CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Framber Valdez may have changed teams, moving from the Houston Astros to the Detroit Tigers this offseason, but there\u2019s one controversy that he can\u2019t seem to leave behind \u2014 and his attempt at damage control is raising eyebrows around baseball.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
During the Tigers\u2019 introductory press conference for their new starting pitcher, reporters predictably asked Valdez about an ugly incident from last season when he appeared to intentionally throw at his own catcher, Cesar Salazar, after giving up a grand slam.<\/p>\n
As discussed on the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast, Valdez\u2019s denial that the pitch was intentional stands in stark contrast to what those around the game believe actually happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next pitch, Valdez appeared to intentionally cross up Salazar and hit him in the chest protector with a 93 mile an hour fastball. Afterwards, the reaction from Salazar, if you watch the video, Valdez doesn\u2019t even look at the guy. It was kind of universally talked about as a bad look for Valdez,\u201d explained Joe Noga, detailing the incident that became a major talking point last season.<\/p>\n
The context makes the situation even more damning. Before the pitch in question, Salazar had reportedly advised Valdez to step off the mound, but the pitcher ignored him and subsequently surrendered a grand slam. What followed appeared to many as an act of retaliation against his own teammate.<\/p>\n
While Valdez claimed at his Tigers introduction that the cross-up wasn\u2019t intentional and that everything has been smoothed over with Salazar, Noga delivered a far more blunt assessment of the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnybody in that Houston Astros clubhouse that you ask will tell you that Valdez, 1 million percent intentionally threw at his catcher. He\u2019s the only person in that clubhouse who believes it was an accident,\u201d Noga said.<\/p>\n
This perspective adds a fascinating dimension to Valdez\u2019s move to Detroit and raises questions about whether the incident played a role in Houston\u2019s willingness to part ways with the talented left-hander.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes, cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter, offered a more measured take on the situation, though he didn\u2019t dismiss the seriousness of what transpired.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully it wasn\u2019t intentional, but it sure didn\u2019t look good. The catcher gave him a look like \u2018What\u2019s going on here, you\u2019re better than that,\u2019\u201d Hoynes said on the podcast.<\/p>\n
The incident also sparked speculation about its impact on Valdez\u2019s free agency market. Some baseball insiders suggested the controversy might have contributed to teams being hesitant to pursue him.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people have said that\u2019s why he lasted so long on the free agent market with that one incident,\u201d Hoynes noted, though he expressed skepticism about this theory, adding, \u201cI find that hard to believe. In a free agent market, talent usually rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Tigers\u2019 catchers, the incident surely must be somewhere in the back of their minds as they prepare to work with their new pitcher. As Noga and Hoynes joked on the podcast, they might think twice before suggesting Valdez step off the rubber during a tough inning.<\/p>\n
The controversy surrounding Valdez highlights the complex personalities that make baseball fascinating beyond just statistics and strategies. It also adds an intriguing subplot to watch when the Tigers face the Astros this season \u2014 will there be any lingering tension between Valdez and his former teammates?<\/p>\n
For Valdez, putting this incident behind him will require more than just words at an introductory press conference. It will take consistent professionalism and a demonstration that this was truly an isolated incident rather than a glimpse into a concerning temperament.<\/p>\n
For the full, unfiltered discussion about Framber Valdez\u2019s controversial moment and its implications for his career with the Tigers, be sure to listen to the latest episode of Cleveland Baseball Talk, where Noga and Hoynes bring their decades of baseball insight to the conversation.<\/p>\n
Read the automated transcript of today\u2019s podcast below. Because it\u2019s an AI-generated transcript, it may contain errors and misspellings.<\/p>\n
Podcast Transcript<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I\u2019m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes. Hoynsie, pitchers and catchers have reported out in Goodyear, Arizona. They\u2019re getting ready for their first workout to get underway here real soon. And there\u2019s been a rash throughout the league, throughout Major League Baseball, of injuries. I guess my question to you right now, how\u2019s your hammock bone feeling? A lot of guys around the league are feeling pretty bad about it right now. Some big names, Corbin Carroll, Francisco Lindor, and even Jackson Holiday. The, the promising young player in, in Baltimore. Carol\u2019s situation interesting because he\u2019s on the roster for the United States for the World Baseball Classic. So it looks like they\u2019re going to have to find a replacement for him there.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Oh, it\u2019s Carol, Joe.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, that\u2019s what I said. Yeah. Corbin Carroll is, you know, what, what do you. Obviously, you know, we\u2019ve heard about the hamate bone for a long time. The hook of the hamate bone and all the, the construction there in the player\u2019s wrist and hand area. You know, you\u2019ve been, you\u2019ve become kind of familiar with it over the past years. It goes back a while. You know what, what\u2019s your take on all this, this sudden rash of hamate bone injuries?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, Joe, I think it, it\u2019s like the oblique injury of a few years ago. You know, there was a rash of oblique injuries. But this goes back to when, to all the way to when I started covering base in 83. I remember Brook Jacoby had it, missed part of the season. Julio Franco headed, you know, guys, down through the, you know, down through the years. This is a common injury with, with hitters. You know, they jam that, the, the, the end of the bat into their, the bottom of their hand and you, they swing the bat so much that over time, that just breaks, that little hook on the end of the bone breaks and you\u2019ve. They\u2019ve got it, it has to be sur. And it usually takes six to eight weeks to bounce back. And you know, those are some high profile guys. Lindor, Holiday and Carol, you know, not to be ready for opening day. I mean, I guess, you know, they\u2019re saying Lindor could be ready. But Joe, I don\u2019t know, you know, you miss what, four to five weeks of camp and then you\u2019re gonna, they\u2019re gonna throw you right in there on opening day. I, I don\u2019t think so. I mean, remember when Lindor was injured, he, he strained his calf in the off season and, you know, he wasn\u2019t right. He missed the whole month of April. I believe so. So I, you know, I don\u2019t know. I mean, I, I would think these guys are all questionable for opening day.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Wasn\u2019t that the year Eric Stamets started at shortstop for him? And on, on opening day, the, the hook of the hamate bone injury. Cleveland has had its share, like you mentioned, you know, dating back all the way to Brooke Jacoby, Julio Franco, like you said, but even Jim Thome, even Jose Ramirez. These are guys who have, have missed chunks of seasons because they, they\u2019ve had this injury and they\u2019ve had to have the surgery and, and repair it. Does it affect, you know, maybe guys that swing from the left side of the plate more or, you know, than, than the right. Is there any rhyme or reason to it or is it just something that, like you said, it happens because of the, the repetitiveness and, and the number of swings that you put on it. Even a guy like a Chase d\u2019 Lauder just recently had it.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think it\u2019s, you know, it\u2019s just a grind of the game. You know, I was listening to Hot the Hot Stove on MLB Network yesterday and Harold Reynolds was saying it, it may have something to do with a new kind of swing there. They\u2019re teaching hitters that to swing and then stop your swing, kind of a check swing sort of thing to develop power. But Joe, this has been going on for a long time. I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s, that\u2019s the cause, but it\u2019s been going on for a long time. I mean, you, you brought up the Lauder and George Valera had it a couple years ago and had it really a bad case of it. I think he had to have surgery twice to repair that. So, you know, it, it\u2019s a common baseball injury to hitters. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re right or left handed.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, it\u2019s why so many teams have the, the hand specialists on retainers, because this is an injury that\u2019s common to it. You talked about that, you know, teaching the different kinds of swings to young hitters to, to try and backspin a ball, to get more lift and more home runs and more carry that way. Maybe there\u2019s something to that. You know, you don\u2019t really know unless you. With a smaller sample size of it. But again, we\u2019ve seen this injury like you said, Chase DeLauter, George Valera, the, the only positive, I guess the only good takeaway you can have from this once you injure it and have the Surgery, it\u2019s not like you\u2019re going to be able to break that same bone again. They just remove it and they remove the fragments. It\u2019s not like it\u2019s an injury that you can, you know, or can reoccur because once you have it, you\u2019re, you\u2019re done with it.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, that\u2019s for sure. And so it\u2019s a, you know, kind of a one time thing, except for Valera. And I\u2019m still not sure what happened with him, but he had to, they had to go in twice with that to, you know, to, to repair that. And you know, of course he\u2019s in big league camp right now and hopefully, you know, he has a chance to make the ball club, but that was a lingering issue for him. And you know, Joe, I just Remember with, in 2019 with Jose Ramirez, you know, he headed and he kind of played Superman for a while. He came back after four weeks and I mean, and what in the first two plate appearances, hit a grand slam and a three run homer against the White Sox toward the end of that season, but then didn\u2019t play again. You know, it was, it was an amazing accomplishment.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, the, you know, Cleveland at that time was trying to hang on, on to hopes of a playoff bid and Ramirez came back and it was sort of, I remember at that point it was the down to the wire and the chase of trying to make the postseason. And so they, they needed to get Jose back. They got him back and it was, it was like a Hollywood script. We, he hits a grand slam, he hits a three run homer. And for at least a moment it looked like Cleveland might have a chance to, to, to push their way into the playoffs. Then they wound up losing a couple of games in that series and there was kind of no point in, in continuing to push Jose and keep him in the lineup. So I think for the final series of that season, he didn\u2019t play again when they went to Washington. But yeah, it\u2019s, it\u2019s, it\u2019s more of a sort of a nagging sort of thing and it\u2019s, you know, you hope as a player to avoid coming down with this, this hamate injury. It\u2019s more of a, like you said, like an inconvenience. You have to have the surgery and you\u2019re out for four to six weeks, but generally when you come back, you come back pain free and you don\u2019t have any complications from it. So, you know, there\u2019s, there\u2019s hope that Lindor and Carol can still have normal seasons, have the surgery now, get their way back in early in the season and, and everything will be fine for them because obviously baseball is better with Francisco Lindor, Corbin Carroll and an exciting young player like Jackson Holiday when they\u2019re up and on the roster and everything. I just wonder what the United States is going to do with Corbin Carroll\u2019s spot in, in the World Baseball Classic. I\u2019ve seen names like Jackson Merrill maybe floated around as a possible replacement. Now this late into it, into the process, and you, you know, you\u2019ve got to find a substitute or a replacement. It\u2019s probably going to be pretty hard for Mark DeRosa and his, his club to, to, to be able to find something.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, that\u2019s going to be really interesting because, you know, clubs have kind of, you know, they\u2019ve, they\u2019ve got their plans or spring training plans in place now they want to, you know, they, they know, you know, every player has their own kind of personal program and now they, now you\u2019ve got to go and get some depth, guys, and it\u2019s going to be really interesting to see how they feel those two spots because those are two really good players and you know, Team USA really had such a great lineup there. Now their, their depth is really going to be tested.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah. And that outfield spot, it\u2019s kind of interesting because you\u2019ve got, you\u2019ve got Pete Crowe, Armstrong, you\u2019ve got Aaron Judge. There\u2019s, there\u2019s a bunch of different options that have. And you\u2019re going to have guys that produce and Carol was just a guy. I remember it was really watching him play out in Arizona this past season. I\u2019ve not seen a guy as fast as him run the bases in a while. You know, he was on third base before you could, you could blink a couple of times. So team speed definitely takes a hit. If you\u2019re the United States, that was something that he definitely gave you and it\u2019s not going to be available to the coaches. There\u2019s for the United States, the hamate bone not the only injury being discussed yesterday. Former Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber, who, you know, made it all the way to the World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in this off season, kind of surprised a bunch of people by re upping with Toronto and staying put, picking up his player option there and staying in Toronto. Well, now he\u2019s going to probably not be ready on time to start the, the regular season. At least the, you know, it doesn\u2019t look like it with some forearm tightness and some stiffness there. Obviously he\u2019s dealing coming off of the, the Elbow surgery that he had two years ago. Just, you know, how disappointing is it for Shane Bieber for the Blue Jays, who\u2019ve, who\u2019ve really spent the off season sort of adding to an already stacked roster in an attempt to get back to the World Series?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, it\u2019s, you know, I think it\u2019s, you know, they\u2019re operating out of an abundance of caution. You know, the, the famous phrase we always hear at this time of year when they\u2019 dealing with the injuries. And I think, you know, obviously, you know, the Guardians traded Bieber at the deadline last year while he was still recovering from Tommy John. And you know, he, he really pitched pretty well for Toronto. He went 4 and 2 with the 3.57 ERA and seven starts down the stretch. And then he kept pitching. Joe, in the postseason, five games, four starts, 18\u2153 innings, he went 1 and 2, I believe. You know, of course he, you know, he gave up the, the game winning home run, you know, the, the home run that beat him in Game 7 to the Dodgers, but still did a. You know, I think he probably pitched a little more than they thought he would pitch and that\u2019s, you know, that\u2019s where that inflammation kind of developed. And I know that he\u2019s, he\u2019s in camp with the Blue Jays now. He\u2019s playing catch at 90ft and they\u2019re being really, really careful with them. We\u2019ll have to see how this unfolds. Hopefully, you know, it\u2019s just slow playing them and maybe in mid April or the end of April, he\u2019s ready to go.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah. And that can be a boost for their rotation at some point down the line when, when he does come back, if he\u2019s stronger and ready to go. Definitely not the way Shane Bieber had hoped the, the 2026 would, the 2026 season would start. But you know, the, the important thing is getting him healthy and ready in the long run to be, be able to go down the stretch for them. Another name familiar to Guardians fans, Aaron Civale signs a deal and will be in camp with the A\u2019s. So potential there that the, the Guardians during their Cactus League tour might, might be able to get to, to see errors. Valley pitch.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yes, the Valley signs a one year deal with the, with the A\u2019s for 6 million bucks. You know, he\u2019s, since the Guardians traded him to Tampa Bay, Joe, he, he\u2019s been on the move, man. They traded him in 25 or 2024. Okay. Yeah, I was, yeah, 2023, you\u2019re right. Yeah. And he, he\u2019s gone to Tampa Bays. He\u2019s pitched with Milwaukee, the White Sox, the Cubs and now he\u2019s on another team with the A\u2019s. You know, just, he\u2019s kind of, kind of that back end starter that teams are looking for to you know, kind of lock down their rotation and give them some depth. So it\u2019ll be interesting to see was this season, you know, he\u2019s you, you think back Joe and they, he was one of the core guys that they brought up in 2016 with Bieber and, and Civale and, and please act and you know, they\u2019re all gone. I mean it\u2019s the, you know, pitchers, they turn up, they, they turn things over. Fast man.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, the, the, the three, the sort of the three headed monster and you know the talk of Cleveland being the, the envy of so many different clubs because of the, the young talent that they had in their rotation. Well, you know, they\u2019re already back up. They\u2019ve got Williams Bibee, you know, Cecconi, Cantillo, those guys that, that, that next wave of guys, you know, eventually made its way up. Logan Allen, all you know, have made their, their presence known since then. Yeah, Civale last season, all of his stops combined, what 4 and 9 with a 4.85 ERA. He started 18 games. He appeared in 23. He did pick up a save, which is interesting and pitched 102 innings with 88 strikeouts. But definitely not the Civale that we saw at his peak with the Guardians where he was just so precise. Never walked a batter, you know, could throw six different pitches and had that, that even keel temperament. And almost, almost to the point where, you know, you wanted to poke him with a stick to try and get a reaction out of him because he was, he was just so, so low key. You never saw any emotion out of him whatsoever.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: He had perfect, perfect demeanor for a pitcher, I think. You know, you know, like you want to see a guy keep his cool on the mound and after the, after the, after the game, you\u2019re right, Joey. And he, you know, you had to get, he talked in a whisper, you know, never saw it. Was he, was he, he was, I don\u2019t know. He didn\u2019t have much of a heartbeat, I don\u2019t think.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: I mean, not in a bad way, but I mean he made your job, he made your job harder because you had to get so close to try and hear him in his post game. It can\u2019t hold that against the guy. It\u2019s just the way he talked. He was, he was a low, he was one of those Low talkers like the sign.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Low talkers. That\u2019s right.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: He\u2019s definitely a low talker. You know, somebody who definitely has the heartbeat going right now. Chris Bassett from, you know, formerly of the the Blue jays, signs a one year $18.5 million deal. He will be joining the Baltimore Orioles, who now look like they\u2019re starting to build something there for Craig Albert as the new manager. And how, how happy is Alby to, to be getting Chris Bassett, a veteran guy who. He knows he\u2019s going to be able to go out there and chew up some innings for him as a starter.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I think that\u2019s a big move for Baltimore. They probably had to do that. They spent a lot of, a lot of the winter improving their offense, but they really had to look at their pitching staff and Bassett\u2019s a solid pro and I\u2019m sure Toronto\u2019s kind of, you know, scratching their head right now with, you know, the news with Bieber won\u2019t be. May not be ready for the regular season and Bassett signs with the Orioles. And it just, you know, you, you can never have too much pitching, Joe. And you know that\u2019s, it\u2019s an old cliche, but it\u2019s true.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah. And you know, he goes within the division so that, that\u2019s going to make things harder on Toronto too. Do you think the Orioles have maybe, maybe moved ahead of the Red Sox? What do you think the order there is in the. The AL East? We talked about the PECOTA projections yesterday, but you know, those still have the Yankees winning the east, but Toronto, Yankees, maybe Baltimore after that, Red Sox somewhere in that mix ahead of Tampa. What do you like to projected finish in the East?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, you know, I think that is such a tough division to pitch to pick. I still like, I think the Yankees are going to bounce back. I think they win that division. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if Baltimore finishes second. I think they\u2019ve, they\u2019ve made a lot of moves. I think there\u2019s going to be a lot of excitement with, you know, with Alby there as a new manager. You know, they seem to be really making, you know, a real legitimate effort to improve the ball club. Tampa Bay is, is always, is always in the mix. Boston, Boston, everybody says Boston is in, is in the best position team in the division with so many young players. I think they probably, maybe, maybe third. I\u2019d go with, you know, New York, Toronto, Boston, Tampa Bay. And then who am I missing?<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Baltimore.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Baltimore? Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, all this money and all.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: These moves that Baltimore\u2019s put in on the, in the off season and, and you\u2019ve got them finishing fifth. Okay.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: No, no, no, I got, I got that wrong. I got Baltimore second, Baltimore second, Baltimore.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Second behind the Yankees and then, then Toronto. Okay.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Okay.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah. All right. We\u2019ll, we\u2019ll, we\u2019ll, we\u2019ll revisit that maybe before the start of the regular season, maybe something like that. Maybe that, that\u2019ll change a little bit. You know, wanted to talk. We saw yesterday the Tigers introduced Justin Verlander and Framer Valdez, who they signed as free agents, you know, to add to their pitching staff. So the media event was yesterday and there\u2019s some, I guess, I guess, obviously the, one of the first questions that reporters wanted to ask Framber Valdez about was the situation last season with the, the crossed up pitch and his, his catcher, Cesar Salazar. He was a young catcher, you know, a guy who had just been called up and the situation kind of blew up where it looked like if you watch the replay, if you watch the videos, Valdez had given up a grand slam to the previous batter on a play where Salazar had told him, hey, step off, step off. And he never stepped off the mound. He threw the pitch, it got hit for a grand slam. And then the, the next pitch, Valdez appeared to intentionally cross up Salazar and hit him in the chest protector with a 93 mile an hour fastball. Afterwards, the reaction from Salazar, if you watch the video and you know, Valdez doesn\u2019t even look at the guy, was kind of universally talked about and we talked about it on this podcast as kind of a bad look for, for Valdez, you know, a black mark on, on his sort of season. There\u2019s, you don\u2019t go out and you don\u2019t hit your catcher intentionally with a pitch when you don\u2019t like the result of the previous pitch. But he was asked about it at his press conference yesterday and, you know, I guess the damage control he was trying to do with his new team made it sound like he just, you know, totally ignored what happened. And it wasn\u2019t intentional, it wasn\u2019t anything that, that I did on purpose. It happened in the moment, that kind of thing. And he says everything smoothed over with Salazar now. Hoynsie, what\u2019s, what\u2019s your take on the reaction from Valdez when asked about that, that pitch being a cross up and you know, now that he\u2019s sort of turned a new page and he\u2019s with a new team in, in Detroit and did that have anything to do with maybe his exit from Houston?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah. Interesting, Joe. I mean, you Know, especially since, you know, a lot of people have said that\u2019s why he lasted so long on the free agent market with that one incident, you know, I, I find that hard to believe. I think, you know, in a free agent market, talent usually rules. But, you know, I\u2019m sure he was trying to make peace with his old catcher and establish a good relationship with his new catchers. You know, in, in you. Because he had to know he was going to get asked that question when he was introduced to the press. You know, hopefully it wasn\u2019t intentional, Joe, but it sure didn\u2019t look good. You know, it was a bad look. The catcher, you know, kind of gave him a look that, you know, what\u2019s going on here, you\u2019re better than that. And, you know, hopefully, you know, Valdez is an emotional guy, but, you know, that\u2019s not something you want to do. I mean, you gotta, your catcher\u2019s there to help you, not to get to, you know, not to get you in trouble.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Well, you know, you\u2019re coming from Houston already the, I think the place most people think of, you know, conspiracy theories and cover ups and, and all sorts of things going back to the, the, the sign stealing scandal that, you know, I\u2019m certainly never going to let go of in terms of almost a decade later. But it doesn\u2019t surprise me coming out of Houston that the, the approach is to sort of obfuscate and deny and all that with this. Anybody in that Houston Astros clubhouse that you ask will tell you that framer Valdez, 1 million percent intentionally threw at his catcher. He\u2019s the only person in that clubhouse who believes it was an accident. You know, I, I think their reactions all sort of, you know, are in line with that. You just look at, you know, his, his reaction all, all off season was to basically downplay it. And now like you said, he\u2019s, he. And he has all the reason in the world to sort of make, you know, Detroit sort of want to forget about that. But if you\u2019re a catcher, it\u2019s got to be in the back of your mind every time you step behind the plate with him. So. Yeah, don\u2019t tell him to back off.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: The, back off the rubber, Joe.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Exactly. Well, as long as he\u2019s not giving up grand slams, then he\u2019ll be in a good enough mood not to, you know, intentionally want to hurt his catcher. So it\u2019s just very interesting and you know, we\u2019ll keep an eye on the situation with Framber does, but I\u2019m sure that\u2019ll never happen again to him. Anywhere down the line. Who knows? We. We talked about, you know, we\u2019ve talked about Framer in the past. We\u2019ve also talked about Nick Castellanos and the possibility that he is available in a trade and what level of interest the Guardians might have in him and what the timeline might be for Philadelphia needing to part ways with Tim. Well, as. As players reported to camp over the last several days in, In Florida, where the. The Phillies train, Nick Castellanos was told, hey, we don\u2019t have a locker for you, so we\u2019re working on a trade. But don\u2019t show up to camp because there\u2019s nowhere for you to sit. What\u2019s. What do you. I mean, this is a veteran guy and he\u2019s told, hey, don\u2019t show up to camp.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Imagine they talked to him. Joe, you know, just told him, you know, he knew the situation at the end of the season. The ball club knew the. Knew the situation. They probably just told him, look at.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: This is.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: This is not going to be the. You\u2019re just going to be a distraction. You\u2019re going to get peppered with questions. Let us try to work out a deal. Stay home for the time being, and we\u2019ll let you know when we make something happen. You know, whether they, what, they release them or they trade them or whatever they\u2019re going to do. You hopefully that\u2019s the way teams should handle a situation like that.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Right? Yeah. You don\u2019t want to, you know, you want to do things the right way, especially in terms of the veteran guys who, you know, you\u2019ve had agreements with, you know, for so long, you\u2019re not going to want. You\u2019re not going to attract very many free agents or have guys who want to play come play for your organization. If it gets out that this is the way you treated a. A veteran guy who, who you deserves a degree of respect. So I\u2019m sure there was something that they talked about and that everything\u2019s been worked out in that regard. But. Yeah, when it gets out that, you know, Castellanos doesn\u2019t have a locker at spring training, that\u2019s definitely nowhere there.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: If you didn\u2019t get the phone call, I mean, that\u2019s a pretty good hint that, you know, don\u2019t. Don\u2019t start packing yet.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Well, you don\u2019t want to find out about. Through social media or anything like that.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Hey, before we get going, speaking of call, don\u2019t call us or we\u2019ll call you. The, you know, if the Guardians aren\u2019t looking for maybe the possibility of adding Castellanos In a trade, maybe they could turn their attention to Houston. It looks like the Astros are, you know, they have a full boat in the infield and they\u2019re looking to trade a couple of guys or one of two guys in. Isaac Paredes, who was an all star last year but missed a chunk of time because of injury. Or Christian Walker, who\u2019s got two more years left on. Two more years and about $40 million left on his contract. Age 35 and sort of on the backside of his career. Both guys swing from the right side of the plate. Both guys could play first base or dh. Would, would make a, a really nice platoon there with Kyle Manzardo at first. The, the Astro help behind the plate, which, you know, the Guardians have. You know, they certainly have the kind of prospect that would attract a team in Cooper Engel, somebody like that who might not be major league ready, but they\u2019re also looking for a left handed hitting outfielder. The Guardians have a whole bunch of those. What do you think the chances are that the Guardians could be maybe talking to Houston about Isaac Paredes or Christian Walker?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: You know, it makes sense, Joe, to you and me. I just don\u2019t know. You know, they seem so committed to playing their young players, giving these guys a chance, but they certainly have to add some thump somewhere in this lineup. Ideally you would like to see that, but you know, on paper it makes a lot of sense. Just in the past, it just crushed Cleveland at Progressive Field. All he did was hit home runs against them, I think. And Paredes is, you know, really a good looking player. Cleveland has seen him, what with Houston and Tampa Bay and Detroit. So they, they know him pretty well and he would certainly, you know, add some power to the lineup. What, he only made 6, 6 plus million last year. I don\u2019t know what his contract situation is.9 million now. Yeah. So, you know, you could probably live with that, especially since, you know, they\u2019re, they\u2019re like 25 to 30 million dollars under their payroll from last season. You know, the opening is there if they want to take it. Joe, I just don\u2019t know how can, how commit. You know, they just seem so committed to playing these young guys and the core, and the core guys that I don\u2019t know if, I don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll venture out and make a, make a deal like this.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: Yeah, a couple of things make Walker and Paredes attractive maybe to Cleveland. The, the $20 million salary obviously for Walker is, is something that you would have to get around, but it would, you know, if you are taking on a bunch of that salary then maybe it wouldn\u2019t cost you as much in a prospect. You could, you could give them a lesser prospect as well as a major league ready player to make a deal like that work. Walker still hit what, 27 home runs and drove in 88 last year. Played in 154 games, had a 717 OPS. Wasn\u2019t great. You know, he struck out 177 times. That\u2019s. That\u2019s a lot. But again the, the 27 and 88, those that, those are numbers that nobody else in the Guardians lineup besides Jose Ramirez was able to put up as far well and comments are as well. So that make a nice pair as far as parades goes. Obviously a much younger player. He\u2019s about to. He just turned 36 or I\u2019m sorry, he\u2019s going to play at 27 this year. Two time all star. You know, last season with Houston he hit 20 home runs, 53 RBIs in 102 games. Obviously missed time with. With injury, but an.809 OPS. The thing you, if you\u2019re Cleveland that you like if you look at struck out only 76 times and walked 50 times. So he definitely fits the profile of the Guardians type of hitter. If they could make something like that work. Could you see, could you envision a lineup that would have Paris even able to fill in at third base on, on days where you give Jose Ramirez a day off, bounce him back and forth between the corner spots. D.H. Manzardo, when you, when you\u2019ve got him playing in the field. So that seems to be a better match for Cleveland. It\u2019s just what would it cost them in terms of a return to Houston?<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, yeah, that, that\u2019s for sure. And Joe, it makes sense. I mean he could definitely help this lineup. You know, power, you know, 20 like you said, 20 home runs last season, big season in 20, 23 with Tampa. You know when he hit 31 with 98 RBIs. So this guy\u2019s got pop. The kind of pop they need. But will. Will they make it happen? I do not know.<\/p>\n
Joe Noga: All right Hoynsie, that\u2019s going to wrap up today\u2019s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. We\u2019ll have some Hey Hoynsies. And we\u2019ll, we\u2019ll get answers for to some questions from our listeners. Tomorrow\u2019s edition and then. And then it\u2019s off to Arizona for you beginning of next week. So we\u2019ll, we\u2019ll check in with you before you head out on tomorrow\u2019s show.<\/p>\n
Paul Hoynes: Okay Joe, good deal. Man.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Framber Valdez may have changed teams, moving from the Houston Astros to the Detroit Tigers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-475630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}