Kyle Tucker, Winter Meetings, Mets & Holiday Cheer

• Timmy Trumpet intro’s Edwin Diaz – Kazoo version
• MLB Winter Meetings Vibe – transitions from old to new
• Networking meals, suites, closed door conversations and bars
• Edwin Diaz leaves the Mets to join the LA Do
• Kyle Schwarber re-signs with the Phillies
• Pete Alonso seen at the meetings & now has left the Mets to join the Baltimore Orioles
• Toronto Blue Jays were criticized for their selections early last year – but results developed a World Series competitor team
• How will the AL East & NL East respond to Alonso’s move to O’s
• Taylor Ward and Alonso can be veteran leadership for Baltimore
• Imagine O’s pitching adding Zac Gallen, Max Scherzer to the mix with Cody Ponce & Dylan Cease
• Pirates – what will this organization do to build a stronger team to keep Paul Skenes
• Pirates 2025 payroll around $90 million – ranking of 28 out of 30
• Pittsburgh had 2.5 million fans entering the home turnstiles in 2015.  That has dropped to 1.5 million
• What will Paul Skenes see in the stands if the Pirates expand spending
• Roy Halladay - Look to history and see missteps of Blue Jays on how they did not spend enough to build a strong team around Halladay
• Where would the Rays be if they had added Freddie Freeman
• There was a loss of 2 million fans as Alex Anthopoulos left the Blue Jays 
• Mark Prior was Paul Skenes before there was a Paul Skenes
• Dreaming on Kyle Tucker coming home to Tampa Bay Rays
• Most likely landing spots for Tucker – Mets, Blue Jays, Dodgers
• As George Springer is aging Kyle Tucker looks to be a great replacement piece for the Blue Jays
• What about Bo Bichette
• Mets need to make 3 new deals to strengthen their 2026 season
• Carson Benge & Chandler Simpson player comparison
• Jet Williams another potential hitter for the NY Mets
• Mets need to build a Sandlot Enthusiasm
• Reflect on great managers who are humble & relatable – Kevin Cash & Tony Francona
• Jeff McNeill lacks the defensive energy that Brandon Nimmo brings to the game
• How much would the Mets pay to sign Kyle Tucker
• Expect more signings before Christmas
• Dodgers Dave Roberts speaks candidly to Salary Caps & Salary Floors
• Mat’s Labor Peace equation includes Open Books, Salary Caps & Floors. These must be achieved before CBA negotiations
• Billionaire owners know how to play the game
• Christmas Cheer from the Germain & Corbett homes

Remember the Season of Giving 

Neil Solondz with the Purple Stride -
To join go to http://support.pancan.org/goto/neilsolondz

Find Mat at @matgermain.bsky.social or reach Mark @  baseballbizondeck@gmail.com BaseballBiz on Deck, @ iHeart Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, & at www.baseballbizOnDeck.com 

Transcript

327 BaseballBiz On Deck – Free Agent signings, Kyle Tucker, Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz & More

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Some of this.

[00:00:03] Mat Germain: Alright. No more cursing, Mark. 

[00:00:05] Mark Corbett: Oh my gosh. Oh, it's been fun. You, let's see, how'd that go?

[00:00:21] Where's Mr. Trumpet man? Where's Mr. Edwin Diaz? That's what I wanna know. Geez. Hey Mat. How you doing buddy? 

[00:00:29] Mat Germain: I'm, uh, living the winter dream, , up in Canada, and I wish I was a little bit further south, to be honest. 

[00:00:36] Mark Corbett: Oh, I'll tell you. It's, I woke up this morning. It was a cold 56 degrees here, brother. I mean, , it was, it probably got up to 68 or something, you know, devilish like that, but, uh, yeah.

[00:00:47] Wow. 

[00:00:50] Mat Germain: Call me when you get below freezing. That's the, uh, yeah, that's the gist of it. 

[00:00:55] Mark Corbett: Yeah. That doesn't happen very often, you know, thank goodness. But [00:01:00] man, oh man, I tell you what, I, I'm, I'm a little bit on the men from something going on here for a bit, but I, you're gonna love this, Mat. I wanted to go down to see the winter meetings.

[00:01:09] It's Orlando, it's just, you know, hop, skip, and a jump down the road. Google Maps tries to get me somewhere, but uh, Monday I went completely awry. By the time I'd gotten inside this hotel, it was not the one where the winter meetings were happening, I had so many other things going on that day. I wound up going back this morning and I gotta tell you.

[00:01:34] It was an interesting vibe to everything going down there at the MLB winter meetings this year. , But being the little fly on the wall, if you will. It was interesting, you know, I'm seeing John Heyman here. I'm seeing Morosi over there. Uh, Harold Raines and, and all these other fellows are coming up, you know,

[00:01:52] since I had not actually gotten credentials, , it, I had limited access, but it was [00:02:00] interesting the vibe for that whole place.

[00:02:03] Mat Germain: I imagine there's a transition from the old days when people used to, you know, meet in the lobby, share notes, and then everybody would end up in somebody's room and they talking and going back and forth. And whoever had the best food is the room that they ended up in. And then, you know, it, it, they got some work done or some talking or whatever.

[00:02:25] Networking that they're doing. And then everybody that the leftovers, the survivors, would end up back down at the bar somewhere and then, you know, through the night you could end up running into all kinds of, uh, you know, baseball celebrities, right? As people call them. So, uh, I don't know if that still happens to that extent, uh, but, you know, uh, some version thereof usually probably does take place.

[00:02:50] Mark Corbett: I think you're right there. And a big part of that is you have to be invited

[00:02:56] and, uh, I had not actually made myself, um. [00:03:00] Invited. I tried to, uh, just kind of get around, like even the media network room wasn't really easily to get into that sort of thing, but it was interesting to see all the setups and to hear the buzz. And I know a couple of the guys I was sitting down with earlier today and we were talking about what was, you know, just going on with Edwin Diaz, you know, playing the trumpet there, walking out to on the mound and talking about how he's leaving the Mets.

[00:03:24] And then looking, you know, Kyle Schwarber, Kyle Schwarber. Hashtag signing, I shouldn't say Reen, uh, signing with the, the Phillies and, , well, that was interesting. I said, what do you think happened today? Uh, probably not much of anything. And I heard, yes, I had heard that Pete Alonso had been seen on the premises.

[00:03:48] Mm-hmm. Which isn't completely surprising because, you know, he grew up in the Tampa area, so Yeah. Could be there and, but. One of the most entertaining things for me [00:04:00] yesterday was watching Brett Phillips. Yeah. 

[00:04:05] Mat Germain: Yes. I was so hoping for that, you know, airplane mode to go off, but yeah. 

[00:04:12] Mark Corbett: , I don't know what people expect from these winter meetings. To me it's just more of about being at a certain time of year, , more than anything else. Because the first thing I hear is, you know, I'm thinking the draft, and it's not really the draft, you know, it's, it's the setup for the draft.

[00:04:30] Right. And I'm talking about looking at what positions that, folks are going to get, and that was. ,, Watching the whole thing saying, okay, well I keep thinking about the movies and such. When you see team after team's name is called and they have 30 seconds to make a choice, or whoever's coming up now, 30 seconds, you're on the clock.

[00:04:49] Well, maybe it's more like 10 minutes in in selecting a player and. That's not what happens this stage. This is one of two stages. I mean, [00:05:00] this is pretty much selecting where you're going to be able to make your choice. Are you 1, 2, 3? Where are you in the line of the 30 in, in the selections? So that's what this was really about.

[00:05:13] Mat Germain: Right. And to me the winter meetings in general are, are more about turning the page on 2025 and refocusing everybody towards 2026. Right? So they get you to do all the administrative stuff and sort out some of your roster makeup to make sure that it's cleaned up a little bit and that you have, uh, the guys taking off the injured list.

[00:05:34] And, and you make some adjustments to who it is that you want to keep around and, and who you wanna protect, who you don't wanna protect. And then you get to reset the, so, so this is the baseball operations, you know, meetings really more than anything. Like, I know they called it g, you know, the.

[00:05:53] Winter meetings, they think it's the GMs, but it's really the baseball ops people that are putting their stamp on their new direction [00:06:00] for next year. And you start to see that morphing, you know, focus a lot among a lot of teams. So you mentioned Pete Alonso when he signs. With the Baltimore Orioles, that's a monumental shift in the entire Al East, in the NL East, there's, there's a whole, you know, five years is a long time, and, you know, like I do, mark, if he ages badly, they're gonna move those fences back in and in left field.

[00:06:29] So they're not gonna mess around in Baltimore. They'll, they'll give him that fence at 10 feet if they have to, and he can bunt his way across the fence. But it, the, the fun part is that now just with that move, you know, nobody, the Kyle Schwarber one didn't change anything, so I, I, yeah, I didn't, you know, you don't get excited about that one.

[00:06:47] The Edwin Diaz one that you mentioned. You don't get excited about that one either, because it's the Dodgers continuing to be the Dodgers, but the Pete Alonso one, those are the ones that you enjoy at the winter meetings because. [00:07:00] It, it brings new teams into the focus. So example last year, right? Um, the, the Blue Jays made a se series of moves and, and everybody was critical of them.

[00:07:10] They're like, oh, they continue going down the, um, the defensive route, right? They keep going, you know, nobody, they don't have enough pop. They need to add bats, yada, yada, and, and. But they were happy with their moves and sure enough it comes out that, you know, they had a tremendous season as a result and they had gone the season before as the bottom dwellers like the Orioles.

[00:07:31] So can the Orioles do the same kind of thing now? They've brought in Taylor Ward, they've brought in Peter Alonso. You know, you add in the right kind of pitching in front of those guys and they already have an excellent pen, uh, with some guys returning as well. 

[00:07:47] Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

[00:07:48] Mat Germain: All of a sudden you're looking at, you know, if some of those young talented kids don't feel the pressure they were before Pete and uh, Taylor got there, all of a sudden they can take off and the whole a LE looks [00:08:00] different at that point.

[00:08:01] And then. If you're the Yankees and you're watching this happen, and you already know, the Blue Jays are gonna be tough. The Rays are tough every year to figure out some way to be tough, and the Red Sox, you know, are always gonna be a pain in the butt as well. So, you know, what do you do if you're the Yankees?

[00:08:17] How do you respond to a Pete Alonso ad mark? 

[00:08:20] Mark Corbett: I don't even begin to know. I mean, I've been listening to some things with Brian Cashman talking about the team and. I don't know if he's just holding his cards close to his vest because I don't see him really making any moves. You know, he's talking about the strength of the team that they have now, but you, there are too many other changes going on that that Yankees team has to do something and what the Orioles add and Pete in there, uh, they're gonna, they're going to have to step up.

[00:08:48] I have no idea what Brian Cashman's gonna do. He certainly was. Very close to the vest with things you, something. He was very vague. So, but my gosh, the Orioles needed this man. What did they have? Like maybe 71 [00:09:00] wins or something last year. I know. It wasn't much more than that. Yeah. But, uh, and I thought with that young teammate, I really thought that the Orioles were gonna have a better season.

[00:09:09] I was, I was kind of stunned, but bam. There you go. 

[00:09:15] Mat Germain: Yeah, some of their key players took steps back that were, weren't really explainable, but they, we've, we've said this before and most good, you know, baseball fans know, uh, baseball's a series of adjustments. So when you're brand new, the league is adjusting to you.

[00:09:30] And then once they're adjusted, you're the one that has to do the adjusting back. I don't think that transition for the Orioles worked out well for their players, and I don't. They do. Where do you lay the blame in that? Is it the players? Is it the coaching? Is it the, you know, the information they're fed?

[00:09:47] You have no idea. But what I do know is that the talent is still there. Like Gunner Henderson is still an extremely talented player. Aley Rutman is still an extremely talented catcher. They're going to [00:10:00] put the work in too. These are not lazy players. No. So, you know, as soon as they start clicking and they make those right adjustments, and then they have that power and, and support and veteran leadership in, in Taylor Ward and Pete a Alonso.

[00:10:14] That is the kind of stuff that really sets the tone for a, a good stretch of seasons, right? Five seasons is a good amount of time for them to actually get this sorted out Yep. And put themselves in contention at some point. It does, doesn't mean it has to happen this year, but it's a step forward. And now if you're free agent and you saw all those additions, especially if you're a free agent pitcher.

[00:10:37] Oh, well, guess what? My guys are gonna put some runs on the board. Now, maybe I'm, I'm curious about this team, and, and you know, they, they don't really have to get the top notch guys, but let's say Max Scherzer. Max Scherzer wants to continue pitching and isn't happy that the Blue Jays are willing to bring, uh, wanting to p bring them back.

[00:10:56] Right? They don't want 'em, they made other plans. They brought in Cody Ponce. [00:11:00] They brought in Dylan Cease. Maybe he says, you know what, I'll join this Upstart Orioles team and I'll give him a little boost. Uh, you have a couple of other guys that are still out there on the, you know, on, on the free agent market like Zac Gallen that could, you know, join the fray.

[00:11:16] Um, they have enough money that I think before this, off season's. Started, they had like almost zero in terms of commitments after 2027. , In the past they spent up to like 180 million in a season, I think, or somewhere theres abouts. So they've gotten money to spend, like they've been gunshot ever since the Chris Davis days.

[00:11:36] But that was the old ownership, right? They've got new billionaires, they got, you know, the. So now they've had, they have the money to do it, and now they just kind of have to put the right piece pieces in play and, and make themselves, you know, I would love to talk more often about the Orioles during the season.

[00:11:54] Mark, like as a contender, right? Yeah. It would be refreshing. The same as the Pirates. That's the other team. I was hoping [00:12:00] that the, that Pete Alonso would go to, because I think he would've been really excellent behind Oneil Cruz. And, and once they get their new, you know, stud shortstop coming up through the ranks, that would've been the perfect trio of guys to lead them through.

[00:12:15] Um. Through the future and possibly entice Paul Skenes to stick around longer than than he otherwise might. 

[00:12:24] Mark Corbett: Yeah, if you're gonna keep that kind of talent, you've gotta build other talent around him. And I saw this afternoon, one rumor that the Pirates may be pursuing Brandon Lowe. And Wow. You know, that could give them a sense of a veteran on the team.

[00:12:40] And I put him out on a field that's not Astroturf all the time, you know, 82 games a year. So that would, that could be benefiting both of 'em. I wonder if that's, I wonder if that's something that's real, if that's just somebody banding that about right now. 

[00:12:53] Mat Germain: Well, the interesting part is that, you know, cost balancing is like, uh, like I just said with the Orioles, [00:13:00] the, the Pittsburgh Pirates have no commitments after this year.

[00:13:04] Like almost zero. It was, I think it's Brian Reynolds and uh, one other person that they have on the books after this year. So they had a clean slate as well to work with. So Brandon Lowe, to me, doesn't fit as well for them as like a Ketel Marte would. 

[00:13:19] Mark Corbett: Yeah, if 

[00:13:20] Mat Germain: they're wanting to be really aggressive because Paul Skenes is gonna want somebody that's there beyond the time that he's signed for.

[00:13:26] Right. And he is gonna want somebody that's actually able to stay on the field. And Brandon Lowe's, health is a little bit. Up and down. He's more of a DH But the, the interesting part with both of them is that the pirates have unproven second base talents and some that are struggling as prospects that both of those teams might be willing to bank on.

[00:13:47] So for the Rays, you know, if you're able to get Nick York as a return, he's still MLB caliber, but he's not proven and he's not really. Anywhere near the standard that Brandon Lowe would be, but you [00:14:00] also get seven years of control, or six years I think so. The same thing with Termarr Johnson, who's a guy that played in double A.

[00:14:07] He was a very highly, uh, drafted player, a highly skilled. 21, 22 years old, he's gonna be, you know, needing some more development before he reaches, you know, the upper echelons. Would the DACs be willing to take that on if they're also getting a, a really strong starting pitcher with him? 'cause that's what they're looking for is affordable starting pitching and they've been bitten by so many pitchers recently.

[00:14:31] It's crazy. They've had some bad luck. So, uh, you know, those are moves that the pirates, you know, should be looking to make. I, they did make one move, which was to add Gregory Soto, he's a left-handed reliever, and I had mentioned him as one of the three guys that I thought they should target the saw season.

[00:14:48] The other one was Zack Littell. And, and you know, I thought that that would be a perfect fit to take some pressure off of their pitching staff if they do end up using. One of those pictures [00:15:00] to go and get another bat, uh, which I still think they need. 

[00:15:04] Mark Corbett: Well, looking at the Pirates overall too. Mat, one of the things I'm always kinda curious about is the, what they have for payroll, and I think it's around $90 million, a little more than that, that that puts 'em, I think around 28th outta the 30 teams.

[00:15:21] So I don't, they're, I don't think they're gonna have the commitment of a, of a Steve Cohen with the, but there's definitely, they have an owner now who's willing to put up some money that more than what's been there in the past. It's, see, no, I'm thinking actually Orioles had somebody put it more than. In the past,

[00:15:37] Mat Germain: I 

[00:15:38] Mark Corbett: just want to 

[00:15:38] Mat Germain: mention one more thing Please. About the pirates. So they, they had, on many occasions, they've had up to 2.5 million fans come through the gates. Right? Right. And, and so that was the years where they had success. Uh, where they had invested a little bit, it was 2015, the last time that they had 2.5.

[00:15:58] Before that there was another [00:16:00] season, uh, that they reached that point. It'd been 2.4 a couple of times, um, but last year they were at 1.5. So my question to you is, how much money would 1 million fans coming through the turn gates add to your team? So if you're able to make the move to add a million fans, right?

[00:16:19] Let's average it out to be nice and clean and easy. Let's say that you pocket $30 for every fan that comes through the gates, right? Right. If you want to add a player that's $30 million, you're essentially saying, I'm thinking that we're gonna add a million fans through the turn gates by adding this player.

[00:16:41] Would Pete a Alonso have done that? 

[00:16:43] Mark Corbett: Oh man. Yeah. 

[00:16:44] Mat Germain: Doubt. Absolutely. 

[00:16:45] Mark Corbett: Absolutely. 

[00:16:45] Mat Germain: No doubt. And they probably would've exceeded that. Like, so that's my, my soapbox piece to all those owners that are gripping onto the, you know, this money that hasn't been realized, and they're [00:17:00] probably banking less. Than they would if they spent more.

[00:17:03] And the Dodgers are proof of that. And other teams, the Blue Jays are proof of that. And you know, if you're in a situation like the, the pirates are, where now you've accumulated the top draft picks, you have the stud shortstop, and you have the stud pitcher, generational talents at both positions. Now is the time to invest around them and start drawing people into the, the stands to watch these guys to make them interested to stick around long term because Paul Skenes looks into the crowd.

[00:17:36] If he sees that the stadium is half empty every day, why is he gonna want stay there? You know, as nice a guy as he might be, he's gonna say, you know what, I'm, I'm offered more money somewhere else. There's more people in the stands in that place where I'm going. Why would I stick around? Like I, you know, I'm Mr.

[00:17:53] Nice guy. Yeah. But I'm not gonna sacrifice my entire career playing in front of less people. When I think of [00:18:00] that, I think of Roy Halladay in Toronto, right? For, for 10 years under JP Richard, he lost his career basically. Where they weren't adding the depth they needed. They were never building around him.

[00:18:10] They were just basically letting everybody come through the turnstiles and, and selling tickets, and that was it. And he had to go to Philadelphia in the end just to get a chance to be in the playoffs. That is sad. Like I wanna see Paul Skenes in the playoffs, like continuously all the way through his career, right?

[00:18:27] To see what he, he might be able to manage. So I hope that they get that message in Pittsburgh and, and elsewhere. 

[00:18:36] Mark Corbett: Well, I, I like you mean you're pointing it out very clearly what the cost of that player and what that would mean as far as the turnstiles, the amount of money that's gonna come in there. And then when you think of going to the merchandising, my gosh, how much more money comes with that?

[00:18:50] The, uh, traffic of what Paul Skenes has been able to do for that team, the, uh, enthusiasm it builds up within the fan base.

[00:18:59] I, I [00:19:00] keep thinking of Mike Trout with, you know, I mean it is great when he had showy o there, but they have not been able to do with the talent of Mike Trout. There's never been enough around him to build a stronger team that, that he should have had, as far as I'm concerned. And I fearful that that will be the same with the Pirates and Paul Skenes.

[00:19:22] Mat Germain: Yeah, they have to make the smart investments. I do think they have the intelligence to target the right guys. I just don't know how willing the, the owner will be to open up the pocket books. Like right now we know they were in on cash war. Right? It was sort of like the same way that the Rays. Uh, you know, chase down Freddie Freeman where it wasn't so much more that he couldn't say no.

[00:19:48] Right. So at the time, if the, the Rays were offering, I think one 50 right? To Freddie Freeman or somewhere. There's about, and, and so if they had gone to 180. They would've had the player. 

[00:19:58] Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

[00:19:59] Mat Germain: Where would the [00:20:00] Rays be right now if they had Freddie Freeman that entire time? You know, and, and so what's the opportunity cost of not bringing in Freddie Freeman?

[00:20:09] Now, obviously last year wasn't much because the stadium issue was a little bit different, but normally. You more than likely would've filled the Trop right, and opened up the top. You know, you, you kind of get more people in the seats and the excitement, just the buzz around the, the team, right? Like I've, I saw clearly what the excitement and the ramp up for the blue Jays meant when Alex Anthopoulos got them in the playoffs for those two, three years, and I got 4 million fans through the turnstiles.

[00:20:42] They got rid of Alex and all of a sudden, woo, the team went down. They got all the way back down under 2 million. So you know, you're talking like that's a huge income stream drop. So it's, yes, they're back there now. But again, that comes through smart [00:21:00] investments, getting the right front office together. I would love to see the pirates.

[00:21:06] . Really focus on getting a group of players together that can grow together for a long time and extend them. So like, you know, spend the money now on the guys to stick around if you have to. Overpay. Overpay. It's hard to do with a pitcher like Paul Skenes because we've, we've all, I don't know if you have that memory, but I have that memory of Mark Prior.

[00:21:28] Right. Mark Prior was Paul Skenes before Paul Skenes. 

[00:21:32] , 

[00:21:32] Mat Germain: . He was that dominant. He was, him and Kerry Wood were gonna carry the, the Cubs forever. That that was the talk. Right. And, and none of them lasted more than four or five years. Like Mark Prior I think was two years. So you don't wanna be that guy holding onto that salary for nine years when you only had a certain amount of time.

[00:21:53] So it's hard to, to invest long term. But we saw the Yankees do with Jerich Cole. They [00:22:00] bit the bullet, you know, for that one year that they knew he was gonna be on Tommy John. You're right. And now they know they're gonna get him back. And for Paul Skenes, he's young enough that if you lose a year or two here or there, that's just the, you know, part of the, the, the fact of being part of baseball.

[00:22:18] Right. That's, that's it. ., 

[00:22:22] Mark Corbett: That's definitely the case. I mean, we know if we've talked time and again as far as the life of a pitcher and burning up arms and it's, that's kind of built into whenever a contract's there, the owners of those teams, the general managers. That has to be part of the equation in their head.

[00:22:39] It's a possibility and certainly how you use that arm's gonna make the big difference with that. So, and it was it with Jane Leavy. We had on here a while back on talking again where she had some conversations where she'd spoken with people in the Rays and they were just like, let's burn 'em up, burn 'em a moot.

[00:22:55] Just use those arms until they're done and we'll put the next one in. [00:23:00] That has to be part of the strategy when you're working a contract with a player like that, with a, a pitch like that. So I don't think we'll see much change in that approach. But it is interesting to understand now that that is just an accepted part of the methodology and negotiations and realizing, guess what?

[00:23:19] Yes, we're signing this guy a picture for five, six years, whatever. Hopefully we'll get three or four of those years out. I mean, hopefully five or six, but I. What can happen? 

[00:23:30] Mat Germain: Where do you think, uh, Kyle Tucker is gonna land? Oh, brother. 

[00:23:35] Mark Corbett: You know, I mean, you and I talked about this before. I'd love to see him here.

[00:23:38] You know, I, I really, really would. I, I would absolutely. Him or Alonso, either one. I mean, obviously Alonso came, we would've to see Diaz go and, you know, probably a couple of others. Um. But where, what, where I think he'll actually wind up. I don't think, I don't think it'll be the Dodgers. You never know. I never 

[00:23:58] Mat Germain: count them out.

[00:23:59] But I think [00:24:00] you know them and the Blue Jays are playing a tug of war between them, I think. Yeah. And I think his, you know, the Mets might get desperate enough now that what's happened has happened. 

[00:24:13] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Uh, 

[00:24:14] Mat Germain: there's a chance that. They can look at it in, in a lot of different ways. So Carson, Carson Benge is, is one of their top prospects.

[00:24:24] He is ready, you know, pretty shortly into 2026 to be in at the major league level. So if you bring in a Kyle Tucker, right, and this might explain why they sent Brandon Nimmo out, then you're, you're talking about your two corners. Set. Well, okay, well what do you do with Juan Soto at that point? If you, you know, I, Carson Benge can probably handle center field, but, but then you're talking all the other top prospects that they have.

[00:24:52] So I think there's a lot of, you know, I would call it the Bermuda Triangle of Kyle Tucker, uh, where I would [00:25:00] say New York Mets. Toronto, blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers will all make really good cases and, and really he's in a great position right now to extract maximum dollars. The Dodgers aren't gonna, I don't wanna say they're not gonna overspend because they will obviously.

[00:25:20] But I don't think they're as desperate as the Blue Jays and the um, and the Mets are, and I say the Blue Jays are desperate, not because they don't have talent and they can't be good, but because they're seeing the aging of George Springer. 

[00:25:33] Mark Corbett: Ah, and 

[00:25:33] Mat Germain: they want that next person to be there in place. And I don't think they have it in an organization.

[00:25:39] Their top prospects are not to that caliber. They're not, you know. Guys that you want to build your franchise around and, and you didn't sign Vladi Guerrero Jr. To the $500 million deal, to not have him have a good amount of, you know, core talent around him. So I think for the Blue Jays it might be a [00:26:00] case of do we bite the bullet on Bo Bichette and, and go with Kyle Tucker instead because Kyle Tucker has less, um, health concerns than Bo Bichette does Overall.

[00:26:13] Um, and I don't know how much you know about Bo Bichette's medical issues, but they're, they're kind of significant. They're a little bit like Brandon Lowe's where, you know. I don't wanna say they, they're all close to career ending, but concussion wise, he's had a lot of concussions. Yeah. He's had a lot of different issues.

[00:26:29] So, you know, they're, they're, it's hard to throw money like that at a player like that who may not even be insurable to the same degree as other players might be. Um, anyways, so Kyle Tucker in Toronto would give them that renewed core. With a lot of length, and you've seen Addison Barger take a step forward.

[00:26:47] So if he can actually continue to be part of that core group, then all of a sudden , you're lengthening that amount of time that you're gonna be, you know, one of the top teams in the league for. So I think the Mets though, [00:27:00] like the Mets just lost Edwin Diaz. They lost Pete Alonso. Everybody is tearing them to shreds.

[00:27:07] Now, to their credit, they did bring in Devin Williams, which quells a lot of questions when it comes to the pen side. Okay. So that's, that's a a good point. Like the, you don't wanna have so many losses that your fans just completely rebel against you. But I think the front office generally has a lot of.

[00:27:28] Unanswered questions. What I heard is that their pitching coach was really well liked and he went to the Braves recently. Hmm. And that was one of the reasons why Edwin Diaz decided not to go with the Mets. It wasn't completely related to. You know, the whole Devin Williams being there, or the money not being there.

[00:27:49] Um, so it's kind of an intriguing way to look at things, right? You never really know what's going on inside the clubhouse. You don't really know what it is that they're valuing. But [00:28:00] maybe Edwin has had a different relationship or a strong relationship with the pitching coach, and he now that pitching coach is in Atlanta, so he decides, Hey, you know what?

[00:28:08] If I need to change things up. I'll go and do it. We're somewhere else. And, and he wanted to do it in la but the Mets need to do, make a minimum of three big deals, uh, if they're going to get their fans back on side. Um. Even if they de decide to try to sell that, you know that youth movement, but they did bring in Marcus Semien.

[00:28:33] Yeah, so Marcus Semien stronger second base guy. I think that points to Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil were best friends. Maybe now's the time to let go of Jeff McNeil and find him a new home and then, you're doing a whole transition and, and cleansing the aura of the team because to be honest, like they were one of the biggest underperformers in the second half, the biggest tail off that we've seen [00:29:00] in, in recent times when it comes to a team that with that much talent and not being able to pull it out, I mean, that hurts that, that's like everybody in that.

[00:29:09] On that team felt that one like Oh yeah. To the core. So I get the wanting to make changes and getting fresh blood. And even if it is young guys that struggle a little bit, that might be good. Like that might be what they need. 

[00:29:23] Mark Corbett: Get some hungry players in there. Yeah, I, I don't think anybody anticipated to see the Mets have a couple of spots where they just fell.

[00:29:31] I mean, maybe was it, I think at least seven games in a row at one point during the season, and it's like they lost that many. It's like. Good gravy. Who is this team? Because I, I, I mean, everybody had high expectations and still do, and I know, I don't think it was a lack. Of a team spirit or anything like that.

[00:29:50] It's just baseball as we say sometimes because it happens, whether it be injuries, whether it just be a streak, whether it's everybody else's out there is [00:30:00] coming for you harder than they ever have before. You know, it's, it was a, it was a tough season for the Mets and you're right. Um, after seeing Diaz go out the door and seeing Alonso go out the door.

[00:30:12] And who was the person you said they added? Uh. Marcus Simeon 

[00:30:15] Mat Germain: and Marcus. Devin Williams. 

[00:30:17] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, some good things are happening coming in too, but wow, those are two big names going out the door. And I don't know how they're gonna do because with Pete's bats and hitting those home runs, man, there's few out there that can do what he's doing.

[00:30:33] Mat Germain: Right? So this is where I like to. You know, when you look at the, I'll give a perfect example, the athletics right? How did they end up competing last year? Who, who was the rookie of the year? Right? And, and where did he come from? What did he do? Like, you know, you're talking about Nick Kurtz, uh, coming out of nowhere.

[00:30:54] Nobody talked about this guy. Before the season started, nobody knew his name. He goes out there, and the [00:31:00] most that he had hit before that was seven home runs in aaa. Right. That was the most that he'd ever hit in the minors. And then he comes out as a rookie and hits 36 home runs. You know, drives in 90 runs.

[00:31:13] He had a one 70 wRC plus. So when you're talking about somebody like Carson Benge, right? This is the. This is the time when the prospect's, gurus, uh, can start making sense of a lot of these moves that teams are making. Like last year is a perfect example. I had a conversation with somebody online, a very, very, um, uh.

[00:31:35] Very well known reporter who was always tearing down what the brewers do in the off season. And I'm like, listen, this is why they're doing it. Right. He was, it was about the Caleb Durbin and Devin Williams move, and they said, Caleb Durbin is a heck of a player. He's an Energizer guy. I've seen him play against the bowls.

[00:31:53] He's. Always the guy that you're having the toughest guy at time against, he's pesky great at bats. He's [00:32:00] always using his speed. He's got some pop. I said, you're, they're gonna love him in in Milwaukee. And I said, I guarantee you they're not gonna keep Devin Williams around as long, you know, wherever he goes as Katie led Durbin will in in Milwaukee.

[00:32:12] And sure enough, this is what's breaking out because when you know the prospects, some of the moves that people ha do make sense. Right. So Carson Benge is, is not really a, um, you know, a top. 10 or 20 prospect. But to put it in a different way, Carson Williams was, and he's not guaranteed a job to begin the season next year, so it shows you what the rankings mean.

[00:32:37] Right. Overall. But, but Carson Benge had 15 home runs last year, but the, the key parts are that his walk rate was over 13% and his strikeout rate was 17%. So he does not strike out much. He makes contact, he's a little bit like a, a Chandler Simpson, but with. Power. So if you look at it that way, in terms of like his, that bad approach and his ability to [00:33:00] make contact, it's not as elite as Chandler just because Chandler just gets a stick on the ball.

[00:33:06] But it's, it's really strong for a guy that has power. So if you're able to maintain like a, an ISO over 200 isolated power, and you're able to keep your strikeout percentages below 20%, like you're doing an outstanding job and you're gonna be somebody that's gonna be in the lineup constantly, right? So Carson Benge is that kind of impact.

[00:33:27] Now he's only done it up to the AA and AAA level and AAA, I think he only ended up getting maybe a hundred plate appearances ish. But that is enough time for him to be in consideration when you start the season, in my opinion. Some guys skip over when they're really talented, you know, aaa. So the Mets have those kinds of guys, and they also have another guy called Jet Williams, uh, who's an an impact guy.

[00:33:54] Eventually, but he's had a little bit more struggles overall than than Carson Ben has. The fans [00:34:00] are a little bit critical of him. He's a little bit lighter hitting than Carson, so they don't really take to him as much. But again, he's a guy that has a. A really high ceiling who can help carry the team and lengthen it, you know, in the bottom of the Pirates of the lineup.

[00:34:16] And like you mentioned just before, the energy that these guys bring. Right? Right. We saw with the Rays last year, right. The, the guys who had the most energy were the guys that gave you the best moments through the season. Right. They, they just seem to have that. That sandlot enthusiasm that we love about baseball, that just gets you, you know, into the game.

[00:34:39] So the Mets need more of that. That's what I think was partially lacking. Last year when you were watching the team, they were just going through the motions. They were not really excited to be playing the game from what I saw. Mm-hmm. And Francisco Lindor will feed off of that. He's that kind of of personality where.

[00:34:58] I think [00:35:00] when he plays the game, he actually truly loves it. And, and, and so he, you know, if you're that kind of person who's passionate about the game and the Ken Gr Griffey Jr. Comes to mind when I think of Fra Francisco Lindor. Yeah. Like just, they have that smile that, you know, that just tells you they're having fun and they're joking around and they're just at ease.

[00:35:22] They're at work, they're having fun. So. I think that all the changes they're making is gonna benefit Francisco Lindor tremendously, and it's gonna get him to have a different outlook on the game and a different energy and possibly get them back on track. I. 

[00:35:40] Mark Corbett: I can't wait to see it because, the one thing, , I said when Steve Cohen came in, it was spending all that money with the Mets.

[00:35:47] , I'm a little critical. I mean, it's easy to be critical of somebody infusing all that much cash, but we, I, you and I talked about this before, said the man is a baseball fan and he wanted his team to win and he was gonna do [00:36:00] everything he could as an owner to support that team and do what he could to help build the team.

[00:36:06] To, to win a championship. And I think he and his wife still have that mindset. Uh, they're, I think they're really, the co-owners isn't just Steve, but that's, that has enthused me. And as far as keeping the, the sandlot energy. That you're talking about. Mm-hmm. That's something that has to come from the players and the manager.

[00:36:26] I mean, and obviously from the front office too, but if there isn't something completely driving these folks, it's, it's gonna, it's gonna fall away. I mean, we've talked about Glue guys, we've talked about Clubhouse guys in the past, and who do you see in the Mets organization? That could be that person. Is there anyone in particular that jumps out to you and you say, oh man, 

[00:36:49] Mat Germain: that is a good question.

[00:36:51] 'cause I think f like I mentioned, Francisco Lindor, he's just an easy target because everybody knows him and, and he's kind of 

[00:36:58] Mark Corbett: But beyond him is that's, that's, [00:37:00] is that it? 

[00:37:00] Mat Germain: Uh, you can't, you can't. No. I think that's why they brought in Marcus Semien, to be honest. 

[00:37:05] Mark Corbett: Yeah, 

[00:37:05] Mat Germain: because you do have to, I think. Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but why are Terry Francona and Kevin Cash great managers?

[00:37:17] It's because they're humble, right? They're humble, and because of that, they're relatable. So it makes them approachable and people can actually, you know, relate to them without feeling like somebody is, is overbearing. So if you were to have Joe Tory in there instead, as an example. There's a certain aura, there's a certain dude, can I approach him?

[00:37:42] Like if you're a rookie and you show up and Joe Tory's on the Benge, like are you really going up to him and joking around and you know, putting gum on his hat? No, you're not. You're not doing that. Right. So there's certain guys that have that kind of aura and I think Marcus Simeon having had. All the struggles he had to, you know, [00:38:00] working day in, day out with Ron Washington just to get himself a, a playing time in Major League baseball and make himself a regular like that is what feeds the machine.

[00:38:09] That's why they went and targeted them. I firmly believe that is, is that they were sick and tired of watching the guys that, that weren't really going out there and giving it their all. Watching Jeff McNeil play defensive. You know, second base is painful. He, he barely puts any effort into it, from what I can tell.

[00:38:27] He, he reaches a little bit, never dives. He kind of gives up on balls easy. That's not the guy that you want churning the machine in your infield. So, , I want the guy that's gonna lay out like, , and really, put in the work to be in the right positions and, and go the extra mile. So if you're gonna set the tone like that, that was a, in that sense, but I don't know what Brendan Nimmo was.

[00:38:50] That's the, that's the old other question. Right? So that's where I kind of say, okay, well yeah, you're not taught really flipping Marcuson for Jeff McNeil. [00:39:00] You're flipping Simeon for Brandon Nimmo Uhhuh. So what was. What was Nimmo's role in the team? How vocal was he? Was he enthusiastic and effort? From what I could tell, he put in a lot of effort.

[00:39:12] He did dive, he did play a strong left field. So again, it comes down to what is that plan? Is they going, if they signed Kyle Tucker, it all makes sense. And so if you've vied added Kyle Tucker and you've added Marcus Sien, then you've really changed the personality of your team, uh, significantly. Now, how much would they have to give Kyle Tucker to beat out the Blue Jays and the Dodgers?

[00:39:37] Like, are we talking? So Vladimer Guiterro Vladyy Jr. Got 500 million. Is is Kyle Tucker really getting that much? You know, 

[00:39:47] Mark Corbett: I don't know. You know, I'm, I think we keep hearing about setting ceilings and floors and I don't know that that is gonna actually impact what people are gonna [00:40:00] pay. If Kyle Tucker, he's, he's a game changer.

[00:40:02] He's somebody who could make a difference. I think he could earn that. The thing of it is I think that what happened with Vladi had to happen, that amount had to be paid. The Blue Jays that if they had let him go. That would've just disturbed the whole apple cart, you know, for Toronto for I think for years to come.

[00:40:23] And, you know, you were talking about how much the, the turnstile keeps rotating and by having VLA Vlade Jr. Yeah, it's, it's still turning, but if he wasn't there, it would slow down a great deal. Um, right. So Kyle, Kyle should be able to, , pretty much come up with whatever he wants. 

[00:40:41] Mat Germain: I think the, the big question that I, I ask myself is, okay.

[00:40:44] Okay. Vladdy Gerrero Jr. Signed at 27. Kyle Tucker is 29. He plays the outfield that bases, you know, a lot of his production on running. So how many years are you giving Kyle compared to what Vladi got that [00:41:00] it changes the amount significantly. So let's just say, let's go with average annual value. Is he going to get more than Kyle Schwarber and Peter Alonso got.

[00:41:11] Mark Corbett: I would think actually, I think that he could. I really do. And I think because if I'm looking at Schwarber and I'm looking at Alonso, both of them are a few years older, I believe than than Kyle. And that would be one reason. 

[00:41:23] Mat Germain: And and he's been consistent, right? Four years, Kyle Tucker's been unwavering, pretty consistent all the way through.

[00:41:29] Absolutely. So that helps. So I, I agree. I think it would be somewhere closer to 35 million per year. Right. So if we go 35 million per year, we say eight years, is that about accurate? You get him to 37. 

[00:41:43] Mark Corbett: I don't know if you're gonna give anybody eight years. I mean, there, there's so much fresh meat coming up through the system all the time.

[00:41:51] Is there gonna be somebody else? Is, is that expansion? Well, we all know that we, we pay players sometimes more than we actually expect to give them for a [00:42:00] single year. We, we give them a longer term. So I think six to seven would probably be more reasonable. 

[00:42:07] Mat Germain: Seven might be the lowest that I could see it.

[00:42:10] That, that to me, all because you're talking again, you're talking to Dodgers. Blue Jays and Mets playing tug of war. So how do you get that edge? Like if you're all offering pretty much 35 million ish, ? Yeah. And Dodgers might defer some to 2 21 45. I have no idea. But , it's one of those things where you say, okay, 35 years, let's say it is seven years, then you're looking at, , 245 million.

[00:42:38] I, I think that's close. There's a recent contract that was 2 45, but 

[00:42:46] Mark Corbett: can't conjure that one. 

[00:42:48] Mat Germain: I think, I don't know, for some reason, I think he gets the eighth year or he gets, you know, the option year with a big buyout, one or the other, like maybe something like that. Uh, [00:43:00] just because his agent now knows all the big pieces are off the table and he gets to play each, each team against one another.

[00:43:07] So that's, it's pretty early in the season for that to have taken place hitter wise. 

[00:43:11] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:43:12] Mat Germain: So I, I like that part. Like that's good. 'cause they might, we might go into Christmas with some teams having all the bigger pieces sorted out. Right? So. I don't know. I, if I had to put a bet on it, I would say he gets 265 million.

[00:43:28] That's, that's the number that I think he gets. So I don't think, unless a team loses their minds and gives 'em 10 years. Right. And, and like that's where I get into the whole Dodgers or nuts kind of thing. So I never would've given, you know, um, Shohei Ohtani all the years that they gave him. But then you probably, you know, risk not getting the player so.

[00:43:49] I think the years are, are gonna be what shocks people more than anything when it comes to Kyle Tucker. 

[00:43:56] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I see that. You know, one of the things though, [00:44:00] reflecting on a fellow alumni, 'cause I said something about this in a post earlier today. Both he and Pete Alonso went to Plant High School in Tampa and mentioned also Wade Boggs.

[00:44:12] But coming back to Alonso for a moment, Alonso probably could have made. Annual annually about the same as what he's going to get now with those. But the big difference, I believe, was that the Mets were only going to look at him for maybe three more years with the contract. So, Kyle Tucker? Yeah. Yeah, he's, he's a bit younger.

[00:44:37] He's, as you pointed out, he has certainly been more consistent than some of the others out there. So we'll see what comes. I'm excited about him too. 

[00:44:47] Mat Germain: I don't know. It's hard to get excited for teams that spend that much money. 

[00:44:52] Mark Corbett: No, I'm, I'm excited for the players, uh, the teams themselves like that.

[00:44:55] Yeah, no, uh, Dodgers and such. No, I can't get excited about that. [00:45:00] And kind of jumping away from this for just a minute, there was something that was said this past week I found interesting, and that was Dave Roberts. Uh, did you see some comments? 'cause somebody was, say I, they got him to speak to the whole Yeah, exactly.

[00:45:16] Salary, caps and floors and. He was just very honest about it, you know, he said, yeah, I think there should be. I think there should be. He said, same time, I think there should be a floor. And I thought, I, I tap my hat and salute to him for being honest about that. And I think that his players know who he is.

[00:45:37] They may disagree with some of this, and I'm sure many agents do, but, uh, I was glad to see him step out and say that. 

[00:45:44] Mat Germain: So just like, I know we've talked about this sub subject before with Lou and with other people and, and just on our own, but. The, if you want labor peace in major leagues. Yeah. Right. And to grow the game as positively and [00:46:00] long term as possible.

[00:46:01] You want a salary cap in there? You want a salary floor, and you want the books open. Those are, to me, those are all combined into one. You, you can't have any of them without the other, 'cause you, if you only have a cap in and teams are gonna still underspend, that doesn't solve anything. The lottery, like we, we talked about and then the raids got the second pick, which was outstanding.

[00:46:25] Love it. But you know, the lottery doesn't really fix all of the tanking. 'cause you just saw the, the White Sox still got the top pick by tanking. So. You know, you the, the salary floor. To me, you know, we, we, we kind of threw out at a lot of crazy ideas in terms of relegating teams and all that kind of stuff.

[00:46:48] But in truth, the only one that owners right now that are in play, they're not gonna risk their franchise going down a tier. They, they're gonna be more apt to be. [00:47:00] Open to opening up the books, in my opinion, if they truly are being honest and want a salary cap in place. But, you know, there's also, there's also the caveat in there that they might want a salary cap just so that they can set.

[00:47:19] The ceiling. 

[00:47:20] Mark Corbett: Hmm. 

[00:47:21] Mat Germain: Without opening up all the books because they want their cake and they want to eat it too. And, and, you know, these billionaires didn't get bit to be billionaires by, you know, by not scraping together a few pennies. Like they, they really know how to. Play the game. So let's say for instance, if they're getting 65% of the money now, and the players are getting 35%, well they're gonna set a salary cap to maintain that or improve it.

[00:47:47] They might put the salary cap in so that the players end up getting 34%, 33%, 32%, whatever. You know, because the books aren't open. Nobody really knows how much gambling money are they making, how much this, [00:48:00] how much that, you know, like there's a lot. Of unknowns that are in play here that I don't think people are really fully digesting.

[00:48:08] Like the gambling alone mark I is, is gotta be ridiculous. Like the, you know, they've got such a tight grip on it that it, it, yeah. I don't know. Like to me, like if I'm a LB MLBPA, I talk to the guys before they sit down for the CBA talks and they say, listen guys, you guys are not getting 50% right now of the revenues.

[00:48:32] Right. Do you want to get 50% of the revenues if you do? Then say you're open to the cb, uh, to the salary cap if they open the books, and then you don't have to worry about it. You put all the pressure on the owners. To me, if I truly believe, if I, if I'm MLBPA and that's the case, and I truly believe that is the way that it's being run right now, that is the only [00:49:00] strategy that will probably prevent a work stoppage.

[00:49:04] If not, we will have a work stoppage. 

[00:49:07] Mark Corbett: Wow. I don't like to hear that. But yeah, we, we know the reality is there, Mat, and Oh my goodness. Hey, how about spraying a little Christmas cheer? I agree. I agree. Oh, oh. So you guys, um, you've hung all the tensil around the you home there, the Germain household, haven't you?

[00:49:27] Mat Germain: Yes, we did. We have. Three Christmas trees. Oh, wow. So we've got the one in the living room and, and the one in the living room and the one upstairs in the main window are both real trees. So we go and pick 'em out in, uh, at Thanksgiving, which for us is October. And, and we put a little tag on it that says, you know, this is the tree that we picked out.

[00:49:48] We don't venture off into the woods like Christmas vacation style, like, you know, with a no wax and, and whatever. But we do go into the woods. , And it's just right off the [00:50:00] road. And, , and oddly enough, my wife and I always end up picking a tree that's, uh, you know, within maybe 50 yards of one another.

[00:50:09] And, and so I think this has been going on now for like eight or nine years. We always seem to find the perfect tree in that area. We haven't, and a lot is way bigger than that. Like, we could go and, make a whole day of it. Who wanted to, but, but no, we always seem to find the right one there, so we've kind of gravitated to that.

[00:50:26] And then the one, , upstairs is just a smaller version of that. And then we have a fake tree in the playroom for the kids. Uh, and, and I think there's a year where we kept it up the entire year where it was just, it became a decoration. Wow. 

[00:50:41] Mark Corbett: Well, so, um, you know, I think too, when hear about the trees, of course we got all the palm trees around here and they don't like us cutting those down.

[00:50:50] No. Seriously though the Lance McCullers, um, the pitcher for the Astros and his father, oh, he was junior and his father Lance [00:51:00] McCullers, they, I believe have a Christmas tree farm. Cool. Yeah, I've heard a lot of young ball players around here as they were growing up. Many of 'em would, would work during this time of year, would work over and help sell trees from the McCullers farm out to some little road stops around here.

[00:51:17] I, I don't know if they're still doing that or not, but I thought that was kind of cool. , 

[00:51:21] Mat Germain: There's so many cool traditions that come from Christmas. That's really the kind of stuff that I love. Like we, we, we've added a few here and a few there, and some of them have grown, like we make wreaths. So we, my, my in-laws have a, a garage and they set up the, the wood stove in there and, and they chop down a whole bunch of, uh.

[00:51:41] You know, the pieces that you need to make a wreath, right? And then we put on Christmas tunes and we just basically go at it and take pictures. And it, it's kind of like one of those, you know, you, you're, you're doing it as a family and you're doing it from scratch and you're kind of, you know, spending some.

[00:51:59] [00:52:00] Easygoing time without the iPads and the TV and whatever else together. So, uh, it's unique and, and those are the kinds of things that I think I love most about the, the holidays is more like when you're actually playing the board games, you're, you're eating the good food and you're relaxing. That's the, uh, that's the good stuff.

[00:52:19] Mark Corbett: Yeah, that's, we, we enjoy that as well. We actually gathered the family up in Louisville, Kentucky, uh, get an Airbnb up there large enough for all of us. And a lot of games. A lot of games are played and, hey, have you ever played the one where it may have talked to you about this before? It's basically a cellophane ball and you take the cellophane or handy wrap or whatever, and what's that?

[00:52:45] Saran wrap, getting the balls over. He told me Saran wrap. Yeah. And you, you, in the middle of the Saran wrap, you put a couple of things, maybe, I don't know, uh, $20 lottery ticket or maybe a $20 gift card somewhere. And then as you [00:53:00] roll, you roll that in the center, then outside that you continue to row, and then you put candies and you put all kinds of little trinkets that you buy from the dollar store.

[00:53:08] Uh, little fidget, little gadgets here or there. The whole thing is it is wrapped several times over to where it maybe started, not any bigger than your fist, but it's larger, larger than a soccer ball in some cases, you know, maybe even a basketball size, and you have to peel, it's put out in the middle of the table.

[00:53:27] So all the family members gather around and they peel that thing away one at a time, but. There's a time limit on it. It's not actually a time limit. There are, so say if there's eight of you standing around the table, the person who's tearing it, the person next to 'em has some dice, and Karen, what do they gotta row doubles.

[00:53:45] Yeah, you roll, doubles anything. Then it's your turn. So they grab the ball. As soon as they roll doubles, they grab the saran wrap ball and they start tearing, and the next person starts rolling and rolling and whatever. Whatever they tear comes out, that is their prize until it goes all the way around.

[00:53:59] And [00:54:00] the final prize, if it's finally unwrapped, they get that gift as well. Plus the privilege of creating that ball for the next year. 

[00:54:08] Mat Germain: That is awesome. I like that. We've done the version where you do it with, uh, gift wrap and like for the, for the kids. Uh, ah. And they wrap the box a whole bunch of times or whatever the gift might be.

[00:54:20] And you just never know when you're gonna get the bottom layer. But, but not, there's only the one gift, there's not all the gifts that you're talking about. I like that version. Just don't tell an environmentalist that you're using a whole bunch. 

[00:54:34] Mark Corbett: No, no, no, no, no. 

[00:54:36] Mat Germain: This, 

[00:54:37] Mark Corbett: no. Surely not. I'm take, we take it down the recycle center the next day and I'll have, you know, so 

[00:54:42] Mat Germain: Yeah, there you go.

[00:54:43] No, that's perfect. No, I, I love the, uh, the concept that's really good. And, you know, how much is it? I don't know. We're talking about prices for Christmas gifts and everything else so far. Like, you know, you're talking about $20 a layer. Uh, you get a [00:55:00] ball with like eight or nine or 10 layers that that thing is worth.

[00:55:03] So who's, who's putting it together and who decides what the prizes are? 

[00:55:07] Mark Corbett: Well, probably don't put any more than 50 bucks into it. And in the center you probably have about $20 gift certificates. It could be more, but layer after layer, you're putting candies in there, you're putting in, you know, all kinds of just trinkets little stores.

[00:55:23] Items that you would probably get out of a gum machine. I mean, because you have so many layers, there's probably 30 or 40 things that are gonna fall outta there by the time you completed all of it. I mean, you, you may have a couple of Reese's chips or what. I mean, Reese's cups are just, it's, it's insane.

[00:55:38] Something's always falling out onto the table or the floor. You've 

[00:55:40] Mat Germain: inspired me, mark. I think I'm gonna do it and it do it, and I'll tell you how it goes. And like, I'm, like I said, I'm always on the lookout for new traditions and something. My kids are still young enough, you know, 16 and 12, they'll get a kick out of it.

[00:55:54] Uh, some of the guy, uh, the other guys that are gonna be there are, uh, are [00:56:00] kids at heart. I guess it's the best way to put it. And so I think it'll get a, a good run. Uh, we did the, the chicken feet socks one year. Where everybody wore the socks, you know where it looks like chicken feet and you have to wear the socks over your pants.

[00:56:14] And so Yeah. And so the socks go right up to your knee. Jeez. It 

[00:56:20] Mark Corbett: looked, oh, brother. Hang on. I got some, what? What? What was that you were saying over Karen?

[00:56:30] Oh, that's right. She, uh, as far as the center gifts, she's saying that the lottery tickets are sometimes little mini booze bottles to put in there too. So keep the kids away from those. Yeah, well, all ours, our youngest one's, uh, 25 in this family, so, you know where we go. That's good. No, no, it's all fun my friend.

[00:56:49] I'll send you a video on some of it 'cause it's insane, it's stupid and it's, it's fun, fun, fun. But. You got any other goodies we wanna make sure we share with folks, uh, this holiday season? [00:57:00] 

[00:57:00] Mat Germain: No, the, the deals are gonna keep coming and like, uh, like we mentioned with the Mets and everybody else, just don't jump off the bridge about any of these franchises.

[00:57:08] Let them get their plans together. That's right. And we'll just keep digesting them as they go. But enjoy the holidays. Drive safe. Uh, don't drink and drive. Like everybody always says, don't gamble at all and you'll have a good holiday. That 

[00:57:21] Mark Corbett: sounds all right. We got a few more weeks before it's here and uh, Mat, thanks again buddy.

[00:57:26] I appreciate you hanging around and always love our conversations my friend. 

[00:57:30] Mat Germain: That's awesome. I'm always glad to be here and, , hopefully the Rayss add, , a few interesting nuggets before the next time we talk. 

[00:57:36] Mark Corbett: Let's hope so, my friend. All right, well, thank you all again for joining us here today on BaseballBiz On Deck.

[00:57:42] Wanna wish you a festive month and a month of giving, and thank you all for joining us. We'll talk with you again real soon.