Inside Anthropic: The $965 Billion AI Juggernaut (Scaling Laws, Defense, & White-Collar Disruption)

[MUSIC] Good evening everyone. Welcome to a post trade deadline edition of Blue Jace Talk on SportsNet, 590 The Fan and the Blue Jace Radio Network. Show Ali here with you. You can reach me anytime, 59590, name and location. Taking your text all hour long. We will also get set for a baseball game tonight. 810 PM Eastern 510 PM Pacific is the time of first pitch between the Blue Jays and the Astros down at Diken Park in Houston. Looking forward to that one for a number of reasons because lots of trades made, lots of changes made. There's a, I have to look at the Astros lineup, but the scuttlebot was that Varsho would be in the lineup after getting traded to the Astros today. So lots for us to get to will hair from John Schneider. He just wrapped up his availability will hair from Jeff Hoffman. He spoke to the media down in the dugout lots for us to get to today. We will also carry the Ross Acton's press availability media availability in just a few minutes scheduled for pretty much right about now. So as soon as he steps up to the podium, we will get it over to you. And of course, I want via the text line, I want to hear from you guys. I want to hear what you think of the job Ross Actons did at the trade deadline. Give me your letter grade and you can use the pluses or the minuses if you like letter grade 59590 name and location as to how you feel the Blue Jays and Ross Actons navigated the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline. So in Blue Jays or Jose Soriano Spencer, Arigetti, Josh Smith, six other players slash prospects and you can include James and Tyone, who was trade or pardon me, who was signed yesterday as well. Outgoing Blue Jays, Kevin Gossman, Dalton, Varsho, Jeff Hoffman, Adam Macau and a few prospects as well. All right. Acton's just speaking to the media right now. Let's hear him live in Houston. Yeah, Ross. So a lot of trades this deadline, a lot of moving pieces from your standpoint. What do you think? What did you guys accomplish and what did you like about the moves that you made today? Yeah, obviously disappointed not to be adding to this group that we believe in and to the start of the season had so much great hope for and would much prefer that we were in a position to not be subtracting some of the great teammates and names that have been here and just have been adding to them. We are fortunate that we were able to add some major league pieces to a group that we feel like and compete and ultimately had to make the decision that we were determined to do what was best for the organization and try to optimize things given a situation that was less than ideal. And we were, you know, feel good about our outcome. You know, the acquisitions that, you know, can help the major league team in the short term some acquisitions that are close and then some acquisitions are further away, but balancing that out, we felt as a good outcome for the organization moving forward. Having said that, not without a lot of disappointment and accountability and an incredible amount of appreciation for our fans' support, know that there's been a very difficult year for our fans every day that I'm in the stands and look out and see the 40,000 plus people that are so attentive and locked into this group and, you know, feel that I've let them down to some degree, but believe this group is still going to compete and we have added some pieces that will allow them to still compete and think about each day as they come. And just as far as the buy sell hybrid that you guys ended up with, can you share like when that ended up becoming the plan? Yeah, I mean, it's more about just trying to make the organization better. You had the trade deadlines of time when you can do that. There aren't many times where you have all the teams thinking about optimizing their roster players and we were preparing for growth for some time and in a position to, you know, obviously had to move on from some players that we have a ton of respect for and appreciation for that was difficult to do, but we're in a position to add players that can impact our major league team now and for years to come. So the fact that, you know, Jose Soriano and Spencer Spencer, Eric Getty were available to us. Very good fits in an area that the demographic we were looking to add to this group worked out very well for us. Okay, we'll go to Mitch's screen. Hey, Ross, a few of us here on Mitch's laptop and Houston. Thank you for doing this. Of course. We're past the deadline and you look at how the team got here. What do you feel was missing this year and do you feel like this deadline has set you up to find that again in any way? Yeah. Yeah, obviously, I feel accountable for where we are and, you know, as I said, my appreciation and respect for the fans and what they've been through and how supportive they've been. And I just mostly feel incredibly accountable and disappointment. And the how we're going to work very hard to understand we've been trying to do that all year. I feel that I haven't been able to find the right adjustments and the right preparation for the group that, you know, is here right now. We're going to continue to do that as it relates to having improved our roster. Yes, we feel like we've added some impact pitching to our group at the major league level and all the way down to the lower levels of the minor leagues and some position player depth as well. Obviously, we had to give up things to do that, but we feel like we're in a healthier position moving forward. Ross, you guys have had success in the past with big arms who maybe had some some control issues. I think back to Robbie Ray, maybe even Dylan sees this year. Did that play that's past success? Did that play a role in how much you guys were interested in Soriano? Yeah, a little bit more so what was so attractive is what he's done. He's been incredible. He's, you know, since his injuries and transitioning from the pen to a starter, the, the, his stuff's electric. He's obviously competitive and throws a ball over at a good enough rate. So, you know, our pitching group led by Pete Walker and how they work with guys in our office is getting better every day. They've had some success in this area and feel like that. You know, we hope that we can and Jose can benefit from that. In terms of the cost, how did you factor in the uncertainty of next year and, you know, the labor issues and not really knowing when or if the season will start on time or if it will happen at all? Yeah, fortunately, we have so much support that we don't have to. We just focus on what's best for winning and operate as business as usual. We're certainly planning to play baseball next year. Hey, Ross, shy here. Just obviously a pitching heavy haul for you, although the Synth Position player is too. I'm wondering how did that, how did you guys land on that? Was that what was available in the market? Is that more a priority for you as opposed to trying to maybe load up on more offensive pieces? Yeah, never wanting to have a clear target in acquisitions at the cost of talent. You know, there are tie breakers and positional fits that, you know, can be goals, but in the end, talent is going to trump all. And if we were breaking ties, we wanted to acquire pitching because we do feel like we have a good position player group here and below. So feel like we've complemented them well. With that position player group, as you're kind of looking to renew in the years ahead as need arises, just how does we're moving NAMALA from that sort of near term mix, maybe impact the progression of your position player group? Yeah, I mean, that was the most, not not the most. That was the most difficult part of that tree was making that decision. He's been very good and he's going to be so that was tough for us. And you know, adding Bateman and South of the scenes softens that blow somewhat. The progress of other players in our system and some of the depth we have in AAA already and in AA was part of the equation as well. Yeah, we're good. Okay. Oh, actually Ross, I wanted to ask some of the players we've talked to here and John said that there was kind of constant communication over the last few days between you and them about what this deadline could look like. When there is uncertainty and there's going to be guys coming in and coming out to the big league roster, how did you go about that? What did you kind of, how did you brace them for today? Just asked, you gave them the updates to the extent that I could ask them what questions they had. We had some philosophical discussions. We had some accountable discussions. We had some problem solving sessions. So it was really just being available to them to answer questions that they have. Yes, hi, Ross. How are you? I'm great. How are you, Marty? I'm doing good. I'm sure that, you know, this is, it's probably been a 90 hour week or something for you, heading into today and probably before that as well. I'm just wondering, is there anything that happened today that, you know, on your end, on the blue jazzy end, I mean, that kind of surprised you. I guess maybe for some of us, we, we kind of thought that, you know, George would end up, you know, somewhere else. But is there anything that surprised you? You know, no, I think surprise would be too strong of a word because of the, how much work goes in to understanding markets, understanding interest levels. There's ebbs and flows. I think, you know, the, the biggest surprise is that we, you know, in my mind, and I think surprise is too strong of a word. But I think the thing we were the most pleased with is that we were able to acquire pieces that can impact the team immediately and will be here for the long term. And it's important to us and usually a hard thing to do in the situation that we were in as far as we're concerned. Okay, thank you very much. Yeah, and as it relates to George specifically, Marty just felt like it was important for him to be here. We wanted him here as we continue to push forward. Okay, thank you so much. You are in Toronto, right? I'm looking at your office here probably, but yeah, we did, we didn't move our team to Houston for one day. A large group working here. Okay, thanks. Thanks much. No problem trying to unmute myself here. I'm not technically inclined. Ross said isn't often a blue chase team gets to a world series, let alone gets to game seven of the world series, let alone leads into the ninth inning of game seven today, and Josh Hoffman and Varsho get traded. Is there an emotional element to that considering what all went on last November and October? Yeah, and most of the motion. Absolutely, and it's been coming out of me here for a few weeks, you know, watching our team get to this point and hoping that it would turn. We did as long as we possibly could to see if there was going to be a turn. Most of the emotion is appreciation, respect, and accountability. We've had a lot of discussions with individuals with groups with the entire team about, you know, how we got to this point given how exciting things were just a few months ago. So, you know, for me, myself, the biggest emotion, you know, is just letting down the fans and letting down our clubhouse that I haven't been able to, to write the ship this year, but we'll just focus on getting better each day and do the best job we can. And in the case of trading Hoffman, after two really spectacular months in a row for him, what prompted that move at this time? We were again, and just such a. All things considered this is not the situation we wanted to be in where we're parting ways with the Jeff Hoffman, but we were we've were given so much support. We didn't have the pressure to do it if we weren't able to get the return that we felt make the most sense. So it got across a line where we felt it made too much sense for the organization. We were would have certainly been pleased to have Jeff Hoffman here tonight and for next year. But that return and the shape of it made sense for us given the other moves that have been made and given the state that we're in right now. While Griff is getting on muted, you guys asking me about my location gave me a funny memory. Well, we're good at chunk of here. Thank you so much for the time. By the trading of Hoffman, you guys gained a space on the international market. I don't I'm not sure you can tell tell us how much but is that significant amount of space and how much important to do so now. Yeah, the the important parts of the return were the players that we received. And the anything is important that helps us acquire talent and that international space was for $250,000 and that is worth a lot more than that to us that cash amount because of what it means in terms of acquisitions. You know, getting a really young, exciting picture and days and hill, you know, and a picture that can help in the short term and climb and an exciting infield prospect below that was the bigger part of the equation for us. I see. Do you have any good blueprint for the next international market next of season? Yeah, we feel like we, you know, we're trying always to be a couple of years of head there and. You know, our work internationally led by Andrew Tenish and Ryan Middleman. We feel is all encompassing and. Covering a large part of the world and we're in a strong position there. Eras, you mentioned that with George, it was important for him to be here and you guys wanted him here. And I'm curious if you could just share any insight into what your conversations were like around, mac sure's or in Justin Bieber similarly veterans on expiring deals. Yeah, I mean, with each of those guys similar to what I said about Jeff, we felt that because we have so much support here wasn't necessary that we trade them and there was benefit to us continuing to compete. Benefit to individuals like Max and George and Shane being here to. Impact others individually and impact us winning baseball games. Hey, Ross, you've spoken often about the windows that are available to you to improve your team and how important each of them are. I mean, obviously you've been very busy over the last little while and accomplished a fair bit. How close are you to getting back to where you think this team needs to be? I think we're close. Yeah, I, you know, obviously I would rather that we were just adding at this point and making us a much better 26 man and 40 man roster for the 26 season. We weren't in that position. We weren't learning our focus to continue new in games and compete this year and make us better for the 27 years season and beyond that and feel that we've accomplished that. We'll go back to Marty. Sorry, Ross. I just thought of something. You were starting to say at one point that that. That this reminded you of kind of a funny story. What were you going to talk to speak to about that? I don't get asked where I am often, Marty. But I have. But I have been asked that before one other time. Oh, okay. No, I thought it was something. I appreciate it. Thanks, Ross. I was wondering what it was like. Sorry about that. I'm getting feedback. What was it like for you when. Terrick Scooble was trade. I'm wondering if that was kind of where the bar had to be set to see. You know, what kind of values coming back for maybe the biggest prize on the market. Was there a waiting period until Terrick got traded? Yeah, it seems like that was definitely holding it up to some extent. You know, that. I think that's what it was like to get the money back. Not necessarily as much to set the prices, but for the teams wanting to know if they were potentially in that market. If they could be so that that seemed to get things going for sure. And yesterday, Max talked about really whatever moves the front-off side to do. It really came down to the players and he took accountability for his part. And so we have a teammates to for. And so we have a team that is going to be the 26 season. What are the spirits like today for the team? Yeah, I think it's pretty good. You know, obviously disappointing to see their teammates go. You know, some of them, but I think they believe they're going to win tonight. And tomorrow and the next day. When one day at a, you know, one pitch at a time, one game at a time, one series at a time. And they're focused on that. And that's, you know, that's why they're focused on that. And so I think that's why we have a team that is going to be a team that is going to be a team that is going to win tonight. And so that's why we have a team that is going to win tonight. And I think that's why we have a team that is going to win tonight. And so, you know, I think it's going to be a team that is going to win tonight. And so, I think that's what the team is going to do. the biggest takeaway. for me from what he said was pretty much right at the beginning talking about how they, how he feels they've added impact pitching. Obviously with guys like Jose Soriano and to a lesser extent, Spencer, Eric, Eddie White, find really interesting. We'll get to that certainly in the next half of the show, but not just with those guys all the way down to the minor leagues. He said, we feel like we, we are in a healthier position moving forward, which has got to be the biggest takeaway from the deadline. They had obviously did not get that big impact bat everyone wants. And you know, they traded at least a little bit from that position of relatives trying from a prospect perspective and sending Namaala away and getting Soriano back. But at the same time, Soriano has been a phenomenal player and and Akins getting to that as well. So personally, I have no real issue with that knowing that you can solve some of these problems when it comes to other holes in the lineup in the offseason, right? I mean, Barker has talked about this before, you know, it's probably going to be a tough ask to solve all the things that ale you while also trying to thread the needle of buying and selling all and one deadline effectively. So interesting to hear his comments in that. But again, no massive surprises, I would say from Akins beyond him talking about the impact pitching in the organization, the Desson Hill of the of the twins system now of the Blue J system, the seventh, I believe overall prospect in the twin system, he seems to be the centerpiece of the trade. So that's an exciting name from a pitching perspective, moving forward in addition to guys that were already in the system like the Johnny Kings and Nolan Perrys of the world. So yeah, really interesting stuff today overall when it comes to the trade deadline and pairing from Ross Akins and the media from all over North America. I asked you before we went to Ross, what your letter of grade is when it comes to how you feel he did this deadline. We got a whole bunch of techs. I want to read a couple of them for you before we take a break. Nick Ashmore is going to join me on the other side. We'll get into some of the nitty gritty for the moves made today. I'll get his letter grade as well. And of course, we'll continue taking your texts. Andrew from Barry, 595, 90 name and location B plus from Andrew love these Sariano pickup. When he pitched against us this year, I thought he was something special. I hate to see guys go, but that is business. It's true. I mean, we got a close up close in personal look at sorry, Ana when the J's went to LA earlier in the season and he was real damn good. So I have to say I've always quite enjoyed watching him. He's one of the, he's an interesting guy because he's always started real hot and then faded as things went down the stretch. But I mean, he was a legitimate a L. S. I. Young candidate early in the season. And now this is a guy who can throw some gas, throw some wicked stuff overall, but also let's face it, can have some command issues. Some probably if you're Ross Ackins and if you're, you guys, the blue J's fans are hoping that Pete Walker can sprinkle some of that pixie dust and help him reign in the control again, something they're clearly working on with Dylan C's because it kind of very much reminds me of the conversation we had about Dylan C's when he signed here. So you're hoping that's a, that's a big part of the positive aspect of making sorry on what blue J Jeff from Smith's Falls Ontario trade deadline score, a solid A, filled up the coffers and added for the future. There's still some hope they can go on a run. This one's from Colby and Edmonton plus four on the return minus three on the guys leaving. Okay, so that's a gun, a plus one overall reminds me of the honest and thepless days we kept the team eligible for both this year and next sat to see Arjun go though. It is true. Like, don't get me wrong. I would have loved to have seen them all play for the blue J's at one point. But you know how it is with prospects, right? I mean, you never know. Maybe this is his peak right now. I mean, that can seems confident that he will become a pretty solid major league player moving forward. And I really do hope that's the case, even if he's not going to be a blue J, but yeah, it is tough to see the top end guys go, but I do kind of feel like that's a relative vote of confidence. So to speak, as far as prospects can get those, that seems to be a relative vote of confidence in Joe Joe Parker. I would think, right? Joe Joe Parker in terms of shortstop of the future, for example, who is still probably what? Four years away. I don't think we're that close. Maybe that does tell you a little bit about how they view an Andrus him. That is, for example, at the very least right now, things could change in the offseason. Of course, Brian and Toronto always appreciate your text, Brian. Show from last night, Goss Mendel, you need that to ball contact players average speed, OBP. The deals today as well. All great. The only things I didn't like keeping Bieber's Springer though I do understand it still need one to do bats. Overall, great. An A plus. Wow, that's a pretty high grade. I will say I know that people were down on the Kevin Gossman return. Ty South, the scene and Brett Bateman, the number 13 and 21 prospects respectively in the Cubs system. So there, I think the numbers have changed once MLB pipeline did their kind of post trade, rejigging, let's say, of the two systems for Chicago and Toronto. But still, South, the scene is a guy who's a little further away. Brett Bateman's an interesting one, because he's not exactly a lot of pop for either of these guys, but Bateman. Could he be a potential solution in center field, especially now that Dalton Far show is not a blue J and I mean, we kind of figured that would be the case even after the season he was an expiring contract regardless. But curious to see what that looks like because if Bateman again, if it's if it works out defensively and all the reports seem to say that he is defensively sound, but works out for him that way. I got to imagine he will be at least a part of the solution, if not the outright solution. Again, that's I feel like that's the best outcome here, the best possible outcome for a Bateman. But going to be going to be interesting how they view him. I mean, there's a there's a good chance we see Bateman, a guy who said a breakout season, a AAA in the Cubs system this year, truthfully. So curious to see what his development looks like because if the if the defensive output is as good as we think it is, there's a good chance he is again, at the very least in the mix when it comes to a center field, 595, 90, name and location. Want to get all of your letter grades in as to how the blue jays did this trade deadline, Ross Akins job and the players gone players in. You can text me again, 595, 90, name and location. All right. Let's take a quick break on the other side. We can see if we have some time to squeeze in some sound. And of course, we will chat with Nick Ashborn. Of course, writer for sports, nut.ca and my frequent running mate on Blue J stock chat with him about all things Blue Jays, this trade deadline. You're listening to Blue Jays talk, a special post trade deadline edition on sports net 590 to the fan and the blue jays radio network. Welcome back to this post trade deadline edition of Blue Jays talk on sports net 590 to the fan, the blue jays radio network show Ali here with you. You can reach the show anytime 595, 90, name and location. Your letter of grades on the job, the blue jays and Ross Akins have done here at the deadline in 2026. We will read more. I read a bunch of them before the break, read some more before we say goodbye. Of course, we also will get set at some point here in the next 20 minutes or so for Blue Jays baseball tonight, 810 PM Eastern 510 PM Pacific. The blue jays will take on the Astros in the series. Now, but her Shane Bieber Christian, Javier, the pitching matchup tonight, Eric Smith and Chris LaRue are on the call across the network. But joining me right now to chat all things, Blue Jays, chat all things trade deadline. It's my friend Nick Ashborne writer for sports net dot CA host of Blue Jays happy hour. And of course, our frequent running mate here on Jays talk. Nick, how are you today? Excellent. It was a hectic one. But it's always a pleasure to be with you and happy to kind of unpack a, I don't know, some a confusing day for your Toronto Blue Jays. Yeah, it was a, it was a busy one. I mean, we were kind of you and I last couple of weeks. We had, I guess, positive the idea that the team could both buy and sell. And that's kind of what they did, right? It's kind of interesting. It's kind of what a lot of teams did. We went out to get into the nitty gritty of the other teams necessarily right now. But, you know, I mean, the Mariners kind of bottom soul, the Orioles, I guess, more sold than they bought certainly. But yeah, it was an interesting deadline because it kind of felt like a lot of teams were kind of running this, straddling this fence to a certain extent. And it's something that teams will talk about heading into the deadline in part because they want to seem like they're not ruling anything out. And of course, they're going to do their due diligence about everything and they're not going to take opportunities off the table. But they usually pay a service to it. Then they don't actually do it. And when the time comes, there's only so much time in the day. They have things that they really need to do, which is whether you're a seller getting rid of those contracts or you're a buyer, getting the players you need for a playoff. Looks like that ends up being the priority. And being able to do both of them, it just rarely comes together. The blue jays were able to do it. You couldn't go with whether they did it well or like the moves that they made, but they did make that happen. And arguably, I wouldn't even say arguably their most significant move of the day was a buying move. It's not many people to predict it heading in. No question. I don't think anyone, oh, sorry. I know on their, on their bring-o card for the blue jays specifically at the very least. I think people felt he might have been moved, but maybe not, not for Arjun, Nomala. Well, look, before we get into all of these deals, and we'll talk about Jose Soriano specifically here in a sec. But because it was such a busy day in and around the league, not just for the blue jays, lots in, lots out. I had asked everyone, and you probably heard me say bringing you in here. I'd asked everyone to give me their letter grades for what Ross Akins did for the jays today. So let me get that from you first before we get into that nitty-gritty. I think I would go with an A minus truthfully, but I'm curious what where you would land. We're gonna have a gap here. I was gonna say C-flut. Okay. I'm a little bit underwhelmed. I think conceptually again the idea of buying and selling the idea of stocking some pitching depths and that had been such a problem this season and looked pretty questionable heading into 2027. There were some, I don't know, missions objectives met by what they did. They really kind of get into the trades individually. A lot of them feel a little bit uncomfortable. That's very, you know what look, I do understand that most of what powers these kind of rankings, let it grades, whatever, will always lie with the sexiest move, I guess. And it does feel like the sexiest move was Jose Soriano, but let me ask you this before we get to him. Is the team, I mean, because it does feel like they still did more, more selling than buying, at least for me, is the team substantially worse now than it was. Let's say before Gossman was traded, I guess less than 24 hours ago. How do you feel about where the team was is now versus where it was last night? I mean, the team is worse, right? You could make a case causing versus Soriano. That's an interesting conversation to have. I think Josh Smith, the someone who actually will do something valuable for the team going down the stretch. Not a super exciting player, but someone who fills a gap. But then, you know, Varsil goes out. There isn't a replacement unless they push Bateman here and often had been really good for a couple of months now. Spencer, I think we'll kind of backfill his innings. If I not feel that ads in so much, but it's not like they brought in a great reliever to replace often. It's a downgrade, but it's not as much of a downgrade as you normally get in this type of situation. We're chatting with Nick Ashborne writer for sports net dot CA host of the blue J's happy hour. And of course, host here on Blue J's talk with myself very frequently. Okay, let's get to the Soriano thing, right? Arjun Nemala, at the very least, the biggest piece, not the only piece, but the biggest piece going back the other way. That is a pretty big piece of business to at the very least as you and I have spoken about before, extend the life of this rotation beyond this year. I mean, you're not going to look at a rotation at the very least. And again, I'm not sure if baseball will be played next year, but a rotation that looks like Csoriano, you savage at the least. I mean, Ponson, Eric, Eddie and there as well. You have to think at least a part of this for is that a for guy that has electric stuff, but as at times does have command issues, you are hoping that between Pete Walker, Alejandro Kirk, and certainly Valenzuela as well. There's work to be done in helping him rein in some of those command issues. So that's clearly as you as already you've already alluded to, the sexiest thing that happened today as far as the blue J's go. What did you make when you saw that news? >> I mean, it was, it was a pretty shocking deal. You did not expect the team like the blue days to head into this trade deadline and move arguably their number one prospect. And you know, you mentioned Jose Soriano really talented guy. He can get ground balls, he can miss bats, he's kind of always playing with whether he's more of a sinker baller or he wants to get strike out and I don't know if he's ever fully found that balance. He's been unhittable at times out of the gate this season. He was in the side young conversation in the beginning of the year. He's been inconsistent at times. So the J's have had success at this type of picture. I don't want to necessarily be too disrespectful, but I feel comfortable being slightly disrespectful of the Los Angeles Angels in terms of their ability to handle pitching and develop pitching. And so if you want to guess like are the J's going to do a better job with this talented player than the Angels did? I think that's a reasonable thing to assume. The thing that kind of got me about this deal, I mean, I just, I think highly of Nemal as a prospect. I really like guys who are very young but are performing at high levels like he was doing very well at double A as a 20 year old. And to me, he looks like an everyday player in the major leagues. It's tough to give up guys of that caliber when you're talking about just a couple of years here, right? Because the end of this season, sorry, I know will help them mitigate the loss of Gosman, but chances are they're not making the playoffs. And so it doesn't really matter. And then 2027, obviously, there's a little bit of labor uncertainty there. So when you're only getting kind of two years out of the picture and there's a little bit uncertainty about one of those years, that's where I thought a little bit uneasy about the price being paid with Nemal. I still expect Soryan to perform well at the blue jeans. Maybe Nemal will not hit and it'll be totally forgotten that he was such a well regarded prospect at the time of the deal. I am fairly high on Soryano, but I just am high on Nemal as well. It does feel somewhat reminiscent of at least for me of the deal when they acquired Jose Boreos from the twins in terms of, and again, I'm not saying that Nemal is Austin Martin, for example, I think I'm kind of with you and that being high on him as a prospect. And I'm bummed that we won't get to see him play for the blue jays, at least in a couple of years. But that's a part of this being a business, right? And again, it was surprising because I don't think you see very many top, what, like 40 to 50 prospects move generally, I would say. I mean, a couple move today, certainly in other deals across majorly baseball, it just doesn't have that often, I would say. So I think that was a big eyebrow razor. But I mean, look, if there's one thing that excites me about watching Soryan, it's not just that he has electric stuff. It's that, you know, because he's a ground ball guy, you got to think that plays well for the blue jays as a defensive team, even if they do make changes to the team, whether it's on the infield or outfield going forward into into next season. Again, if there is a season next season. And then on top of that, having Alejandro Kirk work to help him out as a guy who has gained a incredible reputation for being a defensive catcher and a game calling catcher in terms of his talent level. So I think those are the two things that make me particularly excited about seeing Soryan on a blue jays uniform. And you think of Robbie Ray when the blue jays brought him across, and they really got him throwing strikes. Steven Mat had a very successful year at the blue jays, he threw strikes at a higher rate when he was in Toronto. And there is a bit of a Kirk effect, and that prefer the framing and even Valens' way or two when he's on the plate as well. The pitching, the coaching staff in terms of pitching in Toronto led by Pete Walker very well regarded. Yeah, you take a guy out of the situation and a franchise that again has a pretty poor reputation in this area, bring them to one that has a good reputation as Toronto. And there's a very good chance that great things are going to happen with Soryan. I don't know if he's going to be you know, challenging C. Says you're ace or anything like that. He could be more of a two, three, then a one, two. But one part of this deal, I feel like people are not talking about is just how cheap he is. And people don't think of that with the blue jays because like, oh, the blue jays are a team that likes to spend a lot of money and so it doesn't matter. They don't always have to get the cheapest guy. But when you bring in a guy like Soryan who's making 2.9 million this year, he'll get a big raise in arbitration, but we're still talking, you know, single digits million in that second year of arbitration. That also empowers you to go to a free agency and get, you know, another established starting picture and that gets cost, you know, 20 million dollars or something like that because you have this player who is at a very, very reasonable price. So next thing you know, your rotation is steaks, your savage, Soryano, unknown established free agent and vent plants and arrogant in various other candidates as well. And that feels like a pretty sturdy group. Yeah, I mean, considering that prior to all the moves today, the pitching depth in the rotation was effectively, especially knowing that burios probably not going to pitch next year with the injury. The pitching depth largely felt like cease your savage and question mark above the head of ponds, even though you expect him to pitch next year that it does, it does feel like it's in a much, much better place. You know, the last two deals of the day were very interesting. Our show to the Astros Hoffman to the twins, very different deals, interesting for different reasons. I have to think two months of our show for Spencer Erigetti injured though he may be and we had heard from John Schneider that nerve irritation with the right foot is what he's on the IL for could make a rehab start on Wednesday. So we'll probably get some more Erigetti news later in the week. But that does to me feel like a really tidy piece of work given that Erigetti is 26 and throws all these different pitches and is under control for a while. Don't go me wrong. Like he is obviously there's probably a lower ceiling with him. But I feel like I've seen flashes of talent with him here and there. He's been quite good at times when healthy, which obviously is a big part of this. But you know, when you look at how he profiles, I mean, you just talked about sorry on it could profile as a two or three instead of a one or two if Erigetti does end up profiling as a three four or four five. I think you'd still be very happy with that given that far show as a free agent in handful of months. Yeah, I think this was this is probably my favorite deal of Blue Jays made today and I don't say that because I think the Erigetti is some fantastic picture. You know, he's shown you that 50 plus starts at the LB level and he's been kind of an ERA above 4.5 and that area to have a guy like a back to the rotation guy. Doesn't throw hard. He's got a lot of different pitches. He's got a good curve. But I don't want to be too dismissive. But like he does is he really serves as a great depth piece because he, you know, first of all, he's under control for many years. I know that doesn't excite people, but that is something that is useful as you're planning out your rotation. I'm glad that Atkins did not mention years of control when he learned his lesson about how that plays from a PR perspective. So I'll do that for him. But the other thing that he has again, and this is not going to excite people necessarily, but he's not minorly goptians. And so for years, it felt like the change even if it had rotation of five, this all good about, they just didn't have that guy in the minors at number six that they could bring on if someone who's hurt or just really not performing. And then then up heading to the waiver wire, making minor trades getting in ineffective veterans and air getties of type of guy that could have used earlier in the season when things started to break down a little bit as a break glass in case emergency. And I'm not saying he can't win a starting spot notation. He could conceivably be the five next season. But one thing they does is he kind of backstop to disaster in a way they have the been able to do. They tried to do with Mitch White. Obviously that did not work. They haven't done a great job of developing their own pitching outside of your savage. So teams that develop pitching better often have a couple guys in AAA that they can turn to when they need it. The J.S. has struggled to have that player. And so having an optionable starter that you can kind of stash in AAA as needed could be really important for the team as much as that is, again, not exciting, not sexy, not selling any tickets. But when you're talking about a rental player who's not having a great season, getting that instead of sort of the minor shot in the dark type prospects that you've got, you know, kind of in the Kevin Gawzman deal. That kind of shows you what a rental can be worth, right? Instead of getting not fantastic prospects, you've got a handy player, even if it's someone who doesn't have a much of a chance to start player. You know, when it comes to Jeff Hoffman, then in you and I have spoken about Jeff Hoffman, it feels like a million times this season, but a polarizing figure for a variety of reasons. But since being removed from that closer role, you mentioned this earlier, he's been quite good, right? Only three earned runs, given up, given up since the beginning of June in just over 22 innings pitched. Now, we can get to Desson Hill in a sack who seems to be the centerpiece of this trade for the J.S. But with Hoffman gone, how do you think that rejigs the back end of the bullpen outside of Tyler Rodgers? And of course, Louis Varlan. I'm guessing Braden Fisher and Spencer Miles play some role here, but I'm curious what you're and we've kind of seen Fisher absorb some of these high levergenings over the course of his career, dating back to last year. But I'm curious what you make of miles in particular being a part of that solution. >> If it's a one for one, I think Miles is the guy. He's been so effective in basically any situation they've thrown him into when they needed him as a bulk guy, when they needed him, you know, an extra-ending situation before they kind of needed got to know who he was as a pitcher. I would kind of rate him above Fisher in terms of how he's pitching right now and just the stuff that he brings to the table. It's odd to be like, oh, we're going to turn to this guy who's a role five pick who is basically no minor experience and we're going to start giving him high lever genings. But everything they've seen from Miles has points to Jesse's ready for that. And if he's not, and if he falters and if he fades down the stretch, we could not be shocking based on the trajectory of his career. Like, he's never come even remotely this far before. So if he did struggle, but down the stretcher got the teed, you know, the Jays have Fisher right there as an option. And so even when Poffman out the door, they're still as I can turn to in this bolt. >> Nick, you are the best for hopping on with me and breaking down a busy day. If we had more time, I'd say, hey, let's talk about the Ruchman deal with the Orioles and the Red Sox. I mean, there's a lot I wanted to get to from around Major League Baseball, but time is our enemy. So I'll simply say, again, thank you. You're the man and I look forward to us chatting on. Let's call it Jays talk classic down the road. >> Absolutely. My pleasure coming on. We'll see you sometime in August, I believe. >> There he goes. That's Nick Ashborne, writer for sportsnet.ca. And host of Blue Jays Happy Hour with Andrew Stouten, I'm sure you'll get some more trade deadline coverage via that podcast as well. And like I said, we'll get Nick back on later in August when it comes to the classic postgame editions of Blue Jays talk. I want to read a couple more of your texts before we get out of here. Letter grades for what the Blue Jays have done. This is from Peter and Toronto, again, 59590s, the text line. A minus for him, that's where I landed as well. Peter saying, the way the season has gone and along with coming back to Earth from last season, the Jays are a better team today than they were last game looking forward to tonight's game. Adam from Jerusalem, I would give Ross a B plus. He did good job with what he had. Kurt turned out to be a higher grade depending on what happens with the prospects we got. I think that's an important part, Adam, of giving your grades to the deadline because I mean, look, this on hill, the seventh ranked prospect in the twins organization. So an interesting picture, a guy who could be a part of solutions in the bullpenner as a starter going forward. And again, depending on how they see him, of course, he could also prospect as we know, as we saw literally saw today we discussed with them all, I could just be used as capital to make trades for other guys, right? So I'm curious what that looks like, but at the same time, it's true. You probably, it just feel like you're, we're giving like the surface level letter grades to a certain extent, you know, we're probably going to have to wait a little while before we can, you know, really talk about it kind of in the same way that, you know, it was probably impossible to gauge like that will Wagner, Brandon, Valens, Wala deal. I would say, even now, really, I mean, Valens, Wala has given you more than you've ever expected he would, but again, that's how long it takes sometimes. So it's definitely a good point by, by, by Adam Cooper and Brampton. Let's see, I'd give Ross and the boys a B plus on the deadline today. Soriano is definitely a dude. And I think Pete Walker will work wonders with him. I hate to use the term assets. I know what you mean, but it is a common one, but the ass is going out in Macco, Varsho Hoffman, prospects, netting us some solid pitching depth and middle of the pack prospects. The only thing that could have bumped it to an A would have been getting a middle of the order bad, but not much of those move today. Anyways, that is true. If you look at all the deals that were made across majorly baseball today, not a lot of sexy bats moved. I mean, who are the biggest bats that moved to the deadline this year? I, Ruchman and Luis Garcia Jr. probably, who's kind of fortunate, both the guys went to the American, the East, but still those are probably the sexiest bats. I'm guessing the biggest names were guys like Soriano or Foster Griffin or relief pitching, for example. So yeah, you're probably right. It does, it does feel like I'm with you on the bats, but I do think that's probably something that can be done for a bigger name, perhaps in the off season. Norm from Guelph A grade to Ross, given the situation with Soriano in, you can feel better about. Next year, Luis in Moncton, no, no letter grade from Luis, but says overall, I think Ross seconds did a pretty good job. Disappointed, he didn't get any power hitters. We really need that agreed. This one's from Brian and Ashrow, a B plus game in Whitby, a solid A. Let's not forget that Santana dare could be back late this year too. I mean, I'm like not, I'm not holding my breath to see if, if some of their plays with the Blue Jays this year, just because I feel like I've been burned on that a couple of times, much like you guys. So yeah, I think I'm not going to say that's a part of it, but hey, if you get literally anything from Santana dare at this point, I think you'd be happy. Mark from Thorold, I think had graded a B plus, you know, talked about some some trades that could have been, including CJ Abrams, who who didn't move, of course, but again, I do, it does feel like the bat probably will come in the off season. Listen, we'll take more of your text post game as well. Blair and Barker have the post game edition of Blue Jays talk. Once this game is in the books, Eric Smith and Chris Leroux are coming up on the other side in mere minutes, 8, 10 PM Eastern 5, 10 PM Pacific, Ian Chris will have first pitch and the starting lineups on the other side, a starting lineup that does not feature Dalton Varsho, but the lineups for the Astros will feature Dalton Varsho, Shane Bieber, Christian Javier is the pitching matchup. Blue Jays and Astros coming your way, series opener at Dijk and Bark, like I said, Blair and Barker, Jace talk classic after the final out. Have a great night. Talk to you later.