High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - Perfect Offseason Edition: Seize the Moment

Episode Date: November 22, 2022

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz give their perfect offseason for the Phillies and more. 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

This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies. On Odyssey and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. Let's be honest, not is another edition of the IELTS podcast. Let's be honest, not just another edition. It's the perfect off-season edition.

It's the edition that Jack lives for. And Jack, how weird is it to be like, you know, shooting to get back to the World Series as we do the perfect off-season? A little different, you know, a little different than the past. you doing pal presented by miller light shout out to miller light how's everyone doing gotta be honest uh i never thought we'd be here doing this kind of purpose off the off season like um i feel like most perfect off seasons are are pressure filled in a sense but like that was just to get to the philly the phillies to the playoffs. You know what I mean? This is a chance to really help guide the organization back to the World Series. Because I don't know if you know this, James, or not,

but the Phillies were in the World Series. And they made it to Game 6 of the World Series with a chance to win the World Series. And it's special, man. We are legitimately like Pat Gillick in 2008 right now that's good i like where you're at this is this is really good where your head is at this is the exact space of mind i need you in for this endeavor that we're about that's what i kept going back and forth honestly on my pot on my perfect offseason like i just finished mine i just finished mine like five minutes ago is this really the move that's gonna like be the like the right kind of locker room chemistry move that is gonna make sure that that the winning culture is still there i mean it's pressure man i but yeah

i would say that there's not two people that are as qualified to handle set as you and I I mean we did just nail the run I mean the Phillies might not have won the World Series but we would have if there had been a podcasting World Series that that matched up with the actual World Series we won I mean we won I'm just saying that I have no problem saying i feel like a houston astros podcast okay no can anyone name another phillies podcast can't think of that either um i don't know if you can tell by my voice but pretty excited to do this body this is yes this is our our wheelhouse yeah uh wheelhouse type podcast. Yeah, well, and for those who are new to this pod, welcome.

You know, unlike Jack, I'm not a gatekeeper. I like to welcome everyone aboard. But you'll find as we go through this that Jack takes this orders of magnitude more seriously than I do in terms of putting the perfect off season together. I actually have trades this year, Jack. All right. I I'm stepping it up for the, for the, you know, world series endeavor here. I'm like, you know what trade time because you know, as usual with this, you, you really take it very seriously. And I'm like, as usual with this, you, you really take it very seriously. And I'm like, maybe I'm a little more funny enough because generally the vibe on the, the we're both obviously the biggest Phillies fans in the world,

but our vibe is, is Jack is the single biggest, sickest Phillies fan in the world. And I think that's probably fair. Yes. And in this, when we do this, I think the fan comes out in me more than in you. When we do this, you get serious and you get like in the room. And I'm like, sign the freaking checks, John. Let's go, buddy. I know. You don't care at all about qualifying offers.

You don't care about giving up draft picks. You don't care about any of that stuff. And like in my head, when you start making moves, like I cringe a little bit sometimes because I'm like i'm like dude do you realize what you're doing to me by giving up that many draft picks um and uh where is this because i want to get a special shout so um oh a special shout out well the last podcast look at you i know i'm not really a shout out guy but i like it this is on this is on our youtube by the way a comment on our youtube which is always appreciated

which we're on youtube now um and i feel like you know i feel like we're getting more comfortable in front of the camera i'm not a big camera guy i mean i know i look like i should be on camera more um but not great at looking into it all the time you know looking at you well here's what's funny and it's it's really great and i don't notice as much i didn't notice it as it was happening as much before but when i'll see those um you know like the tweet you'll tweet out the the link to the youtube or whatever and it'll have the little video of it it'll be muted and it's so funny because now i notice it but it is absolutely our two personalities on the videos like i'm like all over the place and you know gesticulating and moving back and forth from the

time and you're just right there good to go it's very funny it's very on brand seeing your leg shaking in real time it's certainly something it's good you know we can welcome the world to the light what everyone who knows me has to deal with is my leg shaking all the time in every you're like a dog man like you're like a you're literally your little ruben or whatever yeah just energize your bunny um but so this is uh andrew frelinger on our youtube which uh subscribe to wip on youtube and like you'll see us and elliot i guess is now you know on this as well um but so for every qual because they went over the luxury tax last year every qualifying offer player that they signed now cost two draft picks which like is just an utter disaster for me

so so what is it a second and a third or something or a third yeah so like if they sign turner and rodone for example uh that would be a second third fifth and sixth plus plus two million dollars in international signing bonus money which like i mean that just kills my soul like Like, I mean, obviously, if it all happens, it's like, oh, yeah, awesome. But, like, you know me, and you know there's a little part of me that would be like, well, damn it. That's a lot to give up for this. But I'm just saying, keep that in mind when you work through

your perfect offseason. Even though I know you won't. Even though I'm just, like, speaking to a wall right now and you're like don't care sign everyone john you're a billionaire like who cares spend it all like spend all my money it's not my money i know how you work and i i can see it in your face right now you're already pissing you're already pissing me off with the with the qualifying offers are you? What are you crying for? Are you thinking about giving up all those draft picks? No, I'm laughing so hard that tears are coming out because you're not going to love it.

Dude, I'm telling you. I'm already mad at your protocol. It hasn't even started yet. There are no pigs left. They're all gone. I got rid of all the pigs. You really are the Rams, man. You really are the Rams. F them pigs. Oh, you know what they did? They won a Super Bowl. I'll take it.

Give me a World Series. Yes. Just like home runs are rally killers, World Series titles are joy killers, right? Yes. Well, one member of this podcast argued that about the Super Bowl, but not many people agree.

He was wrong about that too. He was wrong about that too. Not many people agreed with that person on this podcast who remains anonymous. Yes, yeah. Who could that be? I wonder which one of the two of us that is. Yes.

I'll just say go birds. I'm sure you won't um all right um before we like dive into the actual moves and all that um take me into the mindset of jack fritz as you're putting this together i want i want to go deep into this i mean this is you know this is your everything as you've you've so clearly intimated very early in this podcast. Take us through the Fritz, the ins and outs, the incantations, the machinations, so to speak, of the Fritz Perfect Golf Season before we actually go through it. Yeah. So, again, when we opened this podcast,

we talked a lot about the pressure that is now on a team. You can't just make these willy-nilly trades and possibly mess up some kind of team. Chemistry that you have, again, I entered into this perfect offseason

hoping to exit with a world championship. I know this is some little game to you this is a this is a business trip podcast for me strictly on like the the off chance that maybe someone of the phillies is listening um and it's like wow it's a great idea um so i should give that guy a job yeah um i'll'll be honest. Like, it's that I found myself and I actually didn't. Well, I made one Fritz trade, but I found myself like not wanting to. Like, for example, I was trying to find any way to get Mitch Keller on the Phillies. I have loved Mitch Keller for three years and he's been terrible every single year run last year

like he had a you know a month here a few weeks there i definitely picked him up and dropped him a few times in fantasy believe me dude so like dude every time i watch him i'm like you should be a philly just so we can fix you and make you better you know what i mean um and i but at this point it's like we can't make that like We're too good for the cute trades anymore. They've gotten to the point now where it's like, no, it's time to spend money. It's time to trade some of your prospects and make the Major League roster legitimately better. Go for it. So it was a complete philosophy change for me.

A complete philosophy change. It used to be, let me trade to let me trade for like jd davis or like i mean yeah forget the jd davis trade of 2018 2019 no one ever will but but it's like um i i was going through it and i was like no i need this guy in case i needed to come up in september i don't want to give up some of these prospects because possibly at the deadline, we might need to make trades. You know what I did, James, is that for the most part, I flexed my financial muscle and started looking at the $250 million second tax tier. Oh, I did too, buddy. Oh, I'm sure you did. I'm sure you blew past it.

Come on. I mean, are we doing this or not? Yeah. Um, so I did, I, I did try to exercise.

I wanted to sign more guys than I'm, than I'm signing. I'll just say that. Okay. That's good. That's good. Um, which is still ridiculous.

Cause I'm definitely blown through that. A hundred percent. Yeah. I know exactly what you're going to do. Um, so I because I'm definitely blown through that. A hundred percent. Yeah. I know exactly what you're going to do. So I, I try to make it like when we see perfect off season, you know, I feel like people are like,

Oh, well trade for Otani and like, you know, all this, like this is a perfect, realistic ish enough off season for Jack that, that frankly, I think, i think i got a world series team i'm so excited all right let's dive in we're gonna obviously do your second because

you saved the best for last and and and full disclosure before we i i'd had i made i made two like oh come on well it's just it's really just did have, I did have multiple like variations on things. Cause to be honest, I like, there's a chance that I start out and you're like, no, you're not allowed to do that. So we'll say, well, I have backup options. I didn't make two completely different ones. I made two just for one specific move that like, I honestly it's, it's, it's, I can't tell which is the smarter route to go when I get to my perfect

golf season. I'm going to need to run a Bayou because I think both are winners, but I don't know which one I prefer. If that makes sense. Okay. All right. So let's get to the, the less realistic of the two merman college season here we

go but here's the thing all right and you know you just said your whole you know i'm hoping maybe there's someone from the team listening and maybe they hear that oh what a good idea like that that that'd be smart and i like that and that's. And it's a good thought by you, Jack, because you never know. You know, we know people listen to the pod. It's a, you know, it's a thing. But here's my impassioned plea to that Phillies employee, or hopefully in this case, I don't know, relative of John Middleton or something like that. Right. Seize the moment.

Seize the moment seize the moment there is a real opportunity right now in front of you this offseason we are coming off to the first time in over a decade where this city is in love with this baseball team. Again, everyone is in, everyone is all on board with this off season, with the beginning of next season. There's such a moment right now and you can seize it and grab it. And citizens bank park could be filled all season next year. Like not just,

Hey, Oh, it's the playoffs. Look at how amazing this is. It could be like it used to be like that is right in front of you, John Middleton. It is sitting there. You just got to grab it. And I know there's competition and I know there's reasons to potentially, you know, not want to go all in right now, but, but I think this is a unique thing right now. I really do. And again, we were in that ballpark. If you were in that ballpark for any one of those games at home,

you felt what that was like and how special it was and how desperate this freaking city is for a baseball team, man. And it's right there, John. So, yes, go ahead, because I'm about to dive right in and tell you, John, what what to do which is spend a lot of money okay well first off love it um and second off fully endorse the the message there and it's just like when again i i can't and i know they made the world series i know this but even before that i don't i i couldn, I don't think I could have ever envisioned the city being more interested in

baseball than an undefeated Eagle scene. And by a mile, like it wasn't even close again. I still, and we said this, I think we said this on the pot. I know I said on the radio where it's, I can't even really get worked up about these Eagles games. You know, it's's like i watch these games the loss to washington it's like like i didn't think they were going undefeated anyway like i'm emotionally spent i feel like i gave all of my emotional energy or bandwidth or whatever you

want to say to the phillies for that run and it's I just haven't been able to get there. It's they've broken me at least for a little while. I really believe that. And I think it's just such a symbol of, of how invested we were, you know, how we were fully all in and, and that's special, man.

Like that's a special thing that, that they can, they can continue. They can make that feeling last. Well, and I, I think john knows that you know um and i think he feels that i mean he was walking around it was so funny like when we ran into him uh on concourse and he was like we gotta win now and i was like yeah you know i kind of because

honestly when we talk well you talk to him more than i did um most of which is the case yeah i know you're always too shy because i'm a chicken um but i was like john yeah my good friend pal good good buddy john no but like when i was talking to him or when you were talking to him i don't know how you felt but like i was genuinely shocked that he was like so serious about yeah no we gotta win and i'm like because we were like what a run man we were like wow john this is like really great thank you thank you for this run he's like gotta win yeah i mean i was like come on man like that was a pretty cool moment the other day and uh and he's like i don't like i don't care like it's kind of locked in i'm like no it's really true okay um so you know i kind of get get the sense that I don't think he really cares about draft picks. I don't think he will, you know, well, maybe there's a chance he goes full 2018 Red Sox.

But, like, I don't, like, I think he's going to go all in. And I think that he sees where they are. He sees the age of these players. He knows that they were that close. He had to have been addicted to seeing that ballpark filled out, listening to WIP, and how, like, everyone was just melting down with their happiness. How you just walk around the city,

and you just see Phillies gear everywhere. And it wasn't just like, oh, there's a Rollins-Utley Howard jersey, or a Hamill jersey, or a Cliff Lee, or a Roy Allday. It was like, oh, there's a Rollins Utley Howard jersey or a Hamill jersey or a Cliff Lee or a Roy Allday. It was like, oh, there's a Reese. There's a Harper. There's all this. City actually, actually falling for the team. And I just, I trust him, man.

I trust him that he's going to just say, hey, bleep it. We'll eat it for the next couple of years. That's my off season and there's there's no one better to say bleep it with than than mr jane saltzer so yeah are you ready buddy let's call it the bleep it perfect off season and uh i think you can pretty much guess where that's gonna start sign trey turner just sign him Bryce Harper is desperate that Mary called him his favorite player in the sport on the TV broadcast Bryce Harper didn't do that by mistake look but Trey Turner changes the complexion of the team he's a perfect fit for what they need obviously steps right into being a leadoff hitter for this team and which you know enough already with with

the debates about Trevor and this man I love you know I think sure was a better leadoff hitter for this team. And which, you know, enough already with the debates about Schwarber and this and that. I love, you know, I think Schwarber was a better leadoff hitter than others do, but obviously he's not a perfect leadoff hitter. You know, go sign Trey Turner. I think, you know, he's not someone who is going to get a Bryce Harper type contract. He's, you know, three years older than Harper was when he hit the market. He's not the type of player Harper was. I think you could do, I want to say six for 220, but that's probably shooting a little low. Six for 240, I think that's the kind of deal that could happen. What's that, 3070 or 3080 a year? I don't think Turner gets too much more than that. I think the six years is fair. Maybe you have to go a seventh.

Maybe you can do a team option for a seventh or something like that or some sort of option. But I'm signing Trey Turner and I'm giving him a lot of money, and that's the first move I'm making this offseason, Jack. So I – we'll see. My only take on Trey Turner at this point is that I'm not batting him leadoff. I'm batting him in the second. Second. Okay.

And you're leaving Schwarber Turner. That'll drive the city crazy. I'm batting him second. Okay. So you're leaving Schwarber, Schwarber Turner. That'll drive the city crazy. Honestly, be worth it. Just with the day. Thank you. Oh my God,

dude. Oh my God. This is seriously do melt down. Schwarber. If you go Schwarber, Turner, Harper. Yeah,

let's go. I mean, versus what? Versus what? Uh, Turner, Harper, JT. Sure. go i mean versus what versus what uh turner harper jt sure sounds good or forever shorter oh i don't know put the nl home run leader in the cleanup hole that's a really crazy thought when you think about baseball and how it's played boring boringoring. Boring. I want that guy back. You know, sometimes boring is right.

Because sometimes 150 years or 140 years of baseball say, ah, you know, that thing kind of makes a little sense. Sometimes, you know, the analytics have been around for a while for a reason. We're putting that lead off. Yeah. All right. So I'm signing Trey Turner. I think that's a fair

number somewhere in the 36 to 38 year a year range. I think that's a fair, a fair number, somewhere in the 36 to 38 year, a year range. I think that's probably, you know, where I'll come down and I'm willing to pay it. Obviously, as we talk about back out options, I will say if I'm going for another shortstop, if, you know, if John's not willing to spend quite as much as I want him to, I would choose Correa over Bogarts just to, I know we kind of went back and forth on that and the other pods. And I like Bogarts. He's probably a more polished player went back and forth on that and the other pods, and I like Bogarts. He's probably a more polished player,

but I just think Correa with two years age-wise and the defensive upside that he has comparatively like way better. Wow. Or like at least we think he'll age better, if nothing else. Well, yeah, and I think eventually like he transitions to third like seamlessly

yeah like machado type of thing where he could be a great great third baseman so um but i'm signing trade turner all right so jack say goodbye to those draft picks and now again this is this is where i'm i'm making up for it by by making some trades and getting some cheap guys in other spots where i would normally spend money but i'm signing car Carlos for don't too. I'm just freaking do. So here's the thing. And I'll take you inside the mind of me as it is perfect off season, which is obviously not nearly as, as, as intense or strategic or I'm serious about it as Jack is, but I kept doing it and I have all these trades. I had to trade for a pitcher, a legit ace guy. And I don't want to say his name because I know Jack has a trade for a pitcher in his, and I actually think I know who it is. And I'm going to write it down before we do it. Cause I want to guess I got to find his favorite,

but I'm going to do that. I meant to tell him, but, um, I didn't, I, I, I was like, all right, I could do that. And he's cheaper now and you'll have to pay him later, but we can, you know, save some money here. And then, and I just kept coming back to like no i don't want that like this is my perfect off season and they can afford to do it like it is not the craziest thing ever if you give rodone i put it as uh i think i put hold on let me put my notes up five for 165 five or 165 33 a year so you're that's fair don't you think you think you could that's it 30 years i it's a lot okay good even cheaper um i'm going and i'm going into the thing and i'm i hear hold on i'm hearing something in my ear is that uh oh there it is so i have my baseball reference page open a guy i'm gonna trade for it so i don't know you're looking up baseball reference

no hold on before from before before yeah were you looking at the a war the b war the f4 you know there's a war now no i don't even want to get there i can't even go there all right so you know it's all right cheaper then give me five years 140 five years 130 whatever like i'm saving even more money then than i thought i'm just doing it. And look, I think there are guys you can trade for and we'll see if Jack and I had the same idea of the one that he's going to trade for. Um, but to my point, I made the top, I'm just, if I'm John Middleton, I'm saying this is my off season. This is my off season. And we have a chance to win the world series. We came within two wins of winning the World Series in a year

where we weren't even really expecting to. And it's all here. It's all back. Like, yes, the Harper thing, you know, we're going to have to wait a little bit in the season, but he's going to be back this year. He's going to play for this team this year, and he's going to make a difference when it matters most.

You just got to get there. Like, go out and buff this team up until you get there. And Redone's the best guy on the market by far as far as starters go other than you know how you feel about de grom and you know obviously de grom is the most talented guy in the market but i'm personally not going anywhere near that as we've talked about like a 34 year old with the like how many games has he pitched the last few years i just can't do that i think radon's really good like and i think he's gonna age pretty well and he hasn't, as we've talked about,

doesn't have the same sort of miles on his arm that other 30 year old pitchers have. And I just, I think it's a no brainer. I think as we talked about kind of going in the off season, I think both of our biggest need was a legit starting pitcher. And I think he just fits the bill so perfectly. And again,

it's, it's just money. It's just money, John, that it's just money it's just money john that it's just money well no believe it or not it's for draft picks um just like that people it's not it's not just money i love how you use that as the example if you want to sign turn around at the beginning i was like get ready pal no i know well and and here's the so here's the case for it and why like listen it would kill me in the moment. But at the same time, like, you're pretty much holding on

to all your top guys at that point anyway. So rather than spending the prospect capital it would take, you're just saving those guys and giving up the chance to draft four other guys. Or trading them in other trades. Right, I know. I'll get there. And they've pretty much only, like, love Brian Barber, love what he's doing.

But pretty much the thing that they've corrected the most is just, like, nailing the first round pick. You know, everything else has just been fine, you know? So, like, sure, you give up second, third, fifth, sixth. But you keep that, obviously, keeping the first round draft picks all that matters because that's where we go to work, pal that's exactly right all right so right now i'm feeling pretty good i got i got turner and rodone about my off season i feel you should feel pretty good about that i think i think they saw some season tickets if that happens yeah all right

but now i i did try and rein it in and not say all right i want everybody like i really do understand that if they are going to do this plan, which again, I would not, I would not bank on them signing both Turner and Rodon, but I definitely don't think it's, it's out of the question. Like it's, there's definitely not a non-zero chance it happens. I do think it is something that could happen. I'm not saying I think it will, but I think it is at least something that's on the table, but if it did happen, the rest of the off season would have to look something like I'm being realistic about the rest here and I'm not trying to, you know, go overboard. So look, um, thanks buddy. All right. So I'm signing one more starting pitcher,

but I'm going to wait out the market. Uh, you know, it's one of those where there's a lot of guys I liked certain levels. I don't think I'm getting stripling or Taiwan Walker cheap enough, um, or a one year deal deal. But maybe. Those are my top two guys in terms of if I can get – and I might even go two years on those guys if it's not a crazy number and spend a little extra, like I said. But I want those to be the top guys on the market. If not, I'm waiting out whether a Lyles, a Quintana,

someone like that kind of shakes free for a one-year deal that I don't feel too bad about. But I need to add another pitcher especially with uh you know we've talked about wanting to get wheeler wanting to get no those guys kind of extra rest the season goes on and then i'm taking another shot look i think falter is going to get some starts this year for me you're going to have guys and look i would even be willing to potentially bring cinder guard back on a on a the right type of deal you know especially another year removed from

the surgery. Who knows if he gets a little more velocity back? Like, I don't hate it. The point is I'm looking at those type of guys and getting at least one or two of those to kind of buff that up. But if I have road down Wheeler and Nola, I should say Wheeler, Radone and Nola at the top of the rotation and Rangers, my four, I mean, I feel, I feel so good about that. And then you're waiting for painter to come at the end of the season. So it's really just kind of getting through, but I'm signing one of those guys along with falter to help me get through. I think you're going to need those starts as the season goes on. So then the question is, and look,

I know that I'm leaving myself a little open on the lineup side of things. Like maybe you can find a cheap guy who can give you, give you a bats, especially while Harper's out, but I'm going to bank on Cassiano's being better on Turner coming in and being awesome. And then that lineup, just being able to get through even with the May tons and whoever coming up. So, so those guys playing somewhat meaningful innings throughout the early part of the season as Harper gets back and all that I'm good with that. I'm spending the rest of my assets on pitching here. So it's, it's Turner and then, and then the staff and the rotation, you rotation, the bullpen.

So I've got my starters taken care of, so now I've got to get to the bullpen. And this is where I'm trying to save money. I have to sign one reliever, I feel like, and then I'm trading for two, and then I feel like my bullpen's set. I have Sir Anthony Alvarado, Brogdon, Bellotti. I think those guys are all there, and you feel good about them. So then I'm going to sign one guy. I'm going to sign my lefty.

My lefty that I'm getting, I'm getting off the market, and I'm trading for two righties. Look, if I can get Taylor Rodgers cheap, I would sign him. He's coming off a really bad year, but he's a really good pitcher, and he's got a lot of big outs, and he's closed before. I don't think he'll be cheap enough for me but if i can get him i will like taylor rogers i think is a guy i would bet on he's only 31 he's been really good and just kind of had a weird year if you're getting traded to milwaukee and you

struggled a little early on so i'm trying to get taylor rogers if that doesn't work out and again my perfect off season i get taylor rogers so that that's my official guy. But if not, how about a Matt Moore one year contract, Jack? What do you think about bringing Matt? Matt Moore was great as a lefty reliever in Texas. He was really good. And for one year, five mil, four mil, something like that. Six mil, maybe like, maybe like, I don't think it's going to be that much. Honestly, I think it'll be like four or five mil. And that's it. That's fine. I think that's fine. I think that's the kind of guy you bring in and take a shot on and and he threw a i mean throw a no hitter in one of his last starts there you go yeah it's any chance you can bring back a guy that wants to no hitter for

the blues you gotta do it you know they never did it with cole which i thought was disrespectful um he's signing cold this all season too i mean it seems like he he wants at least one more shot at it yeah right one more one more one more go around come on he said it on our show hold on real question who would you rather sign darren sproles as a punt returner for the playoff run for the eagles or cole hamels just for the for the sproles is without a doubt he's not a question don't you think i mean i like cole and stuff but come on man he's pitching a year and a half or whatever i mean i think we're good like the plus the eagles need a punt returner way more than the phillies need a a you know innings eater seventh starter whatever right yeah daily falter is better than cole hamels right now i'll say it i'm sorry cole something bold day bold yeah

all right so that's my lefty reliever. I will say I made two trades here because I thought this is where I cut myself off and I said, I can't spend any money. At this point, I might not be in the second luxury tax, but I'm approaching and I'm around there. I'm sure you are. Yeah. I'm probably close to it. I'm probably close to it. No problem. Depends how much I pay for the starters. But I'm not,

it's not insane, insane. So that's why I made these two trades instead of, you're like you like look set these spin rates out there there are guys who i you know would have liked to put in a perfect off season just please for the sake of me don't put adamotavino in this like i'm not i'm not making two trades i'm making two trades i'm not signing any more guys it's two trades but i'm giving up some some legit capital okay so um should i go for the smaller one or the bigger one i'll go for the smaller one first smaller one first uh and i think this would get it done i'm trading johan rojas to the

indians or the guardians guardians please for for corinna corinna corinna chak i don't know how to say james corinna chak like he's kind of like fifth or sixth on their depth chart. Now he's nasty. He's awesome. Like the dude's really good. Um, or one of their guys like Stefan, if they would train me him or step on or whatever, I would trade for him. Like I'm, I'm targeting a team like the Indians that have a lot of good young bullpen arms guys that are under a million dollars this year. And I'm trading for one of those guys. Yohan Ross is blocked here. million dollars this year and i'm trading for one of those guys joan ross is blocked here you know what's what's the long term maybe i can get two relievers off the indians for him or something like that but i think that's the type of team that would be willing to take a young outfielder with a lot of promise for a bullpen beast that they think they could could easily

replace is it too much am i giving it is it too much or too little to get back for Rojas? First of all, I think you're underselling Karen Jack a little bit. That's why he's nasty. You're saying I'm underselling him. You're saying he's better than I'm selling him. You're saying he would cost more than Rojas. They have so many guys.

They're not that close. They're not close to free agency. I need to know if he's on spider attack or not. If he's using spider attack, I'd be more in on the trade. If he's not using spider attack, no shot. You guys had the triple A when he was on the spider attack. Well, that's why I thought. But then he came back and pitched all right after.

So that's why I thought maybe. Because he figured out a way to. Fine, fine, whatever. That works. It would cost like Johan plus plus. Okay, so Johan plus. Johan plus like, yeah. Plus like what? How much?

You think it's like a lot, a lot? Like McGarry, honestly. See, I was going to trade McGarry in my other trade. Okay, well, give me the other trade. I was going to trade McGarry plus for Felix Bautista. Oh, that's interesting. He's 28, so he's a little older. The Orioles are certainly

always looking to trade a reliever for a potential starter. And, you know, six years or five years of team control left. He's 28. You know, I know. Don't you think that now, though? Like, I think

the Orioles could sign Correa this offseason. You think the Orioles could sign Correa this offseason. You think the Orioles are going for it? Yeah, of course they're going for it. Hold on, they were in the wild card run last year. I know they were, but they traded guys at the deadline. Even they traded their closer when they were in it at the deadline. Hold on, they traded Mancini and whatever. They traded Jorge Lopez.

Yeah, I mean, Bautista wasista was yeah but still or lopez was their closer like yeah i know and that and that kind of killed them but at the same time like i mean they're i think they're windows now like i i'd be surprised if they if they moved from the like i don't think they're like the i don't think they're in like the guardians where the or raised like just trade people just because like whatever but i mean listen i would i would guardians are better even better last year and they would i would trade i would trade this podcast for uh for bautista i gotta be honest with you oh i was thinking mick but i was like is that too much for bautista probably yeah probably yeah so i'm trading and look maybe it's not those specific guys but i'm willing to give up up Rojas and Griff to get two controllable relievers

who I think are going to be good for the next three, four years for this team at a fair price to even out the money I spent in other places. And there it is. That's my off season. How'd I do? I took it pretty seriously. You did.

The trade values were a tad off. They were off. I know. That's why I never do trades in these. All right. So I need to give up a lot more for each of those guys is what you're implying. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Guess what, Jack? Give it up. Your butt. Trade them all. You're getting trade Turner. Trade them all.

Trade whoever. Who cares? Go with the World Series. There you go. There you go. There you go. Burn it all to the ground. All you do is develop guys. guys now it doesn't matter you can draft guys late and develop

that's what our brian barber is here to do factory all right where's yours to do your thing buddy all right well first off do you want to write down the starter that you think i'm training for okay so i was i was gonna say i have to write it down in a piece of paper and all that, and that's so dumb that I'm not living in the 20th century. So I'm going to email it to myself, and then I can open the email, and we'll see the time. So I'm emailing to myself here. I'm going to say Jax.

Do it here. Jax Pitcher. And I'm going to write the name. Okay. And it's emailed to myself. Hold on. Here we go. It's coming through.

So as you come through, yeah, but this is not a lot. Well, go ahead and start your thing. Okay. It's here. I got it. I got it.

You're close your eyes for one second. I'll share everyone. And I'm not sure we can see it. If you're watching, but there's a, you see it there. Got it. All right. Start your thing. Okay. It's here. I got it. I got it. Close your eyes for one second. I'll show everyone. I'm not sure we can see it if you're watching. You see it there? Got it. All right. We're good. All right. This is my perfect offseason. I'm so excited. I'm trading Derek Hall

to the Washington Nationals for Hunter Harvey. I like such a perfect start. Obviously, we're getting Derek Hall out of here. I can't deal with the non-champions. Just so you know if to deal with the...

Yeah, it's great. It's good work by you. First move is trading Derek Hall to the Nationals. They can replace Luke Voigt or whatever with Derek Hall and he can go hit 25 meaningless

home runs down in in washington and we don't have to deal with the nonsense of him playing first base this is perfect uh he'll be a superstar there you do that right like joey manassas and him will take over i just want to i just want to lay the groundwork games i took a lot of chances on former failed prospects of mine i like that strictly i strictly i strictly made moves uh you're trying to win the world series strictly for 2015 fantasy baseball players that's what my perfect offseason was so obviously my first move is is getting derrick hall out of here so that i can bring hunter harvey in and he can find his uh he can find his groove in philadelphia so the ace that i am trading for and i would just it would mean a lot to me to to be able to bring this home a mere 16 years after they made a trade very similar in 2000.

I'm lying. This is 2009. I am trading for Shane Bieber. There it is. Shane Bieber. I knew it. I knew it. I'm so happy.

I'm so proud of myself right now. This is like a really big moment for me. So everyone can see it. I knew it. I'm so happy. I'm so proud of myself right now. This is like a really big moment for me. So I said, Shane Bieber. Thank you very much. The ACE that I'm trading for is Shane Bieber. Uh, just fair.

I put together my own chain Bieber trade, which probably would have been way less than it would have cost just, but I knew you were going to do Shane Bieber and that's why I didn't do it. So, uh, so he has a year of control after this year so he has two full years left i know they're not gonna pay him he's came off pitching 200 innings at an era of 2.88 like i i know his his fastball velocity isn't like insane i get it but dude

the guy can pitch um the guy knows how to pitch him and nolan and ranger the same lineup would just be pitching like n Nirvana and then we let Wheeler throw 99 at the top of it um it's the right time to make the deal and to make the trade happen I am trading Mick Gable Johan Rojas and Ethan Wilson so Ethan I still believe in but like did not hit well last year but he's an outfield prospect former second round pick that good pedigree the guardians could use him rojas same kind of thing he's blocked plus they drafted justin crawford uh and a marion boyd's the guy that drafted who i think is going to be possibly better than justin crawford um and nick abel i love like i i can't just sit here and think like i i've given up on mick abel as like my guy um but

like i just it's so unrealistic in my head that like abel mcgary and painter come up and it's like oh we have the 90s praise so i'm i'm moving them and it's the right all season to do it i think that gets you close um and and they get a chance at another ace to pair with Gavin Williams, who's coming up in the next couple of years, McKenzie, Mick Abel. It's just a Guardian's move. That's what they do. So it's a lot like the Cliff Lee trade, where it was Carrasco and Abel are very comparable.

Ultimately, they didn't get the best return out of it, but whatever. I'm going and getting a Shane Bieber. And I think the first two, Abel and Rojas, puts you in the ballpark. Yeah, it might need a little more than that. But yeah, look, if you're trading Abel, I think that's at least the ballpark, for sure. I love Bieber.

I am signing Trey Turner for seven. Yes. Yes. For seven years, $230 million. I go the extra year just to make sure I get it done. Um, I think they want to sign him for six,

200 ish, but I give him seven, two 30 and make everyone happy and, uh, and whatnot so everything else remains the same my perfect offseason except the only thing so this is my second alternate universe and i can't tell which i like more in my second alternate universe i am signing carlos correa and carlos frodom so i have only you'll lose one qualifying offer pick.

I only lose because Correa doesn't cost one. I love it. And dude, like why, why are, I can't believe that it's not even like being talked about as like Correa's possibility here. He's the youngest.

He's the best defender. He's had huge postseason moments. He bet at two 91 last year. Likerea's possibility here. He's the youngest. He's the best defender. He's had huge postseason moments. He bet at 291 last year. Like he's always good and would not cost you a pick to draft the sign. He's a Boris guy too. I mean, we got some connections to Boris here. I know Xander is too,

but I mean, still. Yeah. It's, it's shocking to me that, um, that they haven't, there hasn't been more of a link between the Phillies and Correa. Maybe it's shocking to me that there hasn't been more of a link

between the Phillies and Correa. Maybe it's just like they're being quiet about it because it just makes too much sense. So I'm signing him. And, dude, I couldn't love Carlos Rodon more. I think that – so Dabrowski is an old-school executive where he likes stars, but he also likes aces. And I just have a feeling he comes out

this offseason with another ace whether it's rodone who they've been linked to um or whether it's a trade for one of those those ace pitchers out there i mean bieber uh glass now could be available um there's another one that i was thinking of but i mean look with the brewers you never know i mean oh yeah burns and like burns that's what i'm saying that's what i mean birds you never know like the brewers are kind of a weird organization like that um so like i just i just have this feeling in my gut that he's gonna go and get one of those guys um last now interesting too because he's a five he's got a 30 million dollar deal but it's five this first year and then 25 the second year which which is interesting. You know,

they're not paying that at all. Right. Exactly. Yeah. But yeah, I just, I, I,

I, if I was setting like fan dual odds and the Phillies walking out of this post, walking out as all season with like one of the star shortstops and, and, and an ACE level starter, I think it's, I think it's like minus one 20. Wow. Cause I did two for when it's earth. That's why I did it the, I think it's like minus 120.

Wow. I did two for what it's worth. That's why I did it the way I did it, even though I went shoot, shot the highest. It was like, I feel like they're getting an ace, and I feel like they're getting a shortstop, and these are the two I want, so I'm going for it. Yeah.

So if I told you you're getting Correa, Radon, or Turner and Bieber, what would you rather have? Turner and Bieber. What would you rather have? Turner and Bieber. Interesting. All right. I would. I would. Either way.

Either way. We are parading down Broad Street. All right. I got my. I think Rodon is probably better than Bieber, but they're really close. But I definitely think Turner is better than Correa. And I get it. Korea is,

again, he's my second, but that's why I would go with Turner and Bieber. So now that the Derek Hall trade's out of the way, we can move on to the rest of the perfect ball season. I'm giving two years, $18 million to Ross Stripling. And so we're both there.

So is it Stripling or Stripling? I thought it was Stripling. 99% sure it's Stripling? I thought it was Stripling. 99% sure it's Stripling. I trust you in these spots. I'm giving two years 18 million to Stripling. If it goes to 20, whatever. Look at us. We were this way with Knievel

last year, which is not the greatest sign. I think they need someone that's going to take down some innings um you know and i think stripling is just a guy that's going to like pitch to a three five and maybe it's because he always pitches well against the phillies like that's why i wanted to sign him um but wheeler bieber nola ranger painter stripling is like a really solid rotation that you can mix and match with. I also wouldn't hate to bring Thor back for, you know, small money. And I would not hate signing Waka either as like a walk is on my list. So I had walk and smiley as the last two guys on

my list. Oh, Drew. And he's good. Cliff Lee. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had those are the last two out of my list. It's so funny. We're here. That's good. I don't need to show. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I had, uh, those are the last two I had on my list. Yeah. It's so funny. We're here. That's good. I don't need to show. Yeah. I had the walk-in smiley on my list too. Nice.

Um, my lefty reliever to pair with Jose Alvarado is a two year, $18 million contract to Andrew Chafin. Bring me that guy. Yeah. He's nasty. Failed starter. Was it lefty that just continues to put up numbers?

Well, he was a bad three, two years ago, and then all of a sudden figured it out. Seems like a good clubhouse guy. I'll take Andrew Chafin. Love that you seem like a good clubhouse guy. I don't know. He's got a mustache. I base it on he has a cool

mustache so it has to be that is such great analysis by you how's that and he wore like uh he wore a failed starter shirt so like seems like uh oh yeah he's self-deferential that's good i like that which i'm always always a fan of um i am giving one year $5 million to Jimmy Nelson of former Brewers fame. And again, 2014. Oh, my God. Is he still around, Jimmy Nelson? Dude. I've known that guy in fantasy many times.

He went to the Dodgers. Yeah, he had arm things, right? Like some tough surgeries. Yeah, exactly. Never healthy, but do not care for this bullpen. Um, never healthy. Uh, but he, you know, he started to figure it out a little bit with the Dodgers. Um, his stuff is always there and I'll just like,

it's basically just upgrading the middle of my bullpen. I'll, I'll take, I'll take Jimmy Nelson 100%. I look, I don't at all hate the idea of going after failed high end prospect starters as both guys. I think that's a proven strategy. Well, you're going to love Matt Moore. You're going to love this one, pal. Yeah. Desi or he was designated for assignment, whatever the other day, but I am not missing the Alex Reyes breakout. Oh, dude, I loved him too. Cardinals.

Dude, one year, two million for Alex Reyes, whatever. I don't know what's going to cost, but I'm not letting another team sign Alex Reyes and figure him out. He had some success in the bullpen too, like a moment. He had a moment there. Yeah. Yeah. Do not care.

Alex Reyes, that's a good call by you. I'm in on Alex Rice. And then my final move is I'm giving one year, $1.2 million to Robbie Grossman just so that he can play the outfield, be a good lefty bench off the bat. Bryce Harper could be out until June. I've always liked Robbie Grossman,

and I've always needed him to be a philly so i'm just like finishing that one out so my and like this is just like on paper roster obviously that gets cut down and whatnot so uh jt and stubs a catcher reese i'm keeping it first basic i just think they're gonna i think he's gonna be there i mean me too browski was pretty... Fold was too. They were both pretty strong about it. Although, I'm not going to say it didn't cross my mind of how can I fit Bellinger into this. I thought of a Bellinger too. I think

he's going to get more money than we would think though. Probably. Someone will give him double digits for a year. Stott at second base. Turner at shortstop. Bohm at third base. Outfield of Schwarber, Marsh, Kast. Vierling, Grossman.

Bench of Sosa and Maton. Starting staff of Wheeler, Bieber, slash Rodon. Nola, Ranger, Painter, Stripling. I mean, that's so sick, dude. Sorry. Just like that's especially when Painter finally comes up. And if Painter can hit the ground running. And again, he's young and all that.

But I mean, the talent is so clear. I mean, dude. Wheeler, Radone, Nola, Ranger, Painter. Buddy. 2014 Tigers. That's what we're building. Five Cy Young winners. Bleep it. Bleep're building five Cy Young winners bleep it bleep it five Cy Young winners do not care

and then bullpen of I mean Sir Anthony Alvarado Baladi 2015 fantasy team Andrew Chafin Hunter Harvey Jimmy Nelson Alex Reyes Sam Coonrod and Griff McGarry somehow figures Andrew Chafin, Hunter Harvey, Jimmy Nelson, Alex Reyes. I love it.

Sam Coonrod and Griff McGarry somehow figures his way into there as well. That's my perfect all season. This is great. This is a lot of fun. I thought, you know, as expected, I think we nailed it, especially, you know, especially me spending a lot of money, you know, spending a lot of money and unrealistic trades. Yes. Ben, John. lot of money and, and unrealistic trades. Yes.

Spend John. Yeah. The trades are a little unrealistic. I, I I'll admit it, but, but the point being, I'm willing to trade both Rojas and McGarry to get relievers and add that.

And that's the way I'm going to kind of get it under the barrel. But I like your idea of trading less to get some, or signing some of those reclamation guys too. That's. It's a strong, I mean, there's some, there's so many of them yeah i mean i mean and now we got development guys now we just you know bust it out i mean you have brian caplan who you know like has like a sports performance thing down in florida that works with a lot of these guys. I tried to, again, I'm just pleading to Dave. I mean, two years ago

it was Chase Anderson and Matt Moore. Last year it was Jerry Simele and Brad Hand, where it's like he has to sign these two crappy players for no reason other than like, oh, these guys have pitched. Oh, they were good. I remember them. They were good five years ago. I love that guy.

I was terrified when Simeia would come in in 2018. We're trying to bully Dombrowski out of not doing that this year. I know that Adam Modavino is sitting right there. I know these guys are just sitting there, and I know that you just are like, wow, he was good, and I'm just pleading. I mean, I'm pleading for him not to do that. Like there's like, I was just,

I was actually looking at it before and I was like, Oh, these are such Dombrowski guys. Like, for example, I mean, Kimbrel's a free agent. Like Jansen, there's a ton of those guys. Zach Britton, actually who who I wouldn't hate. Adam Modavino. Archie Bradley. So many of them that are just sitting there

and I can just see him like, oh, this is going to be my guy. Don't do it. We gave you the blueprint. Only 2015 fantasy prospects. Please. Love it. This was great work, buddy.

I feel really good about what we accomplished here tonight. I really do. I really do. I think we just set the tone for what is hopefully a perfect offseason. Yeah. I see what you did there, pal. All right. Do you have a take back or anything?

Yeah. Hold on. I wrote. Look at you. Of course. You know, it's all being a pro um the hall of fame class yeah and i literally finished my my two my perfect golf season two minutes before we started recording so yeah i'm right there with you the hall of fame class is just dreadful this year it's a disaster i mean seeing the ballot it's like jared weaver's on

this i bet i mean beltran's the best guy on the ballot and he's like nowhere close no not nowhere close he's not he's not a hall of famer he's close you're right he's not all fame so i just i already kind of have a fear of what this hall of fame class is gonna be like someone's gonna get in that probably doesn't deserve to get in um in the case which i'm always like hey then just don't put someone in but they have to sell money they have to sell tickets so they're gonna put someone in yeah well they they have gone years without it is rare but they have but yeah they should not put someone in someone who's probably been who are the guys who've kind of been gaining votes

the last few years rolling rolling rolling will get it he'll get like a bump because no one will want to vote for anything else they're like like, well, I got to vote for Rowland. He'll get it. Someone like that will get it. Once again, I'm just saying, I'm not going to start a campaign. Todd Helton's a Hall of Famer. Todd Helton's a Hall of Famer. I watched that guy. I felt like he was a Hall of Famer.

Look at the stats. It's hard with the Rockies, though. Oh, boo-hoo. Larry Walker got in. I know. Larry Walker was better than Todd elton but also yeah look todd elton was awesome todd elton's the he's like the go-to whenever there are trivia questions of that era and it's like name three guys who had these absurd stats from like whenever year to even every year todd elton's always the third guy that you never think of yeah it's disrespectful it's odd per usual um big todd

helton guy i didn't know this i like that um payton manning's uh backup quarterback i know i know um so i completely forgot like obviously well we're o-chart guys um but i would just like for you know how we like we like to put pressure on the organization to do smart things well if you're looking you've already nailed the pitching side. I mean, the pitching side is, is, is great.

You know, like they develop guys. They've had guys learn new pitches. They've had guys throw harder. Like it's, it's smart now on the hitting side, I need them to just hire someone that is from the Astros braids or blue Jays organization.

I love the, like those prospects, like on those teams that come up. I feel like they're always good hitters. And that's my plea, is that replace Jason Ochart with someone from the Astros, Braves, Blue Jays. Because those guys know how to develop hitters. And imagine morphing what they've done on the pitching side

with also doing on the hitting side. How's that for a combination that's the combo you want jack and my final thing is that you know how i talked about the schwarber homer you know i do like is it gonna happen i was like i already see what you're doing here and i love it go ahead i don't think you do i think i don't i don't i don't think you okay i'm just you got me on the bieber i don't think you got me. You got me on the Bieber. I don't think you got me on this one. Okay, I can't wait.

I think I've decided that the Schwarber Homer was the 488-footer. Oh, okay. You're right. I didn't... I had a different thing. I'll tell you after. Go ahead. The Schwarber Homer, it was...

I mean, there were so many, right? There was the 488. There was game six of the World Series they lost. There was game six of the World Series. They lost. There was game five of the World Series. That was also really cool. There was off of there was off of Joe Musgrove, which is crazy fun. There was the one off McCullers, which is an absolute bomb.

The center field. The wall. But the but how I felt after the 488 one was yeah that's the most i that's the one everyone remember yeah you're like hey what college rubber homer do you remember from the playoff run everyone's gonna say the 488 really i think it's that one or it's the one it's the 488 it's that but it's also it's the 488 he had a baseball 488 feet no No one's ever going to forget that. But the Moscow bomb was really cool, too. It was. It was.

But I'm telling you, I think if you did a poll, 488 would win. Well, I will say this. His homers in five and six will not be appreciated as they should have been. I agree. I mean, leading off the game after they just got no hit was unbelievable. Massive. And then the homer off freaking Framamber who was just mowing them down. Like that's well.

And how about the almost Homer? We'll remember that one too. Well, two. Yeah. The two at back, same back. Um,

I thought you were going to say, I've done a lot of thinking about the Schwarber Homer and I've come to decision that it hasn't happened yet, which I thought would have been a real flex and that's obviously next offseason next season okay um but I figured out that the the 488 was like that's that's I think that's the move I think that's the correct correct call by you appreciate um it was just fun buddy Hunter Harvey for Derek Hall, who says no. Phillies fans. Oh, my God.

I never heard of this guy. Derek Hall should be the starting first baseman. Nope. Nope. We're getting rid of that. Just for that idea. I love it. You got any final thoughts, pal?

No, but I can't wait. I can't wait to see them walk out of this offseason with a starter and with one of those short stops and then we can just like also there's nothing better than uh a move happening before christmas we're like oh it's like a present like i mean jill's first gift to me is, uh, as a, when we were dating or whatever, it was a Roy Halladay Jersey. Like that kids are being robbed along the Delaware Valley of being able to wear their favorite athlete, uh, because they don't have a deadline in place of when he can make moves.

So think about the children one time. It's a great point. And think about Jack, think about, you know, the amount of, of highlights of that player going back their entire career, probably. Oh, dude.

That Jack is just going to dive so deep into. I'll say this. Yeah. I'll say this, man. The YouTube highlight game has taken a massive step forward. I was about a quarter away through a Shane Bieber. It was like 27 minutes long. Wow.

Good job by baseball. Finally letting their highlights out there. I mean, for so long, they had the most draconian rules about letting anyone see their product. It's like, no, you can't see our sports.

Like, Oh, that's a great idea. That's a really good way to let kids and young people get invested in the sport. Block the highlights everywhere. They go to watch things. Really good.

Really good. 27 minutes of Shane Bieber highlights is a lot. Yeah, it's a lot. Pitch. Pitch. It's basically just strikeouts. Yeah, it's basically just strikeouts. Also, like, Savant has made it way easier, too.

Savant's amazing. Anyone out there, and this is, you know, we're an hour into the pod so if you're listening you're you're uh we appreciate you watching we're actually having most viewers right now so it's unbelievable i i you're all amazing and i i can't even stand it baseball savannah is a great spot to go check out you know if you want to just get an idea of how effective a pitcher and his pitches and his overall you you know, skillset is there's really no better site, I think for that. So it's a good call by you, Jack. All right.

I'll just end again by saying, John, John's family, Philly's employees who have John's ear. If you're listening, seize the moment, man, go out and seize the fricking moment, spend money and let's go win a freaking world series he's fritz himself sir We'll see you next time.