Proper Player Ingredients For Your MLB Team's Thanksgiving - No Turkey Zone BaseballBiz On Deck podcast

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Proper Player Ingredients for your MLB Team's Thanksgiving - No Turkey Zone

5d ago 51:42

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Thanksgiving “Recipes” for 30 MLB Teams

AL East Power Shifts

Red Sox add Sonny Gray, creating a potential rotation anchor alongside Crochet
Yankees uncertainties: Garrett Cole’s health, unproven young arms
Orioles lose Grayson Rodriguez
Blue Jays surge by adding Dylan Cease and retooling their rotation
Is it now a Red Sox & Blue Jays division for 2026

What does it take to get a top tier player - Cash - Payouts - Location - Teams

Blue Jays Go All-In

Toronto surpasses the 2026 luxury tax for the first time.
Dylan Cease deal
building a legacy around young starter Trey Yesavage and a veteran rotation mix of Gausman, Berríos, Bieber, and Cease
Bo Bichette’s future with Blue Jays or elsewhere & getting out of Vladdy's shadow

What does it take to get a top tier player - Cash - Payouts - Location - Teams

What’s cooking with the Rays Roster

The club DFA’s Jake Fraley to avoid arbitration—then brings him back and save over half of a million .
Cooking ‘up a stew for Tampa Bay’s outfield mix:
Jake Fraley, Ryan Vilade, Chandler Simpson, Josh Lowe, Jonny DeLuca, Richie PalaciIos, Jake Mangum.
Does Rays’ aggressiveness lag behind AL East rivals.
Extend Junior Caminero – a punch of positivity for the future of the Rays & the fans
Loving past Rays players including Isaac Paredes & Joey Wendle
Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman - who would you choose
Longevity vs immediate impact performance
Mat “you never want to pay for what they did. You want to pay for what they're going to do.”
Kyle Tucker with Rays, Cubs, Dodgers and at what price
Randy Arozarena - a talent undervalued
Vernon Wells - Anthopoulos hot potato unloaded

Anthony Rendon & Angels Buyout

Gil Meche walked away from Royals leaving $12 million behind

Measuring beyond Analytics

Mental health considerations
Character evaluation should factor more heavily into long-term contracts.
Big-moment - Clutch rating
Being a good teammate & building comradery
Reflect on 2020 Rays’ energy and Arozarena/Phillips sideline moments
Contrast drawn with Anthony (Eeyore) Rendon negative presence & how moving on could re-energize Mike Trout and the Angels.

World Baseball Classic Excitement

WBC iconic moment - Trout vs. Ohtani
Japan’s dominance, Yamamoto–Ohtani
Should MLB should pause season or adjust the All-Star break to improve WBC pitching quality.

Scheduling Challenges Across Sports
Overlapping sports calendars

multiple leagues compete for fan attention.

Women’s Pro Baseball League – WPBL Draft
Draft Day party at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers during the first WPBL draft.

600+ players evaluated

120 drafted

4 teams, 30 draftees each, later trimmed to 15

Notable talent: Kelsie Whitmore, Ayami Sato

Several players from the USA Women’s National Team
Reflection on MLB’s support for women's softball vs. women’s baseball

Pay to Play & Record – Youth sports can penalize parents & team standings if parents record sports at some locations.

Find Mat at @matgermain.bsky.social or reach Mark @ [email protected] BaseballBiz on Deck, @ iHeart Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, & at www.baseballbizOnDeck.com
Special Thanks to XTaKe-R-U-X for the music Rocking Forward

318 episodes