Leadoff Talk: A Baseball Podcast With Katelin and Gabe · Leadoff Talk: A Baseball Podcast

Episode 44: NL East Preview

·37 min·2 clips

Edwin Díaz is out for the entire season with a torn patella tendon.

1. Leadoff Talk: A Baseball Podcast With Katelin and Gabe previews the NL East before the 2023 season. 2. Caitlin and Gabe host the episode and explain that they are breaking the season into division previews to avoid another two-hour show. 3. The episode asks which NL East team belongs first through fifth in a division the hosts call difficult to sort. 4. Gabe ranks the Nationals fifth, the Marlins fourth, the Phillies third, the Mets second, and the Braves first before later shifting the Mets to third. 5. The Washington Nationals segment centers on a rebuild after Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, and Bryce Harper are gone. 6. The hosts mention Cade Cavalli’s Tommy John surgery and call it a major setback for Washington’s pitching depth. 7. Josiah Gray, Mackenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, and Keibert Ruiz are named as the younger core Washington is trying to build around. 8. Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg are discussed as expensive pitching questions for the Nationals. 9. The Miami Marlins segment focuses on roster reshuffling, including Jazz Chisholm moving to center field and Luis Arraez arriving to play second base. 10. The hosts describe the Marlins as a team of odd fits, naming Jorge Soler, Avisaíl García, Bryan De La Cruz, Jesús Sánchez, Garrett Cooper, and Joey Wendle. 11. They compare Miami’s roster construction to a Diamond Dynasty team with players moved into secondary positions. 12. The Marlins’ pitching depth includes Pablo López, Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer, and Eury Pérez. 13. The Mets segment opens with Edwin Díaz’s season-ending torn patella tendon suffered in a celebration. 14. The hosts say the injury is a freak accident and reject blaming the World Baseball Classic for it. 15. David Robertson and Adam Ottavino come up as possible bullpen answers for New York. 16. The Mets’ roster discussion names Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Kodai Senga, José Quintana, Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, and Jeff McNeil. 17. The tone shifts between roster debate and offhand jokes, with both hosts correcting themselves and riffing while going team by team. 18. The Phillies segment emphasizes Trea Turner, Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper’s recovery, and a lineup built around Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm, and JT Realmuto. 19. Listeners who follow NL East roster moves, prospects, and bullpen changes will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners who want tight analysis without side jokes or name-by-name roster talk may skip it.

As heard by us

A brisk NL East preview that turns Edwin Diaz's injury into wider roster questions.

This NL East preview keeps circling back to Edwin Diaz's injury, and that last minute shift gives the whole discussion its shape. The hosts move from the Mets to roster depth and bullpen construction, then into the Marlins segment, which is where the frustration really shows.

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Need a blunt NL East check after the Diaz injury?

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