High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - High Hopes Chapter 3: Do the Phillies need to do more work before Spring Training?

Episode Date: December 16, 2022

Don't have time to listen to the entire High Hopes pod? Check out this segment where James Seltzer and Jack Fritz discuss what moves they want to see from the Phillies before the start of Spring Training in a few months. 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

win we're great uh what's next that was the next question but and at this point looking at the reliever market you know there's some like interesting little names but you're kind of like how how confident are we supposed to be heading into next year with and and sir anthony alvarado are great but but also to the point you made about Nolan Wheeler, Serenity and Alvarado asked to pitch into November, like coming back after a short off season, all that, like, you know, bullpen pitchers year to year. It's so fluctuating. You know, I, you know, I can't just say they're locks. I feel great about Sir Anthony, but like,

I'm not, I'm not sure they're going to be as dominant as they were last season. I hope they were, but do you know what I mean? Like, well, there's uncertainty there. I mean, Alvarado's had like, you know what, like three good months, right? I mean, three great months, but like prior, he got sent down in June or whatever it was. So, you know, like, you know, it's, you're asking a lot if you're saying, all right, we got these two studs and we're set like, you know you know well and the other thing about sir anthony is is that dude when he when he got hurt for the month or whatever it was the bullpen was a disaster like it was a freaking mess it felt like they lost like the the linchpin of the

bullpen they were just they lost everything it was awful um and like i love brogdon i love baladi but like you know brogdon was unpitchable at one point and then he got hot which is great but we've seen every year like relievers get hot i i just think that you know and sir anthony i mean sir anthony alvarado actually i mean by the end of the world series like they didn't they didn't have their best stuff like they were they didn't look they didn't look how awesome they looked in the CS and the DS. So that's a real big concern for me. They were linked to Seth Lugo today from Heyman.

It's like, that's fine. Sure, Seth, he spin rates. Apparently he wants to start those, what they're saying. Cute, cute, Seth. The Phillies wanted him as a reliever, and so it's not like that. rates um currently wants to start those what they're saying that cute that's the phillies wanted him as a reliever and uh and so it's not like that so you know i think that you know there hasn't been many trades so far this offseason but i mean it seems like maybe liam hendricks is

available you know if you want to go lock down the back end and let everyone else fall into a role. You could sign a bunch of these semi-cooked guys like you did last year. Dombo's guy. This might come back to bite me. I actually wouldn't hate signing Zach Britton just to see if there's anything left. You are the world's biggest Zach Britton sucker and always have been. He's a great pitcher, but like you are the guy. Everyone has those guys that they're still in on

like six years after they're out of the league. Zach Britton's your guy. Yeah, me and Buck Showalter, leaving him in the bullpen. You wouldn't have done that. No, I would have brought him in in the third. You get me? Yeah, exactly. Dude, I'm just saying that, like, what,

the 2015 Zach Britton, that's the best pitch I've ever seen in my life. Well, besides second half Arrieta or whatever, that was a good one, too. Unbelievable. Yeah, you are right. I love, I've always... I know, I know, I know. Trust trust me i know i'm right i don't

appreciate being called out and stuff like that at all um it completely threw me off my rhythm but well because i started thinking about that sinker you kidding me i mean that's disgusting um no but yeah i just don't know what the i got i think those guys are fine you know i think they're good and i and i you know i i just think that there needs to be more bullpen moves is my overall thing big time big like they whether it's signing one of these free agent guys i would have signed pierce johnson i was a little annoyed they didn't sign him i know you're a big pierce johnson guy big pierce johnson guy loved it um but i just why you know maybe there's a trade out there you know maybe after the maybe that's the next domino of uh of

this market is is these these free agent trades so are these um these reliever trades but i i it's one of those those things you look at and it's like man i it's just i can't i can't sit here and say everything's fine when i when i look at the bullpen when i'm thinking about 162 again so you know um which which i think i don't think they're looking at and saying it's fine i do think there are more moves gonna be at whether it's trades or not look we've heard so many you know jason stark and all these people being like they're gonna go further they're still spending all that stuff so i believe there'll be more stuff that happens but i'm with you like i i hope it's not retread science like i hope dave learned from the familiar signing last year i mean we helped him though i mean we we we did but that's that exact same signing i mean it's exactly signing

craig kimbrough would be the exact same thing as signing familiar last year like it's the exact The one guy I am talking myself into that's not Zach Britton of the cooked crew is Trevor May, one of the baby aces. Bring him home. So here's my reasoning. I know if you look at the overall ERA, you'll be like, oh, my God, what a terrible idea. Apparently, he was not tunneling his slider and his fastball until late in the season. What's your concern?

You got to tunnel. Final two months. Too busy playing on Twitch or whatever it is he does. Yeah. Final two months in the ERA round two. So I would take a look at me i would take a look at trevor may um other than that and he actually is from here like wasn't just uh like uh i believe right like he's actually a from here guy too no he's a he's a uh he's a baby a so it's not like

he's from here i know he was but i think he is also from here let's see no he is from washington state i don't believe you i don't believe you the only guys the only guys i absolutely do not want to sign look at myself he is not from washington state he is from he is from hold on not washington no he's from here look yeah he's from here yep No, he's from here. Look, yeah, he's from here. Yep. Turns out he's from here. That's right, though. Washington State.

The state of Washington. No, it's Washington, Philadelphia. Yep. All right. The only pitchers I don't want out of the bullpen is Chapman, Kimbrell, Will Smith. I don't really want Knable again will harris uh brad hand michael givens michael fulmer ian kennedy rosenthal adam otavino oh my god if they sign adam otavino i'd be so furious and archie bradley that's like of the whole there was one

guy in there you said who i wouldn't hate it and now I'm blanking on who it was. I know. Who was two before Adovino? Michael Givens? Michael Fulmer? Michael Fulmer. I would sign Michael Fulmer. I'd be all right with that.

Man, we really are 2016. Michael Fulmer. Michael Fulmer traded for who? Former Mets prospect. Top Mets Fulmer traded for who? Former Mets prospect. Top Mets prospect. Traded for who? He's traded to the Tigers. Who is he traded for?

Tell me. Jonas Cespedes. Oh, yeah. That makes sense Jonas Cespedes oh yeah that makes sense Cespedes trade that jives that jives