Blake Murphy

So, you know, obviously you can look back at this and be like, it would be nice to have one extra guy who can give you length, but that was the case when they let him go, too.

So I don't think so.

We'll see.

Lauer's starting today for the Dodgers against Colorado Rockies, so we'll see how that one goes.

Eric in Winnipeg had said the other day, Hope Barrios comes back better than ever.

Seems like the fan base has soured on him.

Past year doesn't take away from his several seasons as a consistent starter.

I think that's fair.

I don't know how much they've soured on him versus, you know, he was ineffective late last year and a bit of a squeaky wheel when he got taken out of the rotation and, you know, wasn't around the team during the playoffs, which are,

He wanted to be with family, which you understand, but he himself said he could have handled.

So there's a lot of context there.

But yes, you have to hope that come 2028, when he'll be in the last year of his contract, assuming he doesn't come back late next year, that he can be a better version.

This is a guy who pitched more than pretty much anyone since entering the major leagues.

So that is also the case for him.

Dylan Cease and Kevin Gosman and Patrick Corbin over the last couple years.

This is Cease's first time missing starts in quite a few years right now.

Bill and Oshawa asked, how urgently do the Blue Jays have to turn this around?

I mean, it feels urgently, and I do a two-hour show every day, so I would say, personally, it feels urgently.

The reality is, they're one game out of a playoff spot, and at some point, some teams in the American League are going to start playing better and gain some separation there, and you don't want to fall behind, but...

If we're talking, you know, pragmatically, realistically, the division is so far away with 10 and a half games and another seven behind the Yankees that it would take a massive turnaround for the division to come back on board.