it doesn't have to be
08:29a free agent.
08:30It could be a trade.
08:31I get that.
08:32I would love to see them make a trade.
08:34But you don't want to have a first baseman come in and block Bryce Eldridge who, you
08:38know, is going to be fast-tracked toward the majors.
08:41Yeah.
08:42You don't have to do that.
08:43You know, whether that's, whether it is finding a free agent on a one year, whether it's trading
08:47someone who doesn't have a whole lot of time left, whether you're thinking also in the
08:50DH sort of realm with whoever you acquire, uh, nobody needs to get blocked.
08:55No one's blocking Bryce Eldridge.
08:57If he ends up being anything like what he is, uh, projected to be, not going to stop
09:02that train.
09:03Of course.
09:04And you do have the, the DH spot.
09:05You're right there.
09:06And you know, as of now, I don't know who your, your DH would be if you're looking at
09:10who you have in the building.
09:11It feels to me a little bit like a, a mishmash of, you know, guys who could DH.
09:17You don't really have a surefire like Jorge Soler kind of a figure where he's your DH
09:24and then boy, he's not your DH.
09:26No, I think they've got plenty more work to do.
09:30I don't like the whole, whether it's first base or DH, this whole like Lamont Wade, Wilmer
09:35Flores thing, you can do better.
09:39You would hope you can do better than that.
09:41And I do think that you can still get a starting pitcher of a higher caliber than Justin Verlander.
09:46And maybe that's tough this late in, in the process.
09:49But I look at all the names you threw out and a lot of question marks for me.
09:54And you know, you have Logan Webb, who is awesome.
09:58And he's a guy who's been among the top seven or eight pitchers in the national league.
10:02And then Kyle Harrison, a little bit of a regression.
10:06And then you get to Robbie Ray, if healthy, he could be really good.
10:10And then you get down to Hicks.
10:12Yeah.
10:13I mean, you get down into question mark country for me.
10:17Like Hicks is unproven.
10:19They're all question marks.
10:20Landon Roop and a 40 year old Verlander.
10:22So we get into a little bit of a, of a tough spot.
10:25And I do think that this Giants team, if they're going to really compete, it's gotta be with
10:30pitching and defense.
10:31And I think that Buster is trying to build it that way.
10:34And I love your defense with the left side and Jung-Hoo Lee healthy, he can go out there
10:38and get it.
10:39And you have a good catcher.
10:40So I do think the defense part of it is really pretty solid foundationally, but the pitching,
10:46I'm still a little bit curious.
10:47Yeah, no, I don't think that this is a, at least I hope this doesn't feel like
10:52break camp group to me, but it might be.
10:56It might be, you know, it depends on the kind of like, I don't know, the depth of the staircase
11:01that you want to build.
11:03Are you thinking about it over a two year period?
11:05Are you thinking about it in more terms of like, let's see what we can put together this
11:10year while you still build?
11:13Because also wouldn't you argue when you look at it right now, even in spots where you think
11:17you have answers, what's your depth?
11:20What happens the second one of those guys on the left side of the infield has to miss
11:24three weeks?
11:26Now what are we doing?
11:27Yeah.
11:28Wait, wait, wait.
11:29You put Luciano over there with Rick on his hand again?
11:32He moved Fitzgerald over.
11:33No, you can do that.
11:35It's a short, but you know, that's what I mean.
11:37Like there's no, I don't even know what the depth of the, of the whole group is.
11:41Tyrell Strada is not on the team anymore.
11:43Like there's P those pieces that you want to like sprinkle in.
11:46That ball got Schmidt on.
11:47Okay.
11:48There's Casey Schmidt.
11:50And let him, you know, strike out every time there's three pitches.
11:53Sorry, Casey.
11:55Like he's waving.
11:56It's like, there's more.
11:57There's more out there.
11:58I would, I would hope.
11:59Yeah.
12:00You would hope.
12:01I would hope.
12:02I mean, as you look right now, you would put them at fourth in the West and that would
12:05be the projection.
12:06Right.
12:07Safely.
12:08I mean, in Colorado is not really knocking on your door.
12:10So to be fourth is almost to be last because Colorado is a couple of years away from being
12:15a couple of years away.
12:16Yeah.
12:17I mean, I'm not like the don't, don't panic on January 13th.
12:21Of course not.
12:22No.
12:23You know what I mean?
12:24You got a month and a half before anybody even shows up in Scottsdale.
12:26I will tell you this though.
12:28Some of the names that are out there, like I've, I've heard, and you can criticize this
12:34if you want, but I don't think that the giants are interested.
12:38I don't think that they want Pete Alonso.
12:41I don't think they want Pete Alonso.
12:43Maybe if Pete wants to be a DH for a year or two deal, but he'll probably get a better
12:49offer than that.
12:50I don't want that.
12:51They don't want him at first base.
12:53He's not a good defensive player.
12:55He's kind of a weird ball player.
12:56Like he hits home runs.
12:58Yes.
12:59Right.
13:00A lot.
13:01What else?
13:02Yeah.
13:03Ish.
13:04He doesn't hit 40.
13:05He'll get you 28.
13:06You know what I mean?
13:07What did he hit last year?
13:08How many home runs did Pete Alonso hit last year?
13:1034.
13:11Okay.
13:12Yeah.
13:13Yeah.
13:14Yeah.
13:15He's a good home run hitter.
13:16He's a good home run hitter.
13:18And I would take him as my DH.
13:20I don't want him to put a glove on his hand and play for the Giants.
13:25Forty homers a year over the last three.
13:27And you know, going back to his rookie year, he hit 53, but that's a long time ago.
13:32Just over the last three, he's getting you 40 and you're a franchise that hasn't had
13:36a 30 home run hitter since Barry Bonds.
13:38It's very interesting that Pete Alonso is still sitting there, which tells me something
13:43about similar to all those guys, those Boris dudes that we saw last year, which is to say
13:50like the league is not offering you what they thought you were going to get offered clearly
13:57or else he would have signed somewhere by now.
13:59So anyway, yeah, I'd love to see more, but I don't think Alonso, Jack Flaherty, names
14:05like that.
14:06I wouldn't hold my breath.
14:08If you're a Giants fan, I'd rather have Alonso than Flaherty because Flaherty to me is going
14:11to be a six year deal for a pitcher.
14:14And those are deals that I would shy away from on principle, which is why the Corbin
14:19Burns one for me, while I would love to have another ace, a co-ace with Logan Webb, but
14:26having him for what, seven years he got, or did he get eight years?
14:29Who's that?
14:30Oh, Burns.
14:31Burns got, uh, it was one of those seven or eight, a couple of years.
14:36Yeah.
14:37I thought, by the way, I don't know.
14:38Bad deal.
14:39It was six years.
14:40It was six.
14:41Yeah.
14:42After two.
14:43After two.
14:44I'd love to have Corbin Burns, but the Diamondbacks signed a player friendly deal.
14:49I think that's a fair comment to make and that's fine if that's what you want to do,
14:54but that's a player friendly deal for someone who's already had a 30th birthday.
14:58That's tough.
14:59That's tough.
15:00You know what I mean?
15:01I'd love to have him on the team, but he got a player friendly contract.
15:05Right.
15:06And if he stinks and, or if he's mediocre, then he can opt in and now you're on the hook
15:11for six years of a guy who is deteriorating.
15:15Those deals didn't feel good anymore.
15:17Do they?
15:18No.
15:19Even the Chapman deal, the Chapman deal, the Conforto deal, the Snell deal, where it feels
15:23like you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't.
15:25If they're phenomenal, they're gone.
15:27If they stink, you're stuck with them.
15:30I'm out on those deals.
15:32And you've noticed the Giants have not signed any of those deals.
15:35And that's the nature of the deals, though, when the player has a little bit of leverage,
15:38they want to have that two-way option where you can opt in if things aren't going great
15:43and you get your money, and if things are going really well and you're outperforming
15:47your contract, then you opt out and you're able to go out there and get more money.