Dodgers Territory - Dodgers Rotation Takes Another Hit, Biggest 3-Peat Competition, Ruben Amaro Jr Joins!

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

Alanna Rizzo and Clint Pasillas react to the latest Los Angeles Dodgers news out of spring training.  Starting pitcher Gavin Stone has been shut down following a setback with his surgically repaired right shoulder. What does it mean for Stone? And what is the state of the Dodgers' rotation with Stone joining Blake Snell on the IL to open the season? Alanna and Clint discuss. Ruben Amaro Jr, host of The Phillies Show here on the Foul Territory Network, joins the show as we kick off our "Biggest 3-Peat Challengers" series for the spring. How do the Phillies stack up against the Dodgers? Ruben fills us in! Check out DT merch at https://dodgersterritoryshop.com Support Guidry's Guardian at https://guidrysguardian.org Find Clint on YouTube at https://youtube.com/@alldodgers Follow Katie's work at The Athletic https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/katie-woo/  Subscribe to Dodgers Territory on YouTubeRate and review our podcast on Apple and SpotifySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Daniel Alarcon, and this is my friend. This is much more famous than I am. I wouldn't go that far, but I'm John Green, co-host at the podcast The Away End, with my old friend Daniel. On our podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the Away End with Daniel Alarcon and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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Yeah, when we're talking about setbacks coming off of surgery specifically to the shoulder, it's a big red flag. And welcome to a brand new live episode of Dodgers Territory. We are two-thirds of your hosts. I am Alana Rizzo. That is Clint Pistis. Katie Wu is at Campbellback Ranch. She's in the middle of watching the game that is being played right now.

We are psyched that you guys are here. Thanks so much. Like, subscribe. Rate us five stars. think that we're worthy trying to get to 20,000 subs. You can do it on YouTube as you see there. You can certainly do it anywhere that you get your podcast. We're going to be talking about, Clint, the biggest competition, the biggest competitors to the daughters in terms of the opposition. We're just going to focus on the National League, Ruben Amaro Jr. who covers the Phillies

on the Phillies show, also on the Fowell Territory Network. We'll be joining us momentarily. However, we have some baseball stuff to talk about, my friend. Let's get to the big tick. it. Bad baseball stuff, Riz. It is. You pointed this out. Just kind of breaking news, if you will, Jack Harris, who covers the Dodgers for the California Post, tweeting this earlier, Gavin Stone has had a setback. We never want to hear that Clint with his shoulder and is, quote, paused from throwing right now. Dave Robert said. Robert said Stone's surgically repaired shoulder was bothering him again after last week's start and a subsequent bullpen, probably scuttles his chances for opening day. Clint, I ask you this. We know Blake Snell is not going to be ready for opening day.

Now, Gavin Stone has had a setback. What is your reaction to this? Yeah, when we're talking about, you know, setbacks coming off of surgery specifically to the shoulder, it's a big red flag. And this was something we kind of talked about off and on either here or on my other show as one of the concerns, one of the worry points heading into this season. How will that surgically repaired right shoulder hold up for Gavin Stone? apparently not great. One start, he looked dominant last week, but as I was mentioned, just didn't really bounce back well and kind of felt something there in the bullpen.

So thankfully, we've talked a lot about this team having depth, having a lot of starting pitching options. But as you mentioned, Riz, with this combined with the Blake Snell news, all of a sudden, your starting rotation takes a little bit of a hit. Hopefully it's nothing bad, though, because The talent level of Gavin Stone is insane, and I'm hoping they're just being extra cautious right now. And maybe that's the calendar, and they're saying, hey, why should we push it when we don't really need to do right now? Do that right now?

But Clint, this is what I want to say to you. I think it is a big hit just because you have a lot of arms until you don't, right? And you so wonderfully put together what looks like could be the Dodgers opening day rotation, question mark. The top six are healthy and available, and that's a good thing. Then you have Justin Robleski, who is being built up as a starter. Not your favorite choice. You'd rather see him in the bullpen. But right now they see him as a starter.

Landon Nat, he is also healthy and available. Blake Snell, we talked about it off the top of the show, slow playing him, definitely not ready for the opening day spot. He's going to open the season on the injured list. And now we have Gavin Stone, who has had this recent setback. So it is problematic as long as, or I should say, it's problematic unless, you know, Blake Excel does come back sooner than, you know, later. And I'm not seeing this as a massive issue yet. I'm interested to see, though, how this all plays out in terms of a couple of things.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, we knew, Clint, that that guy was the absolute workhorse last season, right? Posted every fifth day, the only one in the starting rotation not to hit the injured list all season long. He was a beast in the postseason, World Series MVP, pitched out of the bullpen, all of the things, right? So he's had a very short offseason, as have the rest of the Dodgers. But he's also in the WBC, right? Then you have Shohei Otani, who of course we know is not pitching in the WBC, but will be pitching hopefully the entire season for the Los Angeles Dodgers as a two-way player that Shohei is.

But again, how much is he going to be stretched out, worked up, that type of thing. They're hoping six innings, 75 pitches when everybody breaks camp, that's what they're able to do. how long can Tyler Glass now stay healthy, that type of situation? So it's just going to see how does it all play out? And I don't doubt for a second, the Dodgers know what they're doing when they talk about workload management and those types of things. I mean, they're smarter than we are. But it is good that they have this depth because seemingly they're going to need it with the

latest news of Gavin Stone and what we already knew about blix now. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure a couple of people, nobody in that, you know, clubhouse, it likes this at all. I'm sure somebody who's seizing an opportunity is probably Emmett Sheehan, who was likely going to be amongst the six people to be in the starting rotation to open the season. But this definitely clarifies his role a lot more. And as somebody who is, he hasn't pitched in the game yet, at least I have. I don't think he has up to this point.

But there are no setbacks for Emmett Shean. Obviously, had a good full, mostly healthy season because he started last year on the IL coming back from Tommy John. Same thing we might see with River Ryan, although this situation with Stone might kind of ramp up the need to have River Ryan available for this team come opening day. But yeah, it definitely clarifies a role for Emmett Sheehan and opens that door a lot more for guys like River Ryan. And Justin Rebleski, who like you said, I would much prefer to see Robo in the bullpen. I think that is where his role is. I think that is where he's the most dominant. in that bullpen.

But if he thinks he can start, if the team thinks he can start and he could be built up to, maybe it won't be a traditional starter. Maybe he won't be a six or seven inning guy. But having him be an option to open the season when I'll put the screen back up here, when you're kind of low on options,

or at least running out of options, you know, we mentioned Landonac is healthy and available. But, you know, if Landonac is starting a bunch of games for the team, you know, in the first month or two, you're going to kind of be like, Yeah, maybe they should have traded for Tarek Scouble. Oh, well, I mean, certainly. Yeah, why don't you get Paul Skeens in the deal, too?

But the thing about that is at least it would be in April and not in September or October. And I realize that you can't win the pennant in April, but you can lose the pen in April. That's that old cliche. But I feel much more comfortable, Land and Nat getting in the innings in an April situation, when you know you're getting Blake Snellback, he's also a second half type of pitcher anyway. You know, by that point, Emmett Sheehan will have many more starts under his belt. I mean, the growth will be there for him. So I'm okay with, I don't, do I want him taking the ball every fifth day instead of like a

Glasnab or a Schoenau or a show? Hey, no, he's not, he's not at that level yet. But I'm okay with Land and Nat getting in those innings early on the season. One thing I forgot to mention, too, if you take a look at that board again, is we still don't really know what we're, which Roki Sasaki we're going to get, right? Like, again, we're still thinking, okay. He needs to add another pitch in that repertoire because he's great coming out of the bullpen as a two pitch pitcher. But they see him as a starter, Clint, because as you and I were talking about on the production call,

that is where his biggest value to the team would be is as a starter. And we have yet to see what he can do as a starter on a consistent basis every fifth day. So there's a lot of different question marks. Again, we will all see how this plays out. And I guess you have a question from the chat you wanted to get to? Yeah, we had Elisheva bringing up Kyle Hurd. So what about Kyle Hurd? How about Kyle Hurd?

The team, Kyle Hurd told me that they're building him up as a reliever. He'll be a multi-inning reliever. And the team is also, Dave Roberts has also confirmed as much that Kyle Hurd will be in the bullpen, which much like Justin Robleski is his best role. I think him being able to just kind of show up and let it eat for, you know, upwards of 20 pitches is going to help this team. And, yeah, we're going to need some bullpen help. I have some thoughts about the bullpen. What I want to ask you, Riz, is, you know, we're 10 games into the spring training season now.

I feel like we haven't answered a lot of questions because we didn't have a lot of questions about this team entering camp. But what's kind of, you know, would you put this, the starting rotation situation at the top of your concerns list with less than a month to play? It's so funny how things change so quickly because you and I were talking before we went on the air. And I was like, one of the things that kind of sticks out in the spring training is that it's pretty boring, right? And what I mean by that is that there are no massive question marks. There's really no position player battles. There's nobody like trying to vie for a position or make the team. I think we're pretty set on who the 26 man roster is for the most part.

There might be a tweak here or there. Obviously, when it comes to back end of the rotation, perhaps, you know, a bullpen arm or two. But so it went from kind of being like, like, oh, ho-hum, in the first regular, you know, normal spring training these guys have had in two years to all of a sudden it's like, okay, I really, even though we knew about Blake Snell, not starting the season on the opening day roster, or not roster, you know what I mean, he's on the IL for opening day. And now it's like, hmm, this whole Gavin Stone situation, which I'm not 100% certain that Gavin Stone was going to be a definite rotation piece, but it went from having

way too many arms to find spaces to now everybody's going to have to stay held. and kind of filled the role until Blake Snell can get back. So it went from no big deal to, okay, maybe there's a little bit of a challenge there. But again, I have no doubt that boring is good. You know, I was like, oh, it's a boring spring tourney, but I'll take that with no position player battles. And other than, you know, obviously,

Hesong Kim wanting to prove that he can get in there and get some more at bats and kind of, you know, play second base with Tommy Edvin out and those types of things. So again, there's still three weeks before the regular season. and starts, you know, Katie Wu, who's at the game right now, no timetable, obviously, telling me no timetable for the return of Blake Snell, just some speculation on her part of, you know, probably May at the earliest. But again, that's a lot of starts, right, for somebody else to make up. Yeah, and innings to cover for sure. And, you know, we were talking earlier about the idea of like, how are they going to manage a rotation? How are they going to kind of dole out the innings? Because that's really how this front office looks at it. We've talked to. spoken with Mark prior about that as well. It's more about the inning coverage, not necessarily. Who cares who's a starter or an opener or et cetera?

It's just about how are you going to get 27 outs? I had joked in the off-season into how pissed people are going to be when we see a bullpen game like two weeks into the season. We are definitely into bullpen game being on the table early in the season. And it's not that big of a deal. We will all survive. It is okay to keep these guys.

healthy and not over extend them early in the season, particularly in the months of April and May. Like you said, Alana, we care about September. We care about October. That's what the Dodgers care about as well. So you have some pieces around. They're going to be shuttling people back and forth from AAA, but we will endure. We will survive.

But the biggest thing is, if Gavin Stone is out for a significant stretch of time, that's just an overall massive hit for him and the Dodgers, because. Kid is good. Kid is good. One thought on the idea of like, and we don't need to keep this, you know, too, too long here. But concerns for me, obviously the more your starting rotation takes a hit, the more you have to dip into the bullpen for some guys. Yeah. And that's what I'm wondering.

I guess my kind of concern is will the front office let the bullpen be as strong as it can be? We mentioned Roki Sasaki, we saw the dominance in the bullpen. We've seen the dominance with Justin Rebleski in the bullpen. Is the state of the rotation going to allow the bullpen to be as strong as it can be? So that's something I'll be watching. You know, kind of keep an eye on, but I won't really start to raise any alarms until we get into June or something like that. Because we saw that last year. You know, guys getting burned out.

Guys shifting rolls back and forth. Ben Casperius comes of mine for sure. But that's something. Just I'm throwing it out there so everybody, else kind of has an idea. Think about the bullpen. A quick reminder as we think about the bullpen before we move on to the biggest competitors in the National League for your Los Angeles Dodgers, we did not have Edwin Diaz last year. We did not have a productive, a consistently productive Tanner Scott, which I believe we will have this year. I believe he will bounce back. We did not

have Evan Phillips for the entire year. And we don't have Evan Phillips for the entire year this year, but we do know that he is coming back. I think Alex Sessie is going to be even better than he was. I know we no longer have Anthony Bonda. But we didn't have, you know, we have Blake Trinen again. I think this is a bullpen that reminds me of the 2024 bullpen, more than it reminds me of the 2025 bullpen. So I think that's a good thing. I think this is a bullpen.

Again, that's going to be very strong. Yeah, they're going to be called upon heavily. But again, as we've noticed the last two years in a variety of different reasons, Dave Roberts and his staff knows how to work it, knows how to work that puzzle to be able to. to kind of figure it out. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault and Our Stars

and now I guess also is the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist and John and I have known each other since we were kids. My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End,

we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, Football is a story we've shared for over 30 years since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, its hope, its heartbreak, and above all, it's beauty.

Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. Hi, Dad. And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen. She says, I have some cookies and milk. This is his badass convict.

Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk at my mom. Yeah. On the Sino Show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw, unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail, talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances.

The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. And without this trouble, I'm going to die. Open your free I-Heart Radio app. Search the CETO show. and listen now.

Let's shift gears a little bit here. Obviously, we have Ruben Amaro Jr. of the Philly Show joining us in just a moment. But we talked last week, you and I offline, really with everybody, part of our Fowel Territory Network, about, hey, let's spice up the month of March a little bit. We're going to have more content. We're adding a third day of Dodgers territory on Tuesdays each week leading up to the season and through the season, and there will be a fourth episode and all that kind of stuff. Stay tuned for all that information, everybody. but we figured it's a good time to size up the competition around the league early. Who are the biggest challengers for the Dodgers in that quest for a three-peat?

And we talked about, you and I talked for a minute earlier, about N-L teams versus AL teams. And the National League, the reason we're starting off with the Phillies today is they have long been, especially for you, Alana, they have long been kind of the, I don't know if it's the, not an Achilles heel, but just a team to watch, a team to fear for the Dodgers, because they're usually a very good ball club. And despite the fact that they're running it back, for the most part,

they should still be some form of a good ball club. I'll let you talk about that as well. But on the screen, we have Phillies, Mets, Cubs, Padres, Brewers, and maybe the Braves as the biggest challengers to the Dodgers in the National League. What are your thoughts about all of that? I think for another year, the National League is certainly stronger than the American League.

I think there's much more parity in the National League. I think it's a much stronger league than the American League. I think there's only maybe three teams in the American League that could really, really test the Dodgers. But if you look at the National League, I always have thought that the Phillies were a very well-run bull team. Ha-ha, ball club. I don't know. I think that the Phillies, even though they didn't have a ton of change, I mean, they had a couple of subtractions, of course. Ranger Suarez is a big subtraction.

from their starting rotation. He is now a member of the Boston Red Sox. Nick Castellanos, obviously, no longer there. He's now with the Padres. I think getting, though, Kyle Schwerberback was huge. We know what Bryce Harper can give you. You know, Wheeler still needs to come back. He's still coming off of that thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.

That's, you know, it takes a bit to come back from. For Dodgers fans, you remember, that's what Josh Beckett had to deal with, and then he ended up throwing a no-hitter, which is, like, crazy. But anyway. Wait, wasn't that dress thrown in the Hall of Fame? well the one you got all the shoes the shoes yep for kershaws and um and beckett's uh i was going to submit them to the baseball hall for some reason cooperstown didn't want my shoes but whatever um i don't know i don't get it but you know they i think the phillies are a very very good team

obviously you know trey turner is still there um you know extending jt rale muto is still there they still don't know what the hell they're going to do with alec bohm but you know bryson stott um they have a really really good team and i think rob thompson is very good and i think rob thompson is very good In my opinion, they have the best hitting coach in all of baseball in Kevin Long. So there is that. The people love Clay Long. He's just really good. And the players love him.

So I just think that they are a very formidable club. And I put them at the top of the list. Of course, the New York Mets are there as well. I mean, just based on the money that they spend. And obviously, they have Juan Soto and they have some really good players. Now, let's not forget, though, they no longer have Edwin Diaz. Thank you. And they no longer have Pete Alonzo.

I mean, that's a huge position player that they no longer have in that lineup. And obviously, in my opinion, the best closer, certainly in the National League, has also left. So we're going to see what the Cubs do. Obviously, they got Bo Bouchette. That's a big ad. But is it enough to... Mets. You said Cubs.

I met Mets. I'm sorry. I met Mets. Is that enough to be able to overcome the loss of Pied Alonzo and Edwin Diaz? I don't know. Time will tell. You know, but then you have, of course, the Cubs. don't know that I've even given the Cubs as much credit as they probably should be getting.

But I think while they lost Kyle Tucker, they also gained Alex Bregman. You know what I mean? Justin Steele is coming back. Like they have a good club. As much as, you know, we wanted to rip on PCA. I mean, he's a very good outfielder. And, you know, he's an all-star, that type of thing. So the clubs have a good club. And I definitely think they are perhaps better than a lot of people are giving them credit. I think they're the biggest competitor in the division. But again, as we know, you and I know better than anybody, Clint. It's how you're playing at the end of the season. If you can stay healthy and get to October, it is anybody's game come postseason.

Absolutely. I think people aren't giving enough respect to the Padres. And I like a lot of the random moves they've made. They just added Alex Verdugo as well, old friend Alex Verdugo on a minor league deal. But I really like the moves they've done. just from a depth standpoint, I think that makes that club better. And I'll say it again, the Padres being better, competition around the Dodgers being better, raises the awareness of the state of their team for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

You mentioned people kind of sleeping on the Cubs. And obviously, we'll talk more about all of this as we have experts and analysts join us over the next couple of weeks. But to kind of wrap up the NL, that's the wrong button, but wrap up the NL side. of things here. We've got the Brewers and the Braves, and obviously both those teams, intriguing. Brewers taking a couple of steps back. I don't know what their rotation is going to look like.

You know, third base is who they traded for, no, they traded away their third base when that's what they did. That's right. We were talking about third base with Boston earlier, you and I offline. But there's that and then there's the Braves who I'm not as high on as

a lot of people who are high on the Braves. I don't see it, but anyways, follow on that and then let's talk AL real quick and then we'll throw to Rubin. Yeah, and really quick, I want to shout out my friend, Leslie, who is a new subscriber to Dodgers territory, Leslie, as watching. And she's a pirates fan as well. And she said, why don't you talk about the pirates? Well, Leslie, because they stink.

All right, moving on. All right, American League, let's talk about the biggest competition. Obviously, Toronto Blue Jays. Why not, right? It came down to, you know, four inches of us losing the World Series to the Blue Jays. I think they're an even better team this year, even with the subtraction of Bo Bichette. Obviously, they really ramped up their starting pitching staff. I think this is a good club.

There's no reason that they can't be the American League side in the World Series. And of course, the Yankees, right? And remember, the Yankees always, always a threat. And they're going to get a healthy Garrett Cole back. They're going to get a healthy Carlos Rodan back. Now they did lose a couple of guys, you know, but I think overall, I think their bullpen is better. now. I think their starting rotation is good and it is going to get better with their ace and Cole and Carlos Rodon. So the Yankees are always a threat. Maybe the Tigers, I'm interested to see

what the Tigers can do, of course. And of course the Mariners. I mean, I think the Mariners, again, are a very good piece. You know, you and I were talking about how you think they need one more piece, right? Maybe one more bat in that lineup. You thought if maybe the M's and the Tigers could be could be, you know, combined together. That would be a good club. But, yeah, I mean, the American League, I'm not as concerned. There's not a team there that we can't beat. You just have to play healthy baseball and good baseball at the right time.

Yeah, and throwing in the Red Sox there to kind of wrap it up. I mean, people have various opinions of the Boston Red Sox. They do have some pitching. They have a random depth. I think their infield is a pretty big question mark. It can be very good. Or it could be kind of somewhere in the. middle, but, you know, you and I spoke about it.

And you just said it. The NL, just competition there is far and away better. But of those teams on the AL side, Blue Jays, they keep being good. That is a good ball club. And I think it's sustainable. What we saw last year in their power of friendship to get to the World Series, it was the real deal. But still, the Dodgers are better. As long as they could stay healthy.

But we did ask Ruben and Morrow Jr. about the Philly side of things. We're going to throw it to him in a second point. I do want to tell people, help us out, support the show, support Dodgers' territory in style with some swag. Get yourself a hoodie. Get yourself a shirt. Great at the baseball game. Beanie, maybe it's not the time, but don't worry.

You can get yourself a hat, a mug, a cup, Tumblr, all of that kind of stuff. Scan that QR code or click the link in the description. Support the show in style. We thank you for your support. And let's go ahead now and welcome in Ruben-Morrow Jr. I'm John Green. You may know me as the author of The Fault in Our Stars, and now I guess also as the co-host of The Away End, a brand new world soccer podcast. I'm Daniel Alarcon, a writer and journalist, and John and I have known each other since we were kids.

My first World Cup was Mexico 86. I was nine years old. I watched every game, and I fell in love. On our new podcast, The Away End, we'll share with you the magic of international football, all leading up to the 2026 World Cup. For us, soccer, football, is a story we've shared for over 30 years. since Daniel was the star player on our high school soccer team. Very debatable. And I was their most loyal and sometimes only fan. I love this game. I love its history, it's hope, it's heartbreak,

and above all, it's beauty. Together, we'll find out why, of all the unimportant things, football, soccer, is the most important. Listen to the away end with Daniel Auerkone and John Green on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I went and sat on the little ottoman in front of him. I said, hi, dad.

And just when I said that, my mom comes out of the kitchen, and she says, I have some cookies and milk. This is a badass convict. Right. Just finished five years. I'm going to have cookies and milk at my mom. Yeah. On the senior show podcast, each episode invites you into a raw,

unfiltered conversations about recovery, resilience, and redemption. On a recent episode, I sit down with actor, cultural icon Danny Trail, to talk about addiction, transformation, and the power of second chances. The entire season two is now available to binge, featuring powerful conversations with the guests like Tiffany Addish, Johnny Knoxville, and more. I'm an alcoholic. And without this trouble, I'm going to die.

Open your free I-Heart radio app. Search the Cito Show and listen now. We welcome you back to Dodgers Territ. And as you know, Clint and I've been talking about who the biggest competition is to the Dodgers this season. We both feel like the Phillies are at the top of the list. Joining us now is Ruben Amaro Jr. long time front office executive. Of course, you can catch him on the Phillies podcast as well right here on the Fowell Territory Network. And Ruben, great to be with you.

Thank you so much for joining us from the course. I hope that you hit them straight. But let's talk about the fields for a hot second. How do you think the outlook looks for them basically running it back? in 2026 with primarily the same club from 25. Yeah, some concern about that, obviously. But they do have some different looks. They'll have Andrew Painter, who's going to be, I think it's going to be an outstanding

young starting pitcher in this league for a long, long time. They're hopeful that he can do some things for them. Obviously with Wheeler out right now, it's a little bit of a concern, but he is progressing quite well. And you know, they're going to have a center fielder who's brand new as well. well and Justin Crawford. I really like what I've seen out of him. He's going to give a little spark with some speed and some ability. He had a great year last year and ready to be in the big league. So yes, they are in a lot of ways running it back, but there's some really positive things.

If you look intrinsically to the numbers offensively, as far as guys like Bracian Stott, his second half was outstanding. Same thing with Brandon Marsh. And they really need those guys to step forward this year and play much like they did in the second half. opposed to how they played in the first half. Otherwise, it's going to be a daunting task to try to beat the Dodgers. You know, my opinion was, and I could be very wrong, and this is why we wanted you on the show. My opinion is, it feels like they've taken a little bit of a step back. I'm, you know, I have questions about the outfield. You look at the depth chart on, you know, the Phillies website, which is not, it's far from a perfect way of an outsider to get an opinion of a team. But it shows

Brandon Martian left field, Brandon Martian center field, Adolas Garcia, and right. field. And I don't think Brandon Marsh can, as good as he is, I don't think can cover that much ground. You mentioned, you know, some of the outfield dudes that are there. They got Brian Dela Cruz, a veteran in camp. What's, what's kind of the flavor of spring training so far? How's that outfield shaking out now in another guy we need to eventually talk about in like the post-Nick Castellanos era for the Phillies? What are you liking about the outfield? Well, it wasn't a very productive outfield last year. And I think that they're hopeful that it'll get more production out of them. I mean, Justin Crawford's going to probably

be hitting in the nine hole and trying to create some havoc there at the bottom of the lineup. But I think they're going to go with a platoon type of a situation with Brandon Marsh and maybe a guy like Otto Kemp in left field, as well as Brian De LaCruz is a possibility. Adelaus Garcia is going to get every chance in the world to be there every day right fielder. I know he's had a couple of tough years in Texas, but they're hopeful that he can get closer to what he was in 23 and then, and 22 and 23 as opposed to where he was in 24 and 25 as far as his numbers are concerned. Yeah, the outfield production is going to be a bit of a concern. I do think they'll be okay defensively, but, you know,

it's the offense that they like to have produced there. The one difference I do see pretty significant difference is that he created some depth in their bullpen. I kind of like the things that they've done, and, you know, they added some, arms. They've added some depth. Alvarado will be back. Brad Keller is going to had a great year with Chicago. They signed him. I think that they're as they try to pass the ball to Joan Duron, who will be there for a full season. I think that that's an improvement as well. I mean, the proof will be in the pudding. There's no question about it that the Mets have improved or at least change some things over. Atlanta, I think, is going to be a lot healthier and it's going to be

a challenge for the for the Phillies this year. Rubin, you know Nick Castellanos well, you know Rob Thompson well. What is your opinion on the situation that went down? Obviously, he was not welcomed back to the Phillies. He's now trying to be on the Padres. What do you think happened there? I just think it got to the point where it's sort of untenable. It's gotten to the point where, frankly, you know,

sometimes marriages don't work out all that well. And I think it got to the point where there was probably a bit of a difference of opinion as to how things should have been handled. And I do think that there were some things that, you know, that I think the front office and particularly Rob Thompson felt disrespected by. So that said, I think that they felt like it was time to move forward. That happens sometimes, especially when you have long-term contracts, sometimes they don't work out. And, and, you know, I think the team themselves and the players themselves hope that,

you know, Nick does, does, you know, is happy where he is now. He's got an opportunity to go play somewhere else. And, uh, and the Phillies are have welcomed Adoles Garcia as a new right fielder. And I think they're just looking to go forward. Bryce Harper is a guy that I would run through a wall for. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the way that Bryce plays the game. Dave Dombrovsky said that, and I'm not quoting him, but paraphrasing, that he didn't think that Harper was elite last season. Is that something that motivates Bryce, or is he the guy that doesn't need any sort of extra fire to get going? I don't think he necessarily needs that. You know him pretty well. That's not something that he necessarily is driven by. He's sort of driven by his own, you know, his own want and need to be great.

I mean, he wants to be a great player and he wants to be a contributor. and he wants to be a world series champion. The biggest issue that I have with that is I really don't think that Dave Nebraska was trying to motivate him in any way, shape, or form. I think he was just sort of being honest when he was asked a question, that Bryce probably didn't have his greatest season, whether Bryce thought that it was necessary to point that out. That's probably a different story.

But I think they've talked it out, they've worked it out, they're moving forward and now you know Bryce is off to the WBC along with Schwabber and a ton of other players on that Phillies roster so I think they're just poised and ready to go and go about their business as they almost always professionally do and we talked about this team that team kind of running it back there they swung and missed a little bit in free agency missed on Bo Bouchette gets sort of a two-parter is is you know do they have enough offense with some of the younger guys you've kind of mentioned, you know, making waves in camp and, you know, the veterans coming back, running it back, as it were. Do they have enough offense? And what do the Phillies need to do to kind of make themselves, reestablish themselves as a destination for free agents? I think the biggest issue for them was that do they have established number four hole hitter

that's going to be able to protect guys like Harper and Schwerber in that lineup. And Alec Bome, a couple of years ago, 97 RBIs, back-to-back years, didn't have that kind of season. in last year. I think they're hopeful that he can step forward and be that guy. They haven't had, like, your prototypical poor hole guy to protect those folks in the lineup. But Boehm has been, you know, it's going to be his free agent year. So he's going to be poised to try to make his mark. I do think that offensively they'll be good enough. Can they make the adjustments when it's time to make the adjustments during the playoffs to get to the

next level? I mean, a lot of knows as well as that you guys know. as well as any folks. There's a couple of plays that could have happened during the course of those playoffs where the Phillies could have beaten the Dodgers. Didn't happen. Dodgers go on and win the World Series,

obviously one of the best, if not the best, most talented team and deepest team in baseball. But the Phillies are right there. And I still believe that they're a contending team. I do think that at some point they're going to have to sort out who is going to be that forehole

hitter because they haven't really had an established four whole guy. They're going to go with their best three in the top part of that lineup in Turner, Schwerber, and Harper, not sure how they're going to line it up. But they certainly need somebody to step forward to protect those guys in the top part of the lineup. Ruben Ranger Suarez is now a member of the Boston Red Sox. How would you assess the Phillies rotation, obviously with Wheeler coming back, those types of things. How good is this rotation? It can be very good, and also could have some real issues because they don't have the kind of depth that they like to have. I don't think. Obviously, the wheeler down at least through April and who knows how long it will take for him to get back. He's actually progressing really well.

But a lot of it depends on how, you know, how they, what kind of production they get out of painter. And obviously, Aaron Nola bouncing back. He had a poor year's worst year of his career, his unhealthiest year of his career. I think he's poisoned ready to go. He's going to pitch for Team Italy in the WBC, and he's hoping to ramp up more quickly than he has in the past. Had a little bit of a different throwing program to try to be a little sharper. He threw quite well his last time out.

I like the way he pitched. I'm going to pitch one more time, I think, before he goes off in the WBC. But he needs to be better. He can't have close to a 70RA and think that that's going to be productive enough. If he does bounce back and Painter does pitch the way he can, then they can cover some of those innings that Rangers Fores, what the quality that he produced for the Phillies. But he's going to be a big loss.

There's no question about it. Not sure that the Phillies were in a position to give them a five-year deal. The Phillies have been a very good team for a long time for a while. Often have been one of our bigger concerns as a show that covers the Dodgers, worried about the Dodgers getting through the Phillies. Obviously, a few things could have gone a few different ways for them last year. Maybe Kirkering throwing to first base. We don't need to bring that up.

Obviously, I like his mentality's attitude about it. But what do the Phillies need to do to get over that hump, to get past the Dodgers, to advance in the postseason? What's kind of the missing piece for them just in terms of winning a couple more ball games? I think that one of the things that has to happen. I mean, obviously the big field. in the top part of the lineup, they have to come through when it's time to come through. When it's time to come through in the clutch, those boys need to step forward.

That's one thing. Or someone needs to do so because they've kind of run into the gauntlet of not being able to make that one play. Get that one big base hit to get them over the hump. They've had chances in 22, 23, 24, and 25 to get there have not been able to get over that hump by getting that big clutch hit. but I do believe that they have a good enough team to do so. It's just a matter of them playing better baseball when it's time to play better baseball. And that's during the playoffs. So we'll see how that goes.

Rubin, we appreciate you taking the time, giving us all the things we need to know about the Philadelphia Phillies, certainly a formidable opponent in the National League and to the Los Angeles Dodgers. You can catch Rubin as well as Todd Zalecki and Jim Salsbury on the Philly show right here on the Fowell Territory Network. Rubin, we'll talk to you soon. Thanks, my friend. Great to see you guys. And listen, good luck to the Dodgers, but not too much luck. Understood, understood.

As always. We'll see you guys. Cheers, Rubin. A lot of fun there. A lot of good insight with Ruben-Morrow Jr. Alana, dude knows his stuff and the Phillies are going to be good. Dodgers are going to be better, I guess we'll say. Yeah, I mean, I agree with that.

I agree with that. But again, I think if we're talking just opponents, I mean, there's not, listen, there's no reason the Dodgers can't run the table. And that's not fair. There's no reason the Dodgers can't win the World Series again. But if there's a reason that they don't, it's because, A, they're not healthy. B, they don't make the most of those little moments that matter. And that's what Oral Hirschizer was talking about.

And the Phillies, I think, of all the teams in the National League are the one team, you know, the biggest team that can be the biggest threat if the Dodgers don't do what they're supposed to do. And then we'll continue this, we'll continue this series. We'll have somebody, you know, on the show next time from the Mets because we think that they're the second biggest competitor when it comes to the Dodgers. Yep. But for now, let's talk about a dog here in Last Licks. Where are all of our golden retriever lovers? This is daffodil. She is a sweet lady. She's a senior gal about nine to ten years old. She just needs love a couple of short walks here and there. She's a she's vaccinated. She's spayed. Of course, she's just a lover. She's a sweetheart. She doesn't need a ton. She is on some heart medication and liver medication just because of her age. Nothing crazy doesn't mean she's a lot. She's just me. She doesn't have a lot of years left to give. And Guidry's will continue to pay for her medication.

So that's not something that would fall on the adopter. We'll take care of that. So if you're interested in learning more about a golden retriever named daffodil, hit us up. She's about 40 pounds. So she's a smaller version of a golden, and she's a sweetheart. You know, goldens are great pups. So giddreysgarden.org, if you need more info. Give her a home.

Give her a home. Let the boy sleep in your bed. Final thoughts. So we have people obviously hanging out with the chat. Dalton Rushing hit a Homer. Somebody had asked us, Owl of Minerva, asking if we'd like that Homer

by Dalton Rushing is, I would like to see him hit a middle, middle pitch the way he did. So thankfully, he needed a Homer like that. We also got a super chat earlier, Nancy Brown,

$10 super chat. Thank you, Nancy. Sending it in honor of that thug, Alex Radugo. Whoa. This went south of great. Yeah, yeah, who was signed with the team he deserved.

Yeah, that that that uh that podres team i talked about it a little bit last night but that podres team clinton that's a nice way that's the nice way to say what nancy was saying personality something like that personality on that team uh final one j feral says bryce harper's banana bread is elite hey j feral three or five are you in miami are you cuban are you in miami i feel like you need to get to the bottom of this like somebody who is a a big um you are a big bryce harper lover uh i don't where you stand on banana bread, but I enjoy good banana bread. I like it.

I think banana bread is just fine. It's just fine. Isn't that a thing? He's like a baker or something like that, right? Yeah, he's also in a coffee, too. Like if you can just go on his Instagram. I mean, he's a man of many hats. Like Alex Call, Alex Call, Dodgers outfielder is, he does construction.

He also cooks. They're not to, you know, these guys are not robots, Clay. They got rides. Not one trick, ponies, baby. That's right. That's right. thanks to you guys for being here. Don't forget to check out Dodgers Territory Shop.com. We appreciate you very much. And also don't forget to like and subscribe.

Leslie, she needs to subscribe. Let's get some more subscribers as we try to get to 20,000 subscribers here on Dodgers Territory. Clint and I will be back on Thursday for sure. And as he mentioned, we're adding a couple more shows. Just keep us on your minds. Subscribe and you'll know. Yeah. And tent right now is post game tomorrow, Tuesday. So I after the spring training game. Just subscribe. Hit that notification bell. We'll see you on the next one.

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