It's no secret that, uh, that David and
Steve, uh, came down, met with me
, so I mean I, I thought that that
was, um, I mean is I, I
respect, I respect that so much and I appreciate
that dealing with people face to face like that and
, um, yeah, it's, it was good
to, uh, kind of hear their perspective and
obviously, um, voice mine and. Uh,
and here we are, we're back at it again
for me this was, this was, this was
it. Throughout the entire offseason we had the best
, the best dialogue from the Mets and like that
was, that was it like and for us like
this was, this was the best opportunity and,
and I'm, I'm just really happy to be back
. I mean this is, this was uh what
we have gone through, um, as an organization
, uh, been here. Uh, really long
time and, and to be able to do some
special things that we've done not just last year but
years and years in the past, it's really exciting
to be back. So I, I'm, I'm
stoked and obviously we have a lot of, uh
, new additions on the team, new faces.
We got a lot of talent, but I think
the number one thing is our, our. Goal
is to win it, but we have to have
to earn it. This has been home and,
and it's home, this place, this, this
team, these people have believed in me from,
from day one. So and that and that and
that means something that means something that means a lot
to me. It's, it's that constant belief and
, and yeah, negotiations are, are, are
tough, but, but hey, that's, that's
, that's the business side of it. And regarding
like personal relationships, I think business and, and
personally you set set those aside for sure. I
think Peter Alonso is one of the. That impressed
me more, but definitely we have a great group
of guys in here. I mean on paper we
have a really good team. I'm really happy to
to be surrounded with those guys and and to be
part of this, uh, team looks amazing,
you know, first day here, uh, really
excited how these guys, uh, were, uh
, running around going to their business and everything so
it's been pretty good, you know, we we're
trying to, to make sure, uh. We
have the, the cover of P, you know
, uh, he's one of the, one of
the best, uh, pure power here in the
league, so we're trying to, to have some
of that protection whenever we have that lineup. I
know, uh, with him we're gonna have big
debt definitely it's, it's, it's great to have
him over here and and it's, it's a huge
, huge piece for the team. decision and his
apparent conclusion that he had a better chance to win
with the Mets and the Yankees. You know that's
his opinion. He can say what he wants.
I definitely disagree with him, but I wasn't,
I wasn't too surprised by it, you know,
it's I think that's where he wanted to be.
I think that's where it was best for him and
his family, and he got, he got a
pretty nice deal over there, you can't say no
to that, but um. I'm happy for him
. He got a good deal. He's going to
be in a great spot. It's going to be
great having him in town. We're going to be
battling back and forth for quite a few years,
so I'm definitely happy for him. Soto is one
of a kind, man. He's a special player
, excited for him and his new chapter with the
Mets. But we, we had a lot of
new pieces here, you know, starting with Bellinger
and Goldschmidt, two guys that are, you know
, former MVPs, um, guys that are still
wanting to improve, still want to get better.
They're gonna add such a different dynamic to this team
. You know, it really lengthens out our whole
lineup. When you have those guys batting in the
middle, middle of your order, just a lot
of good things are gonna happen, so, um
. You know, you can't replace a guy like
Juan Soto, but you bring in guys like this
that are, you know, all-stars, MVPs,
caliber players, you know, it's, we did
a pretty good job. Yeah, so John Carlo's
a little behind, um, just dealing with some
elbow stuff that he dealt with last year. Actually
, both elbows kind of really akin to tennis elbow
and just that he maintained and kind of played through
. Uh, especially the second half of the year
, um, so we're, we wanna make sure
that give it that as much time, so we'll
kind of price slow play him a little bit his
availability to start the season. I don't know.
We'll see. I like. Tough to say.
Like I'm not, I'm not gonna put any timeline
on it, um. You know, we'll just
, we're just gonna be smart with it and kind
of listen to it a little bit it's elbows both
elbows, yeah. I just threw everything on the
table as in what's best for me, uh.
Body wise, keep me on the field. Came
to the conclusion that I'm going to go to right
field. Like it. Try it out, see
where it goes. I mean, I'm gonna play
right, but they say there could be some times
where I do play. I knew it I knew
it was coming, um, but, uh,
I just got used to it, but I just
want to be on the field. Joe Maddon broached
this a couple of years ago and at that time
you were on the field has changed in your mind
I mean in my last couple of years trying to
preserve the legs and just you know go out there
and run some balls down right and. Uh,
you know, that's what we came to and I'm
with it. No, in the beginning it was
for Braggy and then you know just keep the plan
I guess and you know you just I mean I'm
trying not to make this a big deal of focus
, go somewhere else and prepare for the season and
win so I think that's the main thing, you
know I wanna get rid of this, uh,
left field conversation, try to answer every question possible
, and then just move on and start preparing for
what we all cared about, which is, you
know, preparing for the season to start winning.
I've been fortunate enough to be in the playoffs the
1st 8 years of my career and I plan on
continuing to do that here. I'm a winning player
. This is a winning organization. Those players are
winning players. We have winning coaches here, and
I plan on winning here. After talking with some
of the guys over the last two days, I
can see that there's something special here. franchise players
, veteran players, young players all ready to get
after it. From the beginning of this process,
ownership has met with us and expressed expressed how they
want to win and win in Boston, and they
showed us how they have a track record of doing
it before. And I believe in all those guys
in that clubhouse and after playing against them, I
definitely do, and I think everyone here is motivated
to win. Playing at Fenway is awesome, playing
for a city that not only loves winning but expects
to win. I like playing in those kind of
pressure packed environments and I feel like I got that
here in Boston. Yeah, I mean. Third
base is is my position. It's it's what I've
played, um, you know, I don't,
I don't know what what their plans are like I
know we had a conversation, um, I made
it clear kind of what my desires were and,
and yeah, whatever happens, uh, uh,
from here I don't know. I think he's a
great, great guy, um, I have,
I've had the opportunity to speak to him he hasn't
been here long, um, but we've chatted and
. He's experience, he, he, he knows
what he's doing and and he's he's a great addition
to our team that was definitely what was discussed when
I signed that I would be uh playing this position
for for a long time. I've worked really hard
on my defense throughout the years. I feel that
last year I had a really good year. I
still have a lot more to give and um I
hope to continue doing it. So are you saying
if they ask you to DH and to do it
? No. Can you expand on that? Like
I played her. The relationships that I developed in
2004 as a player with guys in this room,
obviously David, Dan. Adam Roden, Matt Wise
, Cliffy Clavin, Brian. Those guys are the
fabric of this organization and to be able to lead
it. And not only just, you know,
be a part of something greater than myself, but
to be a part of this group and to have
you guys here today, uh, to celebrate this
moment, uh, gives me more joy than,
like I said, uh, next to the best
day of my life, which was marrying my wife
. And I look forward to that journey, that
, that commitment forward to this group, this talented
group, for the next, next several years.
We've come to an agreement for a multi-year extension of
JJ Piccolo's contract, um, and he's made the
decision to exercise uh Q's option for 2026. So
this, you know, this is very, uh
, you know, this game's about a lot of
things with leadership. is incredibly important. I've got
great confidence in these two guys. I love the
way they work together. He's, uh, outstanding
. You can bounce ideas off of him. same
can be said, Brooke Sherman and Sarah Torville.
Uh, they're all just great to work with.
So just the fact that they, they trust our
front office to, to move forward, uh,
is a compliment to not, not me but to
everybody that works for us. So I'm just happy
we're gonna get time to keep doing and building and
ultimately just have a consistent winter over many years.
For more on these and other stories, keep it
locked at MLB.com. It's baseball everywhere.