MLB Trade Deadline Results & WPBL Inaugural Week in Springfield

MLB Trade Deadline Doors Close, WPBL league Opens. Baseball abounds in August & Nature is Wild in Nova Scotia

The MLB Trade Deadline delivered one of the busiest transaction days of the season. Mark Corbett and Mat Germain break down the biggest winners and losers, & how the the Rays positioned themselves for a postseason run.

They also discuss the launch of the Women's Pro Baseball League, highlighting its opening weekend, standout players, and what fans can expect from this historic first season.

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Rays focused on strengthening their roster without sacrificing their long term future.

• Liam Hicks brings offensive production and long term stability behind the plate
• Freddy Peralta adds an experienced playoff tested starter to the rotation
• Tyler Wells strengthens an already improving bullpen
• Nick Fortes and Liam Hicks provide balance while allowing top catching prospects additional development time
• Kenny Piper joins the 40 man roster following the deadline 

Why Liam Hicks could be the Rays most impactful acquisition.

•  Improved production against right handed pitching
•  Left handed power and run production
•  Team control through 2031
•  Reduced pressure to rush prospects Caden Bodine and Nathan Flewelling. 

Rays Prospect Strategy

The Rays traded significant prospect depth while protecting several key pieces of their future.

Players discussed include:

•  Carson Williams 
•  Caden Bodine 
•  Theo Gillen 
•  Jacob Melton 
•  Grady Emerson 
•  Daniel Pierce 
•  Victor Valdez 
•  Andreimi Antunez 
•  Cooper Fleming 

International Bonus Pool Money influenced several deadline deals and why those resources remain critical to Tampa Bay's player development strategy.

Around MLB - several of the deadline's biggest moves, including:

•  Dodgers acquire Tarik Skubal
•  Orioles trade Adley Rutschman to Boston. 
•  Phillies land Luis Arraez
•  Guardians strengthen both their lineup and pitching. 
•  Yankees add offensive reinforcements. 
•  Pirates aggressively rebuild their pitching staff. 
•  Blue Jays begin reshaping their roster for the future. 
•  Brewers quietly emerge as one of the trade deadline winners. 

Which Teams Won the Deadline?

•  Why the Dodgers landed the biggest star
• Brewers may have made the smartest overall improvements
• Rays successfully addressed three of their biggest needs while maintaining organizational depth
• What do these additions mean for Tampa Bay over the final two months.

Key questions include:

•  Can Freddy Peralta stabilize the rotation? 
•  Will Tyler Wells continue his dominant bullpen performance? 
•  How much will improved catching elevate the offense? 
•  Is Carson Williams still an option for a late season promotion? 

Women's Pro Baseball League Makes History

The inaugural WPBL season officially began this past weekend

•  Four teams open league play in Springfield, Illinois. 
•  Strong attendance and enthusiastic fan support. 
• Team captains include Kelsie Whitmore, Ashton Lansdell, Danae Benites, and Ally Schroeder
•  Richelle "Rocky" Henley becomes the league's lone female manager
•  Turtleback playing field. 
•  Early excitement surrounding the quality of play and the league's future growth. 

Final Thoughts with trade deadline complete, Rays attention now turns toward:

•  Team health entering the playoff race
•  Contract extensions for young stars
•  September roster decisions
•  Whether the Rays have positioned themselves for another postseason run

Remember to like and subscribe to BaseballBiz On Deck. You may also find BaseballBiz on Deck, on YouTube at iHeart Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and at baseball biz on deck dot com. Also you can find Mat @matgermain.bsky.social  or Mark at baseballbizondeck@gmail.com and BaseballBiz On Deck with Facebook social 

Transcript

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369 BaseballBiz WPBL First Games & MLB trade deadline

[00:00:00] 

Mark Corbett: Welcome to Baseball Biz On Deck. I am Mark Corbett and with me from the great wilds of Nova Scotia, we have Mr. Mat Germain. Hey, Mat. How you doing, buddy? 

Mat Germain: Uh, I'm, I'm, I'm enjoying the forest time, uh, Mark, and I'm glad that I get all the time in the world to monitor the trades, 'cause it's been a busy day.

Mark Corbett: Oh, gosh. All right. All right. We... You've been very good about posting stuff. I, I don't know how you get access to everything that's going on last week with the trades, but my gosh, Mat, I mean, clickbait. I was looking at everything for Luis Arraez, and I was looking for Tarik Skubal and, and others. And, quite honestly, I thought I might see some Rays names, but those are the ones over the last week I guess my eyes kept looking for to see, you know, what was going to happen.

And Tarik Skubal, oh, gosh. The Dodgers. I, I don't know if you'd call it if you're playing, uh, Risk or, Monopoly, trying to gather up all the [00:01:00] hotels on, on the main street there but I just felt like doggone it, man, let somebody else have a chance with this, with that, uh, talent of Mr.

Skubal's. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. I think when we talked last or the time before, I don't remember which, uh, I pointed out that it was basically the Dodgers or nobody. , Because if you're paying the price that they paid, you need to know you actually have a chance to extend them, right? Yeah. And, uh, and they did pay a steep price.

Having said that, , the, the Detroit Tigers did not get one of the top three prospects from the Dodgers in return for Tarik Skubal. How does that happen? Good. Like, you know, we've seen the Rays make trades like this before to get the top two for lesser guys than I believe than, than Tarik Skubal. So, uh, I, I don't know.

I think the Tigers, either they didn't pull the trigger early enough and gave the Dodgers too much [00:02:00] leverage, or they weren't getting as much play from other teams as we suspect. 

Mark Corbett: Hmm. 

Mat Germain: Um, they got good players. They're great players. They're just... There's, there's a lot of risk still involved, especially injury-wise with the, the main starting pitcher they got in River.

Um, the, the outfielder they got still ha- you know, he's looking a little bit like a 2020 guy maybe if he hits well enough, and then who knows after that what you might get, right? So a, a little bit like a Randy Arozarena type maybe. Yeah. - It's an okay trade. It's just when you're going with Tarik Skubal you expect a little bit more.

Mark Corbett: Well, I wondered, you know, if the Dodgers had to, \ maybe a side deal, they had to pick up and buy a few old, uh, Little Caesars franchises, for instance, you know?

You know, I, I make fun of that 'cause the owner of the, the Tigers owns, uh, Little Caesars, and it's quite evident when you go through the park over there

and as much as I'd like to criticize him, [00:03:00] it was interesting, my brother-in-law who was here with us tod- today, he mentioned, he says, "Mark, you realize what he did," Ilitch, "What he did for Rosa Parks?" I said, "No. No, what, what's..." Totally didn't know. And he said, "Well, evidently Rosa Parks, as she became more elderly, she...

I think they, she got robbed in her own home, or apartment, or whatever at that point. And Ilitch anonymously helped find a home for her and paid for her rent for the rest of her life at a place that was a little bit more secure and safe than where she had been living." And I thought, "Oh, okay, I can never say another bad thing about him, I guess, again."

But that was a little story I was unaware of. I had to go check that, you know. It's like, uh, crazy, crazy But on other good news, you know, in preparation for the show, I do my own homework, and I'll check two or three different sources, Mat, but s- I'll check ChatGPT too. Huh? [00:04:00] And today... I do it m- almost for fun.

I mean, for one thing, uh, about a half year ago they told me Gary Sheffield was in the Hall of Fame, which is, oh, that would be cool, but it's not true. And- Mm-hmm ... I, I, I w- I wasn't even gonna ask about Lou Piniella. But today, and I was asking about trades for the Red Sox, and they said, "Well, Alex Cora's ex- having a good year."

I said, "But it ain't in Boston, buddy." But so don't, don't ever trust ChatG- GPT. I, I, I think I ask it questions just for the fun of it to see how, how badly the answers are gonna be. So I hope that when these managers are making decisions for their teams, that they've kind of used something besides that as their tool, because I worry more and more that stats are being used for the selection and not observation.

So with that in mind, what did you think of what the Rays did for this trade deadline? 

Mat Germain: I think they got three of the four main things that I was looking for done, [00:05:00] so 75%. So I would say that it was a very good, solid, uh, trade deadline. But, um, I think, you know, they got the catcher they wanted Which is seriously going to help their, um, um...

I, I'm hearing an animal right outside my, my car. 

Mark Corbett: Okay. And 

Mat Germain: I don't know what it is, Mark. Let me... Hang on. Let me just check that. Do you need 

Mark Corbett: to move? Do you- 

Mat Germain: Uh, no. I think I'm okay. Out there 

Mark Corbett: in the wilderness, brother, I w- I want you to be safe. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. I'm gonna take a look at what it is. 

Mark Corbett: Well, w- we'll, we'll sit here and, uh- Oh.

Do you know what it is? While you're there, I'll d- What's that? 

Mat Germain: I got it. It's an owl. 

Mark Corbett: Oh. Good. It's a f- It's an owl ... it's a friendly owl, right? 

Mat Germain: You gotta love it, Mark. Nature is wild. 

Mark Corbett: It is indeed. Woof. 

Mat Germain: So yeah, the Liam Hicks addition to me, like when I... On the surface, when I look at it overall, is the most impactful one, and the [00:06:00] reason being that it takes the entire lineup's performance against right-handed pitching up a notch.

Yeah. And especially with the slug, uh, part of it. Uh, if you're looking at what the Rays are getting, like what they've done so far from the catching position against right-handed pitchers, they're getting about 100 points more on the slug with Liam Hicks in the lineup than they would have with what they've had so far.

So not only that, Mark, but he's actually, you know, controlled through 2031. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So now with Hicks and Fortes, you're, you're able to allow Caden Bodine and Nathan Fluellen the time that they need to develop without having to feel like you're rushing them. So now Bodine's probably gonna finish in Double-A this year.

You know he's gonna probably start Triple-A next year, but you're still not in a rush to bring him up because you've got two strong ex-Mi- Miami Marlins uh, catchers doing the tandem there. Yeah. And again, it's [00:07:00] l- it's a left-handed bat for Liam Hicks, and you've got the right-handed bat in, uh, Nick Fortes. So I like the balance.

Like overall, to me, that was, like the biggest addition. What did you think about their additions? 

Mark Corbett: Well, I, I thought he was definitely a good addition. I mean... And I think this year alone his batting average is like 282, like you were saying earlier, but he's also got 14 home runs and 62 RBIs, and that, that, those RBIs, man, I love those.

I, I love seeing that number. And the other part too, I don't think they were getting all the use out of Hicks in Miami. Somewhere I read that, um, let's see, Joe Macklin's pretty much their, uh, primary catcher there, and I think Hicks was Was he a DH? I think he may have been using him as a DH. Yeah, somewhat.

So I, I felt good. I, uh, I looked at him and said, "Yeah, that looked pretty well." Sowinski, Peralta, and Taylor Walls. And, you know, Sowinski, I think it's nice to have him. I don't think it's gonna be as impactful [00:08:00] as Liam Hicks. You and I have talked about the catchers for quite a while, about having to go in, and Fortes has really set himself.

Fadoul has been, you know, okay. But I think Liam Hicks is gonna bring a, a veteran personality and approach to it that... And, and show, you know, obviously, uh, performing so well this year, he's gonna be there. Now- Yeah ... if you're looking at the others, my next, my next one I would be looking at would be Freddy Peralta.

And we've needed, I think the way things have gone lately, do we need another starting pitcher? And would Freddy Peralta be the guy for that? 

Mat Germain: Yeah. Freddy Peralta definitely is needed. We knew that Shane McClanahan just went on IL. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Uh, we know that there are others that have had, uh, injury issues in the past.

So I think that overall, I mean, when you're looking at Peralta, um, he's gonna... No, it's not only just the, um, personality, the makeup, uh, the [00:09:00] experience, everything else that he has. He's at his prime age. He has the experience from being in the playoffs with the Brewers behind him as well. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: , He comes from a, starting pitching mold where you know in a big moment, in a big game, he's going to show up.

He's one of those guys that I could envision going five, six, seven innings- 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm ... 

Mat Germain: in a playoff start and, and you wouldn't be quick to pull the trigger on pulling him. He doesn't have that Blake Snell aspect where you're like, "Oh, goodness. Now he's in the fifth. I gotta watch." Like- ... no, if he's grooving, you're letting him run with it, right?

, So to me, that's a big piece, and it lowers the pressure as a result on some of the other guys. Like, we already have Nick Martinez, which is a veteran arm, and everybody is, is seeing what he's able to do. Drew Rasmussen has some playoff experience with the Rays. So now between the three of those guys, you've got a, a trio of guys who you know their pulse is gonna be a little tad lower in those playoff starts, and it allows the rest of [00:10:00] it to fall into place.

And with Tyler Wells brought into the fold now, Mark, he has been, since the month of June, one of the best relievers in Major League Baseball. 

Mark Corbett: Wow. Um, 

Mat Germain: so you're looking at a, I think it was a 0.68 WHIP and, and a 1.01 ERA since June. Um, so he's been really, you know, on par. You're, you're bringing him in and probably bringing back Manuel Rodriguez, like, your pen is amped up at that point.

So now with Peralta, then you're, you're bridging that gap a lot more. It's, it's looking good pitching wise, Mark, as long as health holds up until the playoffs and they get in synchronized. What I'm most curious about is what do the Rays ask him to focus on to improve what he's done so far? That's gonna be interesting to watch.

Mark Corbett: Yeah, 'cause I, I'm looking here right now on Baseball-Reference, and I see what Tyler Wells, [00:11:00] he's actually... Well, he's been busy. It isn't like he's- Mm-hmm ... sat down. He's, he's not, uh, he's, he's been busy with the team. He's not sitting down many games here. 

Mat Germain: No. 

Mark Corbett: No, that's good. That, that's good. Uh, you know, my concern is the same one that D-Ray Bay said.

I saw them to, to D-Ray's, they say, "Please prepare your ears to distinguish between Tyler Wells, this reliever, Tyler Wall, the Rays home clubhouse manager, Taylor Walls, the starting shortstop thou, and Chris Adams Wall, the Rays radio pre- and post-game host." I love that. Yeah, I, it, it drove me nuts before when we were playing and I see Tyler Wells would be on the opposing team.

We had Tyler Walls. Uh, but no, he, everything about him looks great. Pr- you know, I gotta say, man, I'm looking forward to seeing him there. You know, I did... Go ahead. 

Mat Germain: No, go ahead. 

Mark Corbett: I was gonna reflect on the game the other day. I, I did, when Karen and I y- went yesterday to the Trop, and we saw the [00:12:00] Rays take on the White Sox.

And I had great hopes with Griffin Jax up there. And sitting in the stands in the first inning, the top of the first inning, I believe it was then, it, it was just painful. And yeah, bang, bang, you know what I mean? Uh, a ball, I guess bunted or slyly comes out to Griffin Jax. He kind of bobbles it and doesn't get it to first in time.

And then Vileade, he gets, he gets the ball, and he mishandles it and doesn't get an out. It's missed. And then it wouldn't c- I don't think it was counted as an error, but Ben Williams, he, uh, mm, he had the opportunity to end the, that part of the inning, the, the top of the inning, as someone was running to second, and he was right there.

I think he was confused about whether or not he should throw it to home, but I think all we needed was that last out, and if he had tagged that guy, if they had [00:13:00] tied that runner up in a pickle, you know, that would've killed, I think, those first couple runs that the White Sox had in the game, which really started a really good tide.

And I gotta tell you, man, Su- Sunday, uh, morning, early afternoon, whatever you wanna call it, it was an interesting game. That, that place was pretty well packed. There was rain outside, I can tell you that- Mm-hmm ... trying to get in. But it was packed, and a lot of them were White Sox fans, and they were having a time of it.

But, uh, uh, what I do wanna, where I kinda come back to this is for the trades, I was a little concerned when I didn't see Taylor Walls out there. Okay. And I thought, "Hmm, have decisions been made? Is he not gonna be with us?" But, uh, I'm glad to see he's still with the team. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, well, you know, that was the one that I think that, that the Rays likely were active in getting Zach Neto and probably tried, asked on Otto Lopez with [00:14:00] the Marlins when they were talking to them about Hicks.

Right. But I, I don't think they were going as far as Elly De La Cruz. I think he was a little bit out of reach with what the demands would be trade-wise. Uh, and the Rays did trade a lot of prospects today. Like, they, they sent what, what most would consider three of their top five starting pitching prospects.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Like, out to other teams, right? So it, it speaks to a couple of things. First, like, they're confident with the talent, talent that they brought in from the draft that just happened, and they're, they're also encouraged by the talent that they have in the DSL. And we talk about this sometimes, Mark, where you need to clear the log jam sometimes to free up space for other guys to get promoted, right?

Yeah. And, and there's so many guys in the FCL that looked great for the Rays, including some middle infielders, that now... I mean, when you're talking about the Rays trading what I consider to be almost two-thirds of a double A team, that's what they traded today. Um, you've [00:15:00] got Ja- Jacob Matz, uh, Michael Forret, and, uh, Jacob Kesting, which make up three of five in a rotation, and then four with Gary Gilhill.

So you've got four guys in a rotation that would be, you know, considered really strong overall. And then you have Adrian Santana, which is a great shortstop, great range, awesome speed, more, like, developing power this year. You have Emilian Pitre, which is a high on base percentage second baseman.

He's going to hit in the MLB, it's just a matter of, you know, to what level. Um, Aiden Smith, which is a great outfielder. The Rays got him for Randy Arozarena. , So you've got, like, a, a lot of talent that were sent out and, and the, the confusing one that got the mo- most people torqued online, Mark, was when they included Jacob Matz along with Hunter Feduccia to the Dodgers to get Jack Suinski.

Uh, but the part that they missed is that the Rays are also getting international bonus pool money. Mm. [00:16:00] And to me, that was probably the key right there, is that the Rays likely have a target, they needed the extra cash to do it with, because Jacob Matz is, is... has the best, uh, K to walk ratio in the entire system.

Like, he's just, he's a really talented arm. Uh, so there... It was a little bit odd to see that level of talent, uh, go over, uh, along with Feduccia when the Rays are actually taking on money with Suinski. It doesn't really... Yeah, anyway. It didn't make any sense. 

Mark Corbett: Well, well, I do want you to kind of come back to that, though, about the international money.

What... Explain that a little bit for us. 

Mat Germain: So every January, uh, each team gets a whole bunch of bonus pool money, right? In order to sign all of the guys they've been scouting in the Dominican, Venezuela, Panama, wherever it may be in the Latin American, uh, sector of the world, uh, and Japan and Korea. So they have a certain amount of international pool money [00:17:00] that they get to spend however they see fit.

Um, so If they, um, spend all of that money, they do have the ability to trade for a certain percentage. And, I mean, markets change so many times, um, and I can't remember now where it stands, but it's a, a decent percentage. I think it's 20, maybe up to 30% of your total pool that you're able to add by doing trades with other teams.

So what that does at that point is if others weren't able to find as much money as they wanted from whatever teams they were, working with, then they're ab- you're able to snag them away from them, basically. Or if somebody more prominent is suddenly becoming available because they decided to actually sign this year and not wait another year, then you're able to bring them in because you've added some of your pool and they, they're happy with the amount that you're offering them.

But the Rays , have seemingly, uh, been pretty good at, at bringing in some talents. There's a few guys that, [00:18:00] from the guys that, uh, like Brayden Taylor was another name that they traded today that was a very prominent hitter. So when you're looking at the, the system and who they're gonna actually promote coming up, uh, there's a lot of guys that are, that have been recently added to the top 30 for the Rays, , that people are gonna start hearing more and more about, like Victor Valdez is one, uh, who's a shortstop in the DSL.

He's probably going to be promoted, pretty soon. , Grady Emerson, some people might have heard about. I don't know if they've heard that name before. And Andreamy Antunez is another one who's in A ball right now, uh, and he's opening up a lot of eyes. He's got a couple of 60 graded, uh, tools and, um, you know, he's got some speed.

He needs some, some more playing time. But they also have Daniel Pierce, who's been injured most of this year, , that they tra- that they drafted very highly last year. , And they need to find some room for him and Cooper Fleming to try to continue developing them as shortstops as much as they [00:19:00] can. So now you've got that break between, you know, double A and, and below, where you can actually fill in some of those gaps with some of that youth.

The part that was talked about a lot before this trade deadline was that the Rays have a significant amount, like up to 15 people, that they need to consider adding to the roster in the rule, before the Rule 5 draft in November. So the surprising part to me that, that kind of shocked me a little bit was that they only traded two today that would have ha- needed a decision in November out of that 15.

So you can still make trades in November to get rid of, uh, of some of that excess afterwards as well, but I, I expected a little bit more, maybe three, five-ish, uh, prospects to be in that range, but maybe those teams weren't willing to consider some of those guys and w- didn't wanna be in that same pinch that the Rays are gonna find themselves in.

Mark Corbett: Well, you know, you've talked in the past to [00:20:00] looking at the AAA team that's, that we have. I mean, it's- Mm ... you know, there, there's so much talent right there, and where are we gonna move all these other guys? Now, I was concerned, I think others too, you may have even said this, that I thought we might be hearing two names that we didn't wanna hear being traded, and that would be Caden Bodine and Theo Gillen.

Mat Germain: Uh, that's 

Mark Corbett: right. And both of those, go ahead. I mean, both of those have strengths that, you know, you've talked about in the past, and I'm excited about watching them come up through the Rays system. So I'm glad that those two guys are still going to be there. 

Mat Germain: Right. And the Rays, uh, also hung on to Jacob Melton, who's a, an important piece as well, probably was asked about a lot, and he's a great backup plan for the outfield.

They still have Jake Cave and a bunch of others, Jack Swinski they just brought in. But it's interesting that the Rays are willing to go with the majority of the roster that they have, add Liam Hicks, , add, , some pitching to the [00:21:00] mix that they have, and then roll the dice on it. Uh, and what that tells me is that they're willing, you know, Ben Williamson and Taylor Walls, like you mentioned before, they're two really strong guys.

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: But the other guy they kept, Mark, was Carson Williams. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And, and I guarantee you that the Angels probably called and asked about him, you know, and they were probably dangling, you know, Zach Neto and a couple of other guys and saying, "Well, we'll take, you know, Carson and whoever else, uh, in that package."

Uh, but Carson Williams is a nice backup plan. If they, if they feel that his bat plays a little bit better in MLB, uh, starting, you know, in August and September, maybe they do make that change and bring him aboard and then start moving guys around even more than they have before. Or if there's an injury, he's a good backup plan.

Mark Corbett: Right. Well, so I think we got some exciting moves here. We'll see what it makes as far as running into, uh, postseason. I mean, I felt pretty good about the team we have [00:22:00] outside of, you know, a few injuries or a few things here and there. Nothing's been dramatic. McClanahan's been the biggest concern, and with bringing in a couple of new pitchers, I think that's gonna be helpful.

I'm really curious to see how that goes with, uh, Peralta and, uh, Tyler Wells for the pitching for the Rays as well. Um- Right ... looking- 

Mat Germain: And he, they also opened up a roster spot with Kenny Piper being added to fill it. 

Mark Corbett: Hmm. 

Mat Germain: Um, who's another catcher who's been in double A and his bat is, is also pretty decent.

I'm not sure how long he'll stay on the roster, if they'll outright him eventually, if there's a reason that they made that move, but he was just added to the 40-man as well. 

Mark Corbett: Wow. Well, you know, we talked about seeing as far as Detroit Tigers making a move with Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers. 

Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

Mark Corbett: I did not necessarily expect to see the Orioles sending Adley Richmond to the Red Sox, though.

Yeah, yeah. I sh- I, I can't imagine [00:23:00] right now being in a Orioles fans bar this tonight, how, how that's, you know, being ingested. I don't think that it's going to be... I, I think a lot of heartburn is gonna come from that, 'cause he, he's beloved there. I know he may not be everywhere where everybody'd like him to be this year, but wow.

Were, were you stunned with that one? 

Mat Germain: I'm more stunned that, that their GM is still employed, to be honest. Okay. To me, that's... You know, uh, I don't know. Like I, I'm all for accountability and people standing up, putting up their hand saying, "Hey, I messed up." Uh, but, but honestly, Mark, I look at their system and there is maybe, maybe three guys in their entire system that I would put in the Rays top 30.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Wow. 

Mat Germain: Like, a- and that just tells you. And that, you know, they're, they're just not They're not patient enough to push it through the line. Like, look at the prospects they traded the Rays. Uh, Slater de Brun just is on fire in A ball right [00:24:00] now since he came back from his injury. We know about Caden Bodine.

They just traded Michael Ford back to them and took Tyler Wells , as a return, and like we just said, he's one of the best relievers in the league. So yes, I love Michael Ford as a prospect and it's nice that they got him back. He's one of those three that I would say would be solidly in the Rays 30.

But y- you need, like we- we're seeing it with the Rays, you need a full roster of talent to, you know, grind through a season. And it seems to me like the Orioles, a lot like the Blue Jays did in the past, are always piecemealing it. Like, "Oh, we'll push a little bit here, a little bit there," and they're kinda trying to finagle it instead of going, you know, full Cardinal mode is what I would call it.

Where you're just building from within and you're dealing with the ups and downs of your players and allowing them to grow through them, right? Um, I think they need to do more of that and, and there's a lot of their talents like Kyle Flowers and a bunch of other ones they've thrown around the [00:25:00] league where I'm just like, "Man, that, that's, how great would that look on your roster?"

And then you look at who they kept, like Dylan Bevers and a bunch of others and you're like, "Whoa, like, what were you thinking?" Like, what are you, what are you... I don't know. Like, there's a lot of, uh a lot of, uh, talent assessment change that they need to go through. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, I'd be really curious to see what kind of GMs we have at the end of the year, too.

Yeah. If this, how much that, their changes might be there. , Looking at pitching. Mm. The Pirates got real aggressive with trades. They got, uh, let's see, one, two, three, four, uh, Camilo Doval, a right-handed pitcher from the Yankees; Luke Weaver, a right-handed pitcher from the Mets; Kirby Yates, a right-handed pitcher from the Angels; and Lake Bachar, I hope I'm saying your name correctly there, a right-handed pitcher from the Marlins.

Yeah. So that was pretty aggressive to be bringing in that many new players and, and really wanting to shake up their pitching, I guess. Wow. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. They got Kirby Yates. They [00:26:00] got Jonathan Rodriguez. Mm-hmm. They got Ron Mar- Marinaccio, um, Hunter Stratton. They, they just, uh, it, it, it seems like a, you know, the shotgun approach Where if you, if you go out and get eight guys, then maybe four of them turn out, you know?

Like and- Yeah ... and are really good, and you get to sift through that before the end of the year and then set yourself up. But, uh, they, they, I guess they targeted that part of their team and said, "This is what we really need to address," and, and we'll see if they're right or not. Um, the other one that I thought was really interesting is how the Blue Jays dealt with their, uh, trade deadline because they went out, Mark, and they got Jameson Taillon, which as a Canadian, like, it just fits, right?

Like it- Yeah ... it makes sense for the Jays to bring him in, but they, then they went weird. They, they got José Soriano, which to me is more, you know, of, of a fit for a contending team, but I guess they're looking at next year because he's still [00:27:00] controllable. A- and for that year and the year after that, I believe as well.

Uh, but they traded Arjun Nimmala, which is, , a really, , talented, , shortstop that they, I would say you would've, most people would've put him in the top four prospects for the Jays. , And then they, they also dealt away Daulton Varsho. They dealt Jeff Hoffman to the, , to the Twins.

Um, they got some decent prospects back, but they're, they're finally, you know, moving on from a few guys like Kevin Gausman, et cetera, to, to m- turn the page- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: uh, on some age and, and bring in some youth. So I thought they did a solid job overall to make themselves competitive for next year. 

Mark Corbett: I was surprised to see Varsho 'cause I thought he's been a, a fairly standard, a good player.

I mean, and see, he's outfield too, if I remember correctly, and I've seen him make some plays for them. It's like, wow. Yeah. So I, I was a little surprised to see his name go, but you know, if you're growing with a team, you've, you've sometimes [00:28:00] you've gotta make a cancellation, bring something in that you think is gonna make a difference to that team.

And the, the Blue Jays, good Lord, man, after being there in the World Series last year, they've just had such a rough year, and I, I don't know that there's anything they can do to bring it back, but we'll see. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. What d- there's also the New York Yankees- ... who brought in, you know, two big pieces I consider, uh, where they got Julio Ramos and, uh, Luis Garcías Jr.

Now, both of those additions to me say, "We don't know what we're gonna get back from Aaron Judge this year." Like they, they speak to that, right? Yeah. They're trying to amp up the lineup, and even Cody Bellinger, who's another guy that's been hurt for them. Um, so I, I think they're worried, but I... You know how, how the pinstripes change people, Mark?

And you never know which one you're gonna get. I will bet today that one of them takes off and takes his game to another level, and another one crumbles. I don't know which, but that's what my [00:29:00] bet would be is that one or the other ends up, uh, you know, crumbling under the pressure of it all, and the other one takes off.

And then if I had an inclination on it, I would say Luis García Jr. probably puts too much pressure on himself- 

Mark Corbett: Hmm ... 

Mat Germain: and Julio Ramos, uh, rises in the spotlight and, and has a, a really good end to the, the season. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. What's he, he... So Ramos has got like a 292 average and a 835 OPS- Mm-hmm ... uh, against left-handers anyway last one.

So, uh, it's, it's it's something, man. What? García's 560 slugging, third in MLB? Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Yep. 

Mark Corbett: You know, and, and then there's guys out there that have the no trade clause, and, uh, I don't think we're ever gonna see Mike Trout go anywhere. That's, that's... He, he's gonna be there. I, I, I like the idea th- of still having some legacy franchise players.

We've talked about that in the past. You know, it's, uh, there's, there's a strength to that. Let's see. What else? Did we [00:30:00] mention Nathaniel Lowe? 

Mat Germain: Nope, not yet. Okay. Well, Nathaniel Lowe, he moved from the Reds to the Guardians. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. And that's gonna be interesting, 'cause I think the Guardians, like a lot of people, were trying to knock on the Reds' door for that Elly de la Cruz.

I don't think he's going anywhere. Uh, he's doing fine there. They wanna keep him. Uh, let's see. 

Mat Germain: But I will say that the, the Guardians did a really solid job at this, uh, deadline, and they're one of the competitors for this year for the American League side that the Rays need to look at very closely. They got Jo Adell from the Angels, which is a really strong outfield option for 

Mark Corbett: them- 

Mat Germain: Mm

compared to what they had. Uh, they also got Blake Perkins. They got, um, Foster Griffin. Foster Griffin is one of those late developing starting pitchers from the Nationals who ended up having a really strong year. So if he's able to maintain that for them and strengthen their already great rotation, um, if they get a little bit more [00:31:00] offense with Jo Adell in the outfield and, and Nate Lowe, uh, then they're gonna be a, a little bit more dangerous when come playoff time.

Mark Corbett: Wow. Well, you know, earlier I was talking about clickbait and, uh, how Tarik Skubal was it, and Luis Arraez is as well. And I saw where Bryce Harper was saying, uh, he made sure he stood up and said, "I think any chances that we have and an opportunity to win, I'd do anything for this organization."

And by that, I think Harper is making sure that they understood he'd be willing to change his position if they brought in Luis. And, uh, he said that I think ahead of Monday's game in Washington. And yeah, yeah, so Luis Arraez is coming in with the Phillies, and I'm su- I hope they enjoy having him there. I The Phillies, I've always personally, I've kind of felt like, like them in some ways like the Yankees.

Yeah, they're a good team, but sometimes I just can't stand the whole concept or the attitude that comes with it. 

Mat Germain: They're putting Bryce Harper back in the outfield because of that though, Mark. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. [00:32:00] Yeah. 

Mat Germain: I don't know about that one. I think, , the, it, once you slow the legs down, it's hard to get them going again.

You know, get those reflexes going, you know what I mean? 

Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. 

Mat Germain: Like, I'm expecting some frustrated pitching is all I'm saying. 

Mark Corbett: Ooh, daddy. 

Mat Germain: You know? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. I don't know. We'll see. That was something. Oh, what else? I'm trying to think if there was any other ones that jumped out at me of those 

Mat Germain: trades. Yeah, the, the big one I, I thought was, Lars Nootbaar, which I, you know, I like him.

I think the D-backs only made that one move, but with that move they kind of say, "Hey, we're still around," you know? Like, we can actually put something together and, and add a little bit to the outfield. I like what he brings to them because they've had, like, really talented outfield prospects, but for some reason all of those guys can never seem to put it all together.

So he's one of those guys who's gonna help. They already have a strong infield, so you know, adding that little piece in the outfield might, uh, might be able to give them [00:33:00] a little bit more consistency in scoring. 

Mark Corbett: Well, I hope so. I know that, uh, was it Lur- Lurz Gerr- I can't speak. Yuli Gurriel Jr., he's been injured.

Yeah. So I know that he's definitely gonna be able to help as far as the outfield with that as well. Mm-hmm. So, so that's good moves. 

Mat Germain: And- That's a lot of moves tonight though, Mark, like today. I mean- 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm ... 

Mat Germain: like I, I didn't expect it. Like, I thought, "Oh, this is gonna be a dud." There was nothing. It was crickets.

Yesterday I was like, "What is going on?" Like, "What are these teams doing?" And then all of a sudden it was like a tidal wave where everything came through all at once. So I, I don't know if the GMs planned it that way, but, uh, it, it was pretty comical. 

Mark Corbett: Eh, it must have been a lot of, you know, playing like Jenga until the last moment.

So you could have gone all that whitewater rafting out there and not even worried about any of this. But jeez, but it'll be- 

Mat Germain: Probably. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So, so what do you think it all means? Who won the trade deadline in your opinion? 

Mark Corbett: Ugh. At this point, [00:34:00] I wanna see the impact of those four new pitchers for the Pirates.

Uh, to me that, that's gonna be interesting. I think that the Rays did a great job, I think the, of holding fast primarily with, with the, who they have, but f- you know, building some strength there with the catching. Our good buddy, uh, Josh Weaver, who has felt stronger about the Rays at the beginning of the season than we did, um, yeah, his, his lady Kay, she said, "You know, I think they need to do something about that catching," she said the other day.

I said, "Josh, I'm gonna start coming to you for a resource. You and Kay."

I don't know, that's awesome But no, who, who do I think? I don't know. I, I think we made probably the best choice as far as that goes. I mean, it's staying put in many cases. But I think if you're looking across, I wanna see, uh, I'm, I'm gonna be curious to see how that i- the, uh, all the changes for pitchers impacts the Pirates.

What about you? 

Mat Germain: I, I'm gonna go [00:35:00] kind of an outside the r- you know, I think the obvious one is who got the best player, and it's the Dodgers. They got three school. Yeah. Like, no, you know, hands down, that's... You have to be one of the top three at that point. So I'll s- I'll name the top three that I think. Um, the second one is gonna surprise you.

I think it's the Brewers. 

Mark Corbett: Hmm. 

Mat Germain: I think - Antonio Senzatela, uh, Dustin May, Bo Naylor, Lance McCullers Jr., East, uh, sorry, um, Brayden Shoemake, and, uh, JoJo Romero. And, and the reason I like what they did is that they went with a little bit of, of, uh, breadth of starting pitching and strengthened their catching, uh, backup plan.

But the Antonio Senzatela is one that's been, he's been at Rocky for so long, Mark. Yeah. , You're talking about a guy who came up with him at, 2017. He's been with them ever since, so he's spent basically a decade at their s- their stadium. And, and he's got a [00:36:00] 361 ERA and a 1.2 whip playing out of that stadium.

I think you're gonna see a huge increase in, in his performance level, um, just based on the fact that he's getting away from that field. A- and I think, , it's probably one of the more underrated, , additions for this trade deadline- Mm-hmm ... uh, that people probably won't talk about very much. But when I'm looking at , his home and away splits, um, you know, he has a 649 OPS away- Wow

and a 719 at home. So you're looking over,, the majority of, of his time, , I think it's a 257 ERA and a da, da, da, let me look for the whip. , 1.12 whip, , away from, from Coors. So I, I think they snagged one there that people weren't really looking at very closely. He's 31, so he's very mature.

He's not gonna be stressed out when he's on the mound in the playoffs. And, and for them, they really needed it 'cause they've got some injuries. [00:37:00] Um, so then I would put the Rays as the other one out of the top three. I, I do think they addressed, like I said, three of their four biggest needs. Yes, they missed out on a, a, you know, a, a hitting shortstop that can field a decent amount, but I think they can mitigate that with what they have aboard.

Mark Corbett: Well, I'm looking forward to seeing how that does impact the Rays. I was glad to see some talent that I, I was concerned about might be leaving isn't. I mean, and the, the whole idea of trades is yes, there's gonna be some players you're gonna see go that, you know, each one of us may have a, a certain appeal to us, but I, I trust what the front office has done most all the time.

I mean, Eric Neander and his team are, seem to be doing it right. Uh, they must be more than just doing analytics because I feel like there's gotta be a gut feeling with some of it. Maybe, maybe, maybe not. Maybe I'm giving them more credit. I wanna see Freddy Peralta. I wanna see what he's gonna be doing with it.

But, uh, we will see. Let's see. Are they playing the Rockies tonight? [00:38:00] 

Mat Germain: Yeah, they're up 5-0 right now. Holy shiboozie. 

Mark Corbett: Caminero

Mat Germain: hit his 31st of the season. 

Mark Corbett: Well, that's a whole hell of a lot better than the other night at the Trop. Oh. Yep. So I, I'm glad to hear that. I was really curious to see after a, you know, that long flight out, out there how they were gonna be doing today. Well, that's good. You know, I wanna probably pr- uh, let's see.

I wanna probably wra- wrap this up here in a second, but I do want to mention as far as the Women's Pro Baseball League, that got started this weekend, Mat, and I'm gonna do more on that on another show, but it was amazing to see that talent. You got four teams, each one with a 15, woman roster, and we're gonna talk more at another time about those team names, what they represent.

And it was interesting to see as far as the captains, uh ... Who am I trying to think of? Let's see. One of them was Canadian, Ally Schroeder. She was [00:39:00] there. And then, uh, of course, Kelsie Whitmore. And then, uh, oh my gosh, Ashton Lansdell, who was just amazing, amazing player watching her at the World Baseball, Tournament up in Rockford, so that was m- something else.

And who's the f- the other one? He escapes me at the moment. I apologize. But, uh, there's, there's all kinds of ... It may have been Danee, Danee Benites. T- in seeing Danee Benites play out there, she's a great catcher, but then she hits a home run. You know, this, this is something, Mat And this field that they're playing in is rather unique in itself, too.

It's called a turtleback field. Have, have you ever heard that term before? 

Mat Germain: Yes, I have. 

Mark Corbett: Yes. Now, that just sounds dangerous to me because my understanding of it is basically you've got your regular infield, all that, just pretty much laid out the same, but then as you get out from the infield dirt and go to the outfield, there's like a, it can be up to, like, an [00:40:00] 18-inch drop-off.

Mm-hmm. S- so that if you're an outfielder, you got, you better be s- fast on your feet, or you better be understanding of what that field is like, 'cause it's not gonna be just running down a straight line. You may have to move a little left or right to just kinda get your footing to be chasing a ball down.

So anyway, th- there's all kinds of little unique things going on with this tournament. It's, uh ... I've seen some people being critical of the announcers and b- you know, nitpicking this, that, and the other. "Oh, they say that name wrong," or, "Oh, they, they mispronounced their own team, huh?" And it's like, dude, settle down.

This is a brand-new league. And I know some were displeased 'cause they thought all the games would be free to watch, and honestly, you have to have ESPN to see these right now. But th- this league has to sustain itself in some way, and that's gonna be part of it. And I think that, uh, if, if you love this game, you're gonna find a way to watch it.

And if you don't love it enough to Put up a little extra to see the [00:41:00] game, then, you know, shame on you. You know, there's highlights that you can probably find on, on YouTube. But the Women's Pro Baseball League got started this week, and first two games out of the chute. Um, they've got the ne- they've got Monday and Tuesday off, and then they resume again.

Basically, you know, all the entire month here of August, they're gonna be playing there in Springfield, Illinois, those four teams, and I am really excited about continuing to watch, uh, as all this evolves, and we'll do some stories about them later on too. But- 

Mat Germain: Yeah ... 

Mark Corbett: I did wanna get that out there. But that turtleback field, man, I had not heard of that before 

Mat Germain: Yeah, I, I'd heard about it.

I don't remember where I'd heard about it, but because I watch so much minor league baseball, it probably once was one of those fields that, uh, that ended up being part of it. Or I, I, the other league that I looked at for a while was the, uh, the Frontier League and, and it had some, uh, some fields that were a little bit wonky.

And then the other one that I'll throw out there is the Australian Baseball League [00:42:00] might have had it. But anyways, I, I'd heard the term before. I knew what it meant, and it does like... Do you remember the, some of the outfields that had that slope at the end there right before you get to the wall? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah.

Mat Germain: That, that goes up in center field. Like it's a little bit like that. You've gotta be aware of where you are in the field and, uh, and just watch your step. Or when they're handling foul balls and there's the mounds there that the, the pitchers are using to warm up, well, that's, it's the same kind of thing.

You've gotta be aware of your obstacles when you're playing. But I really would encourage people to go and watch the highlights. That was the first thing I wanted to see, Mark. Without a- actually going out to look for it- Yeah ... in my feed, I was seeing highlights come through. Yeah. And that to me was very encouraging, and it's a telltale sign that people are paying attention, and they're sharing, and they're throwing that information out there.

And, and like the, the heart and soul that they played with, the fact that it was sold out, there was lines, you know, of people that were there extremely early to get in the [00:43:00] stadiums. Uh, the highlights speak for themselves in terms of the quality of the play. I think you'll see that improve over time as they get familiar and better and start amping up, , their intensity.

, But I think that, a little bit of the nervousness in a couple of, of ways when you're watching the game, uh, seem to come through in certain moments. But overall, it's a very strong start. Yeah. I like the feel. I like the face paint that some of them had. You know, the, the black streaks across the cheeks.

Uh, , this isn't gonna be a bush league. This is gonna be, uh, one of those leagues where you can tell the intensity's gonna increase the more that the animosity between players starts to build. 

Mark Corbett: Well, well, you know, the funny thing is you've got teammates who were playing on a same, uh, country team, whether it be USA- Right

or whatever, and now they're, you know, opposing. And some of these are good friends, like Denae Benites and Ashton Lansdell. And I was like, I wonder. I, I saw that Danae, she's, she's a catcher, and, uh, Ashton was up to bat, and I was like, I wonder, is, i-[00:44:00] 

is, are you tra- are you talking trash to your buddy there? 

Mat Germain: Yeah. You gonna get one thrown in your ribs or something like that? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. You know, but they, they, they show so much fun. I mean, there's so much what they do on Instagram, TikTok, et cetera. They're keeping it lively and fun, and I think that that brings in a younger audience.

'Cause you and I talk about that a lot, about what baseball needs to do to bring in, you know, um- A younger audience. I think that's the other part of what this is gonna do too. So, and they, that you talk about them standing out there to get in the game, and they were standing in the rain, the folks- Oh ... to come into that game.

It, they had a bit of a, a delay before they got started. I liked it too, because as far as the, uh, the first pitched, the celebratory, they had... 

Mat Germain: they had Maybelle Blair, you know, who's like 99 years old, who'd been one of the All-Americans and certainly played baseball as a professional long ago, but she's also a powerhouse.

And a, uh, they, [00:45:00] they created a mascot for her, too, which was a little odd seeing the mascot and her side by side. , But the other cele- celebratory first pitch was from Tony La Russa. I thought, man, that was so cool to see him out there as well. 

Mm-hmm. 

You know, we just had the trade deadline in Major League Baseball. How long before we have one in the women's, uh, pro league? 

Mark Corbett: Hey. Hey, I don't know, brother. It's gonna be interesting. It's, it's gonna be something. I'm, I'm excited about it. It's, uh, we're gonna see it, but it's gotta get out, out the ground.

And so those of you all who have any questions about how all this is developing, you know, with the Women's Pro Baseball League, alls I c- can say time and time again is get out there, enjoy it, watch it. And going back to the team captains, let's see, it's Kelsey Whitmore with the San Francisco Firebelles, Ashton Lansdel with the Los Angeles Queens, and she was, by the way, she was like, uh, well, player of the, of the w- game one day at the, last [00:46:00] week at the tournament there.

Danae was talking about, she's also a captain for the New York Heights, and Ally Schroeder from Canada, who's, uh, she's with the Boston Hunters. So one last thing I'll leave you with too is of the four managers, one of them was a woman. I was hoping I would see more, but it... I think that that woman has brought a lot more to the game, Richelle "Rocky" Henley.

She's, uh, managing the New York Heights, and the thing about that is that she has been coaching and playing women's baseball for a long time. So, and she's known a lot of these players long before they ever gathered in Springfield. So I think she, she has an advantage over some of the other managers. So it's exciting times, folk.

Uh, find a way to watch it, you know, and like Matt said, the highlights will pop up somewhere with you, but it's the Women's Pro Baseball League, and I wanna say thank you to Justine Segal and all the good people who are making this [00:47:00] happen.

That's all I got. Anything else you would like to add, sir? 

Mat Germain: Um, I would like to say that now that the trade deadline is behind us, the, uh, the next big step that, that's going to happen is basically who falls to the, to the ground because of health issues and who's there as the backup plan. So people can, can enjoy the rest of the season now and ride it out with the players they have, take a r- a fresh look at the depth that their team has and whatever they dealt away and whatever they got back.

So in the Rays case, now you have a whole new hierarchy of catching depth. Uh, but it's, to me it looks really solid all the way through, so I'm encouraged about it. Every team's gonna have their own issues based on what they dealt away and took in. But now I'm starting to think about extensions, Mark. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, 

Mat Germain: okay.

I wanna see Junior Caminero get a significant deal. I wanna see some of the core pieces to be established. Grady Emerson maybe [00:48:00] gets an early one, you know? Like, start building around... And that applies to all the teams, not just the Rays. But start building a long-term plan based on what moves you just made and solidify your position, which is something, going back to the Orioles, that they never have done- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah

Mat Germain: with anything but first basement. So if you think back to Chris Davis when they did the last, uh, remake of their team, he was the only mainstay for years that was getting paid. Now they're back to that with Pete Alonso. Pete Alonso's the only one getting paid, and they still haven't extended Gunnar Henderson.

So, like, each team has their own situation going on and, and now is, now is the time where you get to digest your, your front office's plans- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: and how does it look now? Okay, how strong are we? You know, were we able to throw some chips in like the Rays did, almost trading two-thirds of a double A team, you know?

And, and, and what did that result in when you do that? And so to my opinion, in the [00:49:00] Rays situation, you look at and you're still strong. So the front office must have loaded up on enough talent to put themselves in the position to do that. So I'd be curious to find out, , mid-September how people feel about their front office's moves, uh, compared to what they do now.

Mark Corbett: I think that's a reasonable time period, about a month and a half, to see what, uh, what assessments need to be made, and getting, closing in on by Oct- by, uh, on October by then. Yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see how it all plays out with these decisions, Mat, and I can't thank you enough, brother, for tracking all this and from, uh, out there in the wilds of Nova Scotia, uh and taking the time to share with us your insights on what's happening and tracking it long before the, the deadline came to close.

So what's the score right now with the Rays and- 

Mat Germain: With, uh, the Rays and Rockies? Yeah. It's 6-uh, nothing for the Rays. And the reason they brought up, uh, Kenny Piper is because they had made that deal [00:50:00] And he needed another catcher, so he's in the lineup today. Oh. He's already got a walk and a run, so he's being productive.

Mark Corbett: Dang. 

Mat Germain: So good for him. 

Mark Corbett: Way to start. All right. Well, Mat, thanks again, buddy. We'll, uh, we'll catch up next week, and wanna thank you all for joining us here today, and we look forward to talking with you again real soon. 

Mat Germain: Bong!

Hoot