Episode 266
Exploring the Hall of Fame Weekend: Insights with Jonathan Mayo and Zach Scott
Host Chris Caputo recaps Baseball Hall of Fame Weekend, celebrating the inductions of Dick Allen, Dave Parker, Billy Wagner, CC Sabathia, and Ichiro Suzuki. He’s joined by Jonathan Mayo from MLB.com to break down trade deadline strategy and the value of top prospects, while former Mets acting GM Zach Scott offers a front-office perspective on the pressure teams face this time of year. They wrap with a look at the Mets and Yankees, tying it all together in a fast-paced, insightful look at how player development and smart moves shape the game.
Show Details
Host Chris Caputo kicks off the show with a look back at Baseball Hall of Fame Weekend, reflecting on the emotional highs of the induction ceremony for Dick Allen, Dave Parker, Billy Wagner, CC Sabathia, and Ichiro Suzuki. He shares some of the most powerful moments from the stage—especially the moving speeches by family members of the late inductees—that highlight just how much heart and history live in the game.
Caputo is joined by Jonathan Mayo from MLB.com, who breaks down how teams evaluate talent and the tough choices front offices face with the trade deadline fast approaching. From prospects to proven veterans, it’s all about finding the right balance. Later, Zach Scott, former acting GM of the Mets, joins the conversation and gives listeners an inside look at what really goes on behind the scenes this time of year.
The show wraps up with a closer look at the Mets and Yankees—what's working, what's not, and what needs to happen if either team hopes to make a push. With injuries piling up and decisions looming, Caputo and his guests cover all the key storylines. It’s a full hour that blends baseball’s past and present, mixing heartfelt stories with sharp analysis fans won’t want to miss.
Takeaways
- The podcast hosts discussed the significance of Baseball Hall of Fame Weekend, highlighting the inductees' contributions to the sport.
- Jonathan Mayo described his role at MLB Pipeline, emphasizing the importance of prospect rankings and scouting.
- Zach Scott provided insights into the challenges faced by general managers during trade deadlines, particularly in evaluating player value.
- The conversation touched on the evolution of trade strategies in Major League Baseball, considering the impact of increased playoff opportunities.
- The hosts reflected on the unique circumstances surrounding the Mets' decision-making during Zach Scott's tenure as acting general manager in 2021.
- A discussion on the potential changes to the trade deadline was presented, suggesting a shift to a later date to accommodate teams still in contention.
Transcript
The views expressed in the following program do not necessarily represent those of the staff, management or owners of wgb.
Speaker A:Live from the WGPB studios in Merrick, New York, this is SPORTS Talk New York.
Speaker B:From the studios of Merrick, New York, this is Long Island WGBB Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:I am your host Chris Caputo.
Speaker B:Tonight I'm here solo as my partner Mike Godone is doing some other things with the family, hopefully celebrating a nice anniversary.
Speaker B:But tonight I will be joined by a couple of guests as we try to keep the ball rolling.
Speaker B:We are here on Baseball hall of Fame Weekend brought in here on July 27.
Speaker B:The five members now inducted into the hall of Fame are Dick Allen, Dave Parker, Billy Wagner, Cece Sabathia and Ichiro Suzuki.
Speaker B:Tonight, we're going to welcome in a couple of guests.
Speaker B:We'll have Jonathan Mayo from MLB.com who works with a lot of the prospects.
Speaker B:And then we'll also have on Zach Scott, former Mets interim or acting gm, who will talk about some of the trade deadline decisions that should go on this year and maybe have gone on in, in previous years.
Speaker B:We'll also take your call.
Speaker B: -: Speaker B: -: Speaker B:I'm Chris Caputo taking you for the next hour here on wgbb.
Speaker B:So I didn't watch it today, but at least not live.
Speaker B:But each of the five men that were brought into the hall of Fame brought a different message.
Speaker B:Two of them had to be had a speech done by a family member.
Speaker B:So Dick Allen, his wife, was able to enjoy the moment, which I thought was great for me.
Speaker B:Dave Parker was just a year late.
Speaker B:Forget about him dying a month ago.
Speaker B:He should have been in a year ago.
Speaker B:This way he could have given his own speech, whether it be from a wheelchair.
Speaker B:But unfortunately, Parkinson's disease and all the complications took his life recently.
Speaker B:Going to get to the next one, Billy Wagner.
Speaker B:Right now I am wearing my New York Mets Billy Wagner jersey.
Speaker B:Yes, that's old.
Speaker B:It's a T shirt, actually.
Speaker B:But this guy turned lefty only after breaking his arm playing football with his friends.
Speaker B:He actually was a righty.
Speaker B:Think about this guy.
Speaker B:This guy's throwing 100 miles an hour with his left hand, which was not his original hand that he threw with probably something we could break down with a guy like Jonathan Mayo tonight.
Speaker B:The next guy up was CC Sabathia, Yankee Brewer, and he tried to think of his dad and all his dad did at the times when he needed him most, when he tried to make it to the major leagues.
Speaker B:But during that time, he actually thanked all of the important women in his life, his mom, aunts, daughter, and told people to go home and give those people a hug and tell them you love them because they're the ones who make the sacrifices, make you the dinner, make sure you have clothes that are clean.
Speaker B:They do all the little things behind the scene.
Speaker B:I will argue that the guys, some of the dads, do that as well.
Speaker B:And lastly was Ichiro.
Speaker B: l Baseball hall of fame until: Speaker B:And he worked hard every day in the offseason to be ready because he felt that fans deserved to see him on the field in top four form.
Speaker B:And top form for him was, you know, making sure that in spring training he could always run out a base hit, that he could catch a fly ball.
Speaker B:And he brought a humidor to put his bats in there to make sure that his bats were in great shape.
Speaker B: were when they called him in: Speaker B:But first ballot hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki deserves it.
Speaker B:Billy Wagner on the other end wound up making it in his last year.
Speaker B:Strangely enough, there are only, there were two lefties that made it, lefty pitchers that made it into the hall of Fame this weekend and There are only 20 lefty pitchers in the hall of Fame now.
Speaker B:And just seems strange that over all these years we only had 18 other pitchers to dominate the mound.
Speaker B:And, you know, they deserved it, these two going in, you know, one on maybe a first try and one on a last try.
Speaker B:So as I said tonight, we're going to shortly be joined by Jonathan Mayo of mlbpipeline.com and then in the second half hour, we will be joined by Zach Scott to break down maybe some Mets, some Yankees, as far as, you know, where they're going to go with the trade deadline approaching.
Speaker B:A lot of things going on in the world of sports, especially looking at the New York Yankees because the Yankees might have gone from trying to go out and get a player or two to put them over the top to having a scare of whether or not they would actually be contending for a wild card.
Speaker B:And I think the jury's still out as to where they go.
Speaker B:But, you know, the news that Aaron Judge was hurt was first off a problem for them.
Speaker B:But then the Second part was, at least he's not going to need Tommy John surgery.
Speaker B:He's going to rest, take 10 days off, maybe come back as a DH for a little while, and then after that, hopefully he can play the outfield.
Speaker B:But remember, that is a strain on his arm.
Speaker B:So I think that's going to be a tough situation for him as he puts himself back in there.
Speaker B:Because think about this.
Speaker B:Now they're going to possibly have to put Giancarlo Stanton in the outfield, which he hasn't done in two years.
Speaker B:And it's usually the place where some of those injuries occur.
Speaker B:He's not a great runner to begin with, and he's injured even when he just swings the bat, especially with those tennis elbows and things like that.
Speaker B:So we'll have to see.
Speaker B:So at this point, the Mets are in first place, and they're going to have to make a couple of moves to get themselves maybe another center fielder, maybe get themselves another pitcher, whether that be a bullpen arm, maybe get another starter and move Clay Holmes to the bullpen.
Speaker B:We'll see kind of where the Mets fit at that point.
Speaker B:We also had some bad news in the world of wrestling as we lost Hulk Hogan at the age of 71 this week.
Speaker B:And I think that just kind of let us all know that, hey, we're getting older, you know, If Hulk Hogan's 71 and he's dying, you know, and these guys are the guys that we looked up to, well, where are we at?
Speaker B:So, you know, I'd like to talk a little bit about that, you know, at the end of the hour, and then maybe we can discuss some of his greatest moments.
Speaker B:So, again, we lost Hulk Hogan this week, along with some others, and we'll be diving into maybe some of his greatest matches, greatest moments, people that he went up against as we finish out the first half hour.
Speaker B:Okay, so we have the trade deadline coming up, and I think when you think about it, most teams don't decide that they are sellers or buyers until we get close to the July 31 deadline.
Speaker B:So one of the things I'd like to discuss is can we move that deadline back with teams thinking now the extra wild card, they're still in it.
Speaker B:You know, maybe August 15th becomes the date.
Speaker B:I don't know why I should say 15 extra days, but maybe we move it back a little bit.
Speaker B:This way it gives teams a chance to figure out whether or not they're sellers or buyers or they're just going to take a chance because there's teams that are going on hot streaks and whether or not they play well this week determines whether or not Thursday night they're going to sell one of their big stars, whether they're going to get rid of one of their big prospects.
Speaker B:So one of the things I would suggest to Major League Baseball is now that you have so many wild cards and so many teams are actually going to make the playoffs, how about we push it back and allow these teams to fight it out a little bit longer in order to have a chance to decide whether or not they're going to keep some of their bigger stars?
Speaker B:The second part about that is what makes a prospect kind of untouchable, somebody that, you know, you can't give away at the trade deadline?
Speaker B:I think that would be another question that comes up is, you know, could a guy like Spencer Jones that the New York Yankees have be a guy that no matter what the Yankees are at, they're not going to get rid of them?
Speaker B:Because you have guys like Paul Skeens who I would consider a couple of years ago untouchable.
Speaker B:You get a couple years under your belt and all of a sudden teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates are thinking about whether or not they're going to get rid of one of those players.
Speaker B:So I think those questions come about as to whether or not someone is untouchable when the trade deadline comes about.
Speaker B:So we're at the point in the year where teams are looking to add an extra player, maybe put on an outfielder, a 25th player, a 26th player, and they're deciding whether or not it's worth getting, giving up a big prospect.
Speaker B: for mlb.com he joined them in: Speaker B:But his focus has mainly been on the minor leagues and draft coverage.
Speaker B:He also did a little work back in the day for the New York Post, a northern New Jersey guy welcoming in Jonathan Mayo.
Speaker B:Jonathan, thank you for joining us tonight.
Speaker B:Chris Caputo here.
Speaker C:Chris, back in the way back day, New York Post.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker C:Yes, long time ago.
Speaker B:So Jonathan, this time of the year people are talking trade deadline and a lot of names that come up are prospects, guys that people want to decide whether or not it's worth giving up in order to get someone of the short term value.
Speaker B:First off, can you explain what your role is right now and what you do to gather information for some of these organizations@mlb.com?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C: So since: Speaker C:So it's not just me.
Speaker C:We have a whole team in MLB Pipeline, but the three of us, myself, Jim Kalis and Sam Dykster, we do all 30 or we oversee all 30 of the top 30 ranking prospect rankings in the overall top 100.
Speaker C:We just did a kind of light facelift update of the team list so they're a little bit more relevant for the trade deadline, which is coming up because we've found over the years someone gets traded from one team and they were going to move up when we do a RE rank in August, but their rankings are outdated.
Speaker C:So we try to update those as we could.
Speaker C:We'll do another ranking after the trade deadline.
Speaker C:So that's the rankings are the bulk of what we do, and we do those by talking to farm directors, scouting directors, scouts, front office executives.
Speaker B:How much traveling do you do in watching games and doing face to face?
Speaker B:As far as seeing them in person.
Speaker C:Not nearly as much as I would like or what people think.
Speaker C:There just isn't time.
Speaker C:You know, when you're overseeing the three of us are overseeing 900 prospects and then there's just a constant, I won't say barrage, steady flow of content that we have to put out.
Speaker C:There just isn't time.
Speaker C:We'll go to spring training for a couple weeks.
Speaker C:We'll go to the Arizona Fall League for a couple weeks.
Speaker C:That's a huge science to see a lot of top prospects.
Speaker C:We go to the Futures Game and then there's draft coverage.
Speaker C:There are some events here and there that we try to get to.
Speaker C:And every year, like I'm going to get back to the Cape Cod League or I'm going to go to East Coast Pro Showcase, which is one of the best high school showcases over the summer for next year's draft class.
Speaker C:And there never seems to be quite enough time.
Speaker C:If I could clone myself, maybe I'd have a little better success in that regard.
Speaker C:So we really rely on talking to people who are out there, the scouts and people like that who are there and evaluating these players day in and day out.
Speaker B:Again, we're talking with Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline.
Speaker B:Jonathan, can you explain kind of how most prospects work their way through the minors from the draft all the way possibly to becoming a major leaguer?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:Obviously it depends on the prospect and how they enter pro ball and which organization it takes them.
Speaker C:But There are four full season levels of minor league baseball.
Speaker C:Single A, high A, double A, Triple A.
Speaker C:And in a perfect world, the prospect touches most of those levels.
Speaker C:There is the.
Speaker C:Each team has a complex league, basically where their spring training facilities are in Arizona or Florida.
Speaker C:And then there's a Dominican summer league.
Speaker C:There used to be more, more incremental steps with places like the Pioneer League or the Appalachian League or the New York Penn League, but when the minor leagues were contracted, those teams were disposed of.
Speaker C:And so there are lesser steps that players can take.
Speaker C:So painting with a very broad brush.
Speaker C:Someone drafted at a high school will likely start his first full season at that single A level.
Speaker C:Sometimes he'll start lower down if they're a little more raw, and then they'll try to work their way up.
Speaker C:College players are more likely to start at that high A level.
Speaker C:A lot of them will jump right to AA and can move quickly.
Speaker C:We've seen a lot of guys this year from last year's draft class not only make it to the big leagues, but be impactful and make big contributions right out of the gate.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So that's one of the questions I kind of had for you, is do college players have a better chance to hit a major league baseball roster faster than a high school kid just because they have already kind of gone through seeing some of the tougher pitching and played a couple of extra years?
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, it obviously depends on the confidence.
Speaker C:But if you target a player from, say, the sec, then yes, the SEC is a fairly high level, minor league level of play average, I would probably say, by and large.
Speaker C:So those players have a tendency to move faster.
Speaker C:And then you kind of hit the nail on the head by talking about the extra years.
Speaker B:They're older.
Speaker C:Not only do you have three more, two or three more years of data to get a sense of who they are and what they can handle, but they've grown into their man strength.
Speaker C:You have a better sense of who they're going to be.
Speaker C:That doesn't mean there aren't college players with projection get better and things like that, but a lot of them have done that already.
Speaker C:You know, the general.
Speaker C:Forget about athletes, but in general, they're like change from 18 to, say, 20 from a physical standpoint is tremendous for anybody.
Speaker C:And then adding the fact that unless you're at some really, really power high school program and you get to a bigger college, that's the first time you're really doing the strength and conditioning, you know, for the real, you know, and things of that nature or Throwing programs or whatever it may be.
Speaker C:And so they're far more advanced than the typical high school player.
Speaker B:So people around here, you know, think about the Mets and the Yankees.
Speaker B:Thinking about the Mets, obviously they're, they're looking to trade possibly for a center fielder, but they have a guy who's been hitting pretty well in Drew Gilbert, but has worked his way up and, you know, I don't know if they would say that he would be ready this year.
Speaker B:Do you think a guy like Carson Benge who, you know, played at Oklahoma State and then makes it to the Mets and kind of moves his way up, is he a guy that could possibly help the Mets this year?
Speaker C:I mean, he's sitting in the Double A right there.
Speaker C:You know, there is a theory that, you know, typically that if you can succeed in Double A, you're going to succeed in the big leagues.
Speaker C:Now, there's a big difference between, oh, he's going to find success in the big leagues and can he come up in New York during a playoff race and contribute?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:He's not playing in meaningless games in Pittsburgh.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:That, that is a easy.
Speaker C:Now, I'm from Pittsburgh.
Speaker C:That was just me.
Speaker B:I know.
Speaker C:But you're not wrong.
Speaker C:This isn't a team playing off the string, let's see what we got here kind of thing.
Speaker C:This is, we want you to come up and he doesn't need to be the guy.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:Because there are obviously players on the major league roster that are doing that.
Speaker C:But can someone like Carson bench or even.
Speaker C:They have a bunch of guys sort of at the upper levels who you could say, should they call on, whether it's a Drew Gilbert or Ryan Clifford in Double A or Jacob Reiner, different positions, things like that.
Speaker C:But if you're looking for a guy who might be able to play center field, your choices are Gilbert revenge or.
Speaker B:Jet Williams might fit, even though that's not his natural position.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, remember he missed a lot of time.
Speaker C:He only played 33 games last year.
Speaker C:I think he's a play center field.
Speaker C:I love Jet Williams, like, and from a it won't bother him kind of standpoint, like, let's say he comes up and falls flat on his face, it's not going to hurt him developmentally.
Speaker C:That's one thing you have to sort of wait and sort of take into your evaluation.
Speaker C:It's not just will those skills translate, but how are they going to respond to the challenge.
Speaker C:And if they're not up to the challenge this time, is it going to harm their long term Success.
Speaker C:And you know, listen, that's the question in New York.
Speaker C:If you can't answer that question, then you're not going to make it in New York.
Speaker C:But for the guys who just barely made it to double A, they would be a jump.
Speaker C:I know a lot of guys from last year's draft class have made it to the big leagues, but the Nick Kurtz's and Jack Caglion's of the world are not typical.
Speaker C:So I would wait until next year for someone like Carson Benge who I do think has a chance to be a very, very solid big league regular.
Speaker B:Okay, so let's talk trades.
Speaker B:What do you think you can get for players that are maybe ranked number one in your organization this time of year?
Speaker B:If you're like not maybe not a top 10 prospect overall, but you're the best player on that team, what kind of player can a team get back that's already major league ready?
Speaker C:Well, it depends.
Speaker C:Depends on the organization, depends on the player.
Speaker C:So you know, if you're talking Jet Williams, who I don't know that the Mets would be willing to trade, he's number 38, so he's on our top 100.
Speaker C:So he's pretty highly ranked.
Speaker C:I think a guy who's pretty highly ranked who's already at the upper levels and performing well.
Speaker C:And we have four Mets on the top 100.
Speaker C:Williams, Jonathan Nolan McClain and Carson Benz, two industry pitchers and McLean's at AAA.
Speaker C:Guys at the upper levels I think are more attractive.
Speaker C:McLean, if you're a team out of the race and you're trading away a major league for prospects, you can get a Nolan McLean type and put them right into your beta league rotation and see what you have and sort of generate a little excitement about what the future might look like that has value.
Speaker C:It's not to say that any of those guys would be higher than trying to think of if say the Milwaukee brewers were willing to trade Jesus Madag, who's one of the most exciting prospects in baseball.
Speaker C:But he's 18 and he's only an eight ball.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:You know, he would have more long term value because he has a chance to be a superstar, play short stock.
Speaker C:You know, he may be our number one prospect when all is said and done.
Speaker C:There's no way the Milwaukee brewers should trade him, I don't think.
Speaker C:But I'm just using him as an example of the sort of counter arguments to the upper level guys.
Speaker C:But you know, it's on the team, especially if it's a team that is out of it that typically is around.
Speaker C:And so now they want to be able to flip a switch a little more quickly.
Speaker C:They're really going to key in on upper level prospects more, I would think because they feel that they have a pretty good foundation at the good level.
Speaker C:Too many injuries or whatever was hurt them this year and they think that if they get their core back and then add a guy or two via trade, a young guy or two, that they'll have under control for a long time who will be ready for the big leagues, if not now, then at the very start of next year, say, and they can kind of flip the switch back to competing because of that.
Speaker B:Hope you're enjoying it at home.
Speaker B:Jonathan Mayo here joining Chris Caputo on WGBB Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:We're talking a little bit about the minor league players who might be involved in possible trades or being moved up.
Speaker B:I thought I had read that no rentals last year, meaning guys that were on the last year of their contract got traded for top 100 prospects in return.
Speaker B:Last year our team seemed to be holding onto their prospects to they're better prospects a little bit longer for guys or are they waiting for that guy that they can trade that might have more of a longer term deal left?
Speaker C:I do think that there is a little bit more import put on the prospects because I think from a cost effective standpoint can help the team more, you know, and maybe they're overvalued.
Speaker C:That's hard for me to say because I live in the world of prospects.
Speaker C:So I always have to check myself about my own prospect bias.
Speaker C:You should always hang on to this.
Speaker C:I just answered a question inbox about whether prospects should be untouchable and I kind of came down with no, they should never be untouchable and that you should always have the conversation.
Speaker C:But there are certain prospects that if you're going to trade, you better get the moon and the stars back in terms of major league or major league ready, close to major league ready players in return and only if they meet the highest, highest standards, then maybe you trade them.
Speaker C:I use Paul Skeez as an example.
Speaker C:Not that he was a prospect for very long, but as a prospect I would never trade him.
Speaker C:But if the Dodgers came and offered you Mookie Betts and showing a comedy, then yeah, you have to at least seriously think about it.
Speaker C:Now that would never happen in a million years.
Speaker C:But you get the point of where I'm going with that.
Speaker C:The flip side is if the parents were to try to trade pulse schemes now they better get the untouchable kind of prospect.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:So I do think that teams are much more cognizant of what they value.
Speaker C:The perceived value of prospects are and maybe are less likely to trade them.
Speaker C:There are exceptions.
Speaker C:There are certain general managers or presidents of teams that are always willing to trade to try to compete.
Speaker C:But I think for the most part, teams are thinking this guy is more likely to help me for the long term.
Speaker C:And this probably speaks to the point that you're making about trading for rentals.
Speaker C:You're not going to give up a ton for rental unless you feel that you're like, if you think you have everything.
Speaker C:And I don't tend to know the inner workings of every major league roster, but if I'm the Los Angeles Dodgers and boy, really all I need is a platoon partner for someone at first base or a seventh inning guy, like, that's the only thing that really feel that you're missing then, you know, or, you know, or maybe like, boy, we had an injury and we're really set, but we really need that second basement to get us to through October and win a World Series.
Speaker C:Then maybe that kind of thing can overpay because they also have the wherewithal to make up for it.
Speaker C:They do incredible work in scouting and player development and they also have the financial wherewithal to go out and get a free agent if they have holes that their farm system can't cover.
Speaker B:One more local question, Spencer Jones.
Speaker B:Do you think if the Yankees are struggling in the next couple of days that they think about trading him to bring in a need?
Speaker C:He seems to be the best chance of them trading somebody.
Speaker D:Really?
Speaker C:They're not going to trade George Lombard.
Speaker B:Jr. No, I would never say never.
Speaker C:But he's the kind of player they don't trade.
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:When Anthony Volpe was coming up and they didn't have that much in the forum system, he was on the untouchable list.
Speaker C:And George Lombard is another guy who.
Speaker D:Can play up the middle.
Speaker C:He's 20 years old in double, so he's off the table.
Speaker C:Could they trade a Carlos to Grange?
Speaker C:Yeah, they trade.
Speaker C:I feel like they trade pitchers all the time.
Speaker C:He's taking a huge step forward, so maybe not.
Speaker C:But Spencer Jones is sort of an interesting, you know, I give him a ton of credit because, you know, last year was rough for him.
Speaker C:It's hard, you know, to strike out 200 times in the minor leagues and he, he managed to do it.
Speaker C:Yes, I know.
Speaker C:He had, you know, 17 homers and 25 steals.
Speaker C:What are you doing this year?
Speaker C:And I don't know if anything has changed in the last couple days, but he's leading the Miners and homers.
Speaker C:He's still striking out like 31% of the time, which, believe it or not, is actually better than it was last year.
Speaker C:So there's risk.
Speaker C:And I feel like the Yankees would definitely be willing to trade him.
Speaker C:And I think there are teams that would be willing to take the risk just because his tools are ridiculous.
Speaker C:I mean, when he's right, he can do everything, and he's enormous.
Speaker C:He plays solid center field, but the raw power is stupid.
Speaker C:He steals bases, you know, he can defend.
Speaker C:It's really just a question of whether he'll hit enough at the big league level to use those other offensive tools to benefit.
Speaker C:But I have to think there aren't too many players like that in the minors who have four very usable tools, you know, and want to see how that might look.
Speaker C:And he's a guy that, that if I were to trade for him and I'm a team out of it, you call him up right now and see what you have.
Speaker C:He doesn't bring in a top tier big leader, but maybe package him with some other things and can make something work.
Speaker B:Jonathan, one more for you.
Speaker B:I went back and looked at some of your top lefties from, I don't know, maybe it was 10 years ago.
Speaker B:Julio Orios, Blake Snell, Steven Matz, Newcomb.
Speaker B:I mean, it was one outlier in there.
Speaker B:Tyler J.
Speaker B:You got Hayter in there.
Speaker B:Sean Menier, Amir Garrett.
Speaker B:You know, when you hit so much with these guys who you consider your top 10 or whatever, how do you then go back and evaluate it later on and say, well, you know, this is what I saw that made me think these guys were going to be where they're at.
Speaker B:Because the other thing is you're bringing in guys not only that you're evaluating in a draft, but also international guys who are not part of that draft.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And you won't see, you know, usually those international guys don't make it into like a top 10 position.
Speaker C:That's the top 100 overall for a little while.
Speaker C: nging up Henry Ellen from the: Speaker C:Los Angeles.
Speaker C:Listen, you know, we miss.
Speaker C:Often we feel grateful when.
Speaker C:When we kind of quote, unquote, get it right.
Speaker C:Like I said, we're not.
Speaker C:I'm not evaluating.
Speaker C:I'm not watching Julio on my own.
Speaker C:And there are people who do that, you know, colleagues from other publications, websites.
Speaker C:They evaluate and that's how they determine their rankings.
Speaker C:But we do it by talking to as many people in the industry as possible before we, before we sort of make a determination on how to rank.
Speaker C:Listen, those top 10 position lists are based on what the top 100 look like for the most part.
Speaker C:And then we dig a little deeper if it's a position that there aren't 10 guys in the top 100.
Speaker C:And you know, you could probably go through our left handed pitcher list year over year and sometimes it looks really, really good and you have Julio Urius and Carlos Rodone and then you know, Andrew Haney who's had a good big league career, Sean Benigny brought up and then there are probably years, you know, where nobody looks that, you know, it doesn't look nearly that good.
Speaker C:So I am not arrogant enough to think that I have it figured out.
Speaker B:Well, I appreciate your time tonight, Jonathan.
Speaker B:It's been nice to hear how it goes in the backstages of you guys ranking and trying to figure out where people are going to go.
Speaker B:We look forward to see if some of these names are mentioned in the next four days for some of these trades.
Speaker B:So I appreciate your time tonight.
Speaker C:Thanks for having me.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:That's Jonathan Mayo of mlbpipeline.com we're going to take a quick break.
Speaker B:When we come back, we'll talk with Zach Scott.
Speaker A:You are listening to Sports Talk New York.
Speaker A: FM at: Speaker A:You're listening to Sports Talk New York on Long Island's wgpb.
Speaker A:And now back to the show.
Speaker B:We're back here on wgbb, Sports Talk New York.
Speaker B:We just finished talking with Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline.
Speaker B:And in the second half we're now going to talk with Zach Scott as the Mets right now are playing out in San Francisco trying to possibly finish off a sweep in San Francisco as the they will then head to San Diego before the trade deadline.
Speaker B:And this time of year is a big time where names are thrown about, teams are looking for a player, two, maybe three, and other teams are looking to dump some salary and maybe get some prospects back in return.
Speaker B:So we're going to talk with Zack Scott.
Speaker B: eneral manager of the Mets in: Speaker B: to: Speaker B:And Zach is nice enough to join us tonight.
Speaker B:We appreciate your time tonight.
Speaker D:Yeah, thanks for having me on, Chris.
Speaker B:Okay, so let's just talk a little bit about yourself and kind of how you got into baseball and sports.
Speaker B:And, you know, I know you were interested in baseball at a young age.
Speaker B:And for me it was 85, watching the Royals and the Cardinals, and I became a Royals and a George Brett fan.
Speaker B:And then 86 was the Mets and the Red Sox.
Speaker B:So that's kind of how I got into becoming a Mets fan and enjoying baseball.
Speaker B:What was it for you and how did you get involved in the business?
Speaker D:Yeah, it was actually right around the same time, one of the years you mentioned 86.
Speaker D:I grew up about 20 miles west of Boston and grew up a Red Sox fan.
Speaker D:And so the 86 team and their run to the World Series, as heartbreaking as it was for me as a nine year old, that was what really hooked me in.
Speaker D:And so from that point on, I was.
Speaker D:I definitely had the obsession with baseball for quite a long time.
Speaker D:Wasn't very much of a. I wasn't a very good player.
Speaker D:I describe myself as like a bad JV player in high school, but I loved the game and loved learning about the game and loved learning about all the different players and, you know, so I always had hoped I could work in baseball.
Speaker D:I just didn't think I could.
Speaker D:And.
Speaker D:And I think probably the book Moneyball opened the door for people like me.
Speaker D:I have a degree in math, and so coming into that kind of analytics, what was called analytics back then, which is very different from analytics now, but that's what kind of gave me my opportunity once the US Team became the general manager of the Red Sox.
Speaker B:Interesting, because that's where I am now.
Speaker B:I'm a high school math teacher, including teaching a college statistics class.
Speaker B:And it's nice to be able to tell kids that at some point you might use this stuff that down the line and it might get you a job because you have some of these things that other people don't.
Speaker D:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker D:It's actually I have some friends that are teachers and specifically math.
Speaker D:High school math teachers.
Speaker D:And it was one of the things that I enjoyed doing was to go speak to their classrooms just to get people excited about math and, you know, talk about something that's, you know, an exciting kind of job that, you know, allows people to think that this could actually lead me down an interesting path.
Speaker B:Nice.
Speaker B:I'll keep that one in the back of my mind.
Speaker B: So you joined the Red Sox in: Speaker B:Can you talk a little bit about that experience and how you grew in that organization?
Speaker D:Yeah, I mean, I came into.
Speaker D:I did a little bit of consulting with the Red Sox in 03.
Speaker D:I had met Theo at a charity event, just kind of by chance.
Speaker D:And I had been working for four years prior to joining the Red Sox on a soft With a very small software development company.
Speaker D:We made a game for your PC, baseball game for Windows.
Speaker D:And so he knew about our game, and it was more of a simulation than it was kind of like a video arcade game.
Speaker D:And so he wanted to know how we could help the Red Sox.
Speaker D:And so we ended up doing some consulting at the end of the 03 season to help them prepare for the Oakland Division Series, which was pretty cool.
Speaker D:So I got to meet the guys in baseball operations.
Speaker D:We kind of ran some scenarios to see what, you know, try to get a sense of what we may be able to expect coming into the postseason series.
Speaker D:So that was a cool start.
Speaker D:And then I made the leap full time, which, in that case, there was only an internship available.
Speaker D: rnship for a year, and it was: Speaker D:And it was great.
Speaker D:I mean, front offices are much larger than they were then, and even back then, we were probably considered large for the time.
Speaker D:But will that really.
Speaker D:What really helped accelerate my learning was that CEO had a very flat hierarchy where he let everyone into his circle and asked anybody for an opinion, including myself as an intern.
Speaker D:So you just learn from being around.
Speaker D:We were all in this open space in the basement of Fenway park, and there was just a lot of really good baseball talk going on.
Speaker D:We were all mostly in our 20s.
Speaker D:Most of us were single, had no children.
Speaker D:I think there was only one guy that had kids.
Speaker D:So we lived at the ballpark.
Speaker D:You know, it wasn't just the home games.
Speaker D:The team was on the road.
Speaker D:We'd be watching the games there while working.
Speaker D:It was just what we loved.
Speaker D:And so eventually, life changed, and we couldn't do that, but it was really a cool place to learn.
Speaker B:Sounds like an interesting time for some young adults at Fenway park.
Speaker B: Eventually, in late: Speaker B:Can you talk about that transition for you?
Speaker D:Yeah, it was a little bit of a roller coaster.
Speaker D:I was actually a finalist for the Mets GM job along with Jared Porter, who's a good friend of mine.
Speaker D:And, you know, Jared beat me out for that.
Speaker D:So I went from being very excited, possibly getting this job to, you know, devastated that I didn't get it.
Speaker D:And then having the opportunity to make a lateral move as an assistant GM to join an organization that I thought had a lot of upside under it was Steve Cohen's first year of ownership.
Speaker D:I'd be working with someone that I worked at the Red sox with for 10 years, and we were very close at the Red Sox, so someone that I knew what I'd be getting by working for them and being a partner with that person.
Speaker D:So it was really exciting.
Speaker D:But then, yeah, things went south for Jared very quickly and they made a change to move on and immediately put me into that acting GM role where I'm running kind of the daily meeting, you know, an hour or two after I found out what happened.
Speaker D:So it was a bit of an up and down thing, but, you know, I had to.
Speaker D:Had to, you know, step up and do the best job I could.
Speaker D:And it was, you know, an interesting scenario because you're coming into it where you, Sandy Alderson there, who's obviously had a great career as a baseball, you know, leader of baseball operations, he's the president, mostly focused on the business side.
Speaker D:So it was great that he delegated so much to me and let me just be the GM on a day to day basis.
Speaker D:And yet, Steve, a new owner who was wanting to learn a lot and ask a lot of good questions, and also trying to figure out who he was going to be as an owner.
Speaker D:Was he going to be.
Speaker D:How much interaction was he going to have with the fans over Twitter?
Speaker D:Should he be calling the team out like George Steinbrenner style?
Speaker D:These were things he was trying to figure out who he was going to be as an owner.
Speaker D:And so it was a lot of interesting moments during that season because everyone was kind of figuring out how the role was going to work with each other.
Speaker B:But the Mets were actually doing pretty well that year.
Speaker B: mes time this time of year in: Speaker B:Obviously people want to call out the one big trade that was made.
Speaker B:And can you kind of go through, you know, maybe a little bit of the depletion of our scouting department here with the Mets to the decision that you had to make on the fly to make this team better at the time?
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So before I joined the Mets, you know, when they knew they were going to make a change in leadership and moved on from Brody Van Wagenen.
Speaker D:They also moved on from several other people.
Speaker D:And so in a lot of ways they were rudderless.
Speaker D:And then when Jared came on and very, very quickly brought me on, we had to hire several director level employees in player development, in other areas, analytics.
Speaker D:And there was just.
Speaker D:They were very far behind analytically.
Speaker D:So there weren't the tools that I was used to having in Boston or the tools that Jared was used to having in Arizona or Chicago before that.
Speaker D:And so, you know, the information was not something that we felt as comfortable with.
Speaker D:And same thing with on the scouting side.
Speaker D:Their coverage was a little spotty.
Speaker D:They didn't have full coverage of all the players.
Speaker D:I didn't know the scouts that well.
Speaker D:I knew one was a couple guys that had been in Boston that I knew.
Speaker D:So I knew what to expect from them.
Speaker D:I knew how much I could trust them, but I was learning that from everyone else.
Speaker D:So to go into a trade deadline and our guys did a great job of doing the best they could, especially in the analytics, had to put as much information together to help prepare us for these things.
Speaker D:They did the best they could.
Speaker D:There was a little bit of flying, not flying blind, but flying with a lot of holes in the information.
Speaker D:But I think we did the best we could in having a process.
Speaker D: for them after I was gone in: Speaker D:But, you know, we gave up a player who's now four years later looking like, you know, made the all star team as an impact player for the Chicago Cubs and definitely would be a player that would fit perfectly for the needs of the New York Mets here at the trade deadline.
Speaker D:So that's a tough one.
Speaker D:I mean, it's the player.
Speaker D:I give a lot of credit to the player.
Speaker D:I don't think anyone in the organization saw this power coming from him.
Speaker D:In fact, I don't think anyone in the industry saw this power coming from him.
Speaker D:I'm not sure he saw the power coming from him, but a great kid, great makeup, great speed and defense.
Speaker D:We knew about that he had been injured with a significant shoulder injury.
Speaker D:We did not know what that may do to him in the future.
Speaker D:But hey, he went from being, you know, not being a ranked top 100 prospect to being one of the top prospects in baseball and now one of the one of the better, best all around big leaguers in the game.
Speaker B:It was interesting to see this year the MLB All Star Game, both of them starting center fielders, both Baez and Pete Carl Armstrong.
Speaker B:So let's change it up a little bit and talk about this year.
Speaker B:We're talking with Zach Scott, former MLB general manager.
Speaker B:So this time of year we're a couple of days away.
Speaker B:Teams at this point now are trying to see where they're at.
Speaker B:One of the things I said at the top of the show is with the amount of teams that now make the playoffs, I think that this trade deadline should get moved back to maybe August 15th, something like that.
Speaker B:I know they used to have the non waiver deadline at the end of August, but I think right now there's just too many teams who think they might be part of it and not willing to part ways with somebody.
Speaker B:And then there's other teams that want their players and you hit a standstill.
Speaker D:Yeah, the August 15 thing I'm in favor of, I think that would help teams figure out because one of the toughest things to do as a general manager is to make that call whether you're in or out for the current season.
Speaker D:I don't like to say buy or sell because you know you can be out for this year and still be buying players if you're controllable for beyond this year.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker D:But you know, it's hard to make that call for, you know, when you're trying to do it and you know, you're working on behalf of the fans and the players and you want to give it the best shot you can, but it's the deadline makes you have to make that decision.
Speaker D:So those teams especially that are on the bubble, they have to make a call and if they think they're actually in it, you could argue that those are the teams that should be most aggressive because they're on the cusp and that maybe getting, adding some talent is the difference between making it and not making it it.
Speaker D:But I do think when I look at this year, I mean I do, especially in the National League, I mean almost feels like there are seven spots that are pretty, pretty not locked in.
Speaker D:But it's going to be hard for, you know, outside of the, you know, you get the Dodgers, the Cubs, Mets, Phillies, Milwaukee.
Speaker D:I mean it feels like there's about three teams maybe fighting for one spot in the nl, San Diego, Cincinnati, San.
Speaker B:Fran, the Marlins are trying to catch.
Speaker D:In Yeah, I just.
Speaker D:I find that hard to believe and I'm not sure it's with some teams.
Speaker D:I look at them like the Cardinals would be another one.
Speaker D:Marlins.
Speaker D:I'm not sure it's in their interest to buy given what maybe their longer term plan is.
Speaker D:So if that's how they're feeling, and I don't know, I'm not inside their walls, but if that's how they're feeling, then it's very easy to say, well, we're going to sell.
Speaker D:Because that might be in your best interest long term.
Speaker D:If you're trying to build something sustainable and you think like, we've had a solid year, but we're not quite where we want to be, this could be a real opportunity because you only have so many opportunities to acquire young, controllable talent.
Speaker D:So a lot of GMs want to make the most of it when they have that and probably lean towards doing it at the same time.
Speaker D:Why do you play the game?
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker D:We're in this to win.
Speaker D:We don't get trophies for having the best farm system.
Speaker D:We don't get rings for that.
Speaker D:So, you know, when you do have a chance, like you mentioned in 21, people forget we were actually in first place at the trade deadline.
Speaker D:And I think it's important that when you do have a chance to win that you put your best foot forward.
Speaker B:So at this point, the Mets are sitting there, close to first place, in first place and, you know, also have a shot at the wild card.
Speaker B:But they obviously have some needs, they have some pitching needs.
Speaker B:They went out and got themselves a lefty reliever and, you know, gave up a single, a pitcher and another player.
Speaker B:Do you see them in the next four days trading any of the following three Mark Vientos, Brett Beatty, Ronnie Mauricio.
Speaker D:You know, my first reaction to that is to say I'd be surprised.
Speaker D:But at the same time, I think all three of those guys are out of options after this year.
Speaker D:Or maybe one of them is like, he can't get sent down again or else he uses that last option.
Speaker D:But yeah, go ahead.
Speaker B:Beatty, I believe, is done.
Speaker B:So I think at this point, you know, and Vientos too, I think with Mauricio, they might have a little wiggle room.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker B:But I think they're thinking Acuna is.
Speaker D:The other guy who might be on options.
Speaker D:So they may be looking at, if you're looking ahead to this next offseason, there's a chance that those guys aren't making your team.
Speaker D:And then their value is just Completely cratered because they're out of options and you're just dumping them for very little in return.
Speaker D:So it may.
Speaker D:If there's someone that's actually valuing those players, it may be worth doing it.
Speaker D:I'd probably shy away from the guys that you believe have the most upside.
Speaker D:I'm not sure who that is at this point and where there'd be opportunity.
Speaker D:I think, you know, they can still piece together at third base with the guys that they have, but it'll be interesting to see how they handle it.
Speaker D:And I thought that all year just to have, including Acuna, four guys that were recently, you know, highly regarded prospects and now are at kind of.
Speaker D:And their clock is ticking in terms of their roster flexibility.
Speaker D:It gets really interesting and oftentimes those are the guys that get moved.
Speaker D:So, you know, we'll see if it lines up in terms of how other teams are valuing them.
Speaker B:What else do you think they need to grab?
Speaker B:Is it a starting pitcher, a reliever?
Speaker B:They already have a lefty to now go with Brooks Rayleigh, who I think is a great guy to bring back.
Speaker B:Is there another spot where they definitely need to hit?
Speaker D:Well, I think center field's a good opportunity for them, but I don't love the options.
Speaker D:You have Robert out there, who I think is a solid defensive player, but his last, what, 750 plate appearances have been brutal.
Speaker D:Cedric Mullins hasn't been very good.
Speaker D:I don't think he's as good a center fielder.
Speaker D:He can certainly run.
Speaker D:You know, I just don't see the options.
Speaker D:They have a good defensive center fielder and Taylor, but he can't really hit that well.
Speaker D:I'd say, though, that's where the most glaring position player hole is.
Speaker D:I think they're bullpen.
Speaker D:I like the move for Soto, a good sinker slider guy.
Speaker D:I think that's the kind of move that I'd expect from David Stearns.
Speaker D:And I think starting pitching, I am a little nervous about their rotation.
Speaker D:They've lost some death with some injuries and, you know, if they can get an impact guy, that'd be great.
Speaker D:They've been lacking that.
Speaker D:They've been getting by pretty well the last couple years without having that.
Speaker D:So maybe they feel good about it.
Speaker D:Otherwise they need a little bit more depth because we don't know what to expect from Clay Holmes as he continues to blow past his innings threshold.
Speaker D:So, you know, there's a lot to like about the Mets, but yeah, there's some question marks there.
Speaker D:I don't expect any big time Acquisitions from them.
Speaker D:I think they'll kind of piece things together, make some good value moves.
Speaker D:I think that's something that David's probably likely to do.
Speaker D:That would be my guess.
Speaker B:What goes on?
Speaker B:Is this mainly just the general manager on the phone with other general managers?
Speaker B:Or are there five or six people talking, including owners and assistant GMs when it comes to trade deadlines?
Speaker B:And I know it gets kind of tight at six o' clock on Thursday.
Speaker D:Yeah, it can look a lot of different ways.
Speaker D:I'm actually working on an article for MLB Trade Rumors that will hopefully come out in the next couple days that goes a little bit behind the scenes in some of my experiences with the deadline.
Speaker D:But I work for four different GMs in Boston and my experience at the Mets, I've consisted of, consulted with teams like the Pirates and Rangers and been a part of their trade deadline war rooms.
Speaker D:So over those like 20 straight war rooms that I was in, people have different styles.
Speaker D:GMs are different styles.
Speaker D:Where some of them want a lot of people in the room, some of them want very few people in the room.
Speaker D:So I was someone in 21.
Speaker D:I wanted a lot of people in the room because I do believe good ideas can come from anywhere.
Speaker D:And, you know, you want to be talking through these things.
Speaker D:So we had scouts, analysts, other front office people.
Speaker D:You know, I talk to the manager or something, you know, they're playing games, but I check in with the manager, which most GMs do, just to update them and kind of get any thoughts they may have.
Speaker D:Owners you're kind of bringing in when there's actually something really to talk about.
Speaker D:They may check in for kind of an update to see where things stand.
Speaker D:But most of the time you're waiting until you actually get somewhere down the road where something seems like it could be real.
Speaker D:And then you're looping them in and saying, here's something that we got on the table that fits with what we've talked about strategically and here's what it's going to cost us, etc.
Speaker D:So it can look different, though there's guys I know that can't concentrate with too many people in the room, so they want to keep it really small.
Speaker D:I'm someone that likes to have a lot of balls up in the air.
Speaker D:There's some people that want to stay very focused on filling each need one at a time, or if you're selling each player that you're selling one at a time.
Speaker D:So it can look a lot of different ways.
Speaker D:There is a lot of.
Speaker D:In my experience, there's been a lot of sitting around and staring at each other because you can't really control the timing.
Speaker D:You can do your work and your preparation, but ultimately, it takes two to make a trade.
Speaker B:Is it mainly the people who want the major league player making the contact, or is there also kind of the sellers, the people who want your prospects reaching out and starting that conversation?
Speaker D:It can go either way.
Speaker D:I mean, typically, the way it's worked, you know, the way it worked most recently in my career was that you've kind of split up the teams.
Speaker D:You check in with teams periodically.
Speaker D:You might split them up with an assistant GM or two and just say, you call these, you know, maybe it's three people, and each guy has, you know, 10, nine, 10 teams, and you kind of just check in with your counterpart there, or if you have a relationship there, you check in with the person that you know well there and just say, hey, what are you guys looking to do?
Speaker D:And everyone kind of gathers that information because people are pretty honest.
Speaker D:They're saying, like, hey, here's what we're looking to do.
Speaker D:And then you might, in that conversation, say, hey, would you be willing to talk about this part?
Speaker D:And sometimes they'll say, absolutely not.
Speaker D:Sometimes they'll say, you know, yeah, in the right circumstances, but it would take.
Speaker D:And they give you some indication of what it may take.
Speaker D:So that can go either way.
Speaker D:You know, in my mind, I think it's really important that you kind of are involved in as much as you can so you know what's going on.
Speaker D:Because, you know, moves that happen can affect other moves happening right after that.
Speaker D: t, like that year I mentioned: Speaker D:I mean, the Dodgers acquired Steve Finley, so they created a surplus of outfielders.
Speaker D:When we saw the rumor that they may acquire Steve Finley, we immediately got on the phone with them and said, hey, you're going to have a surplus of outfielders if you do this.
Speaker D:Would you be willing to talk to us about Dave Roberts?
Speaker D:And Theo did that trade pretty quickly.
Speaker D:So that's why you got to be aware of everything that's going on, because the landscape can change with a single deal.
Speaker B:And then finally, is there one team or one person you think is definitely going to get traded in the next couple of days?
Speaker B:There's something that you would say is almost a definite.
Speaker D:There's something that comes to mind.
Speaker D:I do think people tend to get really excited.
Speaker D:Trade deadlines are almost always the same where you get kind of amped up about the big names that could be moved.
Speaker D:And if they have any amount of control beyond this year, they're not going to be free agents at the end of this year.
Speaker D:Then they usually don't get moved.
Speaker D:But it's fun to talk about and speculate.
Speaker D:Doesn't mean they're not being talked about.
Speaker D:But teams tend to not be highly motivated.
Speaker D:So I still expect this in the end to be mostly guys who are on expiring contracts.
Speaker D:There will be free agents at the end of the year.
Speaker D:To me, I look at it more as who's most likely to be aggressive in the market.
Speaker D:That's still kind of my mentality of thinking of it from a team standpoint is who are going to be the people that are really aggressive.
Speaker D:So I look at a team like Seattle with Jerry Depot, who tends to be aggressive.
Speaker D:They've already gotten Naylor.
Speaker D:I expect him to be.
Speaker D:You know, they have a really good farm system, so they have a good position to deal from.
Speaker D:And I think a lot of other teams are probably excited for that because Jerry tends to be aggressive.
Speaker D:Maybe Texas is aggressive.
Speaker D:You look at the different personalities that are running these teams and there's a lot of guys that are a little bit cautious these days as GMs, and then there's a handful of guys that tend to be pretty aggressive.
Speaker D:So those are always the ones.
Speaker D:It's interesting to see what they do.
Speaker B:I'm interested to see if David Stearns brings up a guy like Noah McClain or Brandon Sproten, puts them in the bullpen, because I think sometimes those can be just as good as a trade deadline where you give a guy a shot to pitch two innings when they're normally used to using five, and maybe they help you a little bit.
Speaker B:So I'll see what happens there.
Speaker D:Yeah, I think that can be true.
Speaker D:And I often like breaking young pitchers into the bullpen.
Speaker D:You know, not throwing them necessarily in the fire to be a closer or eighth inning guy, but putting them in there.
Speaker D:And maybe they evolve into that pretty quickly.
Speaker D:I mean, that to me is always a question you should ask before you overpay.
Speaker D:For a veteran reliever to say, do we have a young starter that if we just put him in there for an inning or two and let him just blow, you know, throw his heart, is he going to be just as effective as that guy and we don't have to give up anything.
Speaker B:Again, we're talking with Zack Scott, former MLB gm.
Speaker B:Zach, what have you been up to the last Few years now.
Speaker B:Outside of baseball or inside of baseball as well.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker D:So I started a business called Four Rings about three years ago and two and a half years ago.
Speaker D:And I do two different things.
Speaker D:One, I consult with sports teams across all sports, basically just trying to help them identify opportunities to get better in their operations.
Speaker D:So with player acquisition, with player development and other ways that they're trying to make their team better, just, you know, try to figure out what keeps those GMs up at night and then try to help them solve those problems and identify other opportunities to improve.
Speaker D:So that's one piece of business and then the other part of it is that I.
Speaker D:And it's kind of very separate as I do executive leadership coaching.
Speaker D:So I do that not just in sports, but in other industries as well.
Speaker D:And that's something that's been really enjoyable for me and fulfilling.
Speaker D:Other than that, I'll be on do some media stuff occasionally, like I mentioned the trade rumors article.
Speaker D:And Tuesday, I'll be on SNY's Baseball Night in New York on Tuesday evening.
Speaker B:Always good to see.
Speaker B:Yeah, always good to see an executive's position.
Speaker B:Well, we appreciate a few minutes tonight and, you know, hopefully we can have you back on at some point in the off season to see what it's like when you're trying to, you know, sign a free agent and those.
Speaker B:Those names come up.
Speaker D:Sure would be happy to.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Again, that was Zack Scott, former MLB gm.
Speaker B:He was an acting GM with the Mets.
Speaker B:We appreciate his time there as the Mets are closing out their series in San Francisco, thinking about where they may want to go.
Speaker B:And again, I appreciate his time.
Speaker B:He said he would talk about some other topics.
Speaker B:As you may know, Zach was the Mets gm.
Speaker B:There was an incident where he did have an arrest for possibly, you know, behind a wheel falling asleep.
Speaker B:All of that stuff was found unfounded.
Speaker B:But the Mets decided to move on.
Speaker B:And I think part of that was because of the Jared Porter situation.
Speaker B:And, you know, maybe the next time we will talk a little bit about that.
Speaker B:But it's hard to get yourself back in the game when some of that stuff comes out.
Speaker B:I did want to finish with a little bit of wrestling and, you know, just kind of hearing a little bit of that music gets you going with Hulk Hogan.
Speaker B:And, you know, I think about some of the matches that he had and, you know, let's just listen for a second right here.
Speaker D:When it comes crashing.
Speaker C:Down and it hurts inside.
Speaker B:So that would be the real American, Rick Derringer, as Hulk Hogan would come down in the ring.
Speaker B: tch between a big Boss man in: Speaker B:But I think the biggest thing is, you know, watching the immovable object against the irresistible force.
Speaker B:And that's Andre the Giant Hulk Hogan.
Speaker B:And that would be my number one match where he picked him up and he body slammed him.
Speaker B:Whether or not Andre said, hey, listen, I'm gonna let you do this.
Speaker B:That's what got people pumped up.
Speaker B:So we lost a legend in Hulk Hogan this past week.
Speaker B:I want to thank Brian Graves on the other side for all his help.
Speaker B:Tonight.
Speaker B:Our guests, Zach Scott and Jonathan Mayo of mlb.
Speaker B:We'll see you guys in a couple of weeks.
Speaker B:Enjoy.
Speaker A:The views expressed in the previous program did not necessarily represent those of the staff, management, or owners of wgbb.
