Grant & Danny were stoked when the Nationals signed a legitimate MLB player in Joey Gallo last week – so imagine how they felt when said legit MLB player joined them on their show on Monday!
And the first thing Gallo spent some of that Nationals money on was?
“I got to fly in Friday and kind of see the city real quick, and I'm actually a big history buff, so I'm pumped about the amount of monuments, museums and restaurants there,” Gallo said. “Should be pretty fun.”
So why did he really choose DC?
“We had some conversations early on, and for me, I thought it was a great fit just in terms of where they're at right now and kind of where I'm at in my career,” Gallo said. “I get a good opportunity to play every day and hopefully help some of these young guys out as somewhat of a veteran, so it’s exciting. It came together a little late, but I just had to be patient throughout the offseason, and we got the job done and I’m where I want to be.”
It’s not just Gallo who signed late, though, as pitchers and catchers are just over two weeks away from reporting and a handful of the top free agents in the class – many of which are Scott Boras clients, to be fair – are still available. So what gives?
“Yeah it's a little strange; you know, in football and stuff they have like a deadline and there's usually that big spree of people signing, but in baseball, it's weird because you have this long offseason where you don't have to be signing guys, right?” Gallo said. “Everybody I think just wants to get the deal that they think they deserve and whatnot, so it is tough to come to terms all the time, but it seemed like last offseason was pretty quick, and this one just been a little slower.”
Gallo has only played one series in Nationals Park, back in 2017, so this will be almost an entirely new experience playing here, but he’s looking forward to it.”
“Obviously you definitely do have a little intel on where you might be going stadium-wise, and I’ve played at most of them now, so I kind of have built my own intel of where I like to hit sometimes, or some fields you don't see the ball as well,” Gallo said. “There’s a lot of different things I think people might not think about when they come to a game that changes day to day through players’ lives and where you're playing, but I remember just how fun those games were and how beautiful the stadium was.”
Gallo’s deal became official this weekend, and it pays him $2.5 million this year with an $8 million $8 million mutual option/$2.5 million buyout for 2025, with $200,000 each for 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 plate appearances this year.
All told, that’s possibly up to $11.5 million over two years for a guy who admitted he’s going to move around, playing both outfield corners and a little first base as he slots in wherever the Nats need…but, hopefully, not much in the DH role?
“I like being out on the field. I think a lot of people think when they hear my name, they automatically think DH, and I'm like, no, I'm actually a decent defender,” Gallo said. “I can move around pretty well, I just strike out and hit a lot of homers. I should be slow, but I'm kind of not.”
That led to all three of them joking a bit about Gallo’s strikeout totals, but as GP pointed out, that seems to get the play over Gallo’s actual above league-average defense, perhaps because of his size.
“When people hear somebody strikes out a lot, they're a power hitter, right? They're a slugger, so you're thinking, ‘oh, he's just a big dumpy first baseman, maybe a DH guy,’” Gallo said. “I always viewed it as I needed to be really good defensively, I needed to run the bases very well, because I have this thing in my game where I do strike out a lot, so I wanna make up value somewhere else. I've always enjoyed playing the field really. I never played outfield until about five years ago and ended up winning a couple of Gold Gloves, but that profile is what people assume.”
Take a listen to Gallo’s entire call-in, which goes into his training regimens, the usual G&D ‘get to know you’ questions, and more!