Speaker 1: God, I'm swinging.
Speaker 2: That's it. Hello, fans of the world champion La Dodgers.
Speaker 2: It's the World Series Winverlive. This is a special off
Speaker 2: season edition of Dodger Talk. There's a dynasty to be
Speaker 2: had here taking you behind the scenes with Dodger insider
Speaker 2: David Basse, living out of their dream to be a
Speaker 2: part of the show called eight six six not eighty
Speaker 2: seven two five seven and follow the show wherever you
Speaker 2: get your podcasts now here's your host, David Basse.
Speaker 3: Welcome to a special edition of Dodger Talk, a podcast show.
Speaker 3: We don't have our first live show until Wednesday night
Speaker 3: at seven o'clock on AM five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 3: But since I'm here at the Winter meetings in Dallas,
Speaker 3: figured I give the kids an update on everything that's
Speaker 3: going on in day one here in Dallas and how
Speaker 3: it affects the Dodgers. Obviously, late last night, Juan Soto
Speaker 3: was able to come to an agreement with the New
Speaker 3: York Mets fifteen years astronomical type of number. And it's
Speaker 3: funny how as I was getting into the elevator here
Speaker 3: at the hotel in Dallas, Scott Boris and his Boris Corp.
Speaker 3: Crewe was waiting for the elevator as well, and we
Speaker 3: all got into the elevator at the same time, probably
Speaker 3: a minute after guys like John Hayman and Jeff Passing
Speaker 3: broke the news.
Speaker 1: And here's the real story behind it.
Speaker 3: I was in the elevator with Scott Boris moments after
Speaker 3: that news broke, and he said, Hey, did you hear
Speaker 3: the news about Soto?
Speaker 1: I said no, and I've.
Speaker 3: Been checking Twitter literally refreshing every what ten thirty seconds,
Speaker 3: and he said he joked that the Dodgers signed Wan Soto,
Speaker 3: and the entire elevator started laughing, and then he filled
Speaker 3: me in that it was the Mets that got their guy.
Speaker 1: And then fast forward to.
Speaker 3: Twenty minutes later, we're eating dinner at the same place
Speaker 3: last night in Dallas, and no, he did not pick
Speaker 3: up the tab. So that's how things went down here.
Speaker 3: That's how I found out Juan Soto is a New
Speaker 3: York met. By the way, coming up on this episode
Speaker 3: of Dodger Talk from the Winter meetings in Dallas, you'll
Speaker 3: hear my one on one conversation with Blake Snell, and
Speaker 3: also you'll hear from Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes, who gave
Speaker 3: us a lot of clarity on how the Dodgers infield
Speaker 3: is expected to look in twenty twenty five, and Mookie
Speaker 3: bets again on the infield dirt, but not where you
Speaker 3: may expect it to be.
Speaker 1: So stay where you are. We'll get to that in
Speaker 1: a second.
Speaker 3: But as far as the Juan Soto signing goes, I
Speaker 3: know ta Oscar Hernandez and his agent are hopeful that
Speaker 3: after Sodo signed, it would create a bidding war for
Speaker 3: him and get his number higher than what it may
Speaker 3: or may not have been before the Sodo signing. The
Speaker 3: way I feel after being here for a full day,
Speaker 3: it's not Taoscar Hernandez that is going to get a
Speaker 3: bidding war. It is Alex Bregman that is going to
Speaker 3: get the bidding war. And it feels like it's the Yankees,
Speaker 3: it's the Red Sox, it's the Astros all that are
Speaker 3: escalating the salary for Alex Bregman, who also is a
Speaker 3: Scott Boris client. And we all know how Scott has
Speaker 3: become the most powerful agent in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 1: He moves the players as chess pieces.
Speaker 3: You lose out on this guy, Hey, I got a
Speaker 3: consolation prize in the form of player X. I could
Speaker 3: definitely see him saying that to the Red Sox and Yankees.
Speaker 3: And right now, the Yankees need hitters and they need
Speaker 3: infield help. I've also heard the Yankees are probably going
Speaker 3: to be closing in on a deal with Christian Walker.
Speaker 3: A lot of people expect Christian Walker to sign with
Speaker 3: the Yankees. So if they sign Christian Walker and also
Speaker 3: sign Alex Bregman, all of a sudden, their lineup looks
Speaker 3: pretty good again. But they do need a left handed
Speaker 3: hitter now. As far as the Red Sox go, same thing.
Speaker 3: They're looking for Alex Bregman possibly to play second base,
Speaker 3: or if they can convince Rafael Devers to move from third,
Speaker 3: he may play third base. And we all know about
Speaker 3: the Alex Korra Alex Bregman connection from the twenty seventeen
Speaker 3: Houston Astros.
Speaker 1: So I actually believe that.
Speaker 3: The Jan Soto signing is not going to affect the
Speaker 3: chances of the Dodgers signing Taoscar Hernandez. The Dodgers still
Speaker 3: want Teoscar Hernandez. Ta Oscar Hernandez still wants to be
Speaker 3: a Dodger, so there is a deal to be had there.
Speaker 3: Whether or not it happens this week still remains to
Speaker 3: be seen, but certainly both parties want a reunion. It's
Speaker 3: just a matter of finding that common ground. And by
Speaker 3: the way, you know, social media took what I said
Speaker 3: with Petro some money last week way too far. All
Speaker 3: I said was, and you can go back to listen
Speaker 3: to it was that people around baseball and that still
Speaker 3: remains to be true today expect Tioscar Hernandez and the
Speaker 3: Dodgers to get back with each other.
Speaker 1: Final details.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's still some number that needs to be agreed upon,
Speaker 3: or they would have signed a contract or Taioscar would
Speaker 3: have signed with another team.
Speaker 1: That's what that meant.
Speaker 3: So too many people obviously very excited, anxious, thirsty for
Speaker 3: all the news they can get, maybe ran a little
Speaker 3: too far with what I actually said. It goes back
Speaker 3: to the movie White Men Can't Jump. You may have
Speaker 3: been hearing what I said, but you were not listening
Speaker 3: to what I said. So the Dodgers and Tioscar Hernandez
Speaker 3: still a chance for them to have a reunion.
Speaker 1: Even with the signing.
Speaker 3: Of Michael Confordo, who was a much better hitter outside
Speaker 3: of Oracle Park than he was there, tough place for
Speaker 3: any left handed hitter to hit. His slugging percentage was
Speaker 3: basically double what it was hitting at that ballpark. So
Speaker 3: the Dodgers have high expectations for Confordo to play every
Speaker 3: day because his numbers were even better against lefties than
Speaker 3: they were against righty's last year. So Michael Conforto signs
Speaker 3: a one year contract with the Dodgers and is going
Speaker 3: to play every day, and that still opens the door
Speaker 3: for Teoscar Hernandez also to return. Remember, the Dodgers need outfielders,
Speaker 3: of Mookie Bets is moving to the infield, and that
Speaker 3: brings us to what Brandon Gomes Dodgers GM just told us.
Speaker 3: The Dodgers are expecting Mookie Bets to play the infield,
Speaker 3: but he is preparing to play.
Speaker 1: Shortstop.
Speaker 3: That was a little surprising, but Mooki is up for
Speaker 3: the challenge. The Dodgers are going to support him in
Speaker 3: that challenge, and Mooky believes with a whole offseason, he
Speaker 3: can be a better shortstop than what he was last year.
Speaker 1: Here's what Brandon Gomes had to say.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean the plan is Mooki's preparing is a shortstop.
Speaker 4: It's ready for the challenge. He feels like with the
Speaker 4: full offseason, you can go and tackle that. And like
Speaker 4: we've said before, he's one of the guys that I
Speaker 4: certainly wouldn't been against.
Speaker 3: We'll see how it works out, but as of now,
Speaker 3: the Dodgers do not plan on bouncing Mookie Bets from
Speaker 3: shortstop to second to right field. They and Mooky are
Speaker 3: preparing for Mooki to be the everyday shortstop.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think with Mooke, what was most
Speaker 4: impressive if you look at all of the most challenging
Speaker 4: parts of the position, he does really well, and where
Speaker 4: he struggled was throwing. You go watch him in right field.
Speaker 4: It's one of the best arms in the game. It's
Speaker 4: incredibly accurate. So those things that are most challenging to teach,
Speaker 4: getting off the ball, range, making exceptional plays, his pre
Speaker 4: pitch timing, he nailed those. It was really syncing up
Speaker 4: his throw from that because he's been so used to
Speaker 4: the outfield door. So I think that'll be the majority
Speaker 4: of his work, is like making sure how does he
Speaker 4: access what is an elite arm and like have that
Speaker 4: translate to the infield all.
Speaker 3: Right, So there you have it again from Dodgers GM,
Speaker 3: Brandon Gomes, Mookie Betts. The everyday shortstop going into spring
Speaker 3: training this year with all the signings and trades and
Speaker 3: all that feels like that is just as big of
Speaker 3: a headline grabber as anything else. Dodger Talk from the
Speaker 3: Winter Meetings in Dallas, David vass with you. You can
Speaker 3: listen to all of the shows right here on the
Speaker 3: iHeartRadio app. You can also follow me on social media
Speaker 3: at the Real Underscore dv on X and on Instagram
Speaker 3: at officially vass A. I wanted to share with you
Speaker 3: my conversation with Blake Snell, two time cy Young Award
Speaker 3: winner last week's press conference, and then we'll get into
Speaker 3: the other two top starting pitchers that are still available.
Speaker 3: Here is Blake Snell, Snell Zilla wearing a Dodger uniform.
Speaker 3: We are here with two times two time cy Young
Speaker 3: Award winner and finally a Dodger. It's been a long
Speaker 3: time coming. Andrew Friedman delivered in twenty twenty four and
Speaker 3: look at it and the Dodger blue had Dodger blue jersey.
Speaker 3: Blake doesn't feel real that you're finally where you should be,
Speaker 3: and that's in the great city of Los Angeles.
Speaker 5: Yeah, no, it feels good. It's just I mean, I
Speaker 5: was talking to Hal. It doesn't feel real yet. But
Speaker 5: once we get the spring and it gets going hopefully
Speaker 5: even you know, as December starts to fade in a Christmas,
Speaker 5: I feel a little more real. But you know, wearing
Speaker 5: the jersey it's exciting, you know, looking at homes and
Speaker 5: all that, it's exciting.
Speaker 3: I think the house next to me is for sale.
Speaker 3: Would you like to invest?
Speaker 5: I'm a mixt I live far from you, you know,
Speaker 5: far so weka carpool.
Speaker 1: I talked to Boris about it. It's all set.
Speaker 5: No, I'll make sure I'm far away from you, Dave,
Speaker 5: but we will get the Korean barbecue. You can bet
Speaker 5: on that.
Speaker 1: Love that.
Speaker 3: Love that, And I love what you said during the
Speaker 3: press conference, how it's investing in people and people investing
Speaker 3: in you, and I know that means a lot.
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's everything. It's the only way for me to
Speaker 5: be as good as I want to be is to
Speaker 5: have relationships that are really strong.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And it feels like people are starting to get
Speaker 3: to know who you really are. Right. I feel like
Speaker 3: I've told you this before your baseball IQ is higher
Speaker 3: than a lot of people understand. Being able to come
Speaker 3: to the Dodgers and take it to the next level.
Speaker 3: How much was that attractive to you?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I just it's all about creating moments
Speaker 5: for the fans. And you know, coming here with sold
Speaker 5: out games all the time watching the fans, it's you
Speaker 5: want to do. You want to just you want to
Speaker 5: create moments. You want to be able to share that
Speaker 5: with as many people as possible, especially because baseball is
Speaker 5: all about entertainment, so and being around fans that are fanatics.
Speaker 5: You know, they go crazy for the game and it's
Speaker 5: a passion of mine. So for me to be able
Speaker 5: to put all that together, to come here to pitch
Speaker 5: on the biggest stage, it's something that I've been wanting
Speaker 5: to do for a long time and people really start
Speaker 5: to get to know me, you know, playing here.
Speaker 3: One thing that the players on this team respect is
Speaker 3: the work work ethic, and you have that.
Speaker 1: I know.
Speaker 3: Clayton Krushaw means a lot to you. What's it like
Speaker 3: to finally be teammates with him and pick his brain
Speaker 3: and just being the dugout together.
Speaker 5: Yeah, that would be a dream come true. Yeah, No,
Speaker 5: I can't wait. I mean I was telling Andrew I
Speaker 5: need my locker next to his. So you know, he's
Speaker 5: just done so many, you know, amazing things in his career.
Speaker 5: So for me about to talk to him, pick his brain,
Speaker 5: learn from all his experience, I'm really excited about. There's
Speaker 5: just a player I can continue to and developed to
Speaker 5: be is so exciting. And to learn from a guy
Speaker 5: like that is I mean, you can't ask for more.
Speaker 3: I know you became a proud father this year. The
Speaker 3: Dodgers won the World Series this year. Your birthdays tomorrow.
Speaker 3: It feels like twenty twenty four was a pretty good
Speaker 3: year for Blake Snell and a no hitter.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, tomorrow is a good day to start
Speaker 5: getting ready for the next season as a Dodger, you know,
Speaker 5: finally official. So I've been working out, you know, free Asia,
Speaker 5: but now I'm a daughter, it might be a little different.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the birthday parties tomorrow.
Speaker 5: No, No, I was.
Speaker 1: Checking, like I didn't get the evite. I'm not sure
Speaker 1: if it was.
Speaker 5: Seck your email. I never used Onne, so check yours.
Speaker 1: Blake.
Speaker 3: This is awesome you being in Los Angeles, being a Dodger.
Speaker 3: It's always been the perfect fit. And I'm glad it
Speaker 3: finally happened, so look forward to it. I'm sticking around
Speaker 3: for one more year, maybe five with you.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you got five left, and then we'll see what
Speaker 5: we go after that. Hopefully we get a couple more.
Speaker 1: I like that.
Speaker 5: You know, we got a long ways to go, so
Speaker 5: let's focus on these five year by year all right.
Speaker 1: Love it.
Speaker 3: It was a long time coming for Blake Snell to
Speaker 3: be a Dodger. You know, I've been a big advocate
Speaker 3: of Blake Snell. He is going to be tremendous for
Speaker 3: the Dodgers. And I love how he said he wants
Speaker 3: to invest in the Dodgers and in Dave Roberts, but
Speaker 3: he also wants them to invest in him, and that's
Speaker 3: why he was so happy about a five year contract. Now,
Speaker 3: another left handed starting pitcher that I would have loved
Speaker 3: to see being a Dodger uniform was in Sino Zone,
Speaker 3: Max Freed. We've had him on the show multiple times.
Speaker 3: Max is a great pitcher and an even better person.
Speaker 3: But with the signing of Blake Snell, that door has closed.
Speaker 3: In fact, the Dodgers probably signed Max Freed if they're
Speaker 3: not able to come to a deal with Blake Snell,
Speaker 3: and Max Freed is very much coveted. From what I
Speaker 3: was told last week, if the Yankees couldn't sign one Soto,
Speaker 3: they would turn to two starting pitchers. I would imagine
Speaker 3: Max Freed is one of them. Another is Walker Buehler,
Speaker 3: who is getting interest from every Al East team with
Speaker 3: the exception of the Tampa Bay Rays. So you know,
Speaker 3: Alex Bregman, Max Freed, Walker Buehler all on the Yankees radar.
Speaker 3: Max Freed also on the Red Sox radar, the Giants radar.
Speaker 3: He's a guy that is going to command a big
Speaker 3: time contract because the character of who he is and
Speaker 3: also how great of a pitcher he is as well.
Speaker 3: So Max Freed definitely in his corner, even though it
Speaker 3: won't be in a Dodger uniform. As far as where
Speaker 3: the Dodgers go after this, we still have to wait
Speaker 3: and see, but certainly Max Freed is not on the table.
Speaker 3: Corbyn Burns still out there, Tanner Scott the top reliever,
Speaker 3: still out there, Devin Williams maybe the most c did
Speaker 3: reliever on the trade market, still out there, and Nolan
Speaker 3: Aernato speaking of trades, a lot of buzz about him,
Speaker 3: but I just don't see it with the Dodgers. I
Speaker 3: know he would love to come back here, unless he
Speaker 3: tells the Cardinals, the only place he's going to be
Speaker 3: accepting a trade to is the Dodgers, the Red Sox,
Speaker 3: the Yankees if they whoever loses out on Bregman is
Speaker 3: going to explore a trade for Aeronato. So that's where
Speaker 3: things stand as far as the Winter Meetings go. We
Speaker 3: are going to have a live show for you from
Speaker 3: Dallas on Wednesday night and also another show on Thursday night.
Speaker 3: So the hot stove Dodger talk has kicked off. Another
Speaker 3: subplot to the Winter Meetings is the posting of young
Speaker 3: right hander Roki Sazaki, twenty three years old, throws one
Speaker 3: hundred miles an hour plus with a great split fingered fastball.
Speaker 3: I know many people out there were already saying the
Speaker 3: Dodgers have Sazaki in the bag. It's not possible, because
Speaker 3: that's beyond the rules. A lot of people around baseball
Speaker 3: now believe the Padres are definite threats to take Sazaki
Speaker 3: away from the Dodgers or any other team in baseball. Obviously,
Speaker 3: the Yankees are a great team, but you can't change
Speaker 3: your geography. The facts are the Padres and the Dodgers
Speaker 3: playing cities that are a lot more convenient for Japanese
Speaker 3: players to get back to Japan. So the West Coast
Speaker 3: is where these players are going to want to go
Speaker 3: first and foremost, and that's why it's Dodgers Padres in
Speaker 3: my mind to sign Sazaki, who, by the way, can
Speaker 3: be officially posted and negotiated with teams starting on Tuesday,
Speaker 3: so that's where the negotiations officially start and you have
Speaker 3: to sign him by the end of January. I believe
Speaker 3: January twenty fifth is the deadline to have a deal
Speaker 3: with Roki Sazaki. So you know, I've been asked by
Speaker 3: the Japanese media, who do you believe is going to
Speaker 3: sign Sazaki.
Speaker 1: I'm picking Padres or Dodgers.
Speaker 3: You Darvish is like a father figure to all these
Speaker 3: young Japanese players. That's their edge. The Dodgers obviously at
Speaker 3: the edge of being the World champions, being in La
Speaker 3: having Otani, having Yamamoto. Both teams have been recruiting Sazaki
Speaker 3: for a long time, so it's not a foregone conclusion
Speaker 3: the Dodgers are signing Sazaki. The Padres are definitely a threat,
Speaker 3: so that's the latest from Dallas and we will have
Speaker 3: more on another Dodger Talk podcast tomorrow around the same time.
Speaker 3: And also you will hear live updates on Rogan and
Speaker 3: Rodney and Petro some Money throughout the day.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, we'll talk to you tomorrow. See you
Speaker 1: and Time said