High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Aaron Nola Is Still A Phillie Plus Our Conversation With Preston Mattingly

Episode Date: November 19, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to the Phillies giving Aaron Nola a seven-year contract and talk to assistant general manager Preston Mattingly. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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It is another edition, an emergency edition of the High Ops podcast. Jack Fritz, James Seltzer with you coming up later. We'll have a special guest coming up who I guess I always do this, Jack, where I do the radio thing where I'm like, special guest coming up, find out who it is. But it's definitely going to be in the title of the pod, right? Totally, yeah. So yeah, so Preston Mattingly is going to join us later.

We're really excited. It's awesome. We actually were already scheduled to talk to him. And then the NOLA news broke. So coming up in a bit, we'll get to Preston Mattingly. We could not ask him about the NOL stuff just you guys know going in because obviously not everything is fully official organization wise and stuff but we talked to him about a ton of stuff but fritzy we were expecting this record with mattingly today then uh you know maybe uh uh record the rest of the pod the middle of the week put it all together and then

out of nowhere in like the span of 30 minutes, Nightingale comes out. He's like, Oh, Hey guys, Nolan, the Phillies making progress. And then it's like, bang, 30 minutes later, seven years, $172 million. Nola's back, Jack. I'm shocked, man. Like, I don't know what else to say. I welcome home, Aaron.

I'm very happy to have you back here. We'll get into the money and the whole thing and obviously you know the end of the contract might be ugly but but i'm really happy aaron will be back but more than anything jack i just didn't expect us to be doing this pod day i'm shocked how you doing me too me too um and i'm definitely happy you know like the phillies kept a really good picture and in classic philly's fashion they went more years for less av so no so nola gets the um i guess the uh he knows the length of the contracts fine and he can be he can be uh he's gonna be a philly for life which is hilarious

and he's gonna go he's gonna have so many franchise records when it's all said and done. Yeah, he really is. You're right. That's a great point. So, yeah, he's back. And if I'm just viewing this, what I think happened is, obviously, Nola went out, tested the market, probably wasn't getting $200 million. Could he maybe have gotten $190 from a team if he really was pushing for it? Yeah. Well, for what it is, apparently he turned down more money.

John Heyman reported, and Alex Coffey confirmed it, that apparently Nola did turn down more money from at least one other team or potentially other teams. So he's the 2020s Cliff Lee? Yeah. He's Trey Turner. I mean, that's all people do now. Oh, that's all we do.

All we do is people love to be here. So they kept a good pitcher. He's been durable. Obviously, that's pretty – the big selling point on Aaron Nola is that he pitches all the time. And, like, I think last year was more of just a down year than a massive sign for concern. Because, obviously, when you sign a pitcher for seven years, it's like, okay um what's the what's his v-low going down is this stuff going down i haven't really seen that you know he's kind of just been arenola um he does have these up and down kind of years and i just think that the adjustments they made in the postseason were real and that was the one

thing when i was talking about he's gonna walk is is that i didn't want another team to benefit off of the adjustments that he made in the postseason because it's like that stinks because i think they're getting a steal um from that standpoint so um i'm happy he's back i'm glad it's not blake snow uh i i'm not gonna lie i do still wish it was yamamoto me too but apparently that's not totally off the table um some some reports out there that whoa they'd still be interested in them okay i would be very very very surprised they're not giving nola this contract uh yamamoto a similar looking contract and then re-signing wheeler to something i mean it's not happening probably not

happening but i'm just saying saying what is out there. I still would have preferred Yamamoto just because of the age. And I think the stuff plays. I think he's similar to Aaron Nola. Yeah, and again, the age. The age. And the age. The age.

He's six years younger. I mean, it is what it is. It's a massive six years. It's a big one. But overall, the Phillies didn't get worse today, and they no longer have to worry about, okay, Noah walks. Who are we signing to replace him? Also, listen, I would have loved Corbin Burns or Dylan Cease,

but now it's like... You're giving up prospects and all that stuff to do it, too. And especially after talking to our guy, Preston Mattingly. Oh, buddy. Not, like, I was prepared. I'm way more excited about Mick Abel. Like, that Mick Abel answer got me pretty stoked. Well, that answer and the Aiden Miller answer for me.

And the Aiden Miller answer, obviously, was, come on. Well, it's because I was prepared to say, okay, he's going to be in the C-Straight. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He's untouchable. Officially labeling him as untouchable. Well, yeah, Preston didn't say that, you're saying that He did not say that, no That is not an official quote from Preston Mattingly

My interpretation from his answer was Yes, let's not Do our guy dirty yet No, no, never So They don't have to give up prospects They brought back a good pitcher Is it a lot of years?

Yeah, it's a lot of years, but they keep the AAV down. So hopefully they can go add more pieces to this team and we'll deal with the 2028 Phillies and the 2029 Phillies when we get there. But the good part is, and we talked about this a lot on this podcast, and obviously we just had Preston on, we've had Brian Barber on. I think there's just, I think they're just getting started with this whole player development thing. So like, even though they're here for a long time, I don't think this is going to take them out of also developing players at the same time to where they can just have a nice

mixture of the two. Yeah. And have players to trade for guys if they need to supplement or this or that or whatever. I'm totally with you. And I think, you know, the key, like you said, and if you go back, you know, just a few days, actually, to our Perfect Dog Season pod, you know, one of our main tenants, themes, beliefs, whatever, is that we're in the window right now. Like, go win. Do everything you can to win a World Series over the next three, four, five years. Like, that is the prime imperative of this franchise.

And signing Aaron Nola today helps to that. Like, flat out it gives you a better chance to do that and then this window is still going to be a part of uh before the Nola contract you know before we have to start really worrying about it going south we think we believe and I think with Nola the key to it is look when you sign these big type of deals like look obviously and it was a smaller deal but the Wheeler one you know you for that, right? You're hoping for someone who you sign who has some upside, but hasn't reached that level yet. And you give them a hundred million or 120 million, and they way vastly outperform that, right? That's the goal. But I think outside of, of just

getting like a steal, I think you just want someone who's going to show up and earn their money more than anything. You just want it not to be a a disaster contract a strasburg contract uh um you know that uh hector ron uh uh rodon this year is for carlos rodon this uh his first year this year like all you want is i know i went yeah thank you thank you i don't know why i had hector ron down on my head uh so anyway um you. Thank you. I don't know why I'd have to run down on my head. So anyway, you know, you, you just want it. You, if nothing else, you know, you want, you want your money's worth obviously, but, but more than anything you want them to show up and be there and pitch and make an impact. And, you know, there's, there's no better guy to spend the money on for that.

And we've talked a lot over the years about Nola and how I think one thing for him is, is his stuff should age. Well, you know, the type of pitry is should age. Well, he's never been a max effort, max velocity stuff guy in that way.

He's a, he's a pitcher. He's a craftsman. He's a technician, all that type of stuff. And as long as he's locating, as long as he's adjusting speeds, as long as he's,

you know, his mechanics are right. You know, he should be able to, to he's, you know, his mechanics are right, you know, he should be able to remain effective, you know, into his mid to late 30s. And I think that's why, again, look, seven years for Aaron Nola right now is, that's a lot. Like, I get it. It is. And I do not, I can't say at age 37, 38, whatever, I'm sure he's going to be good. But I do think that for the next few years and the heart of the important part of this, this window that we're in right now, I think it's a really smart move.

And you're getting him a little under 25 a year, you know, 24.9 or whatever it is. I mean, that's a good price annually for the next four years of this window for Aaron Noah. Well, and I think it's one of my big concerns heading into this offseason when we started seeing the reports of, okay, maybe the trade of Castellanos, Reese Hoskins probably not coming back, Noah probably not coming back, is that there was a lot of clubhouse equity that was going to be leaving. And I think it's important to keep Phillies Phillies. Now, you don't want to make the

mistake they made in obviously you know 13 14 15 of holding on to guys too long but this is also a picture that's in the in the middle of his prime and is the end going to be probably really shaky yeah and do i have concerns about like i my biggest concern with nola is that he's just pitched a ton of innings yeah now by far the biggest concern now we've seen like scherzer through a ton of innings and these guys have thrown ton of tons of innings that has also you know pitched relatively well deep into their careers so maybe he just kind of has that that arm and i think zach wheeler kind of has that arm as well um so you know that know, that's a concern. But at the same time, worst case scenario for year four, five, six of this deal

is that he's going to be like a four or five starter that at least is going to take the ball every day. I'm not sure how effective he's going to be, but whatever. I mean, you do need – Innings are valuable. Like I know people don't always want to hear, but innings are valuable. Like, they are. And sometimes six innings and three runs is, like, really valuable.

And not sometimes. All times. All times throughout a regular season. Like, it's when you get to the playoffs, you need to win big games, you need great outings where you need those guys to show up. But, like, if you have a dude who's going to give you a six and three, which isn't a great ERA, isn't anything special, but I'll give you a six and three every time out that dude's super

valuable, you know? And I, and Nola obviously can be better than that. And, and maybe as it gets to the end, he'll be more that, but like that,

it's not exciting. It's not sexy, but like that's valuable. I do think people, I think whenever these contracts come out, people get so worried about the back end of it. And, and it just,

it, it rarely ever really it just it it rarely ever really matters but it's these next four years are just imperative imperative to bring a title here like it it's it's it's absolutely go time like it's a hundred percent go time for this organization say we gotta win a title next in the next four years I mean that's what this whole thing is gearing up towards that's what that's the only thing that is at the top of mind of not only Middleton, but obviously Bryce. As it should be.

All of them. The whole crew, they're all right there. They're all the window. It's a bunch of late 20s, early 30s guys. Like, this is it. This is their window. This is their time to win. This is the time for them to capitalize while they're still in the prime or the back

prime of their career. Absolutely. And what the Phillies did today was ensure that they didn't take a step back. I think they have a chance at getting a guy who... Would I be shocked if Noel's an all-star next year? No. I wouldn't be shocked.

I think he'll be better this year than he was last year. I think he'll bounce back next year. I think he'll be better this year than he was last year i mean that this past i think he'll bounce back next year i think you know he wasn't great for a majority of the season he made the change he stepped up at the end i think he had a nice moment here in this city where they're you know his entire tenure we've talked about so much i mean there were times like we said a month ago where people even didn't even want him back and then things change um but he's had up and down times here and it hasn't always been super apparent that that this fan base loves him and has love for him and i think he felt that i think you know i think there's it again you know it's something that we've talked about a lot that dobrowski's talked about a lot and and i believe in i i think you do

too that you know not everyone can play in a city like this. There are players who just aren't built for this type of intensity or this type of expectation or this type of pressure or whatever. And even though he's at ups and downs, we know that Aaron Nola can succeed in the biggest of moments in this city and can last in this city and can go through adversity and bounce back in this city. And that in and of itself is valuable. Yeah, and I think that they're all still kind of figuring that out i know it's a year or two of

finally making the playoffs but you know i think that they're gonna make even more adjustments kind of as they as they go along here and i think that the more and more these guys are in these kind of moments you're gonna see hopefully them kind of uh you know, figure it out. And eventually, dude, I can't. I see it. It just came out in the sun. For those just listening to the pod and not watching, all of a sudden it's just like beams of light just came onto Jack's face. And it's like right in his eyes, right in your face.

It looks horrifying. It does look horrible. Yeah, it's really tough. Yeah. I mean, the light. You're such's it's i mean you're such a gamer though you're such a gamer though you know the light shining through is obviously a good sign about the no that's right yeah that's exactly right yeah the light shining through is there a better example or sign that this was this was the right thing to do i it's just so funny that

he's like he's the first free agent that has signed. Oh, I know. The first big money one, the first bit. You're right. Yeah. He just had no interest in screwing around. No, he's like, I'm going to be a Philly. My whole career. It's so funny.

It's one of the first things you said to me when we popped on the Zoom before we, or this video here before we talked to Preston. You're like, Aaron Noel is going to be a Philly's whole career. It's like, wow. So if you're like, Aaron, Noel's going to be a Phillies whole career. It's like, wow. Yeah, you're right. Like,

and that doesn't happen that often with, you know, guys of a certain level of player who, you know, just spend their whole career somewhere and have success. And like you said, it'll be, you know,

top of the board and a lot of key filling pitching categories, you know? So it's, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's wild. Just think that Aaron knows here and he will be a lifetime Philly pitching categories, you know? So it's, yeah, it's wild just to think that Aaron Nola's here and he will be a lifetime Philly, a lifetimer, like a lifer.

It's wild. And I don't have this confirmed through sources or anything, but here's how I believe it went down, is that the Braves called. He thought about, do I want to be a Brave and turn my back on the city of Philadelphia? And Aaron Nola said, no, Alex Anthropolis. You are not,

I am not turning my back on the city of brotherly love and coming down and joining the Atlanta Braves. Maybe even shrug them along a little bit.ves. I love that. And maybe even shung them along a little bit. I'd say, OK. Oh, I like that.

Maybe, yeah, I like that. Made him think he was going to get it. There would have been nothing worse than one of those stupid freaking press releases that come out of nowhere with the Braves. And then it's like, oh, we got Aaron Bummer, who was 100% traded for just to get schwarber and harper out um so you know it would have been nothing worse than aaron so i in in a perfect

world i think he drugged them all along a little bit and took them out of maybe signing or trading for a guy um but either way i'm just i am happy he's not a brave that really would have it would have left a complicated legacy for aaron nola just like when worth went to went to washington yeah yeah and it just would have been a sour taste in our mouths especially this moment of philly's braves it's one thing like that's the thing worth went to the nationals and they weren't good at that time and then they got good and he won a world series there and blah blah blah all that stuff but for nola to go to like right now like oh what did we talk about this whole season into the playoffs like the phillies braves thing is is back and it is white freaking hot like we hate

them there's real real sports hate going and a real thing a rivalry them winning the regular season us winning the playoffs last couple years like There's animosity and hatred and dislike. For him to go in this moment to jump there, that would have been, I feel like, an extra kick in the junk, as it were. Totally. Totally. And he didn't.

I'm shocked. I'm just shocked he's not a Cardinals. I literally said on the radio yesterday, the camera came to me, he's like, what's going on with nola who do you think you like this japanese guy and i was like yeah nola's gone it's like he's not gonna be here i was i thought he was gone i i so yeah um well what are the cardinals doing i mean what are the i mean rebuilding you need they should be re i mean you needed a starter like aaron nola i mean he would have been perfect there more of a smaller market they like he would have been perfect there, more of a smaller market.

He would have been durable. He would have given quality innings. I just can't believe that they couldn't beat that offer. Or maybe they did, and he said no. And I think him turning down money to stay here, I think it buys Aaron Nola, obviously, a little bit of a leash here where it's like you wanted to be here and i think that that means something and back-to-back years of of him turner um saying i

want to be affiliate like that that bodes so well for the for the future of this franchise and i do think that a lot of that has to obviously do with the fans i mean and the fans and how we've showed out on the ballpark the last couple of years and the ovation stuff. Like, I just I hope this does lead to lead to, you know, more free agents obviously coming on down. But getting Nola back in the fold for that contract, the years of the years, whatever. But for that deal, I mean, it does it does lend their lend itself to going and getting another guy. So the Nola thing is big but like if i would rather add nola at 24 or even seven years whatever or snell at like five but a higher

aav i am a lower aav guy so you whatever the tax whatever but like it does matter when it comes to to going and getting players uh 100 it does yeah 100 it does it's a and it's a great point like it does get more punitive the more you go up those levels and you know john middleton has shown he's super willing to spend we're super lucky but like you know steve he's not steve cohen no one else in baseball is steve cohen like the dude has like five times the amount of money of everyone else you know you can't you really do have to be smart about he can't just spend spend spend and expect to you know at a certain point you have to say all right we got to stay under this number so um all right um i want to i want to talk about what's next in a sec first and this so if you're watching the live youtube of this um don't go anywhere it

might seem a little weird because you're you're not not going to hear Preston Mattingly right now, but everyone else listening to the podcast, we'll hear Preston Mattingly because we recorded it before. And you watching YouTube can listen on the pod to hear it as well. So I want to get to what's next before we get out of here, but let's get to our guy. I mean, what a thrill for us.

We've been waiting. So, I mean, we said his name before he was even here. We wanted them to hire him. We had Brian Barber on. Now we get our other guy. Preston Mattingly actually joins us on the show, Jack.

This is exciting stuff. All right. We'll be back in a sec. If you're watching the YouTube in about 25 minutes, if you're listening on the pod, actually we'll be there for that too. But all right. We'll get to what's next coming up in a minute.

First, our interview just a little bit ago with the great Preston Madding. Hey, fantasy football owners. The road to winning your fantasy football championship starts now. I'm Matt Harmon from Reception Perception. Join me and James Coe as we take a deep dive into the position that's going to make or break your fantasy roster. Wide receivers. We analyze route running, target share share and all the metrics that matter,

giving you the insights you need to draft the best wide receivers. As you prep for your draft, let us give you the coverage you need. Follow and listen to perception perception on the free odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. And it is our pleasure to welcome to the show. We've talked about him thousands of times on the show. We wanted him hired.

Well, we might have gotten him hired. We're not going to take full credit for it. But, you know, we did say hire Preston Mattingly, and then he got hired. Now he's an assistant general manager, player development. Like, moving on up, Preston, thank you so much for taking the time, man. No, it's an honor to be on obviously listen to you guys a lot and uh yeah it's just my pleasure to be here well sorry in advance for listening to us a lot you know we lead you down a lot of wrong paths but but I will say I mean you Brian Barber on the podcast I mean it I mean, it's certainly been an off season.

So I have some nerd out questions at the end that I will get to. I mean, look at Jack's smile. He's like beaming right now. It's a big day. It's a big day. But there's a lot to get into. And just really, really, really appreciate you taking a couple of minutes out of your busy, busy day to join us. Yeah, it's going to be awesome.

We really appreciate it. Let's dive in. And I want to start, I want to go back first before we dive into the Phillies and your time now. For those who might be like, oh, Mattingly, that sounds familiar. Don Mattingly's son, Donnie Baseball. So just going back and starting, you know, someone who's literally spent their whole life around baseball, what was it like to, to, Hey, you know, grow up as Donnie baseball as your

dad and, and also just to grow up, you know, literally at the stadium around the game like that. You know, in the moment you probably don't appreciate it, but I think as I got older, I kind of, you know, realized like some of the things I was exposed to at a very young age. You look back and it's like, man, that was that was really cool. You know, like Yogi Berra staying at my house and getting to be in the clubhouse and, you know, Yankee Stadium and go to All-Star Games. It's just like you took that for granted probably as a kid. But now looking back, it's like, man, what a special time that was. And honestly, my dad's been great. You know, he he's he doesn't push me to do anything.

And honestly, my dad's been great. You know, he doesn't push me to do anything. He lets me kind of be myself, be my own person. And it's been great to kind of grow up that way without any pressure with him, you know, putting on myself. Yeah. And I don't think people realize how great a player your dad was. I mean, 307 career hitter. If the back didn't get hurt, I've believed my whole life that he'd be a Hall of Famer.

He was an awesome player, a nine time gold Glover. Um, but, uh, with that in mind, the, the experience you had as a kid being around the game and all that, and, you know, segueing to, to playing, you were a player as well, a first round draft pick by the Dodgers played in the minor leagues. Um, I want to get back to the growing up, but in terms of being a player and playing in the minors and then not making it, how did that experience kind of set you up for player development? Were there things you noticed at the time when you were playing that you could kind of pinpoint,

oh, you know, that's important for young kids or this or that? Like, were there things then that kind of transferred over to what you do now? I think you always take from your experiences, right? I mean, like you, the things that happened to you, whether it's the way I was as a hitter or the way I was treated by the admin staff there. But honestly, like, it's not necessarily baseball, I think, that's impacted me the most in player development.

Honestly, my time at Lamar playing basketball I got like you know I was obviously a little bit older at the time and and going back to being around 18 19 year old kids seeing like what makes them tick what makes them what motivates them to be what they you know to reach their goals and I think that really helped me as as much as my playing days in the minor leagues as well and do you think your experience one more on that do you think your experience as a kid growing up around the game helped with with it as well do you think your experience, one more on that, do you think your experience as a kid growing up around the game helped with it as well? Do you think it's something that you kind of saw from an early age

and was almost ingrained in you? Possibly. I think you get exposed to people, right? You get exposed to different people you get to have conversations with, and it allowed me to ask questions and learn the game through their eyes, through different people that have had lots of experience throughout their years. Now, no consideration to ever growing a mustache like Donnie Baseball.

You said, I don't know if I can pull that off or what. No, I've never done it. I don't love the look, honestly. I give my dad a lot of crap about it. But I did do it one time when I dressed up a when i dressed up for halloween i did it and took a photo and i that photo i don't really like it out there much but i tried and you know he gave me some crap back and said hey i was growing that mustache at about age 12 so he said you keep working i mean it was like a full-on handlebar back in the day your dad rocked it man

yeah it was it was a legit one he had the 80s look down yeah him and tom selick man yeah came to the 80s uh all right so you come over from the padres um and uh obviously it's very very exciting you know all the word was how you were a fast riser and was viewed as like a the a rising star in the industry um What would you say the biggest growth has happened since you have now kind of taken over and ran with player development since you started? I mean, just probably managing people, honestly. You know, I was doing a lot of things in San Diego.

And, you know, you don't really understand like how big of a challenge and task that is. You know, obviously in player development, ginormous department, it's is you know obviously in player development ginormous department it's you know 150 plus you're dealing with you know other departments as well so i think managing people was probably the biggest thing that i'm not saying i was bad at it but i think you always can evolve you always can get better and i think just just to understand like every person you're dealing with has a family has a since something going on in their life and just

to you don't take that for granted when you're dealing with people and how do you feel you know infrastructure wise you know coming over really kind of you know laying your putting your fingerprints on the player development side like where do you kind of feel like it is at this point yeah i feel really good obviously you're always trying to get better um it's really you know great in the organization we've added a lot of resources we built a pitching lab in Clearwater. We've added biomechanics. We have multiple pitching coaches, upper level, lower

level. I think the one great thing about the Phillies is we have the resources and we invest them in our players. Yeah. The pitching lab and everything that's happening down in Clearwater. You said pitching lab, and it was over for me personally.

So yeah, Clearwater, that's going to be really, really exciting. You talked a lot about protecting the standard. What is the standard to you? Yeah, I think it's like how we conduct ourselves, honestly. It's four things that take no talent. We talk to our players all the time, respect how we compete how we play and i think it just goes to like how we do things on a daily basis and we hold our players to that i think this this is a championship organization um and it's always been that and i think we had to get back to that to like we have standards in this organization

and we're not going to accept anything but the best because that's what we want to be you know we want to build something that's sustainable for years to come. And I think to do that, our players had to understand that it comes with expectations and how we do all the things I just mentioned. You talked about before the importance of the people you're around and learning from them. I mean, you're obviously under one of the great, you know, he's president of baseball.

It's one of the great front office men of in the history of the game. I mean, Dave Dombrowski will go in the hall of fame someday he's won uh multiple world series multiple organizations been there with with four different teams what has it been like working under dave and and you know what kind of things have you learned from dave that have kind of helped progress you in your career yeah dave's tremendous right but it's not just dave it's dave dave dombrowski it's sam fold it's ani colombi it's it's jorge right? But it's not just Dave. It's Dave Dombrowski. It's Sam Fold. It's Ani Kalambi. It's Jorge Valandia. It's Ned Wright. It's a group of people. But Dave specifically, I've learned a lot just watching how he conducts himself and how he treats people and how he conducts meetings and the way he sets up his day. Honestly, everything. I could sit there and watch him for hours. But he's been tremendous for me. He's let me do my job, let our staff work. And I think it's been tremendous to work for him. You've been around a lot of really smart people in your time. I mean, Andrew Friedman,

a lot of smart people in that Padres organization. Do you try and take certain things from people that you see? Do you see like, oh, wow, Andrew Friedman's really good at this. I like that. But Dave does this thing differently. And I like that a lot. Do you try and take oh, wow, Andrew Freeman's really good at this. I like that. But, you know, Dave does this thing differently. And I like that a lot. Is that kind of, do you try and take things and meld them into your own style? Or do you kind of get a blueprint and try to follow the thing that just works? Yeah, I think you're always taking from everyone. You know, whether it's, you know, Andrew, when my dad was managing out there,

AJ Preller in San Diego, the way he did things. Then Dave and who I'm with now. But it's not just the baseball side. Like, you know, the basketball coach I had in college, Tick Price, I learned a lot from him. My high school coaches, like my mom, honestly, whatever things she's been through. Like, you take from everyone, and you're always trying to grow.

You're trying to get better. You know, we were really fortunate as an organization, myself, Sam, and a few other people to go down to Alabama. We got to talk to Nick Saban for 45 minutes about just development and players and we went to clemson and we went to kentucky and we did a bunch of different things which was really special to get to grow and not just grow as a person myself but help grow our organization so um obviously we love the phillies right but i've often said that the my favorite team in the organization was the Clearwater Threshers, who was nicknamed Pressureville. And you also said that, you know, they were the most important draft class, you know, in this organization, I guess. Why do you believe that draft class was so important for kind of instilling the Phillies way?

Yeah, I think, you know, number one, the Clearwater team was tremendous, right? But I think I said that when I spoke to the guys when we drafted them the year prior. And I said that because it was the first, you know, draft class that myself, Brian Barber, had been working together and just to establish that standard and what we're going to be about as an organization. That's what we talked about, how important they were. When they came into offseason workout programs for six weeks it's their job to help bring the next group along and be the leaders of the organization and then just push it forward and get back to the championship organization that we are and i

think just specifically the clearwater team honestly jack i mean like i think that team would have won 100 games if i would have kept them together it was a special special group um you know just starting from like Justin Crawford. And nobody even really talks about this guy a lot, but Brian Rincon and just Orion Kirkering. And like we had a bunch of guys that were just really good players. And the cool part about it was they played together as a team. They took on their manager's identity, Marty Malloy, who's really tough. But, you know, he loves to, you know, loves the guys to play hard and win. And I think they took after him and it was, it was from second one. It

was like, they were selfless. They're all about, you know, the team and getting better and trying to win as an organization. And it was really fun to watch. Yeah. And obviously you're looking to instill that in a new draft class. I mean, do you feel confident that this is going to be something that you're just going to have and instill and get these guys to buy in from day one yeah we i think as an organization we feel very confident i think like you know we we provide these guys with a lot of things and resources but with that comes expectations i think the players are it's they're they hear it loud and clear when they sign that it's going to be the standard is going to be the way it is and if they can't live to that they just won't be in our organization and And I think, you know,

Brian Barber and his staff does such a great job of getting high character guys who love to play and work and want to get better. So I think it really fits that. Speaking of Brian Barber, this is a question I asked him when we had him on. And I think you mentioned Justin Crawford. I feel like the last few years we've seen a really, and look, you're always going to see, and you're one of them, right? You played, your father played in the game, but I feel like

we've seen a influx of really high end, you know, prodigy of players, you know, kids like Vlad and Bichette out there and Crawford and the assistant. And I just feel like there've been a real, I mean, Matt Holiday has two of the, you know, both his kids are top 10 prospects, whatever, number one, all that stuff.

What is it about, about like growing up with a father who played the game? Obviously there's genetics part about that. I get that. But is there something other advanced? Like I always thought with like Steph Curry or whatever, you know, growing up around the game,

being in those arenas, you just like desensitize to it almost, right? You're like, it doesn't feel as big or as scary or whatever, maybe naturally. I don't know. I always, I'm fascinated by this idea of kids who, whose parents played and then follow and can, can in some cases, you know, uh, improve on it. Um, what do you think it is outside of just the genetics? I think they're exposed to high level training and coaching, right? I think a lot of kids at that young age don't get to work with, let's just take, you know, the holidays, Matt holiday, right. Or don't get exposed to like, you know, the routines that Matt knows and then instill

those into his, into his boys. And, you know, I think, yeah, you're exposed to a lot of things. You're being able to be around the yard. You're being able to talk to older players and just, yeah, get exposed to high-level coaching at a young age. What's it been like working with our guy, Brian? I mean, you're both our guys. You know what I mean?

But now, you know, you two have joined forces. What's it been like working with Brian Barber so far? Yeah, Brian's one of my really close friends. I love Brian, and it's been tremendous. You know, obviously, we both had a vision when we came over and worked together that like we needed to bridge the gap between PD and scouting. And we've done a lot of work to try and do that. We have guys that work on both sides, both the player development side and scouting to help bridge that. And like we've really, you know, worked together and it's like,

you know, having an organization like this to be successful, you have to be on the same page. I think the one thing that nobody really understands and what happens when things start to go bad is you get a scouting director and player development who are on the same side. You draft the players and the player development complains about the players they get, and then vice versa. You draft good players, the player development screwed up my players. I think getting on the same page to understand what these players need to do to get better when you draft them, I think is really important, impactful to speeding up their development. And I was thinking, you know, it's like the organization is really healthy right now, which is it's a good spot to be in,

especially with you and Brian kind of leading the charge down there. spots being especially with you and and and Brian kind of leading the charge down there what's next like like where do you kind of envision this department you know in the next five years and and how this thing is going to continue to grow and continue to churn out talent yeah I think when in the interview process and talking with Brian throughout it's like I wanted to be the team that like you know I always say like build the bully right like you know you get these players and you you get all these guys into your system and you just you look up and you have multiple guys coming every single year throughout the organization. So I think, you know, as we continue to, you know, obviously Brian hasn't had a ton of time yet. He was here in the COVID draft in 2020, only had five picks.

And then he's really only had a couple of draft classes. And, you know, obviously we've given up some picks to sign quality free agents. And, and I think, you know, as Brian continues to get more, you know, picks and get more guys into the system, we're going to continue to get high in talent and develop those guys into being championship players and, and be impactful players. I think the one thing you've seen about Brian is he's going to take the best player and he's going to take guys with big tools and big talent. And I love that. Give me those guys in our system and we'll get them better. Yeah. Preston, we don't have to tell you, you know, you haven't been in Philly that long, but I'm sure, you know, the history of drafting and developing with the Philadelphia Phillies

has always been the bugaboo. I mean, there's a reason where the losing is franchise and the history of the sport, you know, we've really struggled with that. And I know for me and Jack, this is by far the best we've ever felt about, about that, about that portion of the Phillies and the future of that and what you guys have done a couple of years here. So I know we speak for all Phillies fans when we say like, thank you, man. Cause this is something that has really been a long road for us to feel good about this. So thank you. Now, after thanking you, I'm going to apologize because I'm about to let Jack just nerd out with you, so I'm very sorry in advance.

Jack, go ahead. Yeah, well, listen, there's some players I would like to ask about. Let's go. Aiden Miller. Drafted him last year at Big Tools. I was so happy they drafted him.

What can you tell us? What have you seen so far from Aiden Miller? Yeah, Aiden actually lives like 10 minutes down the road from me. So when we drafted him, it was really cool. I knew he would be at all of our camps in the offseason and be around the complex 24-7. But Aiden, obviously, he's a big physical kid. He has huge power. He's going to play in the middle of the field early on. I think he has a big physical kid. He's, you know, he's huge power.

You know, he's going to play in the middle of the field early on. I think he has a chance he stays at shortstop, but if not, obviously third base type body. But I think it's going to be a power bat. And it's tremendous makeup. It's tremendous work ethic. The kid's special. And he has big tools.

And I can't wait to, you know, keep working with him for years to come. Perfect answer. Jackson. Honestly, you know, we were shocked when he got to us you know I think it was ridiculous so is Jack he couldn't talk 15 player in the draft if he doesn't break his handmate bone he's he's a locked top 15 player like some of the organizations need to grow up um all right Abel and McGarry like know, kind of up down, got a triple A, you know, kind of seemed like he took a step back. What do you see from from Abel and McGarry this year and what are you kind of expecting going forward? Yeah, I think people honestly were a little hard on Mick.

You know, I think he threw 100 and I think it was 113 innings this year. That's multiple years over 100 plus innings. You know, I think people forget that he's drafted in the COVID year, didn't pitch high school baseball his first year in the pro ball. He threw, I think 40 innings and had a little bit of a shoulder mechanical flare up where he didn't get a pitch much. So last year, two years ago, now it would have been his first really full year. He threw a hundred plus innings this year. He followed that up, took the ball wire to wire. We saw the stuff actually get better.

I think, you know, some of the command stuff that he dealt with, you know, was obviously some strength-related stuff that once he gets stronger, we think that'll clean up. And honestly, you know, pitching in Redding, it's not the easiest part to pitch in, but I think we saw the stuff continue to tick up throughout the year, and we're really excited about what's to come for Mick. What about Griff?

It was kind of on fire at the beginning of the year kind of cooled off a little bit what did you see from him yeah grip obviously slowed out the gates with a little bit of an oblique so we were kind of like kind of trying to play catch up with him from the start we got him built up in reading he showed some flashes of the griff mcgary that we all know um i think once we got the triple a just the command kind of backed up on him right i think we've done some we're going to do some stuff this offseason. We're already doing it. And we did it last year when he was on the development list

of remapping the arm a little bit. Some of the stuff, the way the arm works to help make him be more efficient and help him, you know, command the ball a little bit better. Because we know if he does that, like he has elite stuff. Right? So, that's going to play anywhere. So, it's just getting him in the strike zone more. We think we've found some avenues to doing that.

He's working with Brian Kaplan and Mark Loewies, who are pitching people, Travis Herter, Cesar Ramos when he was in AAA. So we've had a really strong group working with him, and we're really excited about him next year. Yeah, I mean, the stuff still pops. So obviously rude for Griff. Justin Crawford, drafted him last year. A lot of talk about hitting ball like

into the ground but he hit over 300 um how confident are you guys or how confident are you that you're gonna be able to get him to lift the baseball continue to uh you know do damage in the gaps and and i mean what do you think we have here in justin crawford yeah justin crawford the first thing that comes to mind is like impact right because he's a he's a freak athlete he's a chance to be elite defender elite base runner so just take that right off the jump and you're excited and i think just the the bat the ball skills that he has and like listen i think like justin weighed 175 pounds uh when we when he started the year he's up to 185 now but i think the impact's there it's not like a quality of content it's not like a lack of impact type thing the exit veloc velocities are already in the 110s for a young kid.

But like you mentioned, he hits a lot of balls on the ground. So it's more quality of contact issue. And I think people, you know, it's so visible now, prospects, that they want guys to be perfect the day they sign, right? So Justin Crawford, when he signs at 19, the player that he is now is not the player he's going to be in the big leagues at 22, 23, 24 years old, right? Like we're well aware of some of the things he does and, you know, that he gets a lot of balls on the ground. But I think for a young kid, I think we want to let him

do it like naturally, right? We don't want to just get him in the system and like, hey, you got to hit home runs. You got to hit the ball in the air right away because that could stun his development and set him back. So I think we're kind of letting him grow, but we're well aware that we need to make some stuff. It's more of a point of contact thing in some of the way his swing works. We're adjusting that. Luke Merton, our director of hitting, has been working with him all offseason. He was down at high-performance camp in Clearwater for the last six weeks.

So he's been there working on it, and we're really happy with where Justin's at and where he's going to be in the future. I think the guy you see now is not the guy you see in a couple years. So he's a to be in the future. I think the guy you see now is not the guy you see in a couple years. He's a really exciting player. He seems like the classic guy that 24 all kinds of come together and bang. Like a

four-win player just on defense and speed automatically. It's exciting. Gabriel Recones Jr. He's got some serious pop. Went off in the Arizona Fall League. Future maybe corner outfielder of the Bucs? What do we see from Rincone?

Yeah, he didn't get to play his first full year. He was dealing with a shoulder issue. I think the one thing that was the most surprising thing was the defense and base run. This guy is an instinctual defender. I think when we drafted him, it was more, well, he's a corner, maybe play first, but it's now pretty evident he's going to be a good corner outfielder just by the

instincts on the bases. I want to say he stole over 40 bases this year, like didn't get caught many. So like, I think there's instincts on the bases. He takes the challenges really well. I think, you know, we told him early on that, you know, in his scouting report, we had him as a 30 runner. So he chose to take the full year to prove us wrong and steal some bases. But another guy that I think it's top of the scale exit velocities. He's going to have big power. I think it's a quality of contact issue again that we're working on. I think as he learns to lift the ball more and get the ball in the air, he's going to hit a ton of home runs.

And we're really confident in that. And I think for his first full year, he went out and had a pretty good season. And we're really confident in that. And I think for his first full year, he went out and had a pretty good season. Now, unfortunately, this guy tore his ACL, but I was so excited about Starlin Kaba. What can you kind of tell me about him? I mean, he was kind of unknown, signed a pretty decent contract a couple years ago. What'd you see kind of year one getting him stateside?

He didn't tear his ACL. It was left elbow surgery. Oh, way off. Sorry, I thought it was the ACL. It was left elbow surgery. Oh, way off. Sorry, I thought it was the ACL. My bad, my bad. Yeah, all good. Yeah, but left arm, so nothing's going to hinder him long term. Just a little bit of a speed bump for him.

He's in the States now. He's been rehabbing up until the dead period. Yeah, he's honestly, it's maybe the best defender I've ever seen for a young kid. Wow. It's athletic. He's bouncy. He makes I've ever seen for a young kid. Wow. It's athletic. He's bouncy. He makes a ton of contact. He can run.

Obviously, he's still 17 years old, but it's a special, special defender and player and athlete. So, yeah, we're really excited to get him to the States next year. And honestly, our FCL team next year could be really fun to watch. Yeah, I can't wait. I think he's got a chance to be a stud. Last quick hitter here. Who do you think performed better in the clubhouse, me or Seltzer? I mean, who looked like they belonged there?

You know, this is a hard one. I feel like I don't know the right answer. I got to go with Jack, though. Yeah, it's okay. I think Jack's the right answer, yes. He was nerding out a little bit in there, but he was well-reserved. I'm glad to see him in there. Yeah, Jack – trust me, Jack needed that a lot more than I did. So I think that was the correct answer there.

I don't know if Jack would have recovered if we had gone the other way. Just popped so much champagne as a Bloomsburg Husky. Yes, never lost in the playoffs, right? 2-0 in the playoffs, Preston, so. There we go. Know a thing or two about winning. Yeah, if you're looking for someone to develop, you know just a two and oh and nice playoffs preston so there we go no thing or two about winning yeah yeah if you're looking for someone to develop you know there you go yeah i still college eligibility and the boys a little bit more you know get you down to spring training a little

bit oh my god you don't have to tell us twice i'll get on a plane right now and just wait till march i'll start walking i'll walk i'll walk to Clearwater. Are you kidding me? Preston, last one for us. And again, thank you so much for the time. It's a real thrill to have us on as you can tell, Jack. Giddy. But last one, just a fun one on the way out. You mentioned Yogi

Berra in the opening when I talked about being around the game. I mean, your dad, and I know Ricky Henderson a little before your time, but dad played with Ricky Henderson and Dave Winfield and obviously played for George Steinbrenner and a lot of stuff. Do you have any fun memories or anyone who kind of sticks out as someone who you're like, wow, I can't believe I saw George Steinbrenner at this time or that. Is there anything that kind of sticks out to you like that? George Steinbrenner at this time or that,

is there anything that kind of sticks out to you like that? I'm a Jeter guy, you know, so Derek Jeter's my guy always has been. So just the way. Jack, Jack, Jack likes to rip on Jeter. And I, I get it. I get it. But you know, Jeter, when you're growing up watching the things he did and this like way he treated people honestly with me was the coolest thing. And just like, yeah, I come to spring training as like a, you know, Don don mattingly's kid he doesn't have to treat me any kind of way and it was like you know he's giving me a glove he's giving me cleats and then like

you know fast forward the one thing i always stuck with me i was struggling in the minor leagues my first full year and i was making a ton of errors playing shortstop and obviously derek had a history and made a lot of errors his first full year and i remember um sitting in my hotel room and and getting a call and it was it was year. And I remember sitting in my hotel room and getting a call, and it was Derek who called me. It was my dad, I guess, that updated him, hey, tell him I'm making some errors. And he called and just told me, like, hey, just keep working and keep grinding. And just that advice always stuck with me,

and just that he took the time to do that, right? Like the guy that's a superstar-type player and treated me the way he did, it always stuck with me, and it was really, honestly, to this day, like this guy can do no wrong in my eyes. That's awesome, man. Yeah, that that's,

that's pretty cool, man. And look, other than Jack, everyone else talks glowingly about Derek Jeter. So, and it's not personal. Jack just calls him a slap hitter,

which is outrageous. Well, I appreciate Derek Jeter. I appreciate Derek Jeter. Great player. Great player. But it's funny also, needles to me at this point. That's right. I appreciate Derek Jeter I appreciate Derek Jeter he's a great player but it's funny also that Nielsen makes his fans that's right well again Preston seriously

I can't tell you how much we appreciate the time it has been a real pleasure definitely want to have you back in the future maybe we make a Brian Preston you know interview happen at some point. That'd be a thrill too.

But thank you, man. I can't tell you how much of a thrill it was for Jack, for me, and for our audience. So thank you. Yeah, great to be on here. Obviously, it was a pleasure. And anytime we get to talk about the Phillies and our players, I'm happy to.

Sounds great, buddy. And thanks again. And I'll see you in the clubhouse next year. Next year, we'll get there, look much more professional. That's right. We're there as journalists, and we're not rooting for either team. So next year in the clubhouse. Yes, that's us, very clearly.

As I'm wearing like a Bryce Harper Simpson shirt in the clubhouse. Yep, that's it. Yep. Love it. All right. And we're back. Don't go anywhere. That was awesome. I was felt felt like a really quick interview to me uh flew by um no we we are so grateful and we are definitely gonna have uh i think him and brian on in the future do a little little uh four-way

talk which i think will be pretty awesome all right jack before we get out of here i'm assuming you have a take bag because we just spoke the other day. Do you? Well, I was going to say what's next could be the take bag. What do you expect next? Does this mean no trout? Does this mean they're still in on trout? Where do you think it goes from here? Well, the one big thing now that is being thrown out there,

and we actually haven't talked about it yet on the podcast because we're unprofessional and we don't keep up with the Phillies, is this Bryce Harperryce harper extension thing of oh yeah i saw that yeah it's kind of weird yeah it's just like i mean to like spread his money out more is that the idea it's like he signed through through 2030 or whatever i don't think we need to worry too much about an extension yeah i mean i guess maybe he just wants to be paid into his 40s i guess he is going to want to raise because I think Middleton said that he's underpaid and maybe Boris is like, oh, really? What are we doing here?

I don't think we've – but we've never seen this in baseball, right? No, no. Like there's been opt-outs. Like A-Rod opted out just to re-sign with the Yankees. They don't like tear up contracts and do extensions. I mean, again, I'm sure the only reason to do it is to spread the AAV thinner to sign more guys, I guess. Or he wants a raise.

Sure, yeah, he might, I guess, but he also wants to win. I don't know. It's a weird one. It's a weird one. I guess we'll see. But I don't even know if owners are going to approve of it. Yeah, I don't know what the CBA says about it. I agree.

I don't know. It's a weird one. There's a lot of things. I mean, I'm sure they could do it. Otherwise, they wouldn't be talking about it. I just don't know how they couldBA says about it. I agree. I don't know. It's a weird one. There's a lot of things. I'm sure they could do it. Otherwise, they wouldn't be talking about it. I just don't know how they could do it. You know? Exactly.

Again, maybe he just wants to be extended into his 40s. I have no idea. Maybe he just wants a couple years tagged on. Who knows? Yeah. And he didn't want an opt-out. Whatever you want, Bryce. Sorry, buddy.

It's fine. What's a couple extra years in my 50s? I don't care. Yeah, who cares by that point? Again, as a podcast that was once built on the 2026 phase. I could be dead by then. What do I know? Come on. I'm old, like Jack says. Just stay a Philly forever.

Alright, what's next? Alright, so what's next? So the only thing that hampers the Trout thing now is that he can't wear 27. It's a big one. It's a big one it's a big one but two is available you like to like Jeter growing up and as I somatically as a new newly formed Derek Jeter guy myself either love on this one here way too much way too much you did make a lot of errors but he has like a million gold gloves for no reason but besides that besides that yeah so I'll be curious to see what they do with the rotation now because obviously Wheeler we'll see if they extend him this offseason which would be interesting I guess

if you could extend the wheeler in the middle of a contract. Yeah, you can extend. Yeah, but I don't know. Then you can extend Bryce. But I don't think we've ever seen a pay increase while a contract is going on. Well, we haven't seen it with nine years left on the deal or eight years left. That's the weird part. It's not like, oh, he's got a year left. Let's extend him or two years left even. It's like, oh, he's got eight years left.

Let's get on that extension, you know? Yeah. So, okay. So the Wheeler probably extended, hopefully extended this offseason. Nola back. I still think that they try to get out from under Tywin Walker's contract, but maybe not. But if they wanted to sign a Sonny Gray, I wouldn't.

I'm just worried about giving him a draft pick because that's all I care about. But, we know. Yeah, I'm very, very curious to see what they do. Is this it? Are we just running it back

with the same rotation? Do they try to find another arm? Do they move off Walker to get someone else? It'll be interesting. But, I think I'd be a little disappointed if this is the only

starting pitching move. Like, I need at least one interesting one. You know, it'll be interesting but um i think i'd be a little disappointed this is the only starting pitching move like i need at least one interesting one you know like a fetty or severino or yeah just give me give me one um and then the the next big shoot a drop is going to be if they make any lineup upgrades and try to find a big fish that way i mean if they wanted to get nuts they could still do they could still do the c-strike because he's under contract for two years yeah it's true um but i don't see i think it's more likely they make a move for like a closer whether it's signing hater or trading for one i think that's a more likely move than another starter like that yeah um but but if they i just i'm curious to see what they do now with the lineup

or are we just running it pretty much back with the with the same team uh minus resauce who didn't play last year so um i would like to find a ready patient bat we'll see if they are able to do that but at least they got nola back at least there's not a downgrade to the rotation. And now that that's out of the way, that was the biggest question mark heading into the offseason, they can kind of go cook. So I'm excited to see. So go cook. So go cook.

Go cook. And at least they brought back Noles. So that huge question mark is off the table. Love it. All right, you got anything else before we watch football? I mean, listen, if you want to sign Yamamoto too, then you got Painter next year. I mean, you know we're in on that, but let's be real.

Let's spend more money. Let's spend all the money. Spend more money. Spend more money. And, of course, make a dope trade. That's all I got. Make a dope trade. Make a dope trade. All right, thank you again to Prest emmanually for joining us that was a real thrill it was awesome what a what a what a

stud that guy is i mean just so cool uh so really neat and um and uh we'll be back i guess next week or if there's any more emergency oh yeah obviously if stuff happens we'll be there obviously but otherwise we'll be back next week. And, you know, how about it, man? Aaron Nola. Nola's back. Nola's back. Yeah, thank you, Phillies, for not making us wait until, like, late tonight to record this.

From the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it. All right. And a 2035 Wall of Fame induction. Oh, it's going to be great. And the big question is... 2035, Bryce will be 44 and playing first base. By the way, 2035, again, Nola made his debut in

2015. That's crazy. He's probably going to retire. It's nuts. Lifetime Philly, Aaron Nola. How about it? What a thrill. We'll be back when they make a move or later this week. Again, thank you to Preston Mattingly. Thank you to Aaron Nola. How about it? What a thrill. What a thrill. All right. We'll be back when they make a move or later this week.

Again, thank you to Preston Mattingly. Thank you to Aaron Nola. We love you, buddy. We'll keep talking about you. And that's all I got. Let me just put some seltzer. We'll see you next time.