High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 1: Will The Phillies Make Another Move?

Episode Date: December 7, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss the Phillies recent inactivity and Rob Thomson's future with the team. 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

All-star closer, Kenley Jansen, we have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball Isn't Boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is.

Another fact, so jump aboard the B.I.B. Express. Follow and listen to Baseball Isn't Boring, presented by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage on the free Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, so let's get back to the they're not going to do anything. Do you want my updated perfect offseason? It makes me sad. But yes, we're going to do it.

But it makes me really sad. But is there any chance there's some robo-doping going here? Is there any chance that they're putting out, hey, we're not really doing anything, and they're the team to pounce on someone? I don't think it's going to be Yamamoto or whatever, but Blake Snell is only 100 million. Oh, boom, or whatever it is.

Do you think the Phillies are potentially lying in wait? They're really saying, look, this market's not playing out for us. If there's a trade there, we'll take it. But more likely, we're going to kind of fill in the fringes and head into camp. I think there's a 100% chance that they're – it's not a rope-a-dope. I just think they're going to be opportunistic. It reminds me a lot of when they signed Castellanos. I mean, it was essentially the market crater,

and they're like, why would we not sign Castellanos? So maybe that happens for Blake Snell. If you're telling me they can add Blake Snell with is like with arinola obviously a win no brainer yes please um yeah so i i think there's 100 and really i think the next thing that could happen is a trade i mean that's where it comes down to is free agency i think and i was i might as well i was gonna put it in my uh in my in my take, but now that we're talking about it, I think the biggest thing that we have to adjust with the current state of the Phillies and the way that free agency is going and the way the offseason is going is that now it is entirely on, and not to put pressure on them, I'm very sorry,

but it's on player development and it's on uh brian barber to keep getting talent in the system because now it's trades well that's what i said in the pod that's why i said i trust these guys to to draft and develop talent and that's part of the reason i was willing to trade away our guys like i don't think the phillies are going to be huge players in free agency because i think when you have at least for the next couple years because i think when you have your roster pretty much set and they have their core their core for the next three years is bryce jt schwarber cassianos turner stott um boom marsh like it's pretty set wheeler they'll probably extend this offseason yeah nola uh ranger chris sanchez andrew painter whatever like it's pretty much set but if able

hopefully in a couple years and look at like or trade him look what the dodgers have done you know the last couple years it's like their roster is pretty much set but then they go out and they trade their prospects to to add around those guys you know and the mookie trade was bigger but like i think about the scherzer trade and and really the turner trade um like when you get to this point as a as a franchise and you get to this point as a team then it becomes about the trades you make not the free agent signings that you make and that's what we're currently dealing with is is people want these free agents signs because we've been so accustomed the last couple years of they're going to be players in free agency it's not the case when the roster is pretty much set now it's about the trades around those guys maybe

the trade for a a lockdown shutdown star reliever like we've talked about we've talked about i mean i think that's i think that's a trade that could happen. And then, I don't know. I mean, maybe the Snell market craters and they sign him. But I think there is definitely one possible big move left. And I think if I had to choose one, it'd be for one of the star relievers. Please, buddy. I would be very... We talked about it.

We talked about it. There seems to be this thing, and I don't get why. I do get why. It's because people like to be fake smart and there's nothing that bothers me more than this fake smart sports arguments. Like the run the ball stuff right now. Of course the Eagles have to establish a run. Of course they do.

Like just shut up. It's so annoying. Like, yes, they have to run the ball and they have to run it better. Like what else? Why are we even having this discussion? It shouldn't be this hard. Thank you. It shouldn't be this hard.

I am so with you. Like it's okay. Some things are obvious. Some things we don't have to fight about. Some things we can all say, yeah, you know what? We all agree. That's what happened. You love those arguments.

I do. You know me. But that's what I feel about the closer position. Having a guy that can just shut down the ninth is valuable. And it's like, yeah, I know the Phillies the last couple years, they've had a revolving door back there, but that's because they haven't had the guy, they haven't had someone they can just stick in the ninth, and like, yeah, maybe Alvarado's better than whatever closer they can go trade for, maybe not, but at that point, Alvarado

can be in the seventh, He can be in the eighth. They could have Serenity. They go from a, why would you trade assets for a closer? Because it lets everyone, it turns your bullpen from really good. It was a top five bullpen last year to the best in the sport, a souped up bullpen. If there's the time to do it, it's probably now. Well, and honestly, if you look at the way they lost the last two postseasons,

I mean, Houston, obviously, that was maybe the greatest bullpen in the history of the sport up there or whatever, but that played a major role in them losing. And last year, not that Ginkle and Seawald are the best bullpen we've ever seen, but they were amazing. They were amazing in the playoffs, those two guys. Until the World Series, those guys were unhittable, and that's part of the reason they got there.

Like, being able to shut guys down at the end of playoff games, being able to win games like that. Oh, maybe we saw it in games three and four what that would have done for the Phillies if they had shut down guys. They could come in and shut it down. Like, they would have been

in the World Series last year. Like, it's massively important. So I just don't understand why it's always... I think we've gone too far with the closer doesn't matter thing. It's still the three hardest outs to get in a baseball game. year like it's massively important so i just i just i don't understand why it's always i think we've gone too far with the closer doesn't matter thing it's still the three hardest outs to get in the baseball game and especially in the biggest of games when the pressure is the the biggest like those are tough outs to get well and especially if if rob thompson's gonna be as aggressive as he is in some of these games like you need you need a souped up and it almost saves him from himself

having a guy at the end that you can just count. That guy's there. Let me build up to that each time and not have to worry about how I'm ending a game. So yeah, I just think that if there's ever a time to do it, it's your World Series window to do it. I am 100% with you.

If you can go get a Bednar, you can go get a Devin Williams, you can go get one of these lockdown guys. Alex Lang or Alexis Diaz. I just like to throw out names. I know. But I do. Alex Lang is really good. But I'd rather have Bednar for what it's worth. Bednar would be my top choice.

So I just, I think we've just gone too far with the whole closer doesn't matter thing. And especially, listen, with the way this team, you know, with the way the manager manages in the biggest games of the year, instead of having Kimbrel have to come in in that spot, or if Sir Anthony's not pitching as well,

or instead of having to, if you want to not extend Chris Sanchez later into a game, or Ranger into a game, which I hope we can just knock off. I don't want to deal with that anymore. Just let your freaking starter, when he's, okay.

When has he ever shown he can't handle it um but but you might as well just build a souped up bullpen might as well i mean like i think kirk ring like honestly maybe the biggest thing that they're that they're internally debating right now and i think it's one of the bigger questions about the team is how great can orion kirk ring be like can kirk ring be bednar be bednar be devin williams be one of the best clothes in baseball because if he can be then there's no reason it totally changes everything yeah and then he's the guy but you could also have him and those guys yeah so yeah i would be and it especially helps you get through 162 um and we

know how important bullpens are in the postseason speaking of uh you just mentioned his name thoughts on 13 million for craig kimbrell a raise just by the 101 win orioles team but to be their closer how about that well imagine going from felix from Felix Bautista to Craig Kimbrell. And Bautista's obviously out for the year, so they say Kimbrell's going to be their closer. Isn't that wild? You just watched it, and then you're like, yep, that guy. I know he's good during the year.

Yeah, but listen, they'll probably turn him into a stud. They have a bit of a pitching factory down there. They're really good at that stuff. 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.

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I want to talk about the Harvard thing. Well, that's not a perfect offseason. Your boring perfect offseason. Your lame perfect offseason. But you just mentioned Thompson real quick, so I'll just throw that in there. Thoughts on the one-year extension? Like, you know, didn't want him to be a lame duck, clearly.

He would have been a lame duck this year. They add the one more year. I think a lot of people are like, just one year, huh? Thoughts? So I can't tell if it's more Thompson or the Phillies. Yeah, because he's talked a lot about just being exactly yeah exactly so doesn't even care what he makes it like doesn't he almost retired before getting

the job exactly so like I thought I had that thought too I was like maybe he's just like a you know I'm gonna kind of go year by year by year year by year and maybe if he gets to the point where it's like you know like I'm ready to move on he seems very comfortable with moving on and going back to Canada.

Yeah, he seems very comfortable talking about it and saying how he really feels about it. Yeah, so maybe they felt like they didn't have to give him three years. Sure. So, yeah, or it's the Phillies being like, we'll play it year by year, and if what happens again happens again this year, then maybe we move on and we'll pay that extra year and see what happens. How shook do you think they were by the playoffs?

Because again, I think we battled about the levels of it, but I think everyone can agree Rob Thompson, even he said it. He said it in his postseason press conferences. He made some mistakes. He trusted some guys too much. He should have done some different things in some different spots. How much do you think the Phillies are concerned about that? I don't know if they're concerned.

I think that it's something they're monitoring. I think he's a great manager. I think Rob Thompson is one of the best managers in baseball. I do too. I love the guy. If his fault or whatever is he's too loyal, then I think they want to see how he does next year. If he does the loyalty thing, if he changes it around

and it doesn't work again, then it's like, okay, maybe it's not rob thompson but my my first thought was is he angling for alex cora alex cora was the guy a year left in boss or two more years left in boston whatever guy he hired in boston rob thompson's getting older red sox i mean he seems frustrated with what's going on up there maybe that was a high and bloom problem maybe under Maybe under Craig Breslow, he's more happy. But, I mean, if Alex Cora becomes available in a year, I mean, I think Alex Cora is a difference-making manager. I love Alex Cora.

So maybe that's – I think Alex Cora is the best manager in the sport. Council's up there. Man, I'm so sick of Craig Council. I think he's really good. But look, he's never won the playoffs either. Oh, my God. No, rephrase. I'm sorry.

Bruce Bochy is the best manager in the sport, period. Sure. Sorry, he is. I mean, you have to give it to him. Yeah. He's good. He won the World Series again. He's good.

But I agree. I think Gore is top three. I think Gore is a stud. So that was one of my thoughts. And the year thing was really interesting. I couldn't tell if it was more Thompson or more the Phillies. I think they'll be curious to see what happens in the postseason.

It might just be if they fall short again, they have to do something. Look, the problem is I just keep loving the staff they build around them. I think Rob Thompson is great. For what it And look, I think Rob's good.

I think Rob Thompson is great. And for what it's worth, I don't think this is going to be an issue because I think he will change. The way he talked after the season in his postseason press conference, the way he talked about the mistakes he made, he seemed really thoughtful and pensive about it.

He was willing to admit that he's like, yeah, I probably did certain things wrong. I probably trusted guys in spots i shouldn't have like he admitted it so and and hearing him uh after he gets the contract saying i didn't want to watch a world series it hurts too much like i i would be surprised if a guy like him didn't learn at least some sort of lesson sure um but but you know and you look at the kind of the staff they're building around them you know we like caleb cotham a lot i mean i think cotham is stud uh kevin long we know good i just like they added these that like i love that they went to the giants and i love they went to the astros when they got these like extra hitting coaches around them because you know what

sunk them in the playoffs started chasing everything yeah giants and giants and astros are the best non-chasing teams in the sport the astros for the last i don't know six years top of baseball in the least amount of strikeouts um so poaching from those teams i think is is brilliant