High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Mound Visit Ep. 6: Tom Cudeyro, the Machado Electrician, Weighs In On Harper/Machado

Episode Date: March 13, 2019

On this week's episode of Mound Visit with Tim Kelly, Tim talks with Tom Cuderyo, or more famously known as the electrician from the Machado meeting to talk about that and bringing in Bryce Harper. See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. 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

This episode is brought to you by Mazda. When you drive a Mazda, you'll find out why RSUVs won more 2024 IIHS Top Safety Picks than any other brand as of June 2024. Find out what makes Mazda different at Mazda.ca. Introducing TD Insurance for Business, with customized coverage options for your business. Because at TD Insurance, we understand that your business is unique, so your business insurance should be too. Contact a licensed TD Insurance advisor to learn more. This is the High Hopes Podcast.

High Hopes. It's a bunch of baseball nerds. Well, without the computers. Talking about the Philadelphia Phillies. On Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. What's going on, guys? Welcome to Episode 6 of Mound Visit here on Sports Radio 94 WIP and Radio.com. I am Tim Kelly. One of the most interesting things that happened this offseason is Tom Cudero,

who is an electrician that happened to be working across from Citizens Bank Park on the day of Manny Machado's free agent visit, which was December 20th of 2018, which feels like about 10 years ago by now. He stopped Manny Machado on the way into the building for his free agent visit to take a selfie. It was a moment that made national headlines, and though Machado didn't ultimately end up with the Phillies, I heard Tom interviewed a bunch at that time. I thought, wow, this guy's really articulate, well-spoken,

represents the Phillies fan base very well. So I circled back with Tom. I think he had some interesting thoughts on Manny Machado, some follow-up thoughts on his 30 seconds of fame, and then how excited he is as a season ticket holder to watch Bryce Harper, JT Real Muto, and the 2019 installment of the Philadelphia Phillies. Let's take a listen to that.

So as you've had a chance to regroup for a few months since your 30 seconds of fame, how special of an experience was that for you? It was a unique experience. It was surreal. Obviously, you're working across the street from Citizens Bank Park, and you find out that Manny's pulling up, and Manny Machado, and you have an opportunity to greet him and get a selfie, it was pretty cool. So how did your day-to-day life kind of change during that period? Did any people you hadn't heard from in a while, did they reach out to you?

Did people claim, oh, I know Tom? Did anything change for you in that two or three week stretch? Absolutely. two or three week stretch? Absolutely. Right after I went on television in the morning, I was at Macy's shopping for Christmas items, and a woman

recognized me, and she came over and she hugged me. She said, I'm a Philly fan and I really want Machado here. And I thought that was pretty cool. A lot of the press reached out to me in different areas of the country. And of course, the New York press reached out to me too. And then on my cell

phone, I had numbers pop up on text messages that I didn't recognize and people coming at me that I haven't heard from for years and even even work and everything, it was pretty cool. Like I said, it's been surreal. Yeah, that certainly is a cool experience. I know even just from all of us in Philadelphia, it was kind of a cool thing to watch. Now, of course, when Jim Tomey signed with the Phillies prior to the 2003 season, he later credited the IBEW workers for making him feel at home. Now,

Tomey was from Chicago, played in Cleveland. That blue-collar feel may have stuck with him a little bit more than it potentially did with Manny Machado, but was there any part of you that thought you would become some type of cult hero if the Phillies signed Manny? No, I didn't think so. I actually went in a different direction. I thought, oh Lord, what happened if Manny doesn't sign or something negative transpires on Manny's end? You know what I mean? Like, oh, that guy, he scared me when I, or something negative in that aspect. But no, I never, um, no, no, I just, I was, like I said, I was kind of taken back at the moment when it happened that there was no one there, and I had an opportunity to greet him.

But I can honestly say it's been about 95% positive. Everybody's been really supportive. They felt that it wasn't negative in any fashion. I know there was a reporter that came across the street after the meeting because I was still there working, and he said that Manny liked it. He was taken back by his agent. I guess it was his agent. There was a gentleman there.

He had a big smile when everything transpired, when it all happened, when the meeting. And they said that Manny was really taken back by it. He liked the idea that I came up to him. So there wasn't anything negative there. That is certainly a story you'll get to tell for the rest of your life. Now, unfortunately, at least for the story's sake, Manny ultimately went to San Diego, signed a 10-year,

$300 million contract with the Padres. What did you think when you saw Manny or when news broke that Manny was not coming to Philly? Well, let me just back up a second. When I first met Manny, I just basically wanted a selfie and say hello. But then, like, I'm a season ticket holder, and what's going through my head is we've got to get this guy. So I point over, and I show him the Super Bowl banner. And then I point over and I flip and said, Super Bowl. I meant World Series banner here. Like, I'm trying to appeal to this man. Like, you

being a Philly would really help our chances of winning a World Series. But I don't know. I don't know. He kind of gave me the thumbs up and snickered a little and walked, and that's when I said, well, go get the money. And so to me, now Manny signs, right? And to me, my whole spin on this is Manny was never, I don't think, Manny was all about the money, obviously. He wasn't, it's not about a World Series for him. I honestly thought he was going to go to the Yankees.

Initially, I thought he was going to go to the Yankees, and I thought it was just a stop for him. But he took the money, and obviously the Phillies didn't offer him the money. They never gave him that big offer because he would be here. So when Manny signed, yeah, personally, I was disappointed. I mean, the Phillies invited me to the signing. I was going to go there. Perhaps a week after I met him, somebody from the marketing department reached out to me and said,

would you like to become the Citizens Bank? We got a good shot at signing him. I'm like, absolutely, sure. So in that aspect, you know, I was disappointed. Manny goes to a Padres team. I don't know. They kind of remind me of, like, the Cardinals of the American League, the Padres.

There's not much there for him. And, you know, in the lineup and all that, to be a contender. So I guess Manny took the money, and I was disappointed, of course. Would you have waited to ask for a selfie with Bryce Harper if he had made a normal free agent visit to Philly? Obviously, he didn't visit Philly. He had everyone come to him. But was it that you were a huge fan of Machado, or would you have done the same thing if Harper

had come? I would have done the same exact thing of if harper came uh... i do like the child i like but i actually think he's a better athlete that harper i'd i'd as a as a person and as a player uh... bright harpers look what he's done for the city and already just assigning uh... he he's put he's put's put Philadelphia on the map.

You know, I mean, he really has. His father's a blue-collar worker. I mean, that press conference alone just blew me away. The things that he said, and I felt that they were real, like they were coming from the heart. I know he got prepped with Scott Bars and his crew, but I just felt that this guy was genuine. I really felt that.

And with Manny, getting back to him, again, I don't think it was real genuine. I thought he was strictly almost like a mercenary. He wanted the money, and that was it. I don't think you would have had the electricity coming to Philadelphia with Manny that you do with Bryce Harper. So given that electricity, the Phillies also added Gene Segura, JT Real Muto, Andrew McCutcheon, and David Robertson this offseason.

How excited are you? You mentioned you have season tickets. How excited are you for this Phillies team? Okay, yesterday was Christmas at my house. Our tickets came, and my son and I opened those tickets. It was like Christmas. It was amazing, because you don't want to go to a Phillies ballpark with 12,000, 14,000, and there's no electricity. It's not fun. And now, baseball's relevant again. It's back. This is the place to be. And now baseball is relevant again. It's back.

This is the place to be. I feel this is 08, 09, 010. You're going to have sellouts, and it's just going to be electric in that stadium. I can't wait. So, yeah, it was Bryce Harper coming to Philadelphia and John Middleton keeping his word and being genuine with Bryce Harper and getting him here, it's just, it was awesome. It's totally awesome. Tom Cudero, who forever will be known as the Manny Machado electrician

in Philadelphia. Tom, thank you so much for joining us. You're welcome, Tim. It was a pleasure speaking with you. Let's get into some other Phillies-related nuggets. As always, you can follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page, at TimKellysports, and you can read my work both on 94WIP.com and PhilliesNation.com. There's an effect that Bryce Harper's had on the Phillies

that I'm not sure any other player in baseball could have had. He's not the best player in the league. That's Mike Trout. He might not be the fourth best player, the sixth best player, but he's unquestionably to me the face of baseball. I don't think if the Phillies had signed Manny Machado or if Nolan Arenado had not signed an extension and become a free agent next offseason and he signed with the Phillies, I don't think you would have seen this type of outpouring of jubilation when either of those two would have been signed. And that's not a diss on either of them.

Both of them are on Hall of Fame tracks in their respective careers. But Bryce Harper breaking the record for the highest selling jersey in any sport in a 24 hour period. You think about him. He beat out LeBron James, who some people would make the case is the greatest basketball player of all time, going to Los Angeles, which is the most decorated franchise in basketball history. He beat that jersey out.

So, you know, it says something. I certainly don't think I would have been invited on 9-21, the ticket in Arkansas earlier this week to talk about the Phillies on their morning show and that's not a humble brag that's Arkansas is interested in the Phillies who haven't made the postseason since 2011 one of baseball's biggest issues in my mind is they don't market their superstar players well they market locally instead of nationally so you follow your teams rather than individual stars and I get it I'm someone that's always followed teams rather than individuals but in terms of marketing and drawing people to the sport that maybe their parents

weren't fans of the sport or they didn't have a natural connection to the sport they didn't play the sport it's better when you market stars that's why the NBA has surpassed baseball in popularity among my generation. They market LeBron, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry. You go down the list of how well they market their stars. Baseball doesn't typically do that, but Bryce Harper has managed to break that mold. To me, while he might not be the best player in the sport, although that's not to dismiss. His 2015 season was historic. The first half of 2017, before he had a freak accident

and slipped on the first base bag in Nationals Park, he was on an MVP caliber again. But he, over the past five or six years, has not been the best player in baseball. Has he been the face of baseball? I don't even think that's debatable. You can talk about Mike Trout. You can talk about Clayton Kershaw. If you put Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, and Bryce Harper

on any street in America and they walk down the street, I think the most people would recognize Bryce Harper out of all of them because he does commercials, he's out there, he has that type of personality and that's coming to Philadelphia and that is it's going to Philadelphia.

It's going to bring a lot more eyeballs to Philadelphia. Certainly the Phillies aren't on the first edition of Sunday Night Baseball because ESPN wanted to show Gene Segura and Andrew McCutcheon on the Phillies. And that's not a diss on either of them. It is what it is. They're on Sunday Night Baseball because ESPN knew there was a chance that they would sign one of Machado and Harper, and they really hit the jackpot because, in my mind, the Phillies signed the face of the sport,

and that's going to be on display right away. You're going to see it on display at opening day. You'll see it on Sunday Night Baseball. And then right after Sunday Night Baseball, the Phillies will head down to Washington to take on the Nationals, and that's going to be a hell of a series as well. It's going to be such an exciting time in Philadelphia sports. I'm not entirely sure, and I heard a lot of people talk about this,

that this is the greatest signing, or not the greatest signing, but the greatest reaction to a signing in Philadelphia sports history. Man, I think it might be the most important for sure. But I've lived through the Cliff Lee thing, and him coming back, especially given what he had already accomplished, where the Phillies were at in terms of year four and five of the greatest stretch in franchise history, and the fact that that happened quick. No one was lulled to sleep by Cliff Lee's free agency. The Phillies weren't supposed to really be a factor.

It looked like it was going to be the Yankees or he was going to go back to Texas. Phillies came in as a mystery team. They signed him and I don't remember anything like that in my life. Prior to the Eagles winning the Super Bowl, I don't remember a moment like that in Philadelphia sports. But certainly this Bryce Harper moment, even though people got sick of the free winning the Super Bowl. I don't remember a moment like that in Philadelphia sports, but certainly this Bryce Harper moment,

even though people got sick of the free agent stint, got sick of how baseball's offseason worked, man, they're excited now and it's going to be a special time. There's going to be juice back in the ballpark for the first time in a long time and that's exciting. It's going to be an awesome summer.

It's not going to be a summer where we sit here talking about who's going to be the left guard for the Eagles. It's going to be an awesome summer. It's not going to be a summer where we sit here talking about who's going to be the left guard for the Eagles. It's going to be a summer where we sit here talking about what upgrades can the Phillies make at the trade deadline to potentially secure their first playoff berth since 2011 and make noise once they get into the postseason. As I wrote in an edition of Phillies Nuggets on Phillies Nation, I was once someone that scoffed at the suggestion of Mike Trout

ending up in Philadelphia. Of course, suggesting such a thing was imminent in 2015 or even possible in 2015 after a year after he had just signed a six-year extension. That was silly. But Trout is now two years away from free agency, and you'd be hard-pressed to convince anyone, despite efforts, the Angels certainly haven't sat on their hands, but you'd be hard-pressed to convince anyone, despite efforts, the Angels certainly haven't sat on their hands, but you'd be hard-pressed to convince anyone that the Angels have a playoff roster in 2019, and Bryce Harper is not so subtly and potentially tampering in his campaign for the seven-time All-Star. Here's a few thoughts, though. First, the reason previous seasons were overlooked,

and the last two seasons, really, the actual previous seasons were overlooked and it kind of, the last two seasons really, the actual playing on the field ended up becoming, taking a backseat to the headlines of the potential free agent class that would include Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. But the Phillies were a bad team then. The Phillies, even without Mike Trout this season, and I don't think there's any way Mike Trout's going to become available during the 2019 season, even if the Angels fall out, but you go down this Phillies lineup, this is a lineup that's good enough in theory, having added Segura, McCutcheon, and Bryce Harper. back. Odubel Herrera can't have a worse season than he had last year. Pressure's off him and Mike Calfranco. A lot of times what we do prior to a season is we assume, oh, you know, this guy had a bad season last year, but he's going to bounce back. This guy had a bad season last year,

but he's going to bounce back. This guy's going to break out. I think we're overlooking some of the people on this team. I think Cesar Hernandez is going to have a much better season because he's not going to be playing half the season with a broken foot. Odubo Herrera, in a lot of senses, he is what he is, but if you even get the 2016 and 2017 version of Herrera on this team, you're in good shape. Mikel Franco may break out. Scott Kingery, I think, is going to have a significantly better season as he's changed his approach. Kingery, I think, is going to have a significantly better season as he's changed his approach. So, you know, it is certainly exciting with the possibility of Mike Trout,

and it does appear to have become at least worth discussing. But let's not overlook these next, at least this season, and potentially 2019, or potentially 2020, excuse me. Let's not overlook those two seasons and get so hyper-focused on Trout because even without Trout because even without Trout the Phillies have a playoff caliber lineup right now and you know it's going to come down to ultimately do they have the starting pitching now that leads right into my second thought on this and I know this isn't necessarily something people want to hear

but Harper is signed through his age 38 season and Trout will likely sign a 10-year deal entering his age 29 season. There will become a time, and it probably has already begun to start with the Phillies, where you do realistically have to debate if investing $70 or $75 million in two outfielders annually is the best way to build a championship team. And I get it. It's a unique opportunity. And right now, I tend to lean in the direction of, man, if you can get Mike Trout and Bryce Harper together, you do it. Kind of in the same way, you know, the Phillies could have spent on re-signing Jason Wirth

after the 2010 season. They didn't do it. But when the opportunity arose for them to sign Cliff Lee, even though they didn't necessarily need another ace, you added him to Roy Halladay, Roy Oswald, and Cole Hamels. You do that without thinking twice about it. The problem is you sign Harper. Harper's signed for 13 seasons, and Matt Gell brought a tremendous piece on The Athletic essentially saying the Phillies know there's going to be

some lean years at the end of that. And it's good that it's not backloaded in the same way Albert Pujols' contract is, but $22 million, I understand it may not mean quite as much in 2029 as it means now. It's never going to be a cheap amount in baseball. So you have to factor in that there could be some decline there. I would imagine over the course of a 10-year period and probably within the first five years, Mike Trout is no longer going to be a center fielder.

That decreases some of his value. If you have the chance to get 2015 Bryce Harper with peak Mike Trout together, you do that, it's just a question of how many years out of a 10-year period do you think you're getting peak Mike Trout? Because you already have one outfielder signed through his late 30s you'd be doing the same thing with Mike Trout and look 2029 might seem like it's a long time away but that season counts just as much as 2019 and ask anyone how the last seven seasons in Philadelphia have been they haven't been fun so you don't want to set yourself up in a situation kind of like the Detroit Tigers have now where, yeah, you had some really good

years, but now you are just saddled for like four or five seasons with really, really, really bad contracts. And it's tough for you even with financial wherewithal to do much about your team. You don't want to put yourself in that situation. Certainly not if the payoff in the short term isn't even what you're expecting. So it's something to monitor. It's something to keep an eye on. The third thing is short of trading Aaron Nola, which would be silly to do, wouldn't make sense. I don't think the Phillies have any intention of even considering that.

I'm not really sure how the Phillies would match up in a trade with the Angels for Mike Trout. I know a lot has been discussed this week about, in theory, would you trade Reese Hos Angels for Mike Trout and you know I know a lot has been discussed this week about in theory would you trade Reese Hoskins for Mike Trout I don't even have to think twice about whether I would trade Reese Hoskins for Mike Trout there is a question about well if you trade him you make your team worse and that's you know you want to or you you make your team worse but you get the better player but you want to have Mike Trout play with Reese Hoskins not with just by himself with Reese Hoskins elsewhere having Bryce Harper lessens that blow a little bit the problem with this theory isn't whether you would trade Reese Hoskins for

Mike Trout it's why in the world would the Angels take Reese Hoskins back for Mike Trout no dis on Reese Hoskins if he had 40 home runs this season, it wouldn't shock me. But Reese Hoskins is less than two years younger than Mike Trout. In the American League, I think he projects as a DH, more than even a first baseman. It was clear last year, despite his best attempts, that he's an outfielder, or to be an outfielder, that it just wasn't a fit. Reese Hoskins is not going to headline a trade for Mike Trout. You traded Sixto Sanchez, who was your No. 1 overall prospect, to get JT Real Muto. Alec Boehm, I think, is going to hit a ton.

You're not sure where he's going to play in the field. And both him and Luis Garcia, the shortstop, not the pitcher the Phillies traded to the Angels this offseason, they're in the very low levels of the minors right now. So if Mike Trout becomes available at the trade deadline this summer or next offseason, you're going to be hard-pressed, I think, if you're the Phillies, to put together a competitive trade package because you just internally do not have the pieces right now. A team like the Dodgers or the Yankees could make such a trade or try and make such a trade. And look, I'm throwing two teams out there,

but I think you get in a situation like you did last summer where yeah the Phillies can put together a somewhat interesting package which is what they tried to do for Manny Machado they ultimately didn't do it and they look smart I think for not doing so at this point but

I don't think you're going to beat out a lot of other teams there's just there's going to be teams that have elite prospects, and I'm not sure the Phillies have that bona fide guy in their system right now. The other thing, though, is when we talked about trading for Machado last summer, the Orioles had to trade Manny Machado. They had three months. He was going to be a free agent. There was zero chance they were going to re-sign him.

If Mike Trout becomes available this summer or next offseason or whenever, he's still going to be Mike Trout. You're still not necessarily on the cusp of his free agency. And I don't think the Angels have the same motivation to trade him. They're still trying to build a team around him because

the Angels can afford to re-sign Mike Trout. They can give him whatever money he wants. And I think Peter, not Peter Angels, I think their owner, Artie Moreno, is going to do everything in his power to be able to ultimately retain Mike Trout. So, you know, trading him is going to be a last resource for them to fall, a last resort, excuse me, for them to fall back on. And they're certainly not going to go out of their way to trade him to the Phillies in the near future, especially if the Phillies can't put together a package that blows them away. It really does make you wonder.

There really isn't a team in the league that can put together something that seems like a fair trade for Mike Trout. Seriously, the Blue Jays right now could trade Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He might live up to his highest possible ceiling and you're not getting anything like what you're going to get with Mike Trout. And that's just the way it is. And that's one of the reasons why

the Angels are so motivated to make things work around Mike Trout. They spent a lot last offseason on Upton, Otani, Cozart, and then they made some smaller moves this offseason. They're trying. They're trying to build a team around him. Ultimately, we will see if they're able to put together any sort of package

in terms of financial and a team around him in the next year or so that convinces him to stay there long-term and convinces him not to test free agency. Because if the Angels get the sense that we may know, we may be able to keep him, but it's probably going to have to be in free agency. I don't think they can take that risk. So there will come a day where they have to admit defeat and trade him or try to trade him. I'm not sure if the Phillies match up well in that case.

And the problem, the other problem you have is Trout has a full no trade clause. Now, I don't think it's impossible he uses that no trade clause to force his way to free agency so he can pick his next team. That's on the table. But if he's willing to accept a trade to the Phillies, I don't think you're going to see a situation where the Dodgers agree to a trade or the Yankees or the Red Sox or any of these giant market annual contenders agree to a trade and he's going to say,

no, I'm good. I'll wait until free agency and go to the Phillies. It seems like a stretch to me. He likes LA. The Dodgers are good, which is what the Angels aren't. So that would eliminate that problem. You get paid and you get to stay in LA. The Yankees, he grew up a giant fan of Derek Jeter. Look, Mike Trout could be a Philly. I'm not denying that it's become more realistic in the last two or three years I'm not denying that it's become more realistic in the last two or three years. I don't think it's a slam dunk that some people think,

and I certainly think if he's going to become a Philly, it's going to have to be through free agency. But that is something we will continue to keep our eyes on, and apparently so will the league office because of some of the statements Bryce Harper's made early in his tenure with the Phillies. The final thing, for much of this offseason, I've been teasing a countdown of the top 10 Phillies home runs at Citizens Bank Park.

That is still coming, not something I forgot about. In fact, the tentative plan is for it to be out next week. I kept holding back on it, thinking this is the week Harper and Machado are going to sign. I don't want to put out this giant project and have it get overshadowed. Lo and behold, Harper and Trout, or Harper and Trout, Harper and Machado signed probably a month and a half later than I think a lot of us

initially anticipated they would. So it drug it out a little bit more, but things are ready to go. I am super excited for this, and I know just from teasing it on Twitter, some people are too as well. I talked to Tom McCarthy, Scott Franski, Chris Wheeler, and Scott Graham. We're working on some other things, so I can't guarantee that it'll be the next episode,

but I do anticipate that being out soon, and I certainly hope you guys enjoy. But for now, thank you guys for tuning in to the latest edition of Mountain Visit. I'm Tim Kelly, and I will catch you next time.......... 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. It 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.