Speaker 1: Our first Dodger Talk of twenty twenty five. Hope you
Speaker 1: had a great Christmas New Year, Hanikah. I ate too much.
Speaker 1: I drank too much, and I'm not stopping. Won't stop,
Speaker 1: can't be stopped. We got a great show for you tonight.
Speaker 1: Phone lines are open for the first time in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five. Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy.
Speaker 1: You'll hear from Teoscar Hernandez, who was at Dodger Stadium
Speaker 1: today for a press conference. I had a chance to
Speaker 1: talk to ta Oscar moments after he stopped uh at well,
Speaker 1: moments after he came off the stage. So you hear
Speaker 1: from tai Oscar. And also I chose my top five
Speaker 1: tail moments, my top five ti Oscar Hernandez moments. If
Speaker 1: you have a top ta Oscar Hernandez moment, I want
Speaker 1: to hear from you. Eight six six nine eighty seven
Speaker 1: two five seventy. Also, coming up at the bottom of
Speaker 1: the hour, you'll hear from Walker Buehler. We haven't had
Speaker 1: a chance to talk about Buehler signing with the Boston
Speaker 1: Red Sox. You'll hear from Buehler and you'll give some
Speaker 1: more insight on that faithful night at Yankee Stadium. No,
Speaker 1: not Game five, but the night he started Game three
Speaker 1: and Fat Joe cursed the Yankees, So you'll hear what
Speaker 1: Buehler had to say about that game as well. The
Speaker 1: Dodgers also signed a Korean infielder that they played against
Speaker 1: in South Korea last year, High Song Kim. We'll get
Speaker 1: into what this means for the rest of the Dodger
Speaker 1: roster and what Brandon Gomes believes Kim's role will be.
Speaker 1: But before we do that, just to repack everything or
Speaker 1: unpack the ta Oscar Hernandez signing. About three weeks ago,
Speaker 1: I had reported that things were getting close to getting
Speaker 1: done and they just got hung up at the same
Speaker 1: ten yard line until recently before Christmas. Was Taoscar Hernandez
Speaker 1: going to sign with another team?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 1: Was there a bidding war for Tioscar Hernandez.
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 1: The qualifying offer attached to Taoscar Hernandez was something that
Speaker 1: gave other teams some pause because they aren't just draft
Speaker 1: picks that teams are forfeiting or losing to sign a
Speaker 1: player with a qualifying offer. As I mentioned the Petros
Speaker 1: some money a few times. There's a monetary value these
Speaker 1: front offices put on these draft picks, so they don't
Speaker 1: just give them away or push their picks back to
Speaker 1: sign any free agent. Now, Taoscar Hernandez did have a
Speaker 1: lot of interest from the Cincinnati Reds. I would say
Speaker 1: that was the team that possibly could have came in
Speaker 1: and swooped ta Oscar from the Dodgers. Not only did
Speaker 1: the Reds want ta Oscar in their lineup in that ballpark,
Speaker 1: but also to mentor Elie d la Cruz. Harry Francona,
Speaker 1: who's now the Reds manager, talked a lot about how
Speaker 1: he's going to try to emphasize Ellie de la Cruz
Speaker 1: and talk to him and try to get him and
Speaker 1: take the next step in his maturation. The Reds thot
Speaker 1: ta Oscar Hernandez could help him do that. But ta Oscar,
Speaker 1: as he mentioned during his press conference, was it really
Speaker 1: worth going somewhere else for five or six million extra dollars.
Speaker 1: And you never hear a player really be that candid.
Speaker 1: But that's what makes ta Oscar Hernandez pretty special. And
Speaker 1: my understanding is that new mural down in South central
Speaker 1: LA with a few of the Dodgers' key Dodgers Tommy Edmund,
Speaker 1: t Oscar Hernandez, Mooki, and Freddy ta Oscar wanted to
Speaker 1: see that mural. And my understanding is one of the
Speaker 1: Dodger officials took Taoscar down to twentieth in Hooper where
Speaker 1: that mural was painted. And we'll see whether or not
Speaker 1: ta Oscar posts a photo in front of it. But yeah,
Speaker 1: that was one of the things ta Oscar wanted to
Speaker 1: do today and that it's pretty cool that he recognized that.
Speaker 1: So we'll see if Taoscar made it down there and
Speaker 1: whether or not he posts a picture on his Instagram. Uh, oh,
Speaker 1: he did. He did post a picture already, all right, Okay,
Speaker 1: a couple of them do Ronnie Fossio nice? All right?
Speaker 1: His esposa went down there with him too, So they
Speaker 1: made it down there to twentieth and Hooper where that
Speaker 1: mural is. So Taoscar Hernandez getting deep into the city
Speaker 1: today after talking to us and being on on Petro
Speaker 1: some money. Now, as far as the Dodger outfield looks,
Speaker 1: Taoscar Hernandez is going to be the right fielder. Michael
Speaker 1: Confordo is going to be the everyday left fielder. Andy
Speaker 1: pa has Tommy Edmund, Chris Taylor, maybe James Outman if
Speaker 1: there's an injury, is in the mix there. But that's
Speaker 1: the way the Dodger outfield looks right now. So we'll
Speaker 1: get into the roster and how this fits with trying
Speaker 1: to bring back keyk Hernandez and how they do bring
Speaker 1: back Key k Hernandez. Now not only was signing Taoscar Hernandez,
Speaker 1: but also uh Sognning has sung high song Kim. Here
Speaker 1: is Taoscar Hernandez from earlier today. We had a chance
Speaker 1: to catch up with him before he went to go
Speaker 1: see that mural. It's a celebration in Los Angeles. The
Speaker 1: weight is over. Tioscar Hernandez is finally officially a Dodger.
Speaker 1: My son Joseph can stop asking me every single day
Speaker 1: if Tayo is back. And I feel like he was
Speaker 1: speaking for the entire city of La Could you feel
Speaker 1: the love from the city and how badly they wanted
Speaker 1: you back?
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, I mean I watched all the media social
Speaker 4: media just asking when I was gonna sign with the
Speaker 4: Dodgers again, And you know that gives me a little
Speaker 4: a little bit of push just to make that decision,
Speaker 4: make a quick So the fans. Do your fans are
Speaker 4: They were really excited last year and there I think
Speaker 4: they're even more excited. We mean to come back here.
Speaker 1: Tai Oscar. I think the fans of appreciated not only
Speaker 1: what you did on the field, but they could tell
Speaker 1: you really invested everything you had in your teammates and
Speaker 1: in the city that doesn't usually happen.
Speaker 4: I mean, that's that's why I love this game. I
Speaker 4: played this game to help the team wins, in this
Speaker 4: case the Dodgers, and make my teammates better, not only players,
Speaker 4: but a better person. And the same way, being there
Speaker 4: for any anybody that needs me that I can make better,
Speaker 4: and just you know, just happy to be around these people,
Speaker 4: this organization.
Speaker 1: How many teammates reached out to you or did you
Speaker 1: send a text to the rest of the team when
Speaker 1: you officially signed.
Speaker 4: They were all happy, they say same. They were congratulating
Speaker 4: me and the group chat that we have. They were
Speaker 4: happy and I'm really happy to be back.
Speaker 1: What was free agency like for you this year compared
Speaker 1: to last year. It seemed like you had a little
Speaker 1: bit more our direction that you wanted to come back
Speaker 1: compared to last year.
Speaker 4: Not knowing Yeah, you know, last year, you like me
Speaker 4: come here. I didn't know what to spad like. I
Speaker 4: had an idea because I hear other players saying. But
Speaker 4: when you realize that it's more than what you were expecting,
Speaker 4: it just make every single decision easier when it comes
Speaker 4: to free agency to make a decision, and for me,
Speaker 4: it was easy to come back.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like now you might want to try
Speaker 1: to recruit Keik to come back.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I think he's the only one musing right now from
Speaker 4: last year. He was huge for us last year and
Speaker 4: hopefully they can make a work so he can come
Speaker 4: back in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1: I thought it was interesting that you said during the
Speaker 1: press conference what you guys accomplished last year was in
Speaker 1: the past. Is that how you feel like last year's
Speaker 1: World Series it's over with now you have to focus
Speaker 1: on twenty five or can you still enjoy what you
Speaker 1: guys were able to accomplish as a group.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean you go back and think about how
Speaker 4: you watch videos and you like, you get excited about
Speaker 4: what we did last year. But I think everybody's mine
Speaker 4: right now, it just focused on twenty twenty five. What
Speaker 4: can we do to do the same thing that we're
Speaker 4: doing in twenty twenty four, and that's our goal, trying
Speaker 4: to go there, stay healthy and win a championship.
Speaker 1: I've been back to back. That sounds nice, tail.
Speaker 4: Back to back.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I've been seeing your Instagram. You're really putting in
Speaker 1: a lot of work already.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 4: I'm trying to, you know, to get myself ready so
Speaker 4: I can be there for the team and just give
Speaker 4: everything that I have so we can go back to
Speaker 4: the World Series and win it.
Speaker 1: How much you're squatting, not much.
Speaker 4: I'm not a big squat guy.
Speaker 1: I tried just to get bench pressing five hundred.
Speaker 4: No, not really. I'm not a heavy weight lifter. But
Speaker 4: I try to get myself ready just to to being
Speaker 4: a bit on the field every day.
Speaker 1: You were out there every day. Yeah, I mean that's
Speaker 1: what separates you from so many other players. It wasn't
Speaker 1: so much about you know, the numbers. That was a
Speaker 1: product of you being out there every day. You miss
Speaker 1: some time with a family passing away, and you know
Speaker 1: you had a little nagging thing, but you're You and
Speaker 1: Freddie Freeman are the guys that play every day.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean there's there's things that are gonna happen throughout
Speaker 4: the year that you cannot have control of it. But
Speaker 4: when he comes to my body, I try to make myself,
Speaker 4: make put my body in a good shape so that
Speaker 4: way I can be on the field the whole season
Speaker 4: and just help the team.
Speaker 1: Before I let you go. Being a World champion? Does
Speaker 1: it feel different? How has your life changed since winning
Speaker 1: the World Series?
Speaker 4: It feels great, you know. That's why I think every
Speaker 4: player played this game just together and have a chance
Speaker 4: to win everything. And for us it's not different. For
Speaker 4: me especially, I always one of that and I had
Speaker 4: it and now I want more.
Speaker 1: I love it. Great to have that smile back in
Speaker 1: La Tale. I know everybody's really excited and can't wait
Speaker 1: for spring train to start for you guys to try
Speaker 1: to run this back.
Speaker 4: Yeah, let's do it.
Speaker 1: All right, ta Oscar Hernandez humbled, but still very excited
Speaker 1: to be back with the Dodgers. It was a place
Speaker 1: that he wanted to be back, and that's how this
Speaker 1: all came together. Both sides wanted it to happen. And look,
Speaker 1: I'm telling you do not close the door on key
Speaker 1: A Hernandez either. I'm going to tell you in our
Speaker 1: next segment, how that can happen now, But before we
Speaker 1: get there, we have phone lines open eight six, six, nine,
Speaker 1: eighty seven, two, five, seventy. Here are my ti Oscar
Speaker 1: Hernandez moments from twenty twenty four. And it's not just
Speaker 1: the postseason. Yes, things ended at Yankee Stadium. Yes he
Speaker 1: had a big World Series. Yes they celebrated there in
Speaker 1: the Bronx. But if you go back to June of
Speaker 1: the regular season, that was Taoscar hernandez Is coming out
Speaker 1: party for the Dodgers, Taoscar Hernandez coming out party, in
Speaker 1: my opinion, at Yankee Stadium in June. And I guess
Speaker 1: it was meant to be for the Dodgers to win
Speaker 1: the World Series at Yankee Stadium in October because ti
Speaker 1: Oscar had such a big part of that as well. Now,
Speaker 1: before they got to the World Series, the Dodgers were
Speaker 1: almost eliminated by the Padres in the NLDS, and yes,
Speaker 1: even though they lost Game three in San Diego, I
Speaker 1: felt like this grand slam by Tioscar Hernandez made a
Speaker 1: statement to his teammates that this thing should not be
Speaker 1: considered over.
Speaker 6: Hernandez HiT's a high fly ball center field Merrill going back,
Speaker 6: he's on the warning track at the.
Speaker 7: Wall gon and grand Tioscar Hernandez barking down the first
Speaker 7: base line a grand slam of the Dodgers right back
Speaker 7: in it tail absolutely launched one the dead center field
Speaker 7: and it's now six to five, four hundred and three feet,
Speaker 7: his first postseason home run as a Dodger.
Speaker 1: The Padres thought they were on their way to the
Speaker 1: NLCS when they had that six to nothing lead, and
Speaker 1: I bet they even thought they were on their way
Speaker 1: after winning six to five. But I personally believed the
Speaker 1: Dodgers' postseason fortunes changed in that game, not only because
Speaker 1: Keyy Hernandez finally got in the starting lineup, but remember
Speaker 1: Walker Buehler, after giving up those six runs with some
Speaker 1: poor defense behind him, threw, you know, a gatorade bucket
Speaker 1: full of bubblegum and kind of screamed at his teammates
Speaker 1: and let them know it's not acceptable. And then Taoscar
Speaker 1: Hernandez hit that grand slam to pull the Dodgers within
Speaker 1: one run in the third inning when a lot of
Speaker 1: other teams would have just punted on that game. And
Speaker 1: if you remember, you heard Steven Nelson describe it Taoscar
Speaker 1: Hernandez was barking not only at the dugout, but he
Speaker 1: was barking at the guy that was coming up behind him,
Speaker 1: Max Munsey, to let him know, to try to rally him,
Speaker 1: to say, you know what, give us a great at
Speaker 1: bad here. Even though it came as the final out
Speaker 1: of that inning, Munsey did give a good at bat,
Speaker 1: so to me, Game three the NLDS was just as important,
Speaker 1: even in a loss, than any other game in the
Speaker 1: postseason for the Dodgers as far as their road to
Speaker 1: the World Championship. All right, here we go, Game five,
Speaker 1: World Series, right, Ronnie, we got that one's that's number
Speaker 1: four on our top five. Game five one of the
Speaker 1: most historic innings in World Series history, where the Yankees
Speaker 1: just completely opened the door for the Dodgers to come
Speaker 1: back from the dead and win the World Series. Here
Speaker 1: it is top of the fifth inning in New York.
Speaker 1: To Oscar Hernandez ties the game.
Speaker 6: Col out of the stretch the pitch, Hernandez fly ball
Speaker 6: left center field, judge going back chasing after it, he's not.
Speaker 7: Gonna get there, and what hops up the wall, Momky scars.
Speaker 7: Here comes Freddy Tioscar Hernandez has tied Game five, two.
Speaker 6: Run double from Tayo.
Speaker 7: Five five in Game five.
Speaker 1: I mean, everybody remembers some of the misplays and all that,
Speaker 1: but Taoscar Hernandez. That's why he's so vital and why
Speaker 1: it was so important to bring him back. You don't
Speaker 1: cash in those runs without Taoscar Hernandez, you don't cash
Speaker 1: in that win. And I know his defense is considered
Speaker 1: below par by some, but how about the throw he
Speaker 1: made in Game three of the World Series to throw
Speaker 1: out John Carlos Stanton in the bottom of the fourth
Speaker 1: inning that night.
Speaker 6: Two two volpi to left field. That's gonna drop for
Speaker 6: a base hit, Stanton being waved around. Here's the on
Speaker 6: went for Tioscar.
Speaker 7: The play at the play got them cut up the
Speaker 7: loute hose from Hernandez and left and standing nailed down
Speaker 7: at the plate.
Speaker 1: So there they are. Those are the five Taoscar Hernandez
Speaker 1: moments that stand out to me. Did I miss any
Speaker 1: Eight sixty six nine eighty seven two five seventy is
Speaker 1: the phone number when we continue here on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: Your phone calls at eight sixty six nine eight seven
Speaker 1: two five seventy, and I will tell you how to
Speaker 1: fit Keith K. A Hernandez on this roster. Right now,
Speaker 1: the Dodger forty man roster is full. I will tell
Speaker 1: you how to fit key K. A Hernandez, and there
Speaker 1: is more ways than one to do it, long ways
Speaker 1: away between now and the start of spring training, and
Speaker 1: even longer between now and the time the Dodgers uh
Speaker 1: play in Tokyo, Japan for opening Day. David Vassay our
Speaker 1: inaugural Dodger talk of twenty twenty five with you until
Speaker 1: eight o'clock right here on a five seventy LA Sports
Speaker 1: the City of Los Angeles. A big sigh relief. I
Speaker 1: thought it was great how Dodgers GM Brandon Gome said
Speaker 1: at the press conference today that his eight year old
Speaker 1: daughter had been asking him every day whether or not
Speaker 1: they were going to bring back Taoscar. I feel like
Speaker 1: he was speaking for a lot of dads out there
Speaker 1: that had Dodger fans in their house. Like I mentioned
Speaker 1: to ta Oscar, my son was asking me every day,
Speaker 1: did they bring back tail? Did they bring back tail?
Speaker 1: I said, not yet, but it's so close, And it
Speaker 1: eventually became official this afternoon. Ta Oscar Hernandez is back.
Speaker 1: Last year he split time between left and right field.
Speaker 1: This year, going into spring training, he will be the
Speaker 1: Dodgers right fielder because they signed Michael Conforto before the
Speaker 1: holidays and they signed him to a big contract. In fact,
Speaker 1: Cornfordo's contract was signed officially the same day that Juan
Speaker 1: Soto signed with the Mets, so maybe that's why it
Speaker 1: may have got lost in the shuffle. Conforto signed the
Speaker 1: same night as Juan Soto did. And I think I
Speaker 1: told this story when I was out there in Dallas.
Speaker 1: But I walked into the elevator with Scott Boris and
Speaker 1: his Boris Corp Crewe the night that Juan Soto signed,
Speaker 1: in the night that Michael Conforto signed, And when I
Speaker 1: saw Scott, I was like, hey, Confordo, looking forward to it.
Speaker 1: I think he's a great sign for the Dodgers. And
Speaker 1: then we got into the elevator and he said, Sodo,
Speaker 1: it's official. I was like really, He's like, yeah, just
Speaker 1: a minute ago, Dodgers. It's like, come on. The whole
Speaker 1: elevator started laughing. He's like, no, no, Mets, Mets. I
Speaker 1: was like, wo all right, cool being in the same
Speaker 1: elevator with Scott Boris minutes after Soto signed, and honestly,
Speaker 1: Michael Conforto got lost in the shuffle there. But looking
Speaker 1: forward to the Dodgers having Michael Conforto, he is going
Speaker 1: to benefit tremendously for playing his home games at Dodgers
Speaker 1: Stadium instead of Oral Park up there in the Bay Area.
Speaker 1: The Dodgers also made a signing today with the Taoscar
Speaker 1: Hernandez press conference happening. Moments before it took place, word
Speaker 1: started to leak out that they signed Korean infielder High
Speaker 1: Sung Kim, who's twenty five years old and from what
Speaker 1: I understand, is a great defensive player, but the bat
Speaker 1: needs to catch up to the glove, and the Dodgers
Speaker 1: are pretty confident that his bat will catch up.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I think there's ability to continue to add strength,
Speaker 8: and I think the there's an approach standpoint, and just
Speaker 8: some moves that are hitting group sees that we could,
Speaker 8: you know, make some adjustments to him. He already has
Speaker 8: really good bat to ball, which is a good foundation obviously,
Speaker 8: and then you know, being able to impact the ball
Speaker 8: a little bit more and you know, write out some
Speaker 8: off CB pitches in a better way. So there's definitely
Speaker 8: some some pieces there that we feel like we can
Speaker 8: address to tap into thepside.
Speaker 1: And that was Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes who was talking
Speaker 1: about the upside of what the Dodgers hope is a
Speaker 1: better offensive player. Kim did hit three hundred in South Korea,
Speaker 1: but that's not major league pitching, so it'll be interesting
Speaker 1: to see whether or not the bat does catch up
Speaker 1: to the glove. The one thing that I'm being told
Speaker 1: is don't pigeonhole him as a second baseman. I know
Speaker 1: that's the way it was being framed earlier today, but
Speaker 1: my understanding is the Dodgers believe he's a very versatile
Speaker 1: infielder and they are going to give him opportunities to
Speaker 1: play shortstop. Which brings me on how the Dodgers are
Speaker 1: going to fit keyk Hernandez. I think many of you
Speaker 1: out there are concerned that with this signing of Kim,
Speaker 1: with Taoscar Hernandez, Confordo, all these guys, there's no room
Speaker 1: for keyk Hernandez. There is room for Key k Hernandez.
Speaker 1: And as we get closer to spring training, the way
Speaker 1: you fit a guy like keyk Hernandez on the roster
Speaker 1: is starting to play Some of these pitchers and po
Speaker 1: SI positioned players on the sixty day IL. That's how
Speaker 1: you open up forty man roster spots, because right now
Speaker 1: the forty man roster is full, and there's other ways
Speaker 1: to make room with a trade. Right I know many
Speaker 1: of you think automatically Gavin Lux is the odd man out.
Speaker 1: Why would he be automatically the odd man out. There's
Speaker 1: nothing that says the Dodgers have to trade Gavin Lux
Speaker 1: right now. He's a proven commodity. No matter if you
Speaker 1: love him or hate him, or you're kind of indifferent
Speaker 1: or in the middle. Gavin Lux was part of a
Speaker 1: World Series championship team last year. He was on. He
Speaker 1: was in the starting lineup throughout October. He was part
Speaker 1: of it. You can't deny it, and you can't tell
Speaker 1: me that you sign a South Korean infielder that has
Speaker 1: a suspect bat and Andrew Freeman all of a sudden
Speaker 1: is going to trade Gavin Lux. He is not in
Speaker 1: a corner to trade Lux right now. And I believe
Speaker 1: many of you are thinking, well, then just get rid
Speaker 1: of Chris Taylor. That should be key Key Hernandez's spot. True,
Speaker 1: he's making what fourteen million dollars this year, the last
Speaker 1: year of a four year, sixty million dollar contract. But
Speaker 1: you tell me which team is going to take Chris Taylor.
Speaker 1: And the Dodgers are not in the business of basically
Speaker 1: selling off prospects to attach to Taylor's contract, And they
Speaker 1: pointed out several different times last year that Taylor's second
Speaker 1: half was much better than what you saw on the
Speaker 1: surface in totality, So I don't see them just getting
Speaker 1: rid of Chris Taylor for nothing. It could happen, but
Speaker 1: I don't see any other team that's going to take
Speaker 1: Chris Taylor's contract, Which leads me to Miguel Rojas, who
Speaker 1: is thirty six thirty seven years old. The Dodgers picked
Speaker 1: up the option days after the World Series five million dollars,
Speaker 1: and Miguel Rojas is the ultimate insurance policy. He was
Speaker 1: the insurance policy for Mookie Betts last year. He was
Speaker 1: supposed to be kind of a utility defensive replace infielder.
Speaker 1: Turned out they needed him to play a shortstop the
Speaker 1: rest of the regular season in the second half when
Speaker 1: they moved Mooki to right field. But like I mentioned earlier,
Speaker 1: and this is no knock to Miguel Rojas. He was
Speaker 1: playing her to a certain extent, but his bat was
Speaker 1: ineffective during the NLDS and the Dodgers' fortunes changed when
Speaker 1: they moved tom Y Edmund to shortstop and Key k
Speaker 1: Hernandez to center field. In the playoffs, you can get
Speaker 1: something for Miguel Rojas. Miguel Rojas is not as versatile
Speaker 1: as Key k Hernandez or Tommy Edmond or even Mookie Betts.
Speaker 1: So if you're looking at the logjam of the roster
Speaker 1: as it's constructed right now, I would say the guy
Speaker 1: that could be moved is Miguel Rojas. Now, Mookie Betts
Speaker 1: is supposed to be the everyday shortstop. My understanding is
Speaker 1: that he's working out every day in the valley here
Speaker 1: with pet Pete Montero, who is a disciple of Reggie Smith,
Speaker 1: who's part of Dave Roberts' coaching staff. He's working every
Speaker 1: day and having a full off season to be the
Speaker 1: Dodgers shortstop. I guess you could be skeptical about that
Speaker 1: and believe that with te Oscar and Conforto, if things
Speaker 1: don't work out the first half of the season, you're
Speaker 1: going to have to move MOOKI bets off a shortstop
Speaker 1: and maybe second base now is the only spot for him,
Speaker 1: and Gavin Lux doesn't fit in. But again, you don't
Speaker 1: have to trade Gavin Lux now. So it's not just
Speaker 1: Lux or Tailor. There is Miguel Rojas as well. But
Speaker 1: I firmly believe the Dodgers are going to find a
Speaker 1: way to bring back keyk Hernandez. It may not be tomorrow.
Speaker 1: He may have to wait until you have the flexibility
Speaker 1: of the roster to put players on the sixty day
Speaker 1: il and Keik wants to be back, but there are
Speaker 1: other ways to get Keik on this roster before then.
Speaker 1: Eight six, six, nine eighty seven, two five seventy is
Speaker 1: the phone number. Let's take Gilberto in San Diego. Gilberto,
Speaker 1: Happy New Year.
Speaker 9: How you doing, Belisa, David com Us.
Speaker 1: Oh total BN, Gilberto, thank you so much.
Speaker 9: Listen. I'm still enjoying the championship, okay, and like the
Speaker 9: Oscar going back and remembering that magnificent run. And I'm
Speaker 9: really happy that they've got the Oscar back, and I
Speaker 9: think we're gonna have a great year again. I mean,
Speaker 9: this team is loaded and I can't wait for the
Speaker 9: season to start. I'm gonna enjoy the championship until the
Speaker 9: season starts in the USA, not in.
Speaker 1: It's kind of weird how the Dodgers when they do
Speaker 1: come back to North America, Opening Day at Dodgers Stadium
Speaker 1: is against the Detroit Tigers. Uh feel safe to say
Speaker 1: that's the first time ever that has happened.
Speaker 9: Oh yeah, oh yeah, And it should be great because
Speaker 9: they have a good team.
Speaker 1: Remember they're all right, all right, they're not as good
Speaker 1: as the Dodgers. You can I'm guaranteeing a home open
Speaker 1: win already against the Tigers on ring Day.
Speaker 9: Oh, let's hope. So they're gonna have a magnificent year,
Speaker 9: and I'm gonna I'm gonna look for you when you
Speaker 9: come down to San Diego. Okay, I already got my tickets.
Speaker 1: All right, I'll see you down there, Gilberto, thanks a
Speaker 1: lot for the phone call. And look going back to uh,
Speaker 1: you know the shortstop situation. BET's Edmund Kim and Key
Speaker 1: k are more versatile than Miguel Rojas's. So if you
Speaker 1: need to find a way to get Keyk on this roster,
Speaker 1: that would be a way. But I'm not saying that
Speaker 1: they should trade Miguel Rojas I'm just saying there are
Speaker 1: other ways for keyk to fit other than the obvious
Speaker 1: ones that you're thinking about. Eight six six nine, eight
Speaker 1: seven two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go
Speaker 1: out to Receita. John. You're on Dodger Talk. How you doing, John?
Speaker 3: Hey Dave, Happy New Year? Thanks for taking my call.
Speaker 3: My pleasure was I just got out of the meeting.
Speaker 10: But I heard Odd you're talking.
Speaker 3: I called and I wanted to find out what's happening
Speaker 3: with Chris Taylor. Are they going to trade or is
Speaker 3: he still in a contract?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 1: That that was my point. He's not getting traded because
Speaker 1: nobody would take his contract. So you're stuck with.
Speaker 3: Him, right, But what about this year? What about this year?
Speaker 2: Again?
Speaker 3: He We're stuck with him.
Speaker 1: One more year. This will be the final year on
Speaker 1: his contract yet. All right, okay, John, But I'm just
Speaker 1: saying there are other ways to get KIK on this roster.
Speaker 1: Eight six six five seventy is the phone number. Happy
Speaker 1: New Year. I guess right. That's the reaction from John.
Speaker 1: Let's go out to Hal and Weneka. You're on Dodger Dog.
Speaker 1: How you doing?
Speaker 7: Hell?
Speaker 9: Hey, Dave?
Speaker 2: Really looking forward to the coming season. I really liked
Speaker 2: what the Dodgers did in the off season. I think
Speaker 2: starting pitching is still going to be an issue. I mean, Gonsolin,
Speaker 2: may Kershaw Show. Hey, they're all coming off of surgeries,
Speaker 2: so you know, whatever we can get out of any
Speaker 2: of those guys is kind of a plus. But my
Speaker 2: main point is I don't like what's what's happening with
Speaker 2: Mookie Bets. Mookie Bets is a multi Gold Glove winner
Speaker 2: in right field. Uh, he's one. He's probably the best
Speaker 2: right fielder in the game right now. Yeah, and by
Speaker 2: any metric that you would use, last year he was
Speaker 2: a blow average shortstop. So I think the Dodgers are
Speaker 2: kind of indulging their their superstar here. I think this
Speaker 2: is Mookie maybe getting a little bored in right field
Speaker 2: and trying to, you know, start a new challenge. But really,
Speaker 2: he wasn't great at shortstop and now you got but
Speaker 2: let's see.
Speaker 1: What it like. I'm willing to give Mookie the benefit
Speaker 1: of the doubt having a full off season to prepare
Speaker 1: for shortstop rather than learning it on the fly. The
Speaker 1: throws have to get better, that's what he's working on.
Speaker 1: But look, the versatility is what makes Mookie special. If
Speaker 1: it doesn't work out, he can play second base. Right now,
Speaker 1: they're locked in in the core or outfield spots. But
Speaker 1: as you know, it's a long season. A lot can happen.
Speaker 1: So right now, how I'm willing to give Mooki the
Speaker 1: benefit of the doubts.
Speaker 2: He's never gonna be as good an infielder as he
Speaker 2: is a right fielder.
Speaker 1: Well he is. He is the best right fielder in.
Speaker 2: The last Why mess with that?
Speaker 1: Because they felt like they can make their lineup deeper
Speaker 1: by moving him to the infield and signing Conforto and
Speaker 1: having ta Oscar play right field. Now, if Mookie wants
Speaker 1: to play center, I mean that could happen, But do
Speaker 1: you really want him covering all that ground? I'm willing
Speaker 1: to give him. I want to see what it looks
Speaker 1: like after a full off season of working at the position.
Speaker 2: We'll see and they get I know how they're going
Speaker 2: to get back. How they let him sign a one
Speaker 2: year Shelby contract with someone else. He's gonna be batting
Speaker 2: around two hundred most of the season. They pick him
Speaker 2: up on the chief right before the trade deadline, and
Speaker 2: he does this thing in the playoffs for us next year.
Speaker 1: Okay, hell, thanks a lot for the phone call. I
Speaker 1: appreciate it. You need two to tangle, right if I'm
Speaker 1: sure other teams know that Kiki is really good in
Speaker 1: the postseason, so I'm sure there would be other teams
Speaker 1: trying to get him if that was the case. Man,
Speaker 1: how salty before even a pitch is thrown in spring training?
Speaker 1: Pitchers and catchers haven't even reported, and he's already salty
Speaker 1: after the World Series Championship. I'm willing to give Mooki
Speaker 1: the benefit of the doubt, but here's the reality. You
Speaker 1: have three guys that are super versatile that can play
Speaker 1: shortstop on this roster, Mooki, tom Y Edman and High
Speaker 1: Sung Kim. Where does Miguel Rojas play? Where does he play?
Speaker 1: When does he play? He's the ultimate insurance policy. And look,
Speaker 1: if they signed keyk Hernandez, he can play a lot
Speaker 1: of center field. He's versatile in that way. And look,
Speaker 1: we'll see how it plays out. But it's not just
Speaker 1: always the obvious moves that you can find ways to
Speaker 1: make room on your roster. That's my point. Eight six six,
Speaker 1: nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the phone number
Speaker 1: when we continue, you'll hear from Walker Bueler he'll take
Speaker 1: you deeper inside of that Fat Joe debacle in Game three.
Speaker 1: And also you'll hear from Brandon Gomes on what else
Speaker 1: is left on the Dodgers off season shopping list. Eight
Speaker 1: six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is the
Speaker 1: phone number. And I never get tired of hearing where
Speaker 1: you were when Freddie Freeman hit his walk off Grand
Speaker 1: Slam in Game one of the World Series. I will
Speaker 1: ask for that during the regular season, and I will
Speaker 1: never get tired of hearing it. Eight six six nine
Speaker 1: eighty seven two five seventy is the phone number. Dodger
Speaker 1: Talk rolls on until eight o'clock on a five to
Speaker 1: seventy LA Sports off season Dodger Talk. Our next show
Speaker 1: is going to be next Thursday now night at seven o'clock.
Speaker 1: I'll try to secure another World Series champion Dodger to
Speaker 1: join us seven o'clock next Thursday night, and of course
Speaker 1: you'll hear me all week long with Petro some money,
Speaker 1: and we'll see about Rogan Rodney. Eight six six nine
Speaker 1: eight seven two five seventy is the phone number. You'll
Speaker 1: hear from Walker Bueller in a moment. But I told
Speaker 1: you before the break, I am never going to get
Speaker 1: tired of hearing about where you were when Freddie Freeman
Speaker 1: hit his walk off Grand Slam in Game one of
Speaker 1: the World Series. It's R. Kirk Gibson, right, it was R.
Speaker 1: Kirk Gibson of this generation, your Kirk Gibson moment of
Speaker 1: this generation. I remember where I was when Gibby hit
Speaker 1: his home run in nineteen eighty eight. I was in
Speaker 1: West Hills, my mom's small, probably fifteen inch TV, watching
Speaker 1: the World Series, thinking, man, this is rough getting phone
Speaker 1: calls from people teasing me. Back when people called your
Speaker 1: house phone teasing me. After Conseco's Grand Slam, the Dodgers
Speaker 1: were cooked and Kirk Gibson came to the plate and
Speaker 1: changed everything. Same with Freddie Freeman and Ronnie Fossio, who's
Speaker 1: a big Dodger fan, a season ticket holder. I have
Speaker 1: not asked you this question, Ronnie, and I'm very curious.
Speaker 1: It's not just going through the motions. I really want
Speaker 1: to know where people were when Freddie hit his grand Slam.
Speaker 1: So where were you, Ronnie?
Speaker 5: Well, Dave, I was home. I was home with my wife,
Speaker 5: my son Julian, and his fiance, say Sydney, and we
Speaker 5: were watching the game, just like all every household in
Speaker 5: the city of Los Angeles. And when that moment happened,
Speaker 5: I just let out a scream. Everybody started jumping up
Speaker 5: and down, started yelling at the top of our lungs.
Speaker 5: I opened the door and walked outside and let out
Speaker 5: a primal scream. I screamed, Dave, as loud as I've
Speaker 5: ever screamed in my entire life. And as I was
Speaker 5: doing that, I thought you might cry. Fireworks were going
Speaker 5: off really in the San Fernando Valley in North Hollywood,
Speaker 5: in the North Hollywood area.
Speaker 1: I was going to say, you probably were not the
Speaker 1: only one screaming, and there might have been some fireworks.
Speaker 5: There was some hooting and hollering down the street. There's
Speaker 5: there are a few houses that had their Dodger flags posted,
Speaker 5: and so I have to imagine that was coming from
Speaker 5: down the street and just basically everywhere all over the place.
Speaker 5: And I did explain to my son Julian, this is
Speaker 5: exactly what happened in nineteen eighty eight, and this is
Speaker 5: this is your nineteen eighty eight.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt, and what what a time would have
Speaker 1: cried I thought maybe you would have cried.
Speaker 5: You know, I didn't cry, but you know what I
Speaker 5: did I did do is I did kind of get
Speaker 5: just a little emotional because I thought of my father.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, your dad was a big Dodge My father
Speaker 1: was a.
Speaker 5: Big Dodger fan, and so I, you know, I just
Speaker 5: it was. It was a very very moving moment in
Speaker 5: the Fossio household. All right, well, thank you for asking.
Speaker 2: Dave.
Speaker 1: Of course, of course, oh David, of course.
Speaker 5: More yeah, of course we watched you get drenched in
Speaker 5: the locker room and it was it was glorious.
Speaker 1: Well that was after Game five. That was after Game
Speaker 1: five of the World Series, and by the way, before
Speaker 1: you got to Game five and after game one, ice
Speaker 1: Cube did a great job at Dodgers Stadium. His performance
Speaker 1: was legendary, just like the Dodgers performance was legendary. And
Speaker 1: Fat Joe's performance was as embarrassing as the Yankees defense
Speaker 1: was in Game five. And Walker Bueller, we all talk
Speaker 1: about Game five and just his heroics and that will
Speaker 1: never get old either. But nobody has heard this part
Speaker 1: of the World Series story for Walker Bueller. Yes, he
Speaker 1: did start Game three at Yankee Stadium the same night
Speaker 1: Fat Joe fell flat on his face. And here was
Speaker 1: Walker Buehler's first hand experience as he was warming up
Speaker 1: for that game and Fat Joe was embarrassing himself on
Speaker 1: the field. This was Walker Buehler on his podcast Just Baseball.
Speaker 10: And I don't know how intentional this was or who
Speaker 10: made this decision, but the games at whatever say it's
Speaker 10: at seven to ten, I think at seven fifteen, and
Speaker 10: they got Fat Joe going out there right, they turned
Speaker 10: off They turned off the entire stadium lights, including the bullpens,
Speaker 10: from seven oh two until seven thirteen. They did not
Speaker 10: turn the lights back on until the Yankees went on
Speaker 10: to the field. So there was like eight or ten
Speaker 10: minutes that I couldn't I needed to throw about twelve
Speaker 10: more pitches that the catcher could not see the ball,
Speaker 10: and so I could not throw. I didn't get to
Speaker 10: throw a single ball. So what I ended up doing
Speaker 10: was we have the track man, which is on a tripod.
Speaker 10: I fired six balls directly at the track man. I
Speaker 10: walked in. The lights are still off. The Yankees take
Speaker 10: the field while I'm walking in, I walk up to
Speaker 10: the umpires, I go they got to fix it for tomorrow.
Speaker 10: And he was like, yeah, I don't know why they
Speaker 10: did that or how they can do that. I was like,
Speaker 10: you guys need to tell somebody. So we walk into
Speaker 10: the dugout and everyone was like you get it because
Speaker 10: I was pissed off, and I was like yeah, they
Speaker 10: and then I just walked in and then we had
Speaker 10: the game. But so everything goes pretty clean for a minute.
Speaker 10: Fourth inning, Tail makes that throw and I'm backing up
Speaker 10: but I'm late, and so i I'm like almost against
Speaker 10: the backside, but I'm not even turned around like I
Speaker 10: just saw it like this. I wasn't even I wasn't
Speaker 10: like standing there like they're supposed to be. So I
Speaker 10: ended up screaming like directly at the people in the
Speaker 10: front row, like very very very loudly, and I don't
Speaker 10: know what I said. I imagine it had some F
Speaker 10: word in it, but like right in somebody's face, Like
Speaker 10: I imagine I'm the same face that keeps going around with me,
Speaker 10: like in the little do not dog pile thing. But
Speaker 10: I bet it looked just like that, and I bet
Speaker 10: I was like eighteen inches from these people's face.
Speaker 1: How about that Walker Buehler taking us inside again, this
Speaker 1: time for Game three of the World Series as he
Speaker 1: was warming up and the lights went out, not only
Speaker 1: at the stadium but on fad Joe's career. Eight six six,
Speaker 1: nine eighty seven, two five seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 1: And man, it's hard to believe Walker Buehler is not
Speaker 1: going to be a Dodger. I guess all of us
Speaker 1: haven't really let it sink in that he's a Red Sox.
Speaker 3: Right.
Speaker 1: I posted something on Instagram. He's posted things on Instagram.
Speaker 1: It's just it's gonna be different without Walker Bueller. But
Speaker 1: Andrew Friedman was in a tough spot too. Tommy John
Speaker 1: Surgeries missed a month with the right hip. It's hard
Speaker 1: to ignore all those things and not let your emotions
Speaker 1: get in the way. But many people believe that when
Speaker 1: they signed Blake Snell that closed the door on bueller
Speaker 1: come out back. I don't see it that way. I
Speaker 1: feel like when they signed Tyler glass Now, that was
Speaker 1: the money you could have gave Walker Buehler. So I
Speaker 1: kind of felt like, man, if Buehller was healthier, he
Speaker 1: probably gets the glass Now money right instead. Second, Tommy
Speaker 1: John Surgery, it's a rough go to come back, and
Speaker 1: he misses a month with a hip issue. Two. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's a gamble. But I will tell you this, from
Speaker 1: my understanding, the Dodgers did offer the same one year
Speaker 1: deal that Buehller got from the Red Sox, and the
Speaker 1: Dodgers offered that at the very beginning of the off season,
Speaker 1: and he was looking to possibly get more, but it
Speaker 1: obviously wasn't what turned out to be for him, and
Speaker 1: he's a Red Sox, so the Dodgers at the beginning
Speaker 1: of the off season, my understanding is they did offer
Speaker 1: the same contract that he eventually got from the Red Sox.
Speaker 1: But if that's the case, the qualifying offer was only
Speaker 1: twenty million dollars. You could have just given him that
Speaker 1: and probably he accepts it. I don't know, but maybe
Speaker 1: he declines it because I think he had visions of
Speaker 1: a multi year contract for close to seventy five million dollars.
Speaker 1: But obviously that didn't come from a winning team or
Speaker 1: he probably would have taken it. But it stinks. The
Speaker 1: circumstances stink that it had to come to that, right
Speaker 1: because we all wished that they would have been different.
Speaker 1: But it's a tough spot for the Dodgers. That's all
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say, it's not a slam dunk that you
Speaker 1: bring back Walker Buehler. It's a tough spot, and I
Speaker 1: firmly believe that it wasn't the Snell contract. It was
Speaker 1: more the money they committed to Glass now and really
Speaker 1: the You can't bring back a guy that had a
Speaker 1: five to six ERA for more than one year, but
Speaker 1: they did try. Eight six seventy is the phone number.
Speaker 1: Let's go out to Manny in Guardina.
Speaker 11: How you doing, Manny, Oh, Dave Man?
Speaker 12: Kind of like Hilberto and San Diego Minermano del tra Madre,
Speaker 12: I am still man just like enploying this Dodger Blue
Speaker 12: Heaven bliss.
Speaker 11: Man.
Speaker 13: You know, I can't say how proud I am of
Speaker 13: this team, the guts they showed, the moxy down the
Speaker 13: stretch it is. It's gonna be tough to see Walker
Speaker 13: Buner in the Red Sox uniform, but I like the
Speaker 13: reinforcements we're bringing in. You never know, especially with the
Speaker 13: Red Sox and the Dodgers pipeline. Maybe it's not the
Speaker 13: last time that we see Walker Bler in LA But man,
Speaker 13: I'm just I'm just loving it.
Speaker 9: Man.
Speaker 13: I'll answer your question where I was for the Grand Slam.
Speaker 13: So I was out of town that week for the
Speaker 13: specific reason of being able to watch as much Dodger
Speaker 13: baseball as possible and not being bothered. All right, So
Speaker 13: I got to watch the whole Mets series pretty much unbothered,
Speaker 13: and watched that Game one and I was just like, man,
Speaker 13: you gotta be kidding me. Man, what a game. We're
Speaker 13: down three to two, and I was just like, I
Speaker 13: had this feeling, man, it's not over. And sure enough,
Speaker 13: Freddy Freeman goes legend, I mean, legend of the game,
Speaker 13: first walk off, Grand Slam and World Series history. I
Speaker 13: mean it was epic, man. So I'm just gonna keep
Speaker 13: enjoying this thing until the Dodgers face Detroit. Then i'll
Speaker 13: be you know, on twenty twenty five. But right now
Speaker 13: we're still the world at the Jampions Baby.
Speaker 1: I love it, Thank you many, and you can enjoy
Speaker 1: it that day as well. The Dodgers are going to
Speaker 1: get their World Series rings on that home opener day
Speaker 1: against the Tigers. It should be a marvelous day Dodger Stadium,
Speaker 1: as it always is even when you're not getting rings,
Speaker 1: but a little bit more blingy this home opener, and
Speaker 1: I guess that's good. You know, it's kind of like
Speaker 1: if the Lakers were opening up against I don't know, Charlotte.
Speaker 1: That's how I look at it. Dodgers against Tigers. You
Speaker 1: enjoy the ring ceremony, and I have visions of Snell
Speaker 1: Zilla being the home opener starter for the Dodgers that day.
Speaker 1: Let's go out to Culver City. Seth, you're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 1: How you doing, Seth?
Speaker 11: Hey, good Dave, thanks for taking my call. I just
Speaker 11: I'm just basking obviously in basking still and winning the
Speaker 11: World Series. But then this offseason, I hope Dodger fans
Speaker 11: aren't sleeping on how good this offseason is. I mean,
Speaker 11: she'll start real quick. Snell. We know how good he is.
Speaker 5: When he's on.
Speaker 11: He's unhittable. Tryning I can say the same thing about him.
Speaker 11: He's arguably the best reliever in the league. When he's
Speaker 11: on Conforto, you're gonna have a guy in your seven
Speaker 11: or eight hole that hits twenty home runs in the
Speaker 11: left side. Then you get this guy out of nowhere
Speaker 11: today from Korea. I didn't even know who he was,
Speaker 11: but after I started looking at it, I'm like, holy crap.
Speaker 11: They stole this guy. Man, they stole this guy from
Speaker 11: the league. And I heard that he actually could have
Speaker 11: taken more money possibly and gone to another team on
Speaker 11: more years, but he wanted to come to LA and
Speaker 11: then I'll just I'll leave it at this. Of course
Speaker 11: I didn't mention Tao enough, said Tayo. But are we
Speaker 11: going to get more spoiled? I'm hearing rumors still about,
Speaker 11: you know, is it possible we could get Tanner Scott.
Speaker 11: I don't see the Dodgers going sixty million on a
Speaker 11: left handed reliever. Is that just a pipe dream at
Speaker 11: this point? What's your take on that? Or do they
Speaker 11: feel they got enough in the pen right now? What's
Speaker 11: you're feeling on that?
Speaker 12: Well?
Speaker 1: I feel like the pen is still an area that
Speaker 1: they want to add to. And look, if Tanner Scott
Speaker 1: is not going to get the big multi year deal
Speaker 1: that he wants, who's to say he won't take a
Speaker 1: one year deal from the Dodgers or a two year
Speaker 1: deal right and then go back out on the market.
Speaker 1: And that's always more comfortable for a team, especially with
Speaker 1: a relief. And let's not forget Otani has had fits
Speaker 1: facing Tanner Scott. So if you sign Tanner Scott, you
Speaker 1: take away that weapon for let's say the New York
Speaker 1: Mets to throw at Otani in a possible playoff rematch.
Speaker 1: That's another layer to that, right. If you signed Tanner Scott,
Speaker 1: a guy that Otani has had trouble hitting, Otani doesn't
Speaker 1: have to worry about him anymore.
Speaker 11: I mean, that's a great point, and I've heard that.
Speaker 11: I've heard that mentioned. I'm sure the Dodgers are considering
Speaker 11: that as part of it. I'm just to me, it
Speaker 11: feels as though, Okay, I know Sasaki is still hanging
Speaker 11: out there and that's another dream for Dodger fans.
Speaker 1: But he won't cost that much. He won't hit the
Speaker 1: gable that hard. But I love what you said. I
Speaker 1: love what you said. I feel like Dodger fans might
Speaker 1: be sleeping on the fact that the Dodgers' front office
Speaker 1: has been the most aggressive front office this offseason and
Speaker 1: they're coming off winning the World Series.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I just think who does that?
Speaker 1: Who does that?
Speaker 11: Yeah? Who does exactly?
Speaker 9: Who does that?
Speaker 11: And I will say it's a beautiful example though, of
Speaker 11: a organization and ownership group paying the fans back for
Speaker 11: their commitment. You know, if you're drawing four million fans
Speaker 11: plus every year. It's really it's kind of cool to
Speaker 11: watch a team that you can be proud of from
Speaker 11: the top down. And man, this offseason has just been unreal.
Speaker 11: And I hope dodri fail. I mean, get ready, man,
Speaker 11: because I'm not somebody, I'm kind of a realist. But
Speaker 11: they are legit ready to run this back. And if
Speaker 11: we can grab Sasaki and or another great reliever Tanner
Speaker 11: Scott where are the holes? Where are the holes? I
Speaker 11: don't see him.
Speaker 1: I'm with you, Seth, They're in a great position to
Speaker 1: run it back for sure. Thanks for the phone call.
Speaker 1: Call me back next Thursday night. And let's not forget
Speaker 1: at the end of the postseason. Last year, Evan Phillips
Speaker 1: was not on the World Series roster. He had some
Speaker 1: shoulder discomfort. Alex Vesia missed the NLCS with something too.
Speaker 1: So are those guys going to be reliable or are
Speaker 1: they a ticking time bomb? With the injuries that they
Speaker 1: ended the season with. I mean, these guys, the bullpen
Speaker 1: was pushed to the limits, and that's why I believe
Speaker 1: the Dodgers are very much aware that they need some
Speaker 1: fresh arms that weren't part of that bullpen that was
Speaker 1: leaned upon more than any other bullpen in baseball last year,
Speaker 1: not only during the regular season, but especially during the postseason.
Speaker 1: Don't forget about those things. That's these guys are human beings.
Speaker 1: Even though they have a full offseason to try to
Speaker 1: regroup and regenerate and get those things fixed or fresh,
Speaker 1: it doesn't always happen that way. And Brandon Gomes the
Speaker 1: Dodgers GM was asked about what's left on the Dodgers
Speaker 1: shopping list, and he did say, bullpen.
Speaker 8: You know what, the reliever market looks like. We feel
Speaker 8: really good at about our pen as is, but obviously
Speaker 8: it's an area that we'd always look to add, especially
Speaker 8: with the prices that relievers come with at the deadline,
Speaker 8: so being able to do as much work now would
Speaker 8: be advantageous for us. I think it's kind of playing
Speaker 8: those things out and I'm sure you guys hate and
Speaker 8: they are tired of me saying it, but just being
Speaker 8: opportunistic in a lot of different areas to try to
Speaker 8: add talent to the team.
Speaker 1: There you go, There you go. He's talking about the bullpen.
Speaker 1: And look, did you know who Evan Phillips was before
Speaker 1: the Dodgers turn him into super reliever. Did you know
Speaker 1: who Alex Vessio was when they traded Dylan Floor to
Speaker 1: the Marlins for him. I bet you didn't. So it's
Speaker 1: not always the obvious free agent that's going to cost
Speaker 1: a lot of money, like Tanner Scott. It could be
Speaker 1: an on the margin trade that turns into an Evan
Speaker 1: Phillips or turns into Alex Vessia. When the Dodgers signed
Speaker 1: Blake Trent and he was coming off, you know, a
Speaker 1: good year in Oakland but had some back issues, and
Speaker 1: they signed him to a one year contract, and look
Speaker 1: where he's at now. He's won two World Series Championships
Speaker 1: and has been one of the best relievers in baseball.
Speaker 1: So it's not always the obvious big sign to make
Speaker 1: room on this roster for a Kik Hernandez or a
Speaker 1: Roki Sazaki. You can make trades and maybe relievers that
Speaker 1: you don't know our household names turn into Evan Phillips
Speaker 1: or turn into Alex Vesia. So Bruce dar graderol guys
Speaker 1: like that. They can happen without the obvious sign. All right,
Speaker 1: that'll do it for us, our first Dodger Talk of
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. It was a great one. Great to
Speaker 1: reconnect with you. In case you missed any of the
Speaker 1: show or our conversation with Teoscar Hernandez. You can find
Speaker 1: it on the iHeartRadio app. You can follow me on
Speaker 1: social media on Instagram at officially Vassa and on x
Speaker 1: at the Real Underscore dv. Our next show is next
Speaker 1: Thursday night at seven o'clock. We'll have another special guest
Speaker 1: for you that night. You could be assured of that,
Speaker 1: and we'll take more of your phone calls and we'll
Speaker 1: see what other moves the Dodgers make. They have been
Speaker 1: the most aggressive team this offseason, coming off a World
Speaker 1: Series championship. Thanks to Ronnie Fascio for all his help.
Speaker 1: Thanks to you for listening. Have a great weekend and
Speaker 1: we'll talk to you next week. Cel