High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Didi, a Day Too Late, Emergency Pod

Episode Date: February 2, 2021

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz are finally here with the Didi Gregorious emergency pod. The guys discuss Didi's return, what's next for the team, a renewed sense of optimism in the Phillies, and much more. 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

FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning, which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying I do. Who wants this last parachute? I do. Enjoy the number one feeling, winning, in an exciting live dealer studio, exclusively on FanDuel Casino, where winning is undefeated. 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem?

Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. Shop Best Buy's ultimate smartphone sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today. Terms and conditions apply.

This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies on Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Oaks Podcast. Jack, back to back. Joyful.

We get to talk about a guy we love. Additions. How about that, buddy? What is this? The Philz are back. Oh, buddy. Doesn't it feel good to have a baseball team again? I mean, we were so concerned this whole offseason.

Despondent is the word. Yeah. Despondent. Yeah, we really were down, right? I mean, we were down. We didn't think that they were going to do much this offseason. We became a Rays podcast for like 90 seconds. Yep, for 90 seconds.

And I would just like to start off tonight's show, James, and you don't have to join me if you're not ready to go there yet, but I'm ready to go there. I apologize for how I acted when the Phillies hired Dave Dombrowski. I am all in. I love the moves that he's making. And the most important thing that Dave Dombrowski has done since taking over the Phillies job is he has convinced John Middleton to trust him with his money.

And that is massive. So shout out to Dave Dombrowski. Getting the owner to spend his money in a smart way getting dd on a great deal getting jt back here trading goal ervin um i mean it's i i am ready to i am ready to commit to dave dombrowski. So we, we've already reversed course from the initial Dave Dombrowski, you know, takes, so to speak, at least to a certain point,

I'm not ready to say Dave Dombrowski is the best chat. He's not Pat Gillick 2.0 yet for me. I don't know if we're, if we're being real and I'm, I'm very excited that it happened, but he's just re-signed guys. All right. All right.

All right. Enough. Enough jack we have now put together the team that didn't make the playoffs last year so like enough enough but but but but but having said that to your point like look these are good deals you know getting we talked with JT, like that was a good contract. We're going to get into Didi, but that's a good deal. Two years, 28 for Didi. Like, yes, yes. Well done. That's a good deal.

And it does seem like heading into a pandemic and I don't care what JT says about, oh, I always knew they were going to spend money. Like there was definitely a point this off season where I don't even know if John Middleton knew if he was going to spend money or not. Like again, we,

we hearken back to the, not that distant past when John Middleton was questioning Jim Salisbury about how many fans are going to be in the seats and all that. But no, that didn't happen. That didn't happen. But to John Middleton's credit and to dave dombrowski's credit as you mentioned like they have spent money this offseason they have made the moves they needed to make now we'll get

into whether that's enough and where this team stands but yes i i will say i think they do deserve credit for how they've handled this offseason particularly considering what we're expecting i mean jack's so excited he called me sunshine before we started recording. Yeah, listen, I am one decent starter, preferably a guy like James Paxton,

and one decent bullpen option, a guy like Shane Green or Alex Colomay, away from John Middleton regaining Jack Middleton. I mean, that's, that's, that's how close we are. That's how close we are. The Jack being back.

Wow. Look, yeah, we, I, I, the bullpen has to be better. All right. The bullpen, like we're not there. I love Archie Bradley though. Still waiting. Yep. Still waiting.

Archie. But, but, uh, uh, another really nice signing when you're six million like yeah yeah well done you know um but we need more so and i do think there will be more and i think that when the time you know we kind of do to our our season off season wrap up how'd they do type pod i do think we'll be a lot happier than we expect we already are a lot i know i know i know i mean andy mcphail being gone who knew how much that that dinosaur was weighing this franchise down like has there ever been more addition by subtraction than just getting that that disaster out of this building. I mean, he was such a wet blanket that it covered all of Citizens Bank Park. I mean, that's how heavy of a wet blanket that Andy McPhail was.

They didn't need a tarp for the season. They were just going to roll Andy out during rain delays and just soak it all up. Yeah, I mean, seriously. Anytime you wanted to feel a little bit down about your baseball team, they sent Andy McPhail out there to just make it feel a little bit worse. I mean, if we don't, we don't. A lot worse. Uprooted in the middle of a pandemic.

I know, but... How many people have uprooted in the middle of a pandemic? Just thinking about it. Like, just in Philadelphia alone now, between every move that's been made, front office players, anyway. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, and I probably am, but I just want one more Andy press conference. Just give me one more.

A goodbye press conference. Yeah, just say, hey, retiring. If they make the playoffs this year, does Andy McPhail get credit for the quickest turnaround in baseball history or whatever? It could be the the final press conference on the way to cooper's town jack hall of fame guy yeah didn't you know yeah no yeah no it makes sense i mean he was he he was he thought that if this team made the

playoffs he was a lock for the hall of fame so um epic yep yep and sadly as as and again john middleton working towards jack the reason i'm not quite as close is because he let this man, Andy McPhail, be his advisor for three years or five years or whatever it was. So, you know, but he needs to earn a little more back with me still. But he also could have kept Andy McPhail around for the end of his contract and let Andy McPhail help him hire president of GM or a GM. contract and let annie mcphail help him hire president of gm or a gm yes so sure so so i mean you gotta give credit where credit's due jack middleton very close very close to being back i was so full disclosure uh when they when they signed dd i was uh in the car and i was getting ready to drive out um by the way i'm we're back looking for houses, and I am using the Philly's criteria as a part of my searching of houses. You're moving again?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. That was quick. Good year in the city. Good year in the city. That was it. You're done. I like the city a lot.

I did. Just we're ready to move on to the next phase of life. You know, I don't think we're going to, you know. One year in the city and that was it. You we're ready to move on to the next phase of life you know i don't think we're gonna you know one year in this city that was it you're done yep yep yep yep didn't even barely even join the phillies in the city um i know you did what do you mean barely you didn't i know i know it's such a shame um but yeah i was sitting i was sitting in the car when i got the news and i just kept saying over and over myself and Jill probably thought I was a crazy person but I was just like DeeDee's back like I just I just kept on like DeeDee's back like he's it doesn't just bring you that extra level of joy that that DeeDee is back in the fold oh yeah well that's what I said last time when when we talked about the pretension for it that we thought it

was gonna be Simmons was like I just like rooting for Like, I just want him on my team. He just makes me happy. It makes me happy to watch a baseball game and have Didi on my team. Like it's, and again, he's a really good player. The bat is, is, is so legit at that position. But like, I just like watching him every night. And as you know, when you watch like 160, whatever games, like 160, 161, 162, you know, like maybe you miss one for some reason or whatever, but like you want guys you like watching.

And I just like watching Didi Gregorius play. I like his infectious attitude. I like the, you know, he just seems like an awesome guy. So yeah, Jack, it was definitely that. Yeah. I am very, very glad that Didi's's back dd's back in the fold and it's like it just i i know like last year's team whatever fell fell apart and and whatnot and it was it was a highly disappointing season but like the offense was was top 10 and runs i mean or they're actually

they're top five and runs and i think they're top 10 overall. And once, when bone came up, I mean, one through seven, I want to say was like, was dynamite. And the, and the fact that they're running it back with that offense, it's just, I'm glad to see that they shut out the money to do it. And they ended up spending more money than I thought they were planning to. But ultimately this is what they had to do and they had to compete and they're going to compete. So yeah, it was a big weekend. Yeah. Well, let's get into the deal thing. Two years, $28 million. That feels like a really fair price to me. Now, first of all, do you like the numbers of the deal? What does it say to you about them passing on the next year free agent class like we talked about and and does it mean two years till start is that basically where we're at

well so it tells me two things it tells me two things first off i don't know how big of players they were going to be in next year's free agency class i mean for them to have four 100 plus million dollars players would have been a lot i mean bry Bryce, JT, and Wheeler are already over $100 million. I know Bryce is $330, and JT and Wheeler are a little bit over $100. I don't think there's a team out there that has four making over $100 million. That's just a big ask for the Phillies. So I don't know how big of players they were going to be in that

free agency class. I think two-fold. With Didi, I'm sure Didi and his agent were looking at it and they were like, listen, we don't want to take a one-year deal and then we're screwed by being in next year's free agency class. Let's try to get a multi-year deal whenever we can. The whole Reds thing, it didn't

really pass my smell test just because they'd been shedding salary all season. I didn't expect them to turn around and all of a sudden offer Didi two years, $30 million. I think it takes them out of next year's free agency class, but you never know too. He could

also go to second base if they really feel like they can get one of these star shortstops for whatever price they can. I mean, there was concerns about Dede's defense last year. I think they're a tad overblown, but theoretically he could play second base for a year and they move Segura over to third base because because, again, they still have an additional year on Segura. an additional year on Segura. And with Stott, if they don't take part in next year's free agency class, there are concerns about Stott's ability to last long term at shortstop. So, I mean, maybe he was destined to be a second baseman or third baseman anyway.

I would think more second base than third base. But, yeah, I think that even with this Didi thing, it might not mean Bryson Stott is two years away. It might mean, hey, we'll bring him up and put him at second base next year. So it's interesting. It's interesting that I think they punted on next year's free agency class, but I also don't think it was really super realistic to think that they were going to play in the market of another $200-plus million contract for one of these guys.

Even if we wanted them to, Jack? Yeah, even if we bullied them into doing it, I don't know if they were going to do it. And look, ultimately, it is the Phillies, and I agree with everything you said, and I think two years, $28 million, it's a fair deal for Didi. It's a good deal. And like I said before, I think he brings a lot to the table

from a locker room perspective and leadership and all that type of stuff that does matter and being part of a team and 162 game grind and all that stuff. But I think that the Phillies are in a weird position organizationally in the sense that and look, Middleton, the one thing that he said in that press conference that soon enough we'll pretend never happened, but he still has to get to that level. But the one thing he talked about that we were excited about was the, you know, we got to get back to drafting, or not get back to,

we have to get to drafting and developing well, because that's something that has plagued this franchise for the entirety of its existence. And I just want to make sure, because now this is the right thing. This is what we talked about last time. Right now, when you, to your point, are paying three guys over $100 million, you have JT in his prime,

Harper right in the heart of his prime, Nola heading into his prime, Wheeler in his prime, Reason heading into his prime, Boehm, who's just already an elite hitter, a borderline elite hitter. All these guys in the heart of their career, they're in his prime. Boehm, who's just already an elite hitter, a borderline elite hitter. All these guys in the heart of their career there in the prime, it makes logical, pragmatic sense

that if you're already spending this money, go all in on this group. Say, all right, we're willing to spend into the luxury tax. I don't know if it'll be this year or maybe at the deadline. It might be this year or whatever, but certainly next year and the year after that and be willing to make moves with this roster. But they also have to make sure they prioritize what he initially talked about prioritizing and drafting and developing.

And that's why it's a high wire act. And that's why you want to go in on this team, but you also don't want to trade away too much of your young talent without being able to replenish that talent, which right now they don't even have a lot of it to begin with. You know what I mean, Jack? Yeah,

I do. Um, but I, I am really bullish on the Phillies future of drafting and developing. I think it's probably the one thing that I'm the most bullish on in the entire franchise. Um, because I just trust the guys in

place right now like everyone I talk to everyone around the game like they all talk about Brian Barber as if he's like this scouting genius and his first draft was a great example of that yeah it was I mean uh like Mick Abel obviously talked talk about him. Casey Martin, we talked about him. My, my Casey Martin. Your guy, Casey Martin. Yes. Your guy, Casey Martin. I thought moving on from Carson Ragsdale was a mistake. And then Baron Radcliffe, I mean, he has unbelievable power.

And then in the undrafted free agent market, they just got a bunch of dudes that throw almost 100 miles an hour and said, hey, PD guys, go and mold these guys into future bullpen weapons. I think we're on the precipice of a wave of pitching talent that we haven't seen in a while because I think they have the guys in place down there in the system, in the development staff that can get the most out of these guys. We talk a lot about O-Chart and the driveline guys,

but the pitching side I actually think is a step ahead of even where O-Chart in that group is. And they have the talent down there to finally, you know, get the most out of the talent that they bring in. So, you know, I think we're about three years away from the Phillies having both sustainability on the field, but also a ton coming up through the minor leagues. I really believe that.

It's probably the one thing I believe in the most in this franchise right now. Because every time I put out a trade proposal on Twitter or whatever, a trade idea, which is a lot. I mean, I tweet out a lot of trade ideas, like one a day. Everyone always comes back to me like, oh, there's nothing to trade with. There's no prospects. And I get it. I get it.

But I do think that they're starting to come. And they're going to start getting more out of these guys. And I bring up guys like Brogdon, Boehm, and Romero a lot because I watched George Romero pitch at AA a couple years ago, and I was like, this guy has no shot at being a major league pitcher. And then, boom, he was throwing 97 out of the bullpen. Connor Brogdon,

who, when he came up, his first pitch he let a home run, went back down, came back up, 97, cutter, and the best changeup back up 97 cutter, uh, and, uh, the best change up since Madsen. And then, um, and then boom, I mean, he was obviously a talented hitter, but what they got out of him was more power and more ability to drive the baseball. So you bring that up and it's a great point because I think that they're going to start be able to do that. And I think they're going to finally be able to,

to round out their core with talented arms. Like everyone brings up the bullpen and rightfully so it was dreadful last year, but they do have a lot of guys down there that are starting to throw hard and they are starting to have some actual stuff. And that just excites me. I think, I think we're legitimately two or three years away from

the the farm system not being a problem and the phillies are able to get the most out of draft picks even if they're not picking towards the top of the draft like they actually have sustainability down there they have a plan in place and it really excites me every single time i see these australian baseball league highlights like there's another guy where I'm like, that guy looks like a dude. So I don't know. Like it's, it's a good point. And I'm just, I'm, I'm really excited for where they're headed. Love it.

That's a, that's like one of my favorite answers you've ever given anything I've ever asked you on this, but that was just like heartwarming. Like that was, that was like, you're, you're making me me feel all in on the Phillies right now. I don't feel that as much as you do these days. That was really good. If you bring back... From your lips to God's ears. I know. I know there's a lot of things that can go wrong and the guys down there can leave, but if everything

stays in place, we're approaching an era of Phillies baseball that has talent at the major league level. Ownership has shown that they will spend. I know we had questioned that a little bit. But I think, I mean, listen, they're coming off a pandemic and they still are almost going to match their payroll of last year. Not every team is doing that.

They've spent the second most amount of money in baseball this offseason, which is hilarious to me. It is. And look, whether whatever people thought of or have changed or whatever they think of the hiring, he paid Dave Dombrowski. He wanted a guy, and he paid to get him in that spot. Exactly. So I think we're about three years away, whatever, from sustainability on the major league level,

ownership showing ability to go out and spend. I don't think they're going gonna have the crazy high payrolls because they're gonna be some some bad clintac contracts finally off the books but then i think we're really gonna start seeing you know waves of of actually talented arms getting the most out of these guys um and i'm just i'm really excited for it i know this is the d i know this is the DD Emergency Podcast, and I'm so glad DD's back, but I just feel like the team is trending in the right direction. They're trending where modern baseball teams are going. Even Dombrowski. I've been impressed with Dombrowski from that perspective.

Look, just making fold the GM. That alone is a sign of that. And keeping all the PD guys. He could have looked at them and said, hey, you guys never played Major League Baseball. This is all just a bunch of new age stuff. We're going to go back to old school ways, and they haven't done that.

They haven't done that at all. And I think they've actually gone more in. I'm giddy over here, James. I'm sorry. You're getting me giddy i love it all right so let's sit it forward with this roster because then like especially with that in mind with with actual positivity about the future from a player development and and drafting side and i agree with you with the guys they have in place and all that i that you know it is heartening you know uh we

didn't even talk about we didn't even talk about caleb kotham i mean we went through that whole speech there didn't even bring up the guy the thing i'm most excited for i mean i'm sorry i'm just i'm gushing over here i can tell buddy all right so so dd's back so now we've got the crux of the lineup look before we get to pitching uh do you think they'll bring in a center fielder or do you think it's just going to be a Kingery, Haseley, Quinn kind of mix? Yeah, I've seen a lot of people talk about JBJ. I don't see it.

I think he wants five years. He probably won't get five years. No chance he'll get five years from the Phillies, that's for sure. Right. They just don't have that money. I think they'd rather get a starting pitcher or a starting pitcher. As they should. Yeah.

As they should. But I do think the Benintendi trade could still happen. I think that still could be a thing. I don't know that for a fact, but given how righty-dominant I would say the Phillies are, I think getting a lefty bat like Ben Attendee in here would make sense, especially since you would have him for this year. And next year, if McCutcheon leaves and his contract runs out,

he can play left and then you can do whatever. I don't see center field happening. I actually think that I could see just Kingery being out there and we'll go from there. So, yeah, I don't see the whole center field thing happening. Yeah, I'm with you on that. And look, I think Segura at second makes sense. we'll go from there so um yeah i don't i don't see the whole center field thing happening yeah i'm i'm with you on that and look i think sagura at second makes sense i think he's a from what we've seen of gene sagura that is easily his best position defensively um so so pitching staff

we didn't talk about it last time it happened after but i mean matt moore for three million i mean i don't i don't know what to say about that you know i i think like many have owned matt moore in fantasy oh yeah multiple times and have always been disappointed with the results based on what i paid to get matt moore but like you know was a former top prospect in the sport he's the head of trout and Bryce. Yeah. Yeah. Like a legit, legit superstar prospect with serious stuff and his flash obviously has shown enough at the Major League level in the past at times to show that

he is nasty, but was in Japan last year. It's not even the shot on Matt Moore. Like, you know, he was in Japan last year. I'm fine with that. Like take a shot on the arm. Like cool. Three million dollars dollars jack like for a team that you know we think is not going to go into the luxury tax at least maybe until if they're at the deadline and they're you know you know a great team and whatever that type of thing

but you know for a team that is is pinching in terms of of trying to control that number i was really surprised with that contract yeah and i mean this in the nicest way possible uh and i would love to be wrong i'm pretty sure matt moore still stinks like i i try listen i tried i try to talk myself into guys i'm generally positive all that stuff. Matt Moore stinks. I can't believe they paid him $3 million. Now, apparently, the Philly scout over in Japan raved about him. I went back and watched some of the Japanese World Series highlights. The fastball was up to 95, whatever.

Still a pretty good life on it. I actually thought his slider was pretty wiped out. That looked pretty nasty. I wonder if maybe they're going to just have him throw the slider a ton and bring him out of the bullpen. But I still saw the same stuff I saw here. I mean, it's generally flat. The Japanese hitters don't have the same kind of

power you generally see over here. And they're still making decently hard contact. It wasn't anything that was super swing and miss. But it seemed like they were making pretty solid contact. It was just right at guys. I didn't watch, obviously, all of the starts, but what I saw out of Matt Moore

in the Japanese World Series was just what I saw here, except with less talented hitters. And I don't totally know how it's going to go. $3 million seems like a massive commitment to a guy who's been one of the worst pitchers in Major League Baseball from like 2018 and 2019. So I don't get it. I think I would rather have spent that money elsewhere. But, you know, I mean, maybe they have a plan here for him. Maybe they trust Caleb Gotham that he can get

the most out of him. Maybe they want to make him a lefty specialist out of the bullpen and just have him throw that slider over and over and over again i don't know i was really surprised by it apparently you had competition but they must have if they paid him three million or else they're they're idiots which i don't think they're stupid like i you know there must have been at least some competition they got it up to that level you know uh level Look, the only way it makes any sense To me is if they do what you did And they think that he could be A Andrew Miller-esque

Two winnings At a time Lefty specialist Then he's going to be worth a lot more than $3 million If he could be that guy for a year I just feel like that's a huge if. And like you said, I just – if they're getting him to be a starter, I have no hope, zero hope that it's going to work.

None. Zero. Like I just don't think it will work. No. I mean, what evidence does this mean? I mean, it could work. Of course, anything could work because, you know, maybe like you said, maybe they – maybe the guys in player

development told sam fold and they all went through and they told sam like sam like we see something here that we can take and maximize and turn it into this and they were like all right let's do this like who knows that is certainly possible but barring something that's specific about like them really truly believing for a specific reason they can turn him into X. And even then, that might not work. It just feels like this is a mistake, in my opinion. We'll see. Yeah, I'm there with you.

I mean, I agree with you. Obviously, hope for the best. But Matt Moore stinks, okay? You can cut that audio when he has like a two five ERA this year, but, but I pretty sure he definitely stinks. So, all right. So, so, so what, so what do we do here then? Cause Dombrowski today says that pitching is still a priority for them.

I do believe like, as of right now, I think, you know, we all feel good with Nola Wheeler, Like, as of right now, I think, you know, we all feel good with Nola, Wheeler, Eflin, Howard being four of the five. Otherwise, it's either Ivanova, Matt Moore, or Vince Velasquez as of right now. Not to mention we're in a league where you need starting depth as much as anything. Like, so do you think they're going to add another? And again, by the way, still worst bullpen of all time, and they've only added Archie Bradley. Worst bullpen of all time and they've only added archie bradley worst bullpen of all time they've only added archie bradley so let's not well i think that we're set there either you're forgetting jose alvarado and jose alvarado you're right jose it's true you're right bad on me um but still there's question marks there too at the shoulder and all that regardless um what do you think they're

gonna do are they gonna add another starter um i think they'd like to add another starter and the thing that's so annoying is there's so much talent out there to where they can get these guys that and and ultimately i think that's why the the matt moore thing was so frustrating because it's like it's like you could use that three million dollars on like an actually good starter you could you could use that money for a james paxton type i don't think i actually wouldn't be surprised if he got more than he'd probably get what five million he'll get more yeah i think i could even see him getting like eight or nine or ten for a year yeah i mean i guess what garrett richards got eight so yeah garrett richards got ten and a half or something didn didn't he?

Wow, look at how high I am. So, yeah, so Paxton could be like 14 or 15 even per year. Really? FanDuel Casino's exclusive live dealer studio has your chance at the number one feeling, winning, which beats even the 27th best feeling, saying I do. Who wants this last parachute? I do. Enjoy the number one feeling, winning, in an exciting live dealer studio,

exclusively on FanDuel Casino, where winning is undefeated. 19-plus and physically located in Ontario. Gambling problem? Call 1-866-531-2600 or visit connectsontario.ca. Please play responsibly. I don't know. It takes us two teams to believe that he's the guy from two years ago. Like he's not that far removed from being like a lights out lefty.

Yeah. So like, like for, for me, I just want a guy that, that has upside. Like I, I liked the first four and Howard's probably your five.

If you get a guy like Paxton, but I just want a guy that, that I think might be able to break out and have some stuff. And listen, if he gets hurt, then you could just, you know, then you can put Vince in there. You can put Matt Moore or whatever. There's optionality there.

But why not go get Taewon Walker? I mean, he got a 2.5 ERA last year and was pretty nasty when he went to the Blue Jays last year. I just think with him, and he's actually been working out a driveline as well, like he said last year he was barely even trying because he was just trying to stay healthy and get through the year, and he was still like 95 by the end of the year with legit wiped out breaking ball stuff. Why not give Taewon Walker a year and see if he can do it? I don't like this guy at all.

I think he's been terrible for the last couple years, but I would take one year of Chris Archer just to make sure. Like if he's out of, he's out of, uh, uh, Pittsburgh's crap hole when it comes to developing, starting pitching.

Like there's, there's guys, there's guys out there. I have no interest in, I have no interest in like a Rick Porcello or, and then they probably will sign Anibal Sanchez, but like no interest in Anibal Sanchez, Julio.

Zero. Yeah. Julio Tehran, no. But there's guys out here that can at least give him a shot. At least they have stuff. At least they're not like Matt Moore. I mean, what's the harm in bringing in Tehuan Walker or James Paxson? Or even like Jake Odorisi.

He'll probably get more. He'll probably get a two-year deal. But the point is that there's talent that can be had out there. It's just the willingness to pay a little bit more. Yeah. And you know, I had Odorizzi in my perfect offseason as a player I mentioned. Again, I would have liked to see them spend money on legit open arms before I would have seen them give $ million a map more as well like i again alvarado and rg bradley is not enough and look there are still guys who

were here last year who i i think can be good like obviously hector we're in on and jojo we love and you know like they're guys and you know prog. But man, I really would feel a lot more comfortable if they went out and got some of the like hundred relievers who are still on the market who have gotten big outs in major league baseball. Yeah. Once your, once your head hit the pillow, just that much easier with like a,

exactly. Yo, Kim, sorry. Uh, you know, he was in my perfect all season to Alex Colombe, give me one of these guys And it really just lengthens your bullpen

And there's no way that those guys There's no way Joakim Soria is getting more than like 4 million There's just no way He's 37 years old I mean he's been good forever Forever, all he does is get outs Wouldn't that be nice to have a guy like that here? Yeah, and it's not

I know they've spent a lot of money and i get it but if you can add if you can add a colomay soria or shane green i don't think like a colomay i keep waiting to like for it just to all fall apart like his peripherals just aren't that good and same thing with shane shane green if they come here for a year especially with co with I thought it was Colom, Colomay. I thought it was Colomay with the E. See, I thought I used to call him Colomay, and then I thought I heard him called Colom in a game, and I was like, either way, regardless.

That guy, like, you're absolutely right. The peripherals are weird, but he just for years gets out for years. Well, and especially if you have a bullpen, if you have a back of the bullpen with Hector, one of those three, Alvarado, Archie Bradley, and then the guys that we believe in with Upside, you're just a far better team, and you actually have a chance.

Last year, they're trying to get through with Heath Embry, who stinks, and then Brandon Workman, who stinks. Brandon Workman wasn't terrible before he joined the Phillies. When he joined the Phillies, he was the worst pitcher I've ever seen in my life. To go along with his friend, Heath Embry, two of the worst ever. God, I hate them both so much. But the track record of the guys that we just mentioned, I mean, those are legitimate pieces.

Those are guys that lengthen the bullpen. And let's say Hector goes down or doesn't close effectively. Those are guys with closing experience. Like, it just makes too much sense you've gone this far you're this deep in just go add one more of those guys and and really solidify the back end of your bullpen yes yes yes yes like and i like i would even rather they had to like i would be willing like i would i still want to assign another starter as well but like i would even rather they had two. Like, I would be willing. Like, I still want them to sign another starter as well, but, like, I would almost rather add extra bullpen pieces at this point. Like, I can't make the same mistake I made last year.

You know, you can get by with this stuff as it is now. It's not the best. It's not ideal, but you can always trade first or the trade deadline. There are other things you could do. And, look, I think you need depth with starting pitching. I don't want to undermine that. I do think they need more depth. But man, Jack, I need more guys I can trust in the bullpen.

I can't do it again. I can't do it again. It was the worst. It was the worst feeling I've ever had as a fan to just know that every night the game was over. Because they were going to blow it. And you even talked about it, how like disheartening it was for the players. You could see it on their faces.

Like poor Bryce Harper, some ass hat would run him from the bullpen. And you could see prices like eyes just drop. And you're just like, and think about this. Think about this. JT willful and willingly signed up for five more years. I felt bad for him when people were asking him.

First of all, I thought that was kind of like a ridiculous question. When they asked JT, how much of the bullpen's failures do you blame? Like, do you take on yourself? And I was in my head. I'm like, none. Like, this is stupid. And JT, like the true, you you know professional and team guy that Ian was like I lost sleep about it

he's like I've been thinking about it all off season it's killing me and I'm sure he like he really does care but like I don't blame you JT no one blames you it's cause they had bad pitchers like don't do that again I talked to JT today and that was

I know you had him on the show I know I talked to him what today. I know. You had him on the show. I know. You big time. I know. I talked to him. What was it like? Were you like, hello, JT? I was like. Hold on.

You can go over with Ike and John. Okay. Yeah. It was definitely giddiness. So he picked up. So he called. He obviously called. Were you like, JT, I'm the Harper Lank guy?

Yeah. No. No, no, didn't do that. I was the one that, I was the one that tweeted you once a week saying to come home during the last month of this year. Okay. That was me.

But he calls in and, you know, when he called in or whatever, you're like, yeah, Jack for his WIP studios or whatever. He's like, it's JT.

And I'm like, oh, what's up, man? I heard you played his walk upup music too I did play his walk-up I kind of blew it yeah I kind of blew it because so uh we were already back from break when he joined so like I wanted to play it coming out of the break for him um and I kind of slid it up while he was kind of coming on it's kind of awkward didn't totally nail it um but yes I did

get his his walk-up music for him, and they did bring up that I love his calves. We had a good calf conversation. Big calves. Fun fact about JT, he has never worked on his calves. He's never done calf raises. They were just God-given monster calves. That's a good one, not to be able

to bust out at parties, Jack. Listen, if you ever need a guy to discuss JT Real and Muto's Cavs I'm your guy or I mean anyone's Cavs really Jack's always in for a Cavs conversation I'm really just jealous

because I don't have the best Cavs they're very flat I don't know how we end up on Cavs I don't know either but I talked to Cavs. I don't know either. I don't know either. But I talked to JT today, and it was very Gideon-esque. Speaking of Gideon, D-Day! You feel like you had to do that?

You feel like you had to do that? I did. I feel like I had to do that. All right. So what's next? Are we going to get a move this week? Do you think we're going to have a move next week? Where do you think we're at right now?

Also, let's quickly talk about, do you think we're going to have baseball on time this year? Oh, yeah. That's a fun thing. Who doesn't love talking about labor discussion? No, let's not. I didn't say let's get into the labor. Do you think it's going to start on time?

Well, that's what it is now, right? They have to start on time. Well, it's either, I mean, that's what it is now, right? Like they have to start on time because they rejected the proposal. Yeah, so I think it's going to start on time. But I could also see them coming back to it and saying, all right, we want the DH and whatnot. Like, I don't know. I don't think this thing's just over. It's never just over.

Sadly, as we know. Yeah, it's not cutting dry. I'm like all right i'm like terrified waiting for whatever passing bombs coming this week oh god yeah that that clip with mcafee with the pat yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah well i'm sure we'll be talking about it whatever it is yeah i'm sure it'll be great for baseball i'm sure everyone's gonna talk about sports dead and all that fun stuff i actually if i had to put my gut feeling on it, it's something to do with the,

the Garrett Cole, like a pine tar thing or whatever. And they'll really like, they'll get that under control. Um, but yeah, I'm so not looking forward to it. I wish it was,

I wish it was a fun story. I wish it was that Steve Cohen was, uh, giving up the mess or something or that, or baseball. Oh, can you imagine forcing him to sell. Yeah, or it's that every team is forced to trade the Cardinals,

their best player, plus money for nothing, and that's just the way baseball is going to work. Do you think that's why that trade happened? Imagine being a Rockies fan. What a gut punch. What just a a real a junk punch i mean let's be honest a running kick in the junk that must have been nigga like what a disaster what did you that's that's their guy oh it's like it's like when the uh it's like when the eagles

traded for sam bradford and it was like wait we had to give up we had to give another pick on top of this? But it really felt like, and you're too young, obviously, as usual with these references, but it felt like the Charles Barkley trade. It felt like giving up the one awesome, awesome guy that we had. It was an all-time great player for three trash heaps. And look, Hornacek was a good player at one point, but it was like Tim Perry, Andrew Lang, and Jeff Hornacek

for Charles Barkley in the prime of his career? Yeah, it felt like that to me. And then an extra $50 million on top of that. Like, seriously, an extra $50 million on top of it. Oh, man, good times. Yep, the Cardinals get their on top of it. Good times. Yep, the Cardinals get their 2021 version of the Roland trade. All right, you got anything in your note take back? I do.

I do have stuff in my take back. I really am excited for this one. So I want to play a little what-if scenario for you. I know we brought up starting pitching a little bit earlier, but what if Trevor Bauer's market does not develop the way that they think it will? Trevor Bauer loves driveline, loves Caleb Cotham, helped him win a Cy Young. What chance would you put out there that Bauer comes here a la like Cliff Lee, like saying, like, I would take less money.

What if the Mets, let's put it this way, what if the Mets are the only team in on Bauer and he doesn't believe in their pitching development or their pitching coaches and he spurns them and signs here for less money? I and he's, he spurns them and signs here for, for less money. I think he's such a, an interesting dude that he would be like,

I believe that the Phillies would get the most out of me. I'm going to go to the Phillies. So yes, I, I do believe he's that kind of guy. I think that he is, he's a strange cat man. And I think he would be very

happy to sign a one-year deal and put himself back out there in a different off season, potentially, given the right circumstances. I just would be surprised if the market shakes out that way to the point where he feels forced to do it. But to like, to your base point, like, is that a, is there a timeline here where that's the outcome? Yeah, I think there is potentially a timeline like that. I think that's not the craziest thing you've ever said. Again, I wouldn't – not even – I would say there's like a five – no, not even. A three – like a 1.5% chance of it happening.

But sure. I don't think one percent i don't i don't think it's gonna happen either but i could see him i could see him being like i don't believe in the mets pitching infrastructure i love caleb cotham he helped me win a cy young they'll pay me a decently and i'll go there and i'll hit the market again next year and prove myself again or whatever. I don't know. I have this weird feeling about Trevor Bauer that there's a non-zero chance he could be a Philly. Alright. Look,

I mean, that's the kind of move that changes things, Jack. Then we're having different decisions. And then I think about how much Dombrowski loves his starters. You know, I mean, Dombrowski's an ace guy.

The first moves he usually makes when he goes over to teams is he gets an ace. And I think the Phillies have... I think Nola is an ace still. I mean, he's obviously on the lower tier of an ace. It's hard. It's hard. After September, it's hard to say ace.

My dude had the ball with a chance to pitch him in the playoffs and just did not come up big at all. It's a tough look. What was it? The shredder on MLB Network had him

number nine in baseball right now. He's a great pitcher. He's not like an ace-ace. Yeah, you know an ace when you see an ace. And Wheeler's kind of in the same way. Yeah, they're both one ace. Yeah, yeah. So Bauer would change that a lot.

Even though, I don't know if Bauer's an ace-ace. No, I think he's similar to like he's better nola but he's not like he's not like a lights out donny i mean look we say that he won the cy young this past year so yeah no i mean he was this year but i mean that's also because he started probably you know spinning balls more um he's nasty though like he's bit he's he's he's a talent he's i mean like he's the second or third pick in the draft I mean like he's always been super talented

but yeah there's just a little part of me that wonders if they get involved in Bauer if he's not signed you know within the week or whatever love it please what do you think about if the Rockies are selling pieces?

I mean, what are we giving up for Herman Marquez? I've been trying to get Herman Marquez here for years now. I feel like Herman Marquez is like this podcast's pitcher. I know. It has been. We're the only Phillies podcast that talks about Herman Marquez the way that we do. Oh, I love him. I just love Aaron Marquez.

Yes. I own him in a keeper league. He's been a part of my life for years. I love this guy. I would love to bring him here. It's a very manageable, Enola-esque type contract they gave him last year. Yeah, I would love to. I know.

I don't know what they're doing. They said they traded Aaronado so that they could sign Story long term. It's like, what? All right. I mean, yeah, Story's good. I would do that. But I just don't know what their direction is. And it doesn't seem like they're selling pieces.

They just traded Arenado for nothing, for fun or whatever. Yeah. I don't know, man. I would do whatever it takes almost to get Herman Marquez here. If the Rockies are selling off pieces, I need Dave Dombrowski on line one. Speaking of trading aces, Cole Irvin gone. Gone to the Oakland A's. What a loss.

What a loss. Will any Phillies fan ever in the history of time say, man, I miss watching Cole Urban pitch? No. That was fun stuff. Oh, loved it. Anytime I can mix in 89 with nothing on my off speed, got to do it.

I'll never forget was the Braves game last year, whatever he came in and it was like an 8-5 ball game and like two seconds later it was 11-5. Oh yeah, buddy. That was a thrill. A thrill to watch. Really a true, a thrill of a lifetime to watch Cole Irvin pitch. I'm just

congratulations, Oakland. Enjoy. Go get him. Go get him. My final thing. Did they announce what the cash was? Did the Phillies get like five bucks, ten bucks for him? Well, the initial transaction said zero dollars. Perfect. Perfect.

That feels right. Yes. Great trade. Who'd we get? I still think the Phillies got a good deal. Yep. They destroyed. Still won the trade.

Yep. They won the trade. They beat the A's in that trade good job Billy Bean final thing I feel like it has to be the final thing until he does it Archie come on the podcast

yeah come on the podcast it's time I mean it's we're excited to talk to you JT's back it's time to come on the podcast. And there is fresh batches of high hops, of course, available from Four Fingers Brewing Company. Celebrate DeeDee's return and JT's return and the coal urban trade the only way you should. And that's with some high hops.

Yes. High hops. Archie, come on the pod um also uh final thought um i would like to apologize for the couple people on twitter who when i said that it was zoe's fault that we didn't record the dd gregorius uh podcast emergency podcast yesterday um thought that something was wrong with zoe she's fine i appreciate the concern uh no she just spilled coffee on my computer and it broke it so that's why we couldn't record that um i'm getting a new computer jack isn't that fun yeah sounds sounds nice and inexpensive terrific it's true she's a great kid great kid but you know she did smoke computer coffee on my computer and it's her fault

that we didn't record yesterday so yeah i mean we are uh you know you she did smoke a computer, caught me on my computer. And it's her fault that we didn't record yesterday. So we are, you know, you call them out when you got to call them out. Wonderful kid. I'm obsessed with her. She's my favorite thing in the world. Her fault. Sorry. Way to go, Zoe. Anytime you can roast your two-year-old daughter, you just have to take that chance.

Yes. Well said, Jack. Just holding everyone. No one's better at holding everyone accountable but yourself better than you. It's called the seltzer, and she'll learn it, damn it. All right. We will be back probably soon. I don't know.

The Phillies will probably make a move. The Phillies are hot. It seems like every other day there's a move. Don't let Davey get hot. All right. You've heard some seltzer. We'll talk to you guys soon. All right. You print some salsa. We'll talk to you guys soon. All-star closer, Kenley Jansen.

We have a question. What's the best podcast of all time? Baseball isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game. It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago. 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.