Before football became a twelve-month sport with the NFL Combine, free agency, and the NFL Draft becoming television spectacles, it was baseball that carried the year-long heartbeat of the American sports fan. Winter trades and free agent signings took on the moniker of hot stove baseball with MLB executives regularly trading and signing big name players.
These days, with analytics, long-term contracts, and a preference for cheap home-grown talent over high priced veteran players, baseball’s offseason is not what it used to be. But fret not, the hot stove is alive and well in the form of MLB Network’s Hot Stove, a complete baseball cavalcade airing every morning.
The show features host Matt Vasgersian along with Harold Reynolds and reporter Lauren Shehadi. This trio brings different skill sets to the broadcast making for a fun two hours. This past Wednesday, former Major Leaguer and current MLB Network personality Carlos Peña sat in for Reynolds, and the show still hit a home run.
The While You Were Watching Something Else segment provides up to date daily news from across the MLB scene. Vasgersian and Pena talked about a potential delay for Texas Rangers star and 2023 World Series MVP Corey Seager’s sports hernia surgery. Rangers Executive Vice-President and General Manager Chris Young provided audio questioning Seager’s status for Opening Day.
It was great having Pena on this particular show because he actually suffered a similar injury when he was playing for Tampa Bay during the 2008 World Series. He provided a somewhat graphic description of a sports hernia injury saying that your abdominal muscles literally rip from your pelvis.
Pena has become a very glib, articulate, and well-rounded member of the MLB Network talent roster. He has experience in the ups and downs of baseball having put together some great years and some disappointing ones in MLB. His animated style and upbeat conversation definitely add to a number of different MLB Network shows.
Hot Stove not only talks about the news of the day, but also provides a look at how teams attempted to improve themselves during the offseason. Joc Pederson appeared on the program to talk about his move to the Arizona Diamondbacks and how he feels about his new ball club. Vasgersian and Pena provided some really good analysis of the on-the-rise Diamondbacks and how they shape up in the tough National League West.
Lauren Shehadi joined the program and brought her usual enthusiasm and knowledge to the proceedings. She is absolutely terrific on her in-season program MLB Central alongside Mark DeRosa and Robert Flores. On this edition of Hot Stove, she voiced over video of Mets’ star pitcher Edwin Diaz rehabbing from a 2023 injury.
Shehadi always takes the conversation to unpredictable places. She tossed some good questions to Pena about the Rays’ rivalry with the Red Sox during his playing days asking him whether he was an instigator or peacemaker when a brawl erupted. Hot Stove also gets the fans involved in the program by showing viewer emails and questions.
Along with Shehadi, MLB Network reporter Jon Morosi is a regular contributor to the show. He offered some news on the Orioles sale to a group led by David Rubenstein and including Cal Ripken, Jr. Morosi also talked about the status of free agent Cody Bellinger revealing that sources told him that Bellinger is not close to signing with any team at this time.
Shehadi jumped in, discussing a list of notable free agents who remain unsigned including Clayton Kershaw, Blake Snell, Corey Kluber, and Noah Syndergaard. The collaborative bent of Hot Stove is its strength, but it is Vasgersian who sets the tone.
The relaxed and thoughtful ringleader brings a portfolio of knowledge, interview skills, and self-deprecating humor. He doesn’t mind being the butt of jokes and throws out his own brand of humor in the discourse. Hot Stove is not just a talking heads show. It includes guests, graphics, and features, and Vasgersian orchestrates it all with John Williamsesque aplomb. He also does play by play and has established himself as an MLB Network foundation talent along with Greg Amsinger and Brian Kenny.
One of my favorite parts of Hot Stove is when Keith Costas joins the program. He provided excellent analysis on players who are looking to bounce back from somewhat subpar 2023 seasons including Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. Costas knows baseball and adds insightful statistical analysis, but effectively mixes in some telling opinions and commentary as well.
I like the way he presents stats in a manner that is not overloaded. On this edition, Costas presented an interesting trend analysis of Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. showing how his stats differ based on the venue in which he is playing. Costas uses numbers to make a point in an easy-going and smooth fashion. I’d like to see him get more airtime at the network.
One of the strengths of Hot Stove is the regular parade of MLB players who join the show for interviews. Minnesota Twins pitcher Griffin Jax talked about his pitching mechanics and the leadership of manager Rocco Baldelli. Cincinnati Reds phenom Spencer Steer joined the program and talked about his solid 2023 season and what he expects for 2024. Vasgersian and Pena also welcomed Adam Frazier who recently signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals. They exchanged banter on Frazier’s time at Mississippi State and some of the new additions to the Royals.
The research staff is also on point. Vasgersian showed a neat graphic comparing the 2014 World Series between Kansas City and San Francisco to the upcoming Super Bowl featuring the same two cities. There were actually some similarities between the teams, pretty cool stuff.
Shehadi and Morosi provided a look at the 2024 Caribbean Series currently being played in Miami – the first time ever in the United States. They also talked about the ongoing free agency of Adam Duvall and Michael A. Taylor. Costas then rejoined the program with a statistical analysis of the Twins and a look at division odds according to BetMGM.
Coming out of a promo bump for an MLB Network show on the Top 10 Third Baseman in the big leagues right now, Vasgersian offered his all-time Golden Era for third baseman with classic late 1980s video of George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Wade Boggs, and Paul Molitor along with mentions of Buddy Bell, Howard Johnson, Carney Lansford, Terry Pendleton, Matt Williams and others.
Looking back or looking ahead, young talents or veteran superstars, Hot Stove covers it all. Variety and commentary are the hallmarks of a show that delves into the guts of the game and gets viewers pumped for the upcoming season. Hot Stove lives up to its name, giving fans a sizzling look at baseball from every angle.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
