The Arizona Diamondbacks Are More Than Just Alive in NL West

Welcome to The Baseball Insiders Podcast e e welcome into the baseball Insiders on a Monday afternoon I am Adam wer joined as always by fansided MLB Insider Robert Murray hot crowd on a Monday hot team on a Monday the Arizona Diamondbacks potentially the hottest team in baseball but don't forget Jackson Merill and the San Diego Padres we know the Dodgers sure won't they're coming up behind you in Los Angeles if the Dodgers hadn't had a great series against the Rays this would be even Tighter and oh by the way the Cleveland Guardians are being chased down in the AL Central by both the Royals and Twins and they happen to play the Royals for four this week one of two double headers currently in action the other one Danny Jansen played for both teams and I beg of Danny Jansen to maybe uh if he he has already been removed from an at bat which he was participating as a catcher placed on the other roster to play catcher and offense for the other team playing his original team Danny Janson if you're watching this episode or listening to it in the clubhouse during the game please get ejected get ejected from this game that's the only way that this could be even better get into an argument you have a couple Innings left uh but it's probably a long shot uh probably a long shot that Danny Jansen is listening to the show as well maybe he'll hear the replay who knows either way more to talk about more pertinently in the meantime with Robert Murray Robert how are you doing dude I'm great uh Danny Jensen and and every player in Major League Baseball should be watching the show right now cuz I I've got news I'm I'm breaking news live on the show here Marlins DFA Forrest Wall right now been how about that we we teased it in the Discord a little bit we're going to start this show by breaking a little bit of news a roster Shuffle we've already seen a couple come down the pike today Robert was first to those and he's gonna be first to another one right now I am uh the Miami Marlins are designating Forest wall for assignment I am told so that is the news that I have I know it's not earth shattering news by any means but it is news I have not tweeted this yet people who are watching the show right now uh know this before basically everybody else in the world well besides Forest wall and people in the Marlins um so I don't know exactly what the future holds for Forest wall but he uh he ended up playing for the Marlins and the Braves this year uh only played three games with the Marlins so not too much time but he has been designated for assignment I have been told and oh here I am breaking the news to you live on the baseball insiders so good to be here good to be here as always if you want more uh funny little teases like it's not going to be the most momentous news in the world World on Monday August 26th at 3:30 p.m. but if you want to play the tease game join us in the Discord you'll already see some of our Discord in the comments saying to do the exact same thing and I would endorse exactly what they're saying to do you should do it uh you can join at the rumor mill tier we get to talk to Robert and I between shows have a little fun ask your questions you can join at the All-Star tier where you get first priority in the comments for questions uh and you also get a private stream once a month we've got that stream coming up this Wednesday at 7 o'clock Eastern so join Robert and I in the allstar stream if you are a member of our Discord at that level and if you miss the live stream you know just get your questions in ahead of time we can still answer them and then we'll send you the video afterwards to make it feel like you are participating although you don't get to technically be on a choppy Zoom with Robert myself and a bunch of other people with their mics alternately turned on and muted but you pretty much get the same experience get your questions in ahead of time we would love to hear from you uh before we dive into the weekend's action some of the hottest teams and some stats that I'm still having a hard time leaving from Jackson Marill uh you did have the Nick szel news out before this show as well as the Jake Woodford DFA should we More Upcoming Moves? expect anything else in the in the coming days or hours or or any more that you want to share on on senzel or any of the Little shuffles from this morning um I got I've got one more uh DFA Nic ail I don't know if that's all yet but that was literally just texted that so uh Nic ail was designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles so actually they just tweeted it now saying you got released so that was that was quick um but yeah that's that's another one we got there's lots of stuff that is um that is going to be going on this week I would imagine we're g to have I would imagine the waiver wire uh you got to see me report yesterday that Michael a Taylor was placed on outright waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates I would not be surprised at all if we see some other players who are placed on waivers uh in the coming days before or leading up into September so I think that is something to watch out for um and we'll see exactly what ends up happening but teams that are out of the postseason run trying to shed some salary um I think would be wise to do it and I expect them to do it so we we'll we'll see in the coming days here I'll start with Michael a Taylor right up top too because we we plan to talk about him anyway uh he's he's on outright waivers right now uh technically still a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates we saw this a couple times last year where Harrison Bader uh was another one you know placed Pirates Outfield Shuffle on waivers talked to in the Yankees clubhous what what it means to be placed on waivers but still technically on the team Michael a Taylor is a pirate uh and the question is does he get claimed does he get DFA at the end of this process uh what is the next step for Pittsburgh both here with regard to Taylor and then through September any other pirates that you might anticipate being sent out on the open market as well I know Woodford was probably a guy who was a candidate for for that and now again has been DFA as well no exactly and like so as far as Michael a Taylor goes like he was placed on outright waivers and I am told that those waivers expire at 1 p.m eastern time tomorrow so we should be able to have an answer by that time on exactly if he was claimed or if he goes unclaimed and I had someone estimate that there's a 5050 chance that he is claimed and I think there's there's plenty of teams that do make sense for Taylor I think Atlanta would make sense um I think Philadelphia and improving their their Outfield defense that could make some sense there uh Team like the Brewers I know I mentioned them with Jason Hayward as potential fit I think um with their off field injuries with Christian Yelich and also trading Joy weamer uh they could end up using some more depth there um so I think those are some potential Solutions there but I'm curious to see exactly or potential options I should say but I'm curious to see if he goes unclaimed what exactly do the Pirates do with Michael a Taylor my guess as of this point and this is subject to change is that he would remain with Pittsburgh that is my feel as of right now we'll see if that's ultimately what happens but we should have Clarity within the next 22 hours so stay stay tuned for that yeah and we uh wish we had Clarity here on the show but of course we will uh stay tuned chat with us in the Discord we'll presumably know more at some point soon there I wanted to give our Pirates fans a little bit of an update because they've been with us for quite a while and because one of their uh more expensive offseason editions is now hanging out on outright waivers as they look to navigate the rest of the year yeah and I'll also can I can I mention another one that I think could make some sense absolutely so they they obviously they made some offseason additions this year and the biggest one was aala Chapman this is not um this is not sourced by any means but it's my own speculation is they've obviously they traded Martin Perez at the deadline they put Taylor who was signed to a one-year deal on outright waivers is it possible they could put Aroldis Chapman on waivers I have no information to back that up but he could be a real benefit to any contending team obviously his postseason history is like super extensive he's a a proven veteran um I think it I think it would make sense if the Pirates feel like they want to shed some salary which I mean they would I would shed at least a little bit so um I think it's something that they should consider I think they will consider it whether or not they do it I don't know but I think it at least makes sense I have been having a similar thought to be honest I mean I I immediately comb down the Pirates roster to be like well if they did it with Taylor are they going to do it with anybody else and there aren't that many high-priced veterans that even come to mind it's just sort of Chapman and Yani grondal but Chapman's got an exorbitant salary what are the Pirates playing for right now other than Pride does everybody you know other teams probably still want to roll as Chapman considering he helped lead the Texas Rangers on a World Series run last year even though it seemed at times that that would not be possible or probable or likely whatsoever I would say I'm eyeing something similar my job would not be on the floor if he ended up on that waiver list deadline news ask us if there are any other waiver candidates that we can think of I we're probably going to focus on this pretty heavily on Thursday's show just before the deadline but I would say as they come to mind we will continue to to bring them up it's it's tough to it's tough to think of too too many who are still sticking around although I'm holding out hope that Kevin polar ends up on waivers yeah which if if he doesn't that'd be that'd be pretty unfortunate because he deser he he deser well it's it sounds weird um saying that a player deserves to be put on waivers sent away yeah he deserves right to free see yeah but like giving him the right to go to a contending team and finish out his career on a in the in the postseason potentially win a World Series I think that'd be freaking awesome um so I I think that is something that they should do um I hope they do it uh but also good job uh by the by the Angels for uh extending Perry I know we talked about it in the last show but um I've gotten over the last few days I've gotten um some texts from other baseball people who think that Perry's done a really nice job in Anaheim especially considering the circumstances of working under Ry Marino which we all know uh if you watch the show that's not an easy thing um but he's done a good job and extending his contract gives him some security and allows him to do his thing in the offseason as well so good job by them good job by them uh we we we love you folks and Perry has plenty more time to put his stamp on this roster moving forward this would be a nice Olive Branch to extend in the early going okay now to the teams that are hot instead of the teams that are kind of not and are placing players on wa the teams that can take advantage of the waiver wire uh the Arizona Diamondbacks More Than Just Alive In NL West Arizona Diamond packs I I I'm about to talk about you know we were gonna talk about the NLS as a whole we're g to talk about the Guardians and the Royals and twins in the Central and so I think it's it's maybe not fair that I'm just framing this as like let's talk about the NL because that's the one that really captures my attention I asked which race is more engrossing to you uh the Dodgers being followed closely behind by potentially the two most exciting teams in the National League at the moment in the Padres and Diamond Maxs or the central where all of a sudden the Royals aren't going anywhere the twins aren't going anywhere either despite a little late game choke there yesterday against the Cardinals and the Guardians uh have seen their consistency slip a little bit so unfair to the fans of the AL Central because I think we all know where we're leaning here but which race intrigues you more get closer to September yeah to me for me this isn't close I think it's the ANL West because if you look at it the Dodgers they entered the year with expectations of D-backs, Padres Gaining on Dodgers in NL West being perhaps the best team in baseball history um after shining or signing Shi Otani and um Yamamoto and and tasar Hernandez and and all these players and adding them to an already really good roster um the expectations were high there but then you have the San Diego Padres who have been awesome in the second half you have the Arizona Diamondbacks who look a lot like last year's team and they're all within a few games of each other it is a super exciting race um I think it's easily the most enticing one in baseball right now and I don't exactly know how it's going to play out I maybe the I think the Dodgers at least at this point are the favorites but you cannot rule out either the Padres or the Diamondbacks in this thing I think it's a thrilling race and then you have Jackson Merrill who is just he looks like a superstar at this point um to me he's the favorite to win the national league rookie of the year there's so many different takes that are going on through my head which is if you know me that is not like me I am a very straightforward person but this race is thrilling to me um I'm very curious to see how it plays out but it is freaking good for baseball man it is really good for baseball what do you think Adam I agree with you it's also just wild that after the series the Dodgers had against Tampa and Seattle where they got Scott service fired extensively uh you get the sh Otani won off Grand Slam for 440 late mookie bets Homer yesterday after Otani escapes a wrist injury and we should be talking about okay the star power on the best team in baseball is carrying them through and instead we've got to contend with the Diamond Backs going to Fenway and sweeping the Red Sox and coming back from a four nothing hole against Tanner ha yesterday Yano Suarez delivering the scoreboard flipping three-run Homer to turn that into a six4 game and eventual Diamond Vex win and we're dealing with Jackson Merrill doing has this man ever hit a low leverage home run in his life uh Sarah Langs five game tying or goad homers in the ninth inning or later this season not just game time or goahead homers overall but in the ninth inning or later that's two more than anybody else in baseball and I think everyone on Earth expecting him to victimize Edwin Diaz yesterday and got the job and jerx and proar uh if Jackson Merill didn't exist all we'd be talking about was how jerx and profar was one of the most exciting High leverage players in baseball this year and there are two of them on the same roster he tied the game before Merill did the job AJ casell in 14 plate appearances with the Padre's tied or trailing by run in the ninth inning again in the ninth inning not just late and close Jackson Marl is hitting 583 with a walk and five homers those homers are off George Sorano I'm grouping this list from less impressive to most impressive George Sorano David bedar struggling to command his curveball this year but still that's an All-Star closer Blake trinon Edwin Diaz and freaking Mason Miller That's 14 plate appearances five home runs off all brand name named Paul SK just so happens to be having an historic rookie season 4 a pitcher and you can't say he's out of the spotlight he led the Pirates to the precipice of the postseason in the midsummer he started the All-Star game he is the number one name that anybody if you were to ask your everyday fan to draft just who's the starting pitcher you most want to watch right now if you're going to the ballp park with SH Otani on the menend it's probably paulski and yet the historic numbers might favor Merill in terms of leate and close and intensity because if you're watching a guy complete comeback after comeback by himself it skews the votes oh it totally does it's it's legit what he's doing right now you got to remember he's 21 years old and he's playing a position that he like did not coming into the year and he's been freaking awesome and being able to do this at that age like for lack of a better phrase he's he's he's got a set of Boulders between his likes cuz he's got he's got nothing that f at all there's no better phrase by the way lack of a better phrase I that's best phrase on Earth no absolutely it's it's one that I I I do like to use I have not used it on the baseball insiders but it it applies to Jackson Merill and I've talked about my conversation with him um at the All-Star Game on the show before but I cannot stress enough how much this kid desires to win he is all ball all the time he is super intense and that conversation had like I can see why he's succeeding as well as as he's doing and he just looks like the next face of face of the Padres perhaps um or face of the next generation of baseball everything about him is awesome and the fact that he's doing this at 21 um it has to have you really excited if you're the Padres for what's to come by the way I got I we got to mention this one as well uh Derek Shelton told reporters in Pittsburgh that O'Neal Cruz will be moving to short or moving to center field uh with Nick Gonzalez back that is not something I anticipated at all obviously Michael Taylor was uh pretty much a center fielder um with the with the Pirates so it makes you wonder if he does clear waivers maybe um there wouldn't be exactly some playing time for him there so we'll we'll see how that goes but that uh that kind of caught me off guard I did not see that coming yeah I don't have much commentary there other than to say everybody I don't get it we were I mean we plenty of questions on this show and others in recent weeks about hey what we we're not are we addressing O'Neal Cruz's defensive struggles adequately enough like at Short are we saying the offense outweigh as the defense are we just sort of saying that as a platitude or are we really watching the defense clearly the Pirates have decided to use September for some experimentation it's pretty uh bizarre to think that this is a a team that we were hoping was playoff Bound in July and we're talking about going forward to the deadline and now we're saying let's put our short stop at center field for whatever reason um but that's where we're at yeah yeah that's uh I don't I don't I don't get it and is Derek Shelton like is he shepherding the future of the Pirates like is he moving O'Neal Cruz to center field so that another manager can see what it's like next year I don't know I don't know either it's I don't want to speculate on someone's job status when I don't have any true Insight on it but um the Pirates they view this year as their first real chance of being a postseason team and yet right now or first post or their first chance of being a postseason team in in quite a while I should say and the fact that they started as strong as they did and have I mean they' they've floundered since um it makes you wonder if something is possible we've seen it happen with the Mariners obviously different circumstances a little bit there but um both teams started off strong and kind of collapsed so stranger things have happened yes well at the very least it's good fod for the pond we love to we love to talk while nonsense and we hopefully hey after a week of data Maybe of O'Neal Cruz and Centerfield we'll have a more educated take rather than just the sound I make when I open my mouth and air escapes but that's what I've got for you right now um speaking of those Arizona Diamond Macs the comment section absolutely MLB deadline news roasting me over my inability to accurately project the Diamond max of course is he is being sarcastic I assume because uh famously I had the Diamondbacks in the playoffs last year and I won a cool $12 on it because I am a nerd scared better uh but I wasn't ready to ditch the Diamondbacks this year either and they weren't ready to ditch Yano Suarez who struggled in the first half of the season has since become an essential part of their Clubhouse fabric Clubhouse culture and a culture that we saw work so well last year leading them to a Toro Mike Hazen fueled World Series run uh participatory more than you could say for most teams uh I know why the Mariners got rid of a Yano as far as this offseason but it's Why Did Floundering Mariners Trade Away Eugenio Suarez? just another reminder of how some teams operate and how some teams don't and the floundering Mariners you can't find offense anywhere with their 600 Ops allowed uh facilitated via trade Suarez going to the reigning NL Champions and he has become a part of the fabric of that roster down the stretch yeah oh he absolutely has and I remember that trade being made in the offseason it was essentially a salary dump by the Mariners but it seemed really curious how they went from having Suarez who is a proven veteran and he was a key part of that locker room in Seattle last year like you talked to people in and around that team they they thought he was a huge part of what they had um so they moved on from him and they went into opening day or went into spring training with Luis Urus as their primary third baseman and that never really felt like um a sound strategy cuz uus I mean he was a top prospect with the Padres but floundered there Milwaukee same thing then Boston let him go um so that just that never seemed like a really good strategy but as far as the Diamondbacks like they there was a lot of external pressure from that fan base to par ways the Suarez at the deadline or even before that like especially after his first half he struggled badly he's barely hting over 200 he had t 10 home runs but the second half of the season has really rewarded them for their patience um he's been one of the most instrumental players in that on the field and also in the clubhouse as well and as far as the vibes go right now the like The Vibes with the Diamond Backs are good they're real good I'll be at Wednesday's game so we'll have some insight for you um on Thursday show and everything but they're they look good right now they look very good and Suarez is a key part of it but over that front office and that the ma the manager like I mean lvll and Mike hayen have been awesome they're great leadership group and they got them steering in the right direction again and and wouldn't you know Here Come Those damond backs unbelievable wouldn't you know it we sure did and if you want to uh also breaking stuff's breaking on the Pod if you want another Adam Wier fan favorite good news uh welcome to Triple A Kumar rocker Rangers number two Prospect makes his first triaa start Wednesday at the Dell Diamond for the Round Rock Express also a longtime Kumar rocker fan although I've probably spoken about that Less on the podcast than I have the Arizona Diamondbacks H good for rocker that's a guy I would love to see succeed in Major League Baseball especially after the Mets drafted and spurned him have to touch on the AL Central uh because we Royals Head to Cleveland advertised it look just because they didn't win our straw poll of which division race we're most excited for uh there is still some Headway to be made this week uh in both the central race between now a three-way race between the Royals uh Twins and Chicago White Sox no just kidding it's the Guardians the White Sox have lost 100 games and DF Nix sentel uh Royals took the first game of the DH today that's three more in Cleveland three more in Casey in September six more showdowns between the Royals and Guardians specifically what are your expectations for that rivalry kicking off that may even have greater ramifications on the American League Awards picture as a whole no for sure and I think that's a great shot by you because the these Series against with the Royals and and the Guardians they're going to be they're going to be big and you can't rule out the twins here as well and this is essentially like a an NL West version well the AL Central kind of has an NL W Vibes in terms of competition just the AL West is going to or the NL West I should say is getting a lot more uh coverage and just screwed you because it's I mean the bigger teams honestly um but as far as the as far as this series goes I think this is going to be in the series that Bobby Wht Jr's star really shines and the the Royals paid him what they did to win and perform in series like this and to perform in the postseason and I think this is going to be really when having that star power um is going to really benefit them and it it could I think it's G to I think it's going to help them out a lot it's gonna be a very enticing series because obviously Cleveland's strength is is the bullpen right now I mean their Bullpen has been very good but um yeah I I think this is the series the series multiple series of Bobby wit Jr that's my feel as of right now yeah there was some discussion on MLB Network yesterday that was sort of akin to like hey can judge catch Bobby Wht Jr for the Triple Crown you know if judge does this Wht would have to hit 290 and the consensus was that wit is a high leverage player uh like Jackson Merl the similar DNA and that hit expecting him to hit 290 with all of these Guardians games no matter how strong the bullpen is I think is sort of underestimating what wit brings to the table now I still think that Aaron judge is your Al MVP and I think that a lot of annoyed college football fans who were trying to watch the early kickoff of SMU w are going to get devastating news when they realize that they have to watch a potentially historic end to an individual Major League Baseball season Get Ready to Watch Aaron Judge Cutaways on the League's Marquee franchise I'm so sorry that there might be some brief cins to Aaron judge playing baseball during your college football but after hitting Homer 50 and 51 on Sunday in a win over the Rockies he's officially on Pace for 63 on Pace four is a toughy a two home run game skews the pace three days without a home run skews the pace it's going to be really hard for him to top 62 but it's no longer impossible and that's after he had a a March April where he hit six homers and was batting just above the Mendoza Line at 200 so he's my Al MVP it's going to take something unfathomable uh if they both stay healthy and active I think judge is pretty much a shoe in at this point unless he goes homerless in September and and the Royals win the central but uh yeah what are your thoughts on judge in the Home Run Race yet again second year out of the most recent three seasons where he is threatening that 60 plus Mark yeah and I I mentioned before about how Bobby Wood Jr is like this upcoming Series against the Guardians is going to be like the Bobby wit Jr series like he is the if there's the AL MVP discussion at this point is between judge and Bobby Wood Jr while Bobby Wood Jr has been awesome I think it's got to go to judge like it's going to be very tough for him to top what he did last year in terms of his home home run numbers and beating that record again but the fact that he's done this three times already throughout his entire career and hitting 50 plus home runs is absolutely crazy he is a generational player um I think that is not an exaggeration there there there's a reason why the Yankees made him a captain um he's just everything about him is good for baseball and like you obviously you see what he does on the field he hits home runs at an epic rate he's a productive player like a very productive player obviously um but everyone around him in that Yankees organization just Raves about him as a human um and about how good of a leader he is he is an invaluable player for the Yankees and having him and having Juan stto that is just an unbelievable Duo and we should not take for granted what is going on um with with judge right now because it's it's special and I'm not one who this is like a podcast where I'm kind of go I'm doing something that I typically do not do but I'm going to get this discussion started because I had a buddy asked me this yesterday and I'm I I didn't know the answer to it because it it made me think who would you rather have in their primes Aaron judge or Mike Trout that is I mean I lean toward trout but judge is he's making the case real well right now that he is absolutely deserving to be in that conversation perhaps even the pick I'm still leaning trout but I'm curious what the rest of the world thinks and maybe who knows maybe this gets the discussion started on Twitter and I get yelled at for starting this but I'm not usually a debate guy but here I am I'm bringing it to the table it's a tough one because I feel like I'd rather take trout in his prime over Aaron judge playing center field but if you move judge to his natural position position in right where he grades that better and you can really show off that arm strength it is so close and I think the craziest part of the discussion is what is Aaron judges Prime I guess it's now that he's tripped past age 30 like I'll take Trout's Prime that's already been recorded over judge's age 27 to 30 Seasons the traditional Prime but judge is improving I I would take this version of Judge over any version we have seen of Mike Trout I understand that last me and I wish he was able to play right field now I wish he was able to this offensive season with the right field defense that we've come to know and love now that is to say that I'll I'll take wodo in the Outfield I I enjoy the reason why he's not playing right field I just for the completionist portion of this discussion if you had judgeing right having this offensive season I will take that uh but that said center field imperfect and the Aging curve all that Trout's Prime still pretty hard to top but it's a great conversation no it's a it's a great conversation I think what you just laid out is is precisely how I feel but judge is making that conversation a lot tougher especially with Trout's injury history especially recently um which is really unfortunate because it feels like we've as Baseball fans have gotten robbed of seeing um one of the best players of all time play in his prime and um yeah Trout's awesome don't get me wrong like both of them are great players and we should appreciate them accordingly um but that conversation to me was very interesting because I I'm not typically stumped when it comes to stuff like that but I was pretty stumped yesterday so there we go uh yeah my jaw is a little bit on the floor somewhat um got some comments talking about how judge cheats D win I'm gonna not address that comment and I'm gonna say thank you for enjoying this episode of the baseball insiders hope you did thank you for joining us if you're here for the first time if you're not we would uh we we love that you're a repeat visitor if you're here because you wanted to talk Diamondbacks or you wanted to see MLB deadline news troll me for my increasingly accurate Dbacks takes welcome we're here every Monday and Thursday 3 :0 Eastern uh We've also got a Discord channel for you to join you can join in an All-Star tier or a rumor mill tier um judge accidental cleaning I I really thought I'd be able to leave that comment in the in the dust bin but I please show me please show me a time that judge accidentally cleated somebody and Che to win a baseball game you can talk take it to me offline take it to me in the Discord um until Thursday I'm Adam wer you can find me on Twitter Adam Wier but it's right there um you can find both of us in the Discord uh you can find Robert Murray at by muray you should turn on notifications for his tweets because he'll give you juice like today when Nick senzel and Forest wall are hitting the waiver wire uh and Jake Woodford and Jake Woodford as well and perhaps some more prominent players will be hitting that waiver wire over the course of the week and we will discuss that on Thursday's show because Robert there's still some moves to be made no that there is there's plenty of moves to be made yet I will address this from Sports Glory who asked the same question last week uh is faran zedi or Bob Melvin on the hot seat uh they should be are the Giants going to look at waivers I need the tea um I don't anticipate either Farhan or meltman being on the hot seat at this point um so that's no I don't I don't I don't anticipate that at this point yeah well happy to answer it um obviously thank you for uh thank you for showing up thank you for bringing a comment to the comment section all stars get priority in the comment section get your questions to us ahead of time but otherwise we're going to address people's questions as they come and that's how we're going to handle Thursday's show as well for robt Murray I am Adam wer we will see you right back here then thank you everybody