So, just what are the Orioles real plans for a payroll under the new stewardship and deep pockets of the Rubenstein group? Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the strategy and budget of general manager Mike Elias as the hot stove starts to boil for offseason activities as the MLB Winter Meetings spark a baseball conversation in Baltimore about the future.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss the Baltimore Oriolesโ offseason strategy and the expectations for the upcoming MLB Winter Meetings. They express frustration with the new ownershipโs lack of transparency and significant financial investments, contrasting it with the previous Angelo era. They debate the potential acquisition of pitchers like Corbin Burns and Luis Castillo, highlighting the high costs and risks associated with long-term contracts. They also emphasize the importance of player development and the need for the Orioles to make impactful moves to win over fans and improve their competitiveness.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Orioles offseason, MLB Winter Meetings, new ownership, player development, free agent signings, pitching needs, payroll strategy, fan engagement, community investment, player contracts, trade options, future plans, revenue growth, fan excitement, team improvement
SPEAKERS
Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore, positive. Uh, happy holidays. Everybody out there celebrating. Weโre going to be taking the Maryland crab cake tour on the road for one final haul next week. Weโre going to be on Tuesday at AMI cheese of Little Italy all afternoon eating meatballs for the holidays. I think they probably have some big boy eggnog there for me as well. Our friends at the Maryland lottery also sending us to Costas in establishing Dundalk in 1971 we will be establishing ourselves at the bar on Wednesday afternoon, lots of friends, family, loved ones, not a lot of relatives, but people, relatively speaking, that are there for the crab Imperial so come on by say hello. Weโll give you a lottery ticket and tip a cup of holiday cheer. And then holiday cheer, hopefully includes a victory over the New York football Giants. And as it always is when Iโm in Dundalk, Luke, and this is probably my first note to Katie Griggs to say, give me my media credential back is whether they like it or not. Everywhere I go, people come up to me every day now and talk about the baseball team, and thatโs not youโve known me a long time. That has not always been the case, but people come to me everywhere I go now and in the off season, and it is part of the conversation to say, what are they doing in a way where for years, we havenโt, and I guess itโs telling that in the middle of these winter meetings, when crochet goes to the Red Sox and the Orioles made a little splash last weekend before the winter meetings and two signings and wherever the Santander sweepstakes are. And by the time this recording is over, it could be it could be done. But for Boris to say, New Orleans ownership is doing more than old Orioles ownership, okay, well, when the money, you know, when the money is spent, and the the graphics come in, weโll say that they are spending money. You would make a case. And John Angelos would also make the case. Weโd have to spend a lot of money. We we can be a middling this and that, and weโre really well managed. And okay, I mean, I hear all of that, but this is under new ownership whoโve had nothing to say. Katie Griggs had her little thing in the dugout for five minutes and five minutes with you guys who are credentialed media, the legitimate folks, and itโs been 90 days since Iโve seen anything from any of them. I donโt I donโt know how this the biggest insult on my Facebook this week was, feels like the Angeles family never left. Now Iโm Iโm not going to be insulting because we still have three more months of an off season here, but I am wondering what the gig is here and when Boris is saying theyโre trying harder. I donโt even know what that means, dude, because at some point theyโre going to field the team and theyโre going to go out next week, next year, and win 80 games, 90 games, 100 games, based on what theyโre doing now. And for anybody whoโs new to the Oriole party, Luke and I have been at this a long time. If you win championships, itโs the time you do it. You know? Itโs a time when you really augment make your team better?
Luke Jones 03:01
Well, I mean, itโs an ongoing process. I mean, itโs not just now, but itโs part of it, right? And itโs an important part of it. Iโll remind everyone that at this time a year ago, we were still, what, almost two months out from the Orioles acquiring Corbin burns. So you know, itโs looking more and more like the trade route is an avenue they might need to go. Because when you look at what Max free gets, when you look at even someone like Nathan avaldi, who I had even mentioned to you as a quote, cheaper alternative, and itโs three years, $75 million to at at his age, you know, to return to the Texas Rangers, yeah, told him he was
Nestor Aparicio 03:44
going to get that kind of money when he was 21 years old, when he was beating around with the Red Sox 15 years ago. Like, itโs, it really, itโs, itโs incredible money. It really is,
Luke Jones 03:53
yeah, especially, especially considering the injury history that he had, especially early in his career. I mean, good for him, right? But itโs a reminder of you see what those deals are. I mean, what is Corbin burns going to get? And to your point, a couple minutes ago. I mean, this could, there could be an announcement while you and I are having this discussion in real time, but all my
Nestor Aparicio 04:13
political friends, Iโll kick Biden in the nuts. Itโs bidenflation. Is what it is. Itโs everything costs too much. This is what their number three pitchers cost these days? And Iโm like, Yeah, I mean, and thatโs what the reality for Mr. Rubenstein is, and the reality for Mike Elias is, and the reality to say, well, weโve always done it this way, and weโve done it on the cheap, and weโre going to play bone on bone based on our, you know, our fan base that didnโt even support our team, and come out and pay and, you know, whereโs the money coming from? And, oh, my god, the money, I donโt know this is, this is baseball, you know. And, and if you want to play, you better get somebody to pitch. And, oh, sure, Burns is going to be another level of Nathan of all. And
Luke Jones 04:55
again, well, I mean, itโs not even a comparison right up. As far as what tax. Bracket itโs going to be in, but, yeah, you need to get somebody. And there are different ways to do this, as I pointed out. I mean, no one was even, you know, maybe there had been a little bit of discussion, a little bit of speculation that the Orioles could be a team that could go get Corbin burns last year, you know what, when it was clear that he and Milwaukee were heading toward a divorce, knowing that he was a year out from free agency and talks and all that had not gone anywhere so but I donโt think at this point last year, anyone thought that that was the likely outcome, right? I mean, we never dealt for a number one picture Well, and thatโs and thatโs the point I was trying to make here. I mean, itโs well and good to hear Scott Boris.
Nestor Aparicio 05:43
You know the guy heโs trying to get $500 million from, whether itโs for Corbin, these things are Mean Gene to me, theyโre just all exactly, theyโre theyโre there to blow up the balloon, or whoever theyโre trying to phrase,
Luke Jones 05:57
but, but I think, for acknowledging that reality, letโs pretend, for this exercise, the Orioles arenโt going to resign Corbin burns, and heโs going to get a deal thatโs crazier than the deal that Max free just got as a 30 year old, getting an eight year two, $18 million deal with the Yankees. So whatโs next? Then? Right? Because they need somebody, right? I mean, a minimum of one legit, you know, whether itโs going to be a shiny, sparkly ace, or someone that you say is a number one, number two kind of pitcher that you could slot in there, along with Evelyn and Grayson Rodriguez being healthy. You
Nestor Aparicio 06:38
really hope Rodriguez is Jim Palmer, but he might be sed Davis.
Luke Jones 06:44
So much of this is still riding on and this really goes for the offense as well, right? I mean, okay, they added Tyler OโNeal. They added Gary Sanchez as their backup quarterback, or quarterback backup catcher. But a lot of this is still hinging on Adley rutschman, bouncing back. And those three months last summer being a very weird aberration That was part struggles, part health concerns that they just donโt want to talk about, whatever. But thatโs really important. Itโs really important for Jordan westburg to stay healthy and not, you know, and be the guy that he was through the first four months last year or three months last year, itโs important for Heston kerstad to take the next step, because the way their outfield is constructed right now, it lends itself to him being a real part of that right in the same way that Colton cows are took the next step this past year. He needs to take the next step so so so much of this still hinges on player development continuing, as I say to you over and over and over, player development does not cease when a young player reaches the majors. Right there, there are still steps that have to be taken there, in the same way that gunner Henderson, yep, Flash some promise when he had his cup of coffee at the end of 22 was Rookie of the Year in 23 and then he was a top five player in the American League last year, and maybe the
Nestor Aparicio 08:02
best made every one of these players better, whether it was Santander coming as Rule five, or whether it was Mullins, or whether it was the switch from The Brady Anderson way to the right, you know, the buck era to this. Like all of these achievers that weโve talked about, have flourished in various ways in side of the Elias ship, right, right?
Luke Jones 08:24
And, but thereโs still been ups and downs for those guys, right? I mean, Jackson holiday is going to be a huge part of of what theyโre projecting to be as an offense in 2024
08:35
and, and thereโs no reason for them not to think that, but heโs got to go out and do it, right? I mean, thatโs why we always say that canโt miss prospects can still miss or can still have some bumps in the road. I mean, we
Nestor Aparicio 08:46
also encourage that or lottery picks, they
Luke Jones 08:48
had to lose 100 games to draft those rights and Colton cows are his first month and a half in the majors. Two years ago, was a disaster, but he was second in rookie of the year this past year. So So look, that is still a big part of where the Orioles are going is still these young players taking the next step. I mean, thatโs part of it, and that doesnโt mean theyโre all going to become gunner Henderson, meaning theyโre MVP candidates, but thatโs still a big part of it. But what the Orioles are faced with now is why people have pointed out, over the last three to four years how they have drafted so many college hitters, how they have drafted so many hitters? In general, when you throw Jackson holiday being a one one into the mix, and they havenโt drafted as many pitchers, this is what youโre faced with. So how do they proceed from here if theyโre not going to sign a free agent pitcher to a big money contract? And look, a lot of them have come off the board at this point. You know, whether the whether the Orioles are really in on them or not. I mean, you donโt get any about the
Nestor Aparicio 09:47
crochet deal, because they had the artillery to make that kind of deal right, like they could have dealt, dealt, Iโm making this up, right? Cows are in this and that, or whatever. You know, they could have done something. Thing to maybe make that work. But to your point, then you wind up continuing to give away these guys on the cheap to bring to continue down the cheap path while you give away or t you know, you start giving these players away. And then you say, in 2027 Well, we have to give gunner Henderson 50 million a year. Now, we had him in a bag of donuts because weโre not going to get anything. I i Thereโs a lot of ways to do this. Yeah, I just donโt know what way theyโre trying to do it. Itโs all shrouded in secrecy and what. But you want the fans to buy in. Youโre, I mean, I had Robbie Leonard on the other day data fade leads, and you talked about the Birdland membership and his money in and point like, people are talking to me about that, Acostaโs what Iโm doing the show on Wednesday, because theyโre getting there in and and they want to invest in Iโve been holding my credit card up. I have been writing notes. I have been applying for credentials. Iโve done everything I can do. You know, Iโm not begging them to come back and give them money. Iโm not, but it doesnโt make me less interested in the drama of all of it and how it all works, and you and I talking about it three days a week, but there is no plan here and anything in the past that they would like to blow up. You know, theyโre trying to blow up the fact that Angelos was ever around here. Weโre all just going to forget about that. Like like that didnโt the 10,000 empty seats were the reminder. And when I met Mr. Rubenstein, I told him that. And at some point, the level of confidence for the community and saying, We know what the plan is like, I think the crochet thing would have been a big deal here, right amongst the Oriole people who know baseball had remade that deal. And that my, you know, my wife was on her phone and told me, and I wasnโt on my phone. Iโm like, did we make that deal? And you know why? Because we can, and we have that team that made that deal for Well, Iโve had this tech service 16 years. We I havenโt had to worry on a December night that they were going to make that kind of deal. It burns last year or crochet this. Now, their division rival did it right and gave away a little piece of the like, and all of that dude, I donโt want to play against him. I mean, that guyโs, you know, like, so when it comes down to scuba and him and whatโs possible, and I donโt know it feels like anythingโs possible, because they do have the money, but until they spend it, it doesnโt feel like itโs anythingโs changed, and I think they have to make great strides. And Iโve said this, this has nothing to do with the team on the field. They have to make great strides everywhere else to show that theyโre different, that this is different, and they do. Havenโt done that
Luke Jones 12:34
but, but you still need to do that within the context of what you think makes sense for your organization, in terms of winning, in terms of sustaining winning, in terms of not just spending money for the sake of doing it. Because we, we can all remember, ate that last week, eight years ago, the the Orioles did that with Chris Davis, and it was a spectacular failure, right? It was a spectacular miss. Uh, awful. But go back and look at everyoneโs timelines at that point in time. Lot of Orioles fans were really happy
Nestor Aparicio 13:00
about Adley rutschman. They could be two, 50 million into him right now from last year. And we all would have applauded it the day Rubenstein came in, right like we could have been, and he still could have hit what he hit. And thatโs right, you know. And
Luke Jones 13:10
look and look, thereโs always going to be unknown. Thereโs always going to be risk here. Thereโs the Mets did not sign Juan Soto to the deal they did, expecting that his age 3637 3839 and I think heโs signed through age 40, right? I think, I mean, itโs wild. They know that those deal, the money heโs making at that point, even taking into account inflation and where salaries are going to go and better be a statue in front of that place at the end. But the point is, they know that the last five years of that deal, at a minimum are going to be a loser, because we just know thatโs how this works and and this is part of what Iโve said about the burns deal in a vacuum. I donโt love the idea of giving Corbin burns eight years, because his strikeout rate is trended in the wrong direction for four years now, and thatโs not going to reverse, so you might get two more years of true, bonafide ace performance from him, and then he might settle into being more of a number two number three type for two more years after that. Thatโs assuming he doesnโt get hurt. And I know heโs been very durable, but guys are durable until theyโre not. And again, not trying to go off on a tangent here, thereโs risk involved with any of these deals. We know that, right? So itโs attract ease for pitching. I mean, oh, exactly so. So thatโs where I look at this. And I say, Okay, we donโt know what theyโre ultimately, what their payroll is ultimately going to be this year, let alone trying to project that out the next five years. To your point, there are a lot of mitigating circumstances with the business, mass in ballpark renovations, all these different things in terms of trying to
Nestor Aparicio 14:41
see their future financially, I only know it will grow if they do well here, and theyโre well led, and the community buys in, and I buy in, and everybody buys in. When that happens, that will allow them to have $194 million payroll. And. And Henderson, if theyโre both going to the Hall of Fame, like Iโm down with all of that, but I need to see some left. I need to have a level of confidence about their competence. And part of that would be, whereโs the path. Show me the light. Show me the plan. And to your point, as we sit here, and when I sit with the smartest people I can find whoโve done this forever, there is no that the crystal ball is murky for their revenues in the future, if they donโt get on white, on old, you know, like all of this, right? Like they need to get people, they need to get revenue. They need to get more people watching the game. They need to get lacrosse players watching the games. They need to do all of that, because thatโs how you get one Soto. Thatโs how you or youโre just a billionaire. Thatโs like, Iโm 74 and I got money to piss away. Letโs go. I thought thatโs who we had, honestly. I thought we had the guy saying, Yeah, weโre in with the Yankees. Of course. Iโm gonna have to throw another 100 million a year. Weโre gonna have to make a splash. That guy destroyed the franchise, weโre going to have to do unorthodox things in order for me to win a World Series by the time Iโm 80, and to do the little tap dance down Pratt street and be hero. I mean, I donโt know what else to say. That would have been my reality for him, but thatโs not what the smoke blowers around him are giving him in owning the franchise and managing it responsibly, and all the things you just said about, well, we donโt want to spend it too much. I mean, they have the fan base already not feeling like they have to spend money, because theyโve been talked into not spending money. And I Thatโs cool, but that doesnโt get anybody excited either. And the thing gets people excited winning. Iโll give you all of that, but they kind of are hand in hand to some degree. This time of year when youโre playing poker with do we want crochet? Do we want Juan Soto? You know, theyโre only the best players, but theyโre really expensive. We donโt, yeah, weโll just eat sirloin this year for the holidays and and that, when weโve been doing that for 30 years, and that, that part of it doesnโt feel different to me,
Luke Jones 17:01
fair enough. I mean, you know, weโve had this debate slash argument for a long time. You know, they won 101 games last year or two years ago, with a very, very young core that was complimented by the likes of Kyle Gibson and James McCann and guys like that. So okay, look, you need to progress. You need to advance. And I donโt mean in terms of 101 wins becomes 108 I mean in terms of what weโre weโve all been talking about winning in October, just like weโre talking about with the Ravens winning in January, right? Thatโs the next step. So how do you go about doing that? Yeah, look, Corbin burns would help that a ton. Are they willing to pay what Scott Boris wants, what Corbin burns want? Itโs hard to say until we see them do that. Itโs hard to to imagine that. So letโs work under the assumption that they donโt. What they have done, however, is traded for another teamโs ace. So you kind of look and see whatโs out there. Dylan ceases. Name has come up once again. Now itโs a one year rental, so youโre kind of in the position of one. Are the Padres willing to trade him because they want to win competitive team, right? But they also are a team that you know their former, late owner had extended himself financially by all accounts, so theyโre trying to rein that back in. Itโs just a matter of how much.
Nestor Aparicio 18:22
Oh and talk about media problems. They donโt own a mass Exactly, exactly. So look.
Luke Jones 18:30
So thatโs why I mean, the point I want to acknowledge, everything you say about the future of this franchise is valid in terms of it being murky, but itโs like that across baseball right now. I mean, Rob Manfred, very clearly has a vision. And Iโm not saying this to be complimentary of Rob Manfred. I donโt think very much of Rob Manfred,
Nestor Aparicio 18:49
yeah, we havenโt talked about that stupid rule that they the bananas rule, but by the
Luke Jones 18:54
way, that it sounded like the genesis of that was always supposed to be more of an exhibition thing, like maybe they do that in the All Star game. But anyway, I donโt want to get off track too much on that. But I think when you look at where they are right now, itโs like, okay, thereโs Dylan cease, the other name thatโs come up. And again, there are always these types of pictures that can potentially be available. Whereโs the sweet spot? Whereโs the happy medium here? And I look at someone like Luis Castillo, whose name has been brought up as a potential trade in Seattle. The mariners weโve talked about this, we talked about this last year. Their rotation fantastic, their offense was horrendous last year, and itโs why they didnโt go anywhere, right? And itโs why they fell short. But is there a trade to be made? And Castillo is not a rental. Now, couple things I want to point out. He is 32 years old. He is signed through, I think itโs 2027 it is a deal that I think the breakdown is roughly 2524 25 million a year. He does have a vesting option for 2028 point is that. This would be a financial commitment, even more so than what Zach eplin was at the trade deadline last year, where it was the Orioles taking on one year of salary. This would be taking on a player that is not a rental, a player who is going to have some decline, but is still pitching at a high level. If you look at the peripherals, itโs not something to say, Oh, this guyโs ready to fall off a cliff, necessarily. But you look at this and say, Okay, is there a deal to be made here, Seattle, apparently, is interested in a right handed hitting first baseman. The Orioles have that in Ryan mountcastle. Theyโve re signed Ryan OโHearn Kobe Mayoโs future spot is first base, you know that? Or, dH, right? I mean, I mean, thatโs what theyโre looking at, and Iโm not ready to write him off. So the point is here, not that Ryan mount Castle alone would net you Castillo, but he could he be one of the pieces that helped land you that and because youโre taking on the amount of salary that you would be taking on, youโre not necessarily going to have to give up an arm and a leg in terms of prospects to get him. So is there a match there? As I we mentioned, Dylan cease. So itโs not as though that their options have run dry, but some of these options have dried up, where youโre starting to look at this and say, Are you going to have to go the trade route again? And because theyโve done it once, because we know that theyโre willing to part with prospects, because they have this farm system. I mean, if you want an idea of how teams view their farm system, they lost six players in the triple A Rule five draft on twos on Wednesday. That tells you what teams think about their farm system, and those are lower level guys. So it it tells you itโs not, itโs not a hoax. Their farm systems legit, but if youโre not going to go out and be a player for Max freed or Corbin burns, fine, weโve talked about it, those are very perilous investments that youโre making, even though you love the upside. So you need to find a happy medium. And I donโt think itโs necessarily continuing to just trade for rental pitchers, because thatโs going to deplete your farm system without giving you the long term stability you desire. So thatโs where I do look at someone like Luis Castillo and say, Hey, thereโs a guy that, okay, maybe the last year that deal. He might, he might not be a bonafide ace at that point. And you know, thatโs not going to be, but by then, maybe Kyle, you know, by then Kyle bratis should be back. You hope, you pray because of what kind of pitcher he is, Grayson Rodriguez should be in his prime at that point. You might not need Luis Castillo in two years to be your bona fide ace. But for what he can be for 2025 you know, matching him up with E and Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kramer in the back end. And weโll see about Trevor Rogers. Weโll see about, you know, you go down the list of the different guys they have in, you know, in the mix right now, Albert Suarez, you know that that might be an option there, and that might be something that isnโt going to crush their farm system. It would be a payroll commitment, which isnโt going to be Corbin burns in terms of people doing cartwheels, but Luis Castillo is a three time all star pitcher, so Iโm not saying thatโs going to happen. Iโm just saying that there, there is an example of an option out there, of kind of a middle ground there, where you make a trade, but youโre also taking on some real salary that should hypothetically depress what the what the ask is in terms of the prospects, you have to give up a little bit and but
Nestor Aparicio 23:27
at that point, youโre saving Mr. Rubenstein money in 2029 you know, and the risk of Corbin burns arm falling off in year four of an eight year deal. And listen, Iโm not with you? What? When I, when I do the Stockholm Syndrome thing with the owners? Iโm not on Team Boris either, where youโre asking for eight years and fundamentally held the sport up. Iโve witnessed this for 30 years. Iโm not on Team agent, team player, Team union. You know any of Iโve watched all of this depress everything about baseball in my community, and certainly a surly owner here the last 30 years that didnโt play the game, got himself out of it. Poor mouthed himself into poor mouthing himself into an empty stadium, turning a full franchise into a poverty franchise in a generation like I witnessed that here and these people donโt have enough wherewithal to even realize that Iโve witnessed it, and then Iโm going to be here on the radio talking about it and on the internet amongst their fan base and in every Costas, in every bar, talking about it, not not your mamas anymore, which is really unfortunate. I do hope the thing gives me the Charlie Ekman memorabilia around there so I can have it. But I would just say they do. They have two seasons off season, and in season they need to win them both. The NFL has been winning them both here for 27 years, and that led that started with me running draft parties over Benigno station in the barn and getting people lubed up in the off season. About anybody knew who Phil savageric Costa was? You? You know, so like getting people excited, which has been job number one with the NFL, to the point where you get nauseated by but the NFL would look at you and your brother and say, you little wrestling fans, Vince doesnโt take a week off. Vince goes 53 weeks. So, you know, weโre not taking a week. I mean, the baseball team just takes off. I just large stretches of time or runs from people like us that are fans who just want answers and want to be straight and want to say, what is the plan here, now that thereโs allegedly sane people running the franchise, right like, literally, community people, local people, like all of this, get out in front of this, and get Luke and I confident, get all of us confident in what ever the plan might be. But this is the time where weโre all like, whatโs going on. But I would say thereโs no text outside the bounds that you could send from W, N, S, T of their finances, wherewithal, farm, they can make any if they could have gotten for sure, if they wanted to, then they, you know, so they can make any deal. They could have signed one soda, they could have done anything they wanted to do. Now, what are they going to do? And then thatโs for you and me as journalists. Well, one of us is to judge it and evaluate it in the off season, because the fans are trying to buy in and figure it out too. I Iโm out and face and theyโre asking the fans for money. Iโm not giving them any money. Iโm not I mean, theyโre not giving me my prescript. They donโt give me my credibility that Iโm not going to give them money. But you and I have credibility about all this, and everybody I know who buys tickets has the credibility of, Am I in or am I out, and why am I in, and how much am I in, and where can I find the games, and whatโs the plan around here? I donโt know. Thatโs a really, really fair questions. Mr. Rubenstein, Katie Gray, there really are. Theyโre fair questions for the community, and they need to be answered. And weโre finding out on the outside at the winter meetings and through this period of time, and Iโm with you, they didnโt get burns until Super Bowl time. So, like, thereโs, thereโs time, but weโre watching, weโre watching and weโre waiting and weโre asking questions and that. And look, a lot of people that arenโt buying the 10,000 people in the upper decade didnโt come, theyโre not asking questions, you know. So we are
Luke Jones 27:21
okay. I mean, I hear you. Youโre going to continue to talk about that.
Nestor Aparicio 27:23
Thatโs a big deal.
Luke Jones 27:26
It is. But there are also a lot of variables that you continue to kind of graze over anyway. Big picture, yes, they need to grow their fan base. Thereโs no doubt about it. And everything you said is valid, and Iโm not disagreeing with you at the same time we donโt, you know. And you use the Ravens because you use the Ravens because you keep using that as the example, because itโs the only other major professional sport in town, they also didnโt. Weโve never seen the Ravens go out and spend money foolishly in free agency, either. Theyโve done it the way that they do it. They have a method to their madness, and it doesnโt always work out perfectly, but thatโs also part of this. I mean, for as much as we keep talking about David Rubenstein and you keep bringing up Katie Griggs. Katie Griggs isnโt making baseball decisions. David Rubenstein, I donโt think is making very many baseball decisions beyond what does Mike Elias, you know what? What in terms of payroll? What does he think is good investor? Payroll
Nestor Aparicio 28:13
is the decision, though, Luke, thatโs my point. My point is the payroll is the decision.
Luke Jones 28:17
It is, but itโs also a moving target, because you have, you donโt have players who, you have so many young players who are big parts of this, who you are trying to plan out what this is going to look like. I hope thereโs at least an idea that youโre going to, you know, a plan to try to sign gunner Henderson, for example. I hope itโs not just, oh, heโs gone in four years. Because, well,
Nestor Aparicio 28:42
Soto just got 760 if Hendersonโs almost that Good, there you go. Thereโs your math, you know, why would Scott Boris take a nickel less than that? Why would gunner Henderson taking
Luke Jones 28:53
nickel? Gunner Hendersonโs not Juan Soto just yet. I mean, letโs see in a few any point
Nestor Aparicio 28:58
is, well, thatโs why, thatโs why he wouldnโt take 300 million. Now that point is 900 million.
Luke Jones 29:03
So there are a lot of ways to do this, and baseball is not like the NFL, where a franchise quarterback like Juan Soto didnโt the Yankees had Juan Soto last year. They didnโt win the World Series, right? Even though heโs the highest paid player in baseball. You know, the Dodgers had Otani, who didnโt even pitch, right? I mean, he was just a DH last year and still won MVP, of course. But we know that baseball is not a sport that has any player thatโs truly going to be as valuable as what a franchise quarterback is in the NFL. So my point in saying that is not that you donโt love to have players in that tax bracket, in that eight on that pay scale, if you have an owner whoโs willing to spend that which you know, Cohen and the Mets are kind of even theyโre leaving separation between themselves and even the other big spenders at this point in time. I mean, thatโs how crazy itโs been, because even the Dodgers how theyโve. Rated has been to defer, defer, defer the money, whereas with this deal, there wasnโt, you know, from what I understand, thereโs no deferred money. So, but, but the point with this, the point Iโm trying to make, and this is where Iโm trying to preach some level of patience, but at the same time, until they do anything, you can only go off of your priors, right? And in the In fairness to David Rubenstein, weโre only talking about one trade deadline, and now what has been roughly a month of an off season. So thatโs not really a big sample to judge too harshly or to be too positive on the on the flip side, just because they signed Tyler OโNeill to a three year deal that might still end up being a one year deal with an opt out. So you know, I donโt want to get ahead of ourselves, one way or the other. But, yeah, people are, you know, expectations have been raised, and thatโs a good thing. Thatโs a credit to Mike Elias. Itโs a credit to sigma Idell and the front office and the work that theyโve done from what this thing was when they arrived in November of 2018 dude.
Nestor Aparicio 30:58
You can go back to the tapes of me and may talking about it being better than itโs ever been, and talking about Bobby rich and Don Baylor and rich Coggins and Al bumbury and what that era was. And if you see al out of Robbieโs first base, ask him Hall of Famer al bumbu, ask him so.
Luke Jones 31:15
So now itโs about taking the next step and look, just because itโs not signing Juan Soto doesnโt mean that there arenโt still very, very important steps to take, even if itโs not re signing Corbin burns. Look at a team like the Braves. They havenโt necessarily gone out and signed a ton of outside free agents, but what have they done? Theyโve kept a lot of their own. And not to say they havenโt signed free agents, let me be clear, but they clearly prioritized signing some of their own that they had developed. And you know, weโve talked about this with the Cardinals, you know, example, over the last 25 years. So there are lots of ways to do this, and thatโs why I bring up Luis Castillo. I bring up Dylan cease. Maybe they still do resign Corbin burns, right? I mean, Iโm not saying thatโs impossible. If Scott Boris says that theyโve been in the mix, I donโt think heโd have any reason to to lie. If David Rubenstein and the Orioles are still operating exactly the same way as they did on under John,
Nestor Aparicio 32:15
if theyโve offered 200 million for burns and the going rates, 280 then, you know, then there, thatโs certainly 100 million more than dear Angeloโs ever brought to the table. But itโs saying is
Luke Jones 32:30
right, we were, weโve been there before. I mean, the in the Angelo era, I mean, they did that with Mark teira, right? It wasnโt 200 million. But your The point was, they tried to sign them, but
Nestor Aparicio 32:38
over a machine of plenty of money.
Luke Jones 32:43
Sid thrift talking about Confederate money way back when, right? I mean, you know, so
Nestor Aparicio 32:48
Iโm with you. Iโm here against today. Donโt bow in the bar stool. They have no idea about Sid thrifting Confederate money. Thatโs why they need to read the Peter principles. But
Luke Jones 32:56
you look at it, you look at it and say, look, itโs great to hear that theyโre being aggressive or theyโre in on these guys, but at some point you gotta land someone, and this is where I go back to even someone like me who prides myself in being more of a baseball nerd, right? And look, you donโt have to be a genius to see how many of these long term, lucrative pitching contracts have not worked out very well. I mean, they donโt. A lot of them have not for everyone. Where you say, Hey, that was a great deal. You can find a few to say old that was mediocre at best, and some of them are a disaster. So there is risk, risk involved. And itโs really easy for me to sit here and try to spend someone elseโs money, $300 million to a picture. But at the same time, if you do want to take the next step, if you do want to make sure that this isnโt just, hey, you know, theyโre pretty good in the regular season, but you donโt really take them too much more seriously than that, then, yeah, at some point in time, youโre going to have to take some risk. And look, that started last February when they acquired Corbin burns. You know, they they gave up Joey Ortiz and DL Hall, even though I certainly donโt think that that was going to make or break their franchise. But whatโs the next step? Now, is it signing someone or is it making another trade? And like I said, maybe the happy medium is someone like a Luis Castillo, where you make the trade youโre youโre absolutely committing money, because he signed for three more years, you know, with a vesting option after that. But in the process of doing that, you might not need to give up your very best prospects to get them. You know, youโre gonna have to give up something, but it might be Ryan mount castle and, you know, prospect from the top of their second tier, and, you know, maybe a couple middling guys after that. I donโt know. Again, Iโm not a Iโm not going to sit here saying that I have the chops of a GM to try to figure out the valuation of prospects who, in some cases, maybe Iโve seen play once in the minor leagues. So Iโm not going to try to fool anyone here. But the point is, there are lots of ways to do this, but youโre right. I mean, you have a fan base right now thatโs sitting back. It that is certainly more excited about the team than they were four years ago. I think thatโs obvious, because they have done some winning in the regular season, but they havenโt even won a playoff game yet.
Nestor Aparicio 35:12
I mean, Iโm sitting up because he won 101 games two years ago, but I also saw what their pitching was and what their prospects were, and what their players were, and what Santander became, and where, you know, cows are, and westburg, and these guys came in and came and rushman and to the point where he wasnโt, like, Dude, I watched a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of shitty baseball here, man, look at youโve seen a lot more me. Like, I know whatโs good, and I know whatโs potential. And I also know for 30 years, I sat here and talked about, when we get up that mountain, weโll weโll spend the money. And that was all bullshit because of who owned the team. Now Iโm willing to give, even though theyโre not willing to give me a blank sheet of paper, Iโm willing to give them a blank sheet of paper and say, what are you what are you going to be? How are you going to answer this? And Iโm just waiting for something that looks and feels different, because these people have emerged and arrived at it, really, at a at a flexion point for the franchise, with growth, media turnover, all white people dying, city, changing reputation chain, like all of that happening while Camden Yards turns 30 years old, and while they have two, maybe three generational players, Henderson, rushman holiday, how did they get these players? They lost 112 games every year so and then when these guys blossom, theyโre all going to be $700 million players in our mind, right? Because theyโre all going to the Hall of Fame, right? So where is the revenue? Where is the model whoโs doing the homework? Where are the people on the streets that are going to get people energized by this? And Iโve been talking about this forever, and this is the time of the year where you get a little energized, because the promise was, when weโre ready to compete, weโll spend money. And I could bring that chart up that I shared about how they only committed 56 million, and now you can add the 50 million in that they have committed over the next couple years to to the Red Sox outfielder Tyler OโNeill, and thatโs cool, but theyโre a billion. They just sold for 1,000,000,008 of depressed value. They got $600 million like, if heโs gonna play this like Angeloโs and say, Well, what were our revenues last year? Okay, what is the industry? Well, okay, then weโre just gonna spend, you know, 140 1 million, and thatโs what weโre gonna do. And what, Mike, whatever it takes. Iโm off, mate. Iโm off shooting my podcast. See you later, buddy. And Mike gets his 140 you know, wherever that is and whatever that adds up to is what it is. And if thatโs what itโs going to be, if thatโs the way theyโre going to play it until times get better, and Katie fixes the business, and we all go sell sweets and create money, and Nestor and his wife give him $600 a year, and like, until we can become that 170 $5 million payroll, they come on, man, these are billionaires. You know what? I mean. They bought into this. They threw out hats. They made commercials. Now itโs time to follow up on that promise made by the liars and and like, theyโre ready to compete. Theyโre ready to be a big boy franchise, then donโt be 33rd in spending in the league. You know, like theyโre
Luke Jones 38:28
not going to be just, just by, strictly by the number of players that are arbitration eligible and all that. Theyโre not going to be at that. They would have to, they would have to start trading away players for that. But, and by the way, none
Nestor Aparicio 38:39
of that makes their team any better. Spending more money on their own players, right? Doesnโt really make their team any better this year.
Luke Jones 38:48
Where Iโll push back a little bit, though, is when you do have the young players that they have, there also is a fair, reasonable projection for guys to be better than theyโve been. And when you talk, when youโre talking about in those terms, thatโs where it is exciting for them, and thatโs where, probably on the offensive side. And whatโs funny about this, because I was having this conversation with someone the other day, you know, someone whoโs not in the baseball media, but has been in the past, was talking about this. And you know that person pointed out, you know, as much as weโre talking about burns and pitching and all that their offense is what failed them at the end of last year. So, you know, and this person wasnโt even someone that was enamored, that said, Oh, you must sign Anthony Santander. But the point was more like, is Tyler OโNeill really going to be the big, splashy, offensive edition? And thatโs really it. You know, that him and, you know, swapping out Gary Sanchez, you know, for James McCann and
Nestor Aparicio 39:42
moving the wall in, and you can add eight home runs to
Luke Jones 39:47
sure, but youโre also going to add eight more that your your pitching is going to give up. So, you know, with that, and look, I donโt have a I didnโt have a major problem with the wall, like, to me, the whole thing was, it was just too extreme at once. Right? They should have just done what they ended up doing. This what theyโre doing now is what they should have just done to begin with. It should have been, well,
Nestor Aparicio 40:06
my thing is doing a Friday afternoon news drop on it to hide from it is, it wasnโt. Thatโs Angeloโs, you know? Thatโs but, but, I mean, I donโt know, youโre way more hung up that I agree with so many of the other points youโre making. I think making a Friday news dump, like making the thing out of that. No one cared about that, that, as far as the timing of that, nobody cares about the walls. If weโre going to talk about it every game, we are, I
Luke Jones 40:33
wonโt. Other people will, because at some point in time itโs like the wall is the wall, like people were still talking about it last year. Iโm like, Guys, itโs been three years now. What are we doing here?
Nestor Aparicio 40:41
Anyone, when they moved it again, they, you know, my biggest complaint with that is not the timing
Luke Jones 40:45
of it, itโs that esthetically, itโs not going to look good, you know, until they figure out what theyโre going to do with that space, which look, theyโll probably turn it into like a party deck or something, once they do like the long term renovations over the next two, three years. But, you know, to bring it back full circle, though, look, theyโve got, I want to remind everyone they still have a really young nucleus that already has darn good baseball players, has some others who should get better, multiple players who should get better, including one who could be an absolute superstar in Jackson holiday who, I get it, he didnโt Put up great numbers this past year. Heโs 20 years heโs 20 years old. Heโs also learning a new position. You know, I think itโs, itโs prudent to be patient, right? I think itโs appropriate to be patient.
Nestor Aparicio 41:30
Oh, Iโm not kicking any of these young guys. I need to get them enough pitching so that when cows are turns it up. West Berg turns it back on. Rushman figures it out. Holiday figures it out. Henderson knocks him in OโNeill. It stays healthy and gives you under 30 games, like all of the Keep in mind, again, wasnโt that but, but even with everything they went through, theyโre pitching. Their pitching wasnโt the problem at the end of the season, right? And look, I get it. Corbin Burns was a big part of that, but he wasnโt the only part of that. Donโt even get my voice. My boy Suarez a chance to save their asses to
Luke Jones 42:06
score a couple runs, and we could have seen how that all would have played out, but, but the point is, yeah, they need to go get a starting pitcher. Thereโs no question about that. And Iโll be screaming and howling at the moon as much as anyone if, if itโs the third week in February, and theyโve reported, and theyโre trying to sell everyone on on
Nestor Aparicio 42:24
Cade Povich, which I want scuba. I want scuba. Can I say that I want scuba? Letโs go.
Luke Jones 42:29
Is Detroit going to give him up? No, I think thatโs different now, so, but like I said, Look, if you can get Luis Castillo, if you can get Dylan cease, Iโm not saying in terms of perception, thatโs Corbin burns. But Dylan sees, had a heck of a year this past year, right? And it would kind of be Corbin burns part two, in terms of, like, okay, youโve acquired a number, another ace in a contract year. Whatโs going to happen this time around? Thatโs why, to me, the Castillo thingโs interesting, just from a standpoint of, itโs kind of the middle ground of, yes, youโre trading for him, but he also has three more years on his contract, which, hey, again, Iโm not saying heโs going to be peak Luis Castillo, but youโre talking about a guy whoโs been an all star pitcher, a guy who, looking at it, you know, heโs fifth in Cy Young voting two years ago, so in 23 so you know this, This is a, heโs a, heโs a number one
Nestor Aparicio 43:22
question behind the closed doors is, if I knew Mike Elias and we were having a coffee today, whether he would say weโre out on burns. He was a girlfriend, you know, I think, like we we did something, and then we liked him, but we didnโt love him, and we didnโt love him long time. And we donโt think heโs Jim Palmer, and we donโt, you know, I mean, and would he make us better this year? Absolutely. But Iโm not spending 200 million of Mr. Rubensteinโs money on that well. And hereโs, you know what I mean like, and thatโs, thatโs a fine truth. And hereโs the problem with that. The scenario might have been that two, 250,
Luke Jones 43:58
they might have said, weโll do it. Weโll do it. Itโs gonna be bold, itโs risky, but weโll do it. But weโve seen how this the markets go. Look at the projections from people that are way smarter than me at the start of the off season for what these pitchers are gonna get. Itโs exceeded that. I mean, it has. Thatโs why I kind of laugh when you know, you hear about the the overall health of the sport, then you see these record breaking contracts continuing to happen, albeit the same six teams that are signing them, these
Nestor Aparicio 44:23
guys are billionaires throwing money around, let them have a good time. You know, sure, sure. Iโm
Luke Jones 44:27
not. Iโm not. Iโm not bashing that, but I My point is, Iโm guessing there was a path. And who knows, maybe Iโm wrong, and maybe weโre going to be sending out a W, N, S, D, text that they signed Corbyn burns to a $300 million contract. Iโm not going
Nestor Aparicio 44:45
to sit here and Mr. Rubenstein has the money. Yeah, yeah, but, but
Luke Jones 44:48
that said my my scenario, and I donโt know this, this is purely my speculation, purely me making an educated guess. Here is that there was a path. There was enough. Number that was a realistic number at the beginning of the off season, if the market broke a certain way, and this team landed this pitcher, or this team landed this position player. And all those projections that, like I said, even the fan graphs and different sites like that had a lot of those, have been blown out of the water. And then it just gets to a point where we say, where Michaelia, maybe even says to David Rubenstein, to your to your point, your scenario, where you say, I like Corbin burns. I donโt love him so much. To go extend ourselves to that degree, Iโd rather take that money and use that towards A, B and C over the next five years. I Iโm just saying I think thatโs how this thatโs how this front office operates. I mean it, itโs very much a theyโre very methodical. Theyโre very process oriented. I guarantee you theyโve laid out plan A, B, C, D, E, F and G in terms of what they feel they need to do, and they are not going to be emotional about players. Theyโre not going to be sentimental. We saw that when they traded Trey Mancini a couple years ago. By the way, trading Trey Mancini was smart. Trey Mancini is out of baseball at this point. I love Trey, but there are a lot of Orioles fans who wanted to see the Orioles sign him to a three year deal. They were right. Getting rid of him from a baseball standpoint, doesnโt make it any easier. No, I think these guys know what theyโre doing now, you know, like, youโll get me to say Mike Elias and say, but they know a lot more about that what they were doing if they had the Yankees payroll. I mean, like, and literally, and the Red Sox stealing from the bottom of their deck to bring an ace in. And Iโm not feeling at their last two first round picks. And you know, they traded some real prospects. I mean, not that the Orioles couldnโt have matched that or exceeded that if they wanted to. Iโm not at all suggesting that. But, you know, they traded their last two first round picks, uh, understanding the Red Sox werenโt drafting one one. I understand that, but, but I think you know the point I was trying to make. You know, with Elias and with this group, you know, theyโre going to be very methodical, and they have in this. And this is similar to how Eric da Costa and Ozzie Newsome have operated. They have numbers, and I get it. Thereโs not a hard cap in the sport, but there are luxury tax thresholds that have, frankly, acted like a cap for everyone but the Steve Cohens of the world, right? And Iโm not saying thatโs a good or bad thing. Thatโs how itโs itโs been, but they look at this through the lens of, itโs not Oh, we must have Corbin burns. Itโs Oh, we need to go get a starting pitcher whoโs worth that in terms of wins, and weโre going to project Grayson Rodriguez to be this in terms of how many wins theyโre worth. And we got Zach Eflin at the deadline last year with the idea of not just for 24 but also heโs going to be our number two starter, maybe, hope not your number one, but heโs going to be a top half of the rotation starter for us in 25 because weโre not going to have Kyle Bradish until August
Nestor Aparicio 47:49
at best. I think deft at how theyโve done this, right? So Iโm not what Iโm addressing right now is how the payroll change in the ownership change will make them even better. It should. And this is
Luke Jones 48:00
where, and this is where, and this is where Iโm going to provide the caveat for no matter how smart you are in terms of how youโre trying to operate, with your process, with with your organization, with your your fiscal responsibility, which everyone has it. You know, even the Yankees show it. You know, they showed restraint that they werenโt going to sign Juan Soto at any cost, even though they had an offer that was right up there. But the problem is, even the smartest, absolute smartest, executives whoโve done this for a long time use Billy Beane as a perfect example. Though, you know, he operated in a has operated in a small market setting in Oakland, with ownership that didnโt want to spend, but they will all tell you that you can have all the numbers in the world with your projections in a vacuum, what a player should be worth. But at the end of the day, itโs still an open market, and youโre still going to at some point in time, if you really want to get the player if you really want to nail down the guy that you feel you need to have thatโs really going to make your team better and get you over the hump, you know, the proverbial hump, youโre going to have to extend yourself. Itโs going to be more than what your models say you should spend on it. So the problem, Whatโs tricky about that is doing that in the right case, because you donโt want it to be Chris Davis, right? You donโt want it to be Chris Davis. You donโt want
Nestor Aparicio 49:25
to consider that a way of life. So is, so is Moneyball, right? Like all of that, the books and movies written on that. Does it win championships? I donโt know you. When was the last parade? That was Tampa, the last parade? No, like, so there is a point where you have to extend, yep, where you say that that thatโs a model to be good. But like the book, The Good to Great. We want to be great. Mr. Angeloโs canโt own the team and have it be great. Iโve been saying that for as long as Iโve been on the radio, could never be great because it was poor. And I have the same issue with all of this. In saying, like. Uh, Iโll leave you with this, because I do want to be a prick and drop the ball, because itโs the holidays, you know, and I have a crap kick through next week all of this scuttlebutt on Soto and the Yankees, because you just said something to kind of like, got to me. Youโre like, the Yankees came close and they didnโt win, and they showed restraint, and in the end, itโs seven, $50 million and as Rex Ryan said these baseball guys, they got to set the market. Itโs clear
Luke Jones 50:23
restraint is in air quotes there, right? Fair enough? Yeah,
Nestor Aparicio 50:26
I heard the scuttlebutt about Soto being pissed about the Yankees and his family being mistreated, like, literally. And Iโm thinking to myself, Thatโs so one Soto, thatโs so Latin, thatโs so you know, like, thatโs where I am with it, and saying how youโre treated and and the stuff that happens behind the scenes in every case, as we talk about Deontay Johnson on the football side this week, and things that happen behind closed doors that affect those kinds of things, taking care of your people to some degree that that one Soto thing would even get out or be a part of that. Thatโs so Juan Soto, because he comes with drama, and that you bought that too. You put you bought the drama, and thatโs part of all of it. But I just would say, the perception that itโs a good place to be. And Iโll give you an example. Every time I talk to Mark Messina, I donโt talk to Mike much at all. But I talked to Mark, he always, and Markโs always honest with me. Heโs like, when Mike got there, from the minute he got there, it felt like he was in a real place, that there were things that were always broken around the or it was like major league, you know, something, somethingโs broken, it gets fixed in a minute, because Mr. Steinbrenner wonโt have it any other way. And thatโs kind of the way, you know, Messina saw it that way when he changed places. And look, you can speak to this with the Ravens. The Ravens run a better operation than so many places, and so many players pull you up and talk about that. The Orioles need to be that place. And I guess thatโs my point in mistreating me at the front door. I didnโt like it. I still donโt like it. I didnโt I was even nice to Mr. Rubenstein out at Beth to Philly last month. But like, there is a point where, like, get to make this a place you want to be, and part of that is Corbin burns came in here and laid out now, whether they like him or not, or whether they love him as a human, and putting them on the wall and how they feel about him and all of that, especially with the Oriole fans that want to feel like Adam Jonesโs family and Nick Markus his family, and like just all of that they they really need to. Iโll use a word here, and Iโll drop the ball on this. Theyโve changed the culture, the culture of baseball in our community and the Orioles and our mindset, and make the Angeloโs thing. Go away and show us this really cool new thing we all need to give our get our credit cards out for. And it doesnโt need to be a new logo. It doesnโt need to be New Jersey. They donโt need to put Baltimore back on the Jersey. I spent the first half of my career doing that. They have players. Itโs all here. Itโs built. Iโm interested you. And I talked for an hour in December about it. Letโs go. Letโs get it. Letโs get everybody excited about it. Thatโs all, you know, Iโd be excited by scuba. I know part of that Iโm asking them to do things they canโt do. They could have signed Soto. They could have dealt for crochet. Thereโs things they could do. And if they donโt do any of them, then theyโre, you know, itโs gonna look like itโs half assed. And at some point, to not be half assed, theyโre gonna have to sign somebody to $200 million you know, like, I or, or make a big deal to your point, and, yeah, I donโt know. I, Iโd like to think that the new ownership was going to be more everything, you know. And Iโve been underwhelmed so far. And look, when they have the parade down Pratt Street, Iโll, you know, itโs fine, theyโre right, and Iโm wrong. But until then, Iโve been waiting since 1983 and out in front of it, and you and I are the only ones talking about this on the radio today. Iโll
Luke Jones 53:48
leave you with one point. The Rangers, two off seasons ago, signed Jacob deGrom, crazy, insane deal. Barely even pitched for them when they won the World Series that year because he got hurt. So look not saying that you donโt go do that, but hey, this is more about itโs, itโs about every sit on my lap little
Nestor Aparicio 54:07
Luke in the off season of 1988 the Orioles dealt Eddie Hall of Famers away. Okay? And what you know, like, so, yeah, listen, and this is where cows are, westburg holiday. To your point, theyโre going to win because of them. You need to do everything man can do this card supplement is growing, and spend the money on the arms because gunner Henderson might not want to be here, and when his time comes, whoever owns the angels that week might have a bigger stick for it. I mean, the Las Vegas Aโs might be a thing by then, and have money that is stored because of where they who knows whoโs going to buy the Arizona Diamondbacks. And just say, I want the best player in the sport. How much is it? $1 billion well, I happen to have a diamond mine, so Iโm going to buy that player like. Like sit around here, pine away thinking youโre going to sign gunner Henderson or that Adley rutschman is going to bounce back. Get the team right now that only thing, itโs Sammy Hagar right now. Thatโs all that matters right now. Or
Luke Jones 55:11
and also, in the process you win, you show those young guys that youโre committed to making this as great as possible, and then theyโre way more open at that point in time that. Look, youโre not going to get a hometown discount, but if itโs Yankees versus Mets, the way that those offers have been reported, maybe they do take the Yankees. Itโs a little bit less than that upstart team, because theyโve loved playing here and theyโve won here, and theyโve seen the commitment here, and thatโs where they might take. I
Nestor Aparicio 55:38
see Ramirez in Cleveland, and that millions less. Yeah, yeah, all right. Lucas, Baltimore, Luke, I am Nestor. We still love baseball. We still talk baseball around here. If you see Katie Griggs, let her know I am Nestor. We are W NSD am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore Orioles, them birds and mouse horn at Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.