Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Russ Dorsey talks MLB & Davis Martin talks White Sox's success (Hour 4)
12 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What insights does Russ Dorsey share about the Cubs' struggles?
Russell Dorsey, National MLB Insider for Yahoo Sports.
Oh, he's fine. He doesn't need the attention. Russell will be fine. You're probably right.
We're going to have a conversation about some mediums when he gets in here. I tell you that. Host of the Relay with Russ Dorsey podcast. I've had this feeling for a while while watching Shohei pitch better than we've ever seen him pitch before. And he's started to now swing the bat like we know he can. I've always had this feeling that Shohei's bat is significantly more important than
than what Shohei does on the mound. Insider and analyst for MLB Network and Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV. They have guys in that lineup that they expected way more out of. Not a little bit, like a lot more. And so until those guys start swinging the bat, we're just going to be looking at each other like, oh, one run, five, six hits, yeah? Russell Dorsey. On 104.3, the score. The score.
We talk to Russell Dorsey every week on Rahimi Harrison Grody. And now is the time. The Major League Baseball Insider for Yahoo Sports, Major League Baseball Network, and Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV. He is the host of the Relay with Russ Dorsey podcast, available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Russ, how are you?
What's up, guys? How we doing?
Good. I do want to start with asking you the same question that we asked in our first segment.
Okay.
Cubs score nine runs. Great. You salvage a win out of the Rockies. You hit the ball well in that win. What's next? Try to make it two out of three against the Giants? Can we even go that far right now?
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Chapter 2: How are the White Sox performing in the AL Central?
Seiya has not been swinging the bat well. So this would be a team saying, okay, we're going to take a gamble on two and a half, two months of Seiya Suzuki to look like the normal version of Seiya that they've seen.
The only way I can see it is if the Cubs are in a position two months from now where they have shown Jed they are not a buyer, they are not close to being a team that can contend in the National League, and you're talking about moving, salvaging parts of your roster that are going to be potential free agents next. Yeah, I can see a world where you could potentially move Seah.
But other than that, I think it's still too early. But I do think it's important to note, a lot of people are still talking about the Cubs as buyers. There is a world where they're not. And in that world, I can see a situation if Seah gets hot over the last three, four weeks before the deadline, if you start to entertain those conversations.
Well, and Russ, it's funny because this was the conversation of, do you trade Sam because your pitching situation is so dire? So in theory, you'd still be a buyer, but you have to give up one of your most valuable pieces to do so. I know he's a rental and he has a no trade clause, but at the same time, Rosenthal brought up like maybe because he's in the last year that he might be open to it.
It just, I think it says more about the Cubs problems right now than it does possible solutions.
Like, Can we be really honest right now, guys? Do the Cubs look like a buyer? No, absolutely not. Exactly. So if they don't look like a buyer right now, and they've now dropped back-to-back series against two of the worst teams in baseball, then you have two more series against those same teams. Yes, you're hoping for better results, but at some point, we need to be honest about who they are.
It's the contracts for me as we talk with Russell Dorsey, the MLB insider for Yahoo Sports, MLB Network, and Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV. Also, check out the Relay with Russell Dorsey podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Russell, with the way these contracts look and understanding that they just signed some people long-term, how do they fix this?
This is going to be an unsatisfying answer, but hitting? They have guys in that lineup that they pay to hit the ball that are not hitting the ball. And so there's no prospect that you're going to bring up that's going to be the spark. You don't... You can't go out on June... What day is it, guys? 12th. June 12th and trade for somebody that's going to be a sparking lineup.
The spark has to be from the nine guys that you're penciling into that lineup on a daily basis. And if not, they are not going to be the team that we expected them to be. That's the reality of it.
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Chapter 3: What factors contribute to the Cubs' playoff potential?
They didn't fire Carlos Mendoza, but they fired his entire staff. If that doesn't turn up the burner on you, I don't know what does. So, yeah, I think there are things that if this goes bad, they'll have to look at. And that could be one of the things they look at.
Well, and I think after losing 21 out of 28 games prior to yesterday, Russ, and having been relatively no change, and when you bring up your young prospects, you don't even give them that much playing time or that many bats, respectively. You're essentially saying you're going to stick with this. There's been no change on the staff side.
There's been no change when it comes to there's been some with the lineup, but there's been no change with the at-bats when you consider who's there. It makes it sound like, at least from what we're observing, that they're okay with this because we haven't seen anything remarkably different.
When we say okay, I think we need to be clear. I think people at the corner of Clark and Ashton are very concerned about what's been going on with this roster. I also believe that for the Cubs to be a contender in the National League, It's going to take the guys that they pay a lot of money to and have given these long term extensions to to be the difference in this lineup. Right.
You can't have seven of nine guys in your lineup with a sub 700 OPS over the last month and think you're going to be a team that gets the postseason or contends in the National League. That's just not going to happen. Their pitching is going to have to be better over the next month if they expect to be a team that contends in the National League.
So I don't think they're okay with what's been going on. But I do think the reality is for them to turn things around, the guys currently on the 26-man roster have to be the ones to turn things around. Otherwise, we're talking about a Cubs team that's going to be a seller here in six weeks. My guy, Russell Dorsey on us. He's got information here on Rahimi Harrison.
Grody joins us each and every week. And Russ, you know what I am okay with? I bet you can guess. I bet you can guess. White Sox Marshall. I bet you can guess. Top 10 offense in baseball. Look, Russ, simple question here. What is the White Sox ceiling? A AL Central Division champion. I think that's what they've been able to show us here in the first half. And? And what? That was my answer.
What about the playoffs? That means they're in the playoffs. That means they're in the playoffs. What could they do in the playoffs? Get to the playoffs. Okay. I'm trying to stretch it here. I'm really happy that White Sox fans are happy with what's been going on. They are an amazing story. However, we gotta keep things... Look, they're one of the best teams in the AL right now.
They're one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the AL Central. But there are tiers to this thing. And when you're talking about what they can do in the playoffs, that means a couple of things happen.
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