Here we go the indide scoop with FT senior insider Ken Rosenthal, the last one of twenty twenty five, and Ken, let's start by pushing forward a move that was just made.

What do you think about the A's acquiring Jeff McNeil and the Mets continuing to dismantle their core with Jeff McNeil, a longtime member of the Mets now moving on.

Well, First off, the A's they were looking for a second baseman, maybe a third baseman two, So McNeil certainly fills a hole for them.

And I saw David Forster, the general managers, say that maybe he can be what Ben Zoeberst was for a previous A's team.

I think back in twenty fourteen or so.

I don't know about that.

I don't know that McNeil is at that level of performance that Zoebrist was then.

But I see what they're doing here, adding the veteran who can help stabilize what has been As you guys just were talking about an emerging lineup, and certainly with a guy like McNeil who's been there, done that, it should only help.

Now the Met's we knew this was coming.

They basically had signaled that they were going to trade McNeil.

They really didn't have a place for him anymore the way they once did.

And it just is another person that was there a long time, another homegrown fixture who is out the door.

It's of course, kind of a whole thing now, right, Nimo Alonzo McNeil all homegrown, all career long Mets.

Edmund Diaz was not homegrown.

He was acquired into trade, but certainly he had been there a while as well.

They obviously are trying to change things around in a big way, and not just from a performance standpoint.

They clearly did not like what was going on in the clubhouse.

You can say, well, the clubhouse was certainly fine in twenty twenty four, and it was twenty twenty five, for whatever reason, was different.

And it's not Juan Soto walking in the door that sent the Mets crumbling.

It's just a situation where they obviously feel things had gotten stale, things had gotten hour, and they have taken steps rightly wrongly to make some changes.

I mean, obviously, yes, they didn't make the playoffs, yes, whatever.

We don't know exactly what was happening in the clubhouse other than you know, stories and innuendos and all that stuff.

But how does David Sterns actually replace the production that is now off the roster because you just it just keep piling up.

And I get it, Jeff McNeil didn't have a position, so it's fair, But how do you actually because you have to actually replace that production that just keeps piling up on David Stearns here.

Eric, you're absolutely right, and we're all waiting to see what the Mets are going to do here.

Jorye Polanco is not going to be their last move.

And I had to chuckle a little bit.

And the Notes column that I wrote with Will Simon this morning, we mentioned that what they're looking for is a right handed hitting for at baseman.

What does that describe?

How about the guy who just walked out the door, Peter Alonzo.

Clearly they want a different look, a different vibe, whatever it is they're looking for, and they're going to need to do some things.

I don't know what it's going to be.

They seem averse to long term deals for pitchers and for hitters free agents, but you're right, Eric, their production has gone down.

It's interesting if you look at fangraphs and you go to the individual team war pages or the rankings of the team by war there's still a top ten team by that measure.

We'll see if it translates, We'll see what else they do.

But yes, I think everyone agrees that they have a lot that they still must get done.

Hey, Ken, when you talk about needing a right hand hitting first baseman, is that for hey Polonko?

Where do they see him more as a twenty million dollars platoon at first base?

Polanco's part of the solution there, but they would like to add a right handed hitter in addition to them.

I'm sorry him.

They have said basically from the beginning with Polanco, he'll be at first base some but not exclusively.

So with him being a switch hitter, they can do some things move him around, Dhim.

I expect to dh a good amount with the Mets, and we'll see again how they put the pieces back together, because that's what they have to do here.

And Eric just asked about the production.

He was talking about the offensive production.

Let's not forget the reason this team crumbled last season was they're pitching crumbled.

They're starting pitching in particular, and that is why after June whatever that date was, when they were the best team in the major leagues.

They did not end up that way.

So yes, they have to address their starting rotation and maybe even some more help in the bullpen as well to go with Devin Williams and what they've done there.

To sum it up, Ken says, the Mets have a lot to do, so it'll be exciting.

It'll be exciting new year for us to watch.

But my last question on this is the A's part of this.

Last year, at this time, the a signed or maybe a little bit sooner, they signed Luis Severino, and KP brought it up that it was it was kind of maybe a little bit of a larger contract than what he needed to get, But it was also like, hey, their a's need to spend money.

Is there still that issue?

Where did the A's like spend that money last year?

And then now no one's really even looking at that because they clearly need to spend a lot on pitching.

Eric I wrote about I don't know a year and a half ago, maybe it was a year ago that their plan was to ramp up.

In the years preceding their move to Las Vegas, they ramped up a little bit last year obviously, but when you ramp up, you were going upward.

On a ramp.

You're not kind of going staying the same.

They're not showing that upward mobility that I anticipated, And at some point I'm going to get back to them and address that in some form because John Fisher, or their owner, he has said everything's going to be fine once they get to Vegas.

Well, you've got to put a competitive team on the field, preferably before then, but certainly by then, you want to open that new ballpark with a competitive team.

They're getting there.

Their core, as you guys mentioned, is really intriguing.

On the offensive side, it's exciting, but they have a lot of work to do, and yes, they should be spending more money than they are.

I don't think there's any question about that.

Ken.

Let me ask you about the Red Sox and the Cardinals.

They've already made a trade.

Obviously, there's history there with the front offices.

Do you anticipate some more trades?

And then I kind of ask you, is it Brian Beayo has been quietly shopped.

Do you see him being a fit for the Cardinals and maybe a return package for a Brandon Donovan, Kevin.

They've made two trades with the Red Sox and Cardinals.

It's between the Red Sox and Cardinals since heim Bloom has taken over, and it's the Sunny Gray trade, the Wilson Contrera's trade, And we reported last night in our notes column that yes, they have discussed Brendan Day as well.

Now doesn't mean they're going to complete a trade for Brendan Donovan.

Those two teams, the Cardinals could trade him somewhere else.

Maybe it's Seattle, maybe it's San Francisco.

Two teams that Katie Wu of The Athletic has mentioned as front runners could be another team entirely.

But it's so interesting the dynamic that is in place between the Red Sox and Cardinals.

Because, of course, ham Bloom, having been previously the Red Sox chief baseball officer, is well acquainted with their system and some of the players he has acquired or players that he brought in when he was with the Red Sox, so they've had a lot of talks.

That's why Donovan's name has come up.

I'm sure the Red Sox see him as potentially a good fit, but at the same time as Craig Wrestler said last night in a news conference with reporters, the Red Sox have made ten trades most of the minor, but you can't keep trading from your system, and Brendan Donovan would cost more in prospects than Contreres or Gray did, so I expect.

I've written that their next move should be a big free agent hitter, whether it's Bregman or Bishett even someone else, but that is the way they should go at this point, because again, they've traded enough from their system where they would probably be better suited now making a free agent signing.

Is it something you see a lot in the game when assistant gms are people part of certain organizations move on, they find a common ground to make a lot of trades.

Obviously they know the farm system very well.

You do see it, Kevin.

It's not that uncommon.

And I didn't answer your question about bo.

He's a guy that the Red Sox say they are not shopping, but because they have a good amount of young pitching, they're getting hit on those guys and his name has come up often in those discussions.

That's what we reported.

I don't know that they're going to trade him, but there is a certain logic to it.

Whereas they have now at the top of the rotation Crochet, Gray and Oviedo, They've got Crawford comeing off an injury, and they've got Patrick Sandoval coming off an injury.

And they've got the two kids connerly Early and Peyton Toley who were kind of ready to go.

So could I see a Beyo trade happening potentially, Yes, I don't know that it would be for Brendan Donovan.

I don't know that the Cardinals even want to take on an affordable contract like the one Bo has.

But to answer your second question here, yes, you definitely see gms who go to another place or come from another place having a certain attachment to players from their past.

You also see it with players that maybe they drafted before.

And some people have speculated before the Orioles signed Pete A.

Lonzo that maybe Mike Elias with Baltimore would want to sign Kyle Tucker because if he has that connection going back with him he drafted Kyle Tucker, didn't happen, probably not going to happen now that they've kind of set their team up a little bit, still needing some pitching, but you do see that often in the game.

All right back to some and you said, maybe the Red Sox don't want to pay as much for a trade as Brendan Donovan would cost.

Katel Marte and Brendan Donovan are clearly the two options that are out there right now.

Can you assess the value of each of those based on the fact that katel Marte is at a completely different place, probably a much better player overall.

But Brendan Donovan is a younger player with two years two full years of control.

So our teams balking at both of those?

Or is it more of a wait to see where Alex Bragman goes and then we'll fill in our lineup and our position player stats with one of these two guys.

Eric, These are all excellent questions.

I'm not sure I have the answers now.

The one thing you're talking about there, which is really interesting is the comparison between the two.

Brendan Donovan is more of a super utility guy at this stage of his career.

He can play any number of positions.

Second base, of course, is one of them.

He's outfield as well.

He is a guy, as you mentioned, with two years of control left, whereas Marte is signed for six more years.

Now people say, oh, that's too long for a guy who's thirty two years old.

Yes, but his contract is so affordable that, as we wrote today, even if he's productive for only three or four more years, he probably would pay for himself in that regard.

The difference with Marte is the Diamondbacks want young pitching in return.

They aren't going to trade him, I believe, unless they get that young pitching.

But he's a guy that they are seemingly motivated to move because of that ten and five rights that kick in with him tenth day of the season.

He becomes a player with ten years of service, five consecutive with the same team, and then you get full no trade protection.

You can effectively decide your fate if the team wants to move you.

So there is a motivation there to trade Marte.

There's a different kind of motivation for the Cardinals to trade Donovan, and the motivation there is he is simply their most attractive piece.

He is the guy who would bring them the most and the two years of control very enticing for clubs, and the fact that he can bounce all over I wrote this today where actually we wrote this together Will and I.

Marte is not a great fit for Seattle because Seattle wants to play their youngster, Cole Young at second base.

But Donovan is a good fit because Donovan doesn't have to play just second base.

So it's a real interesting dynamic with those two guys right now.

Do I expect they both will be traded?

I actually do.

Yeah, I'm looking through your notes right here, and I see the Braves not being a fit for them, And kind of on that topic of David Stearn's kind of changing up the roster configuration.

It's even tough for me to say it because the Braves are near and dear to my heart.

It was one of the best years of my career in terms of the way all the pieces fit.

The clubhouse is the best I've ever been in.

I love Ozzy Albi's to death.

But tell Marte is a better player than he is.

Could you see Alex going out and making kind of a move to kind of maybe change up, you know, you know, what's been there for so long and bringing in a could tell Marte, I.

Don't see it, but Kevin, you're right, there is some sense to it, and The reason I don't see it is because the Braves are so reluctant to give up young pitching after especially what happened last year when really their entire rotation went down.

But yes, katel Marte at this stage is a better player than Ozzie Albi's.

Ozzie Albi's, though, is important to that clubhouse, as you know, and he's also well below market in what he's getting in his contract.

It's a seven million dollar salary this year.

They hold a seven million dollar option on him for next year.

That's a pretty good rate, a really good rate for a guy who, while he had a horrible first half, had a really good second half, or one that was in line with his career averages.

So I don't see it happening.

But at the same time, Kevin, we both know this too, and Eric knows it and Scott knows it.

Trades do come out of nowhere.

So if there is a team that trades for kotel Marte or Brendan Donovan or anyone else for that matter, that we haven't linked to them, that we haven't heard about, it wouldn't surprise me.

These are really good players that teams want, and we'll do things to make room for them.

I just don't know that the Braves will be one of those teams.

All right, Ken, this is a question I've asked you probably the last three years around this time.

Are you able?

But we have tons more followers than subscribers now, so are you able to take this next week off?

Or do you just keep your phone at a little bit of a lower volume and if you miss a little scoop here or there over Christmas you're fine with it?

Well, Eric, as you know, I don't like to preveil much about my personal life, but I will tell you this, I will shut it down and if my phone rings, I'll pick it up maybe, but I'm not going to be doing much.

So that's the way it's going to be.

And actually, when I do take off, and it's only really two weeks a year, a little bit more than that, maybe I have to shut it down otherwise I'll never get away from it.

And because we all know moves will happen between Christmas and New Year's they do every single year.

Maybe some big moves this year because of so much that is still pending.

But at some point even I have to walk away, and I will.

Good for you, good good, and I hope that some front offices do the same, because there are fifty two weeks in the year, and we've talked about this, Ken, since i've been known you on any platform we've been on together.

Can we get one week?

I'm actually only asking it for the people that we know are hustling behind the scenes and never get enough credit and always work too hard and don't make that much money.

It's people that are in the lower level front office jobs that work twenty four to seven, fifty two weeks a year one week.

I don't remember if this was on air or not the other day, but Ken, I said, can we have almost like this semi tampering rule where you can't do real transactions and you're not supposed to talk.

You're not going to stop every agent from having a combo with a team, but if you at least set that tone, that blanket, it would stop most of this just for one week.

Obviously for us it's fine.

I mean, we're covering the game, but one week where we don't have any news that comes out and people can disappear.

Well, Scott the sport earlier in my career, and I can't remember when this changed.

It used to shut down at this time of year.

There would be nothing, and it was adhere to.

It was just kind of something that was done.

And I always joke about this, and I'm not so sure I'm wrong, though, when Jed Hoyer and THEOEPSTY went to Kurt Shillings house that one year of Thanksgiving, it seemed to me that the rules kind of changed after that.

And it was almost like those guys were, hey, man, look at us, we're working a holiday.

We're going to get Kurt shilling and they did, and then front offices said, you know what, We're not going to observe holidays anymore.

We'll just keep going.

Now.

I'm not ripping THEO and Jed.

They did a great job, and hey, I'm sure others were working the same way back then, but it just seems that at some point it changed.

And if you ask people in the game, you talk to the executives, the presidents of base operations, talk to the agents, talk to anyone involved in this time of year in the transactions.

They would like a break too.

But the way the calendar works, the way the game is set up, with no direction, it seems from Central Major League baseball as far as taking some time, this is the way it's going to be.

And I don't think fans care one way or the other.

They like hearing the moves, even during Christmas time, of course, But for people in the game, yeah, they could use a break, There's no doubt about that.

Yeah, it could be done.

It could be done.

That's my if I was commissioner for a day, but for another day.

Can I know other things ahead of that, Scott, But yes, if we were committed, that's the problem.

It's too low on the totem pole to address.

That is the exact problem.

But I'm just trying to think of everyone on the holiday.

Have a great holiday, can and happy New Year to you.

We'll see you on one more Fair Territory I know, later this week.

Thanks guys.

You guys have a great holiday too.

Thank you.

We appreciate you.

Fair Territory.

Later this week on Friday, will be the last episode of twenty twenty five.

Swinging right back with a signing last Leo of the year.

We just had him on the show.

Pete Alonzo over under thirty seven and a half home runs minus won twenty five to win a hundo at the over it's even money plus a hundo on the under Crats already hit this yesterday.

So for timing purposes, since we're getting late KP, are you on board with Rats?

Yeah?

I was going to look up what his I don't even need to look up.

You know what his homers per year is.

But it's also hits versus Baltimore.

Place to hit, Yeah.

And I mean man's going to be on a mission first year off of that should be a better ballpark for him.

Hit dingers right, Oh, entirely.

I know they move the left field back, but it doesn't matter they up.

Yeah, it doesn't matter where he hits baseballs.

It doesn't matter really what stadium is in as long as the wind is in a factor.

But I love his ability and not only not only just caved to the yards wears playing, but that entire division he's playing.

I think he's gonna feast.

I think he's going to feast in the Al East.

I know there's some really good pitching there, but Pete A.

Lonz is a good hitter and there's no ballpark that could hold him in.

So I mean I'm taking the over.

Yeah, So it's Krats, So am I it's actually one of my favorites right now on the futures board.

And one last little promo to throw out there for our last show of the year.

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