High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The High Hopes Phillies Podcast: Emergency McCutchen Pod and is Sixto Really Being Dangled?

Episode Date: December 11, 2018

Jack Fritz is joined by Joe Giglio as James has baby duty once again. Andrew McCutchen is a Phillie, what does it mean? And is Sixto Sanchez really being dangled? See omnystudio.com/policies/listener for privacy information. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Well, without the computers. Talking about the Philadelphia Phillies on Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yeah, we is. Klintek. Klintek. It is an emergency High Hopes podcast. James Seltzer is in the hospital with his kid being selfish once again.

You know, once again, James, during the most important part of the season, does not have the clutch genes, but he did pass on, I think, good genes to his daughter. So I had to enlist the help of my host on the wp evening show that's a way to say it yeah sure so it's a it's an emergency podcast joe gilio is here with me talking about andrew mccutcheon joe what are your thoughts i like the deal jack uh and i'm here i'm not in the hospital i'm not with a kid i'm not with the baby someone's got to be committed to the podcast again happy for james and his family but uh no i like the deal mccutcheon's still a kid. I'm not with the baby. Someone's got to be committed to the podcast. Listen, again, happy for James and his family. But, no, I like the deal.

McCutcheon's still a good player. He's not what he was four or five years ago when he won the MVP in, what, 2013? But he's still a good player. And here's the way I'll look at it. And this won't surprise anyone who knows how much of a fan of Carlos Santana I am. This is the replacement for Santana's offense.

He walks. He hits about 20, 25 home runs. And the Phillies have effectively now replaced J.P. Crawford with Gene Segura, which is an upgrade. And they've replaced McCutcheon, who's a better all-around player, but same kind of offensive player, as Santana and move Reese to first base. So it's just a good move. Three years is a good move.

Even if they don't get – I think they're going to get Machado or Harper. I think that's going to happen. I'm not too worried about that. There's been a lot of people freaking out. Like, are they going to get, I think they're going to get Machado or Harper. I think that's going to happen. I'm not too worried about that. There's been a lot of people freaking out. Are they going to get these guys? Listen, first, point number one. Point number one is that getting Andrew McCutcheon does not take them out of the Bryce Harper sweepstakes at all. Just like Gene Segura didn't take them out of Machado. They still have third base.

I mean, they can open up an outfield spot for Harper if they want to. Well, McCutcheon can play left field. He's going to be in the left, and hopefully Harper's in right field. So this deal has nothing to do with Harper or Machado. And actually, the way they worded it, or the way these sources kind of worded it, I thought was weird. So they came out and they said they preferred McCutcheon because he's a righty instead of Brantley, who's a lefty, and they mentioned the durability thing.

But they went with a lesser player because he wasn't a left-handed bat. And if they added Machado, it's another righty. They're very righty if they get Machado. It just leads me to believe that Harper is that missing kind of piece. And I think they view it that way as well. Yeah, I agree. I mean, you and I both have been Harper over Machado in this. The Phillies, though, it's up in the air, depending on who you look at and who you read.

The national guys keep saying Harper. The local guys, at least Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, says Machado. Here's the thing. You and I talk about this on the show a lot. I still thought throughout this whole process that even if they got Harper, they were one bat short. Now, they've done it in the opposite way.

They've gotten the other bat first, not the big bat. But even if they got Machado Harper, I kept, we made their lineup out a couple weeks ago, even with Segura, it was like, mmm, one guy short. McCutcheon might be that guy. Yeah, yeah. So I'm gonna do a, you love player A, player B, thanks. Oh, it's my favorite. Let me give you a player A, player B. Alright. Player A,

255, 368, 424. Okay. Player B, 229, 352, 414. Who is that? B is definitely Carlos Santana. I've stared at those stats enough to know it. And who's player A? It's probably McCutcheon. It's McCutcheon. It's similar.

So you're adding a better average. You're adding a similar OVP, but with the Yankees last year his OVP was over 400. He walked last year for the first time over 90 times he never did that before so i think as he gets older he's becoming more selective he doesn't swing at bad pitches anymore and here i think he'll hit 15 to 20 homers still oh yeah yeah 20 last year and he

played some of the year in san francisco which is horrible 20 homers last year in in between san fran and new york i would expect him to hit 20 home runs-ish here. Again, now McCutcheon's not the same kind of player he was. I mean, obviously he's not the MVP candidate. But I will say, he's not completely washed. I mean, if you're going to get a guy that hits 20 homers, gets on base, plays a solid defense. I mean, if you can, let's say they move Nick Williams. They have Oduble in center, whatever.

And Harper, hopefully, in right field. McGutcher in left. That's a pretty good outfield defense. Yeah, I always think guys that were stars in center field, they could always move to the corner and be good. Like, Curtis Granderson did it for a long time. He was a good right fielder for the Mets. It kind of reminds me of that. Remember when the Mets signed Curtis Granderson? Yeah, it was more money, though.

It was. It was like, yeah, it was a little bit more money. And he still had way more power, I think. But it was like a guy that used to be a star and then he's off that a little bit but three four year deal i think it's good and uh i i think he'll have 20 home runs here this park plays well to righties yeah he'll have 20 and i and i will say i know you're not big on this because you're into the analytics but i do think that from a from a culture standpoint you can you can't really do much better than adding in Andrew McCutcheon. And this was a Phillies clubhouse,

whether we heard through people we know who are down there. It was a dead clubhouse. It was a clubhouse that wasn't the most fun to be around. And obviously they have fun young players, but it was more of a divided locker room. And this move to me, it kind of feels like Beltran going to the Astros. Even though Beltran was older and not as effective, McCutcheon will

bring a level of energy, a level of excitement, a level of professionalism to a locker room that even with Reese Hoskins, who I think is one of the most professional young athletes I can ever remember, it raises a level of accountability to a young team that

hasn't really been that moment. Yeah, and I think it takes some pressure off of Reese. I mean, Reese always had to be the spokesperson last year. When things went good, things went bad, he was always the one that talked. Look, they don't have Machado or Harper as we record this. So as of right now, this club is still Reese Hoskins' club. At least this guy will stand up and be accountable. And Jack, I'll add this because I do think that you're correct on the leadership thing, even though I'm more excited

it gets on base. You're right. But there's something to culture mattering. And I think for this, like with McCutcheon, it's a three-year deal. We're talking about 2019 right now, but by the end of this deal, either Moniak and or Haseley will be here, maybe, if they don't trade him away. But they have young outfielders in the pipeline, is what I'm getting at.

What better guy to learn from than Andrew McCutcheon? Like this guy was the top prospect, the first round pick that became an MVP and I think it's great from that perspective too. Now it is an overpay. I mean Yeah, though 15 a year you think it's an overpay? He's still a good player.

He's a good player. I don't know if he's I would rather have had Brantley if I was looking for pure hitter because I think Brantley's I think Brantley's going to be better for the next three years, just pure hitting-wise. If he stays healthy. If he stays healthy. McCutcheon is durable. All that fun stuff. It's a three-year deal, between $45 and $50 million.

No one really knows yet. With an option for the fourth year, I don't think they'd pick up that option. I wonder if it's a buyout. I wonder if the five is $3.15 a year. $3.45 and then the buyout's $5 million. That could make some sense. And I don't totally hate it. They have stupid money, like we've said. They want to spend it. It doesn't hurt at all.

If he... What is considered a success in this Pekuchin deal? Is it three years of batting $250 with a $350-some OBP? I would take that. 15 homers a year? Yeah. And good outfield defense? Yeah, assuming he doesn't break down in his defense OVP. I would take that. 15 homers a year. Yeah. And good outfield defense.

Yeah, assuming he doesn't break down in his defense craters, because that would be bad. What are you going to do with him? I can't see that really happening. No, I think he'll be fine. So I saw a tweet. I forget who it was, but one of the baseball insiders out in Vegas today said he was looking for – oh, it was Jeff Passan, I think.

McCutcheon, apparently his agent was looking for 580, which is what Lorenzo Cain got last year. So if that's what he was looking for, and they got him for 350, I guess they're overpaying per year, just based on that. But I still think there's good baseball left in him. And it's funny, because two years ago,

it looked like he was going to fall faster, because he fell really fast from MVP to where he is now. But he hasn't keep falling. He's kind of leveled off. He's good. He is good. So yeah, I do think it's a good move. I think it's an important move culture-wise, defense-wise.

It'll make the defense way better. And again, if they don't add anyone else this offseason, the team is already four wins better. Probably five wins better, no matter what. When they added Segura, I think Klintak said in his press conference, this just makes us three or four wins better.

Just on Segura, based on what they had at shortstop last year. And you're factoring Hoskins out of left, moving him back to first. This makes them a couple wins better in whatever outfield spot he goes to. Now, you think Hap's probably the next domino to fall. A pitcher. And it feels like I really don't want Dallas Keuchel at all. Is it worth getting Keuchel and Britton just to bring us Harper? To have the Boris family there? Is it really worth that? It's hard to

say no. Britton's probably worth it. I think Britton's worth it. Maybe. Maybe. I know you don't love him as much as I do. Keuchel's probably not. Keuchel's definitely not worth it. I would rather have Happ on a two-year deal than Keuchel on a whatever he's going to get. Four-year deal? Yeah, I would too. Happ for the next two years I think is a guy that's going to make every Four-year deal? Yeah, I would too. Happ for the next two years, I think,

is a guy that's going to make every start, have an ERA in the 3-2 to 3-6 range, and his strikeout for nine is in the tens. It goes up now. Every single year. He's still throwing 93. He's still really good. I still like Jay Happ. I wonder by the time this

goes up, by the time people listen to this one, the next domino might fall for the Phillies. And Reese Hoskins just put the popcorn-eating gif up. Did he? Three hours after the McCutcheon deal. Like, come on, man. Something might be happening. If you're Reese Hoskins, right, and you're liking tweets of an hour ago

about Buster Dolney's lineup. With Harper in it. Yeah, that was more than two hours ago. Why are you just putting that out three hours after the McCutcheon deal? Because he's downloading the latest High Hopes and he's waiting for this one. That's a fact. Reese is a big fan. I wonder what the next move is going to be. A free agent pitcher

for the Phillies or a trade? We're getting to the point now they're keeping their options open, Jack, but they have too many players. They're going to have too many players soon. They still have Cesar Hernandez here. I guess he's staying. They still have Michael Franco here. With a broken foot. That came out yesterday, which made sense too because remember how slow he looked? He's a better player than he showed in the second half. Yeah, he's staying. They still have Michael Franco here. With a broken foot. That came out yesterday, which made sense, too, because remember how slow he looked? He's a better player than he showed in the second half.

Yeah, he batted.228 in the second half. He was basically like Odubel's swoon, except it was Cesar. We never saw that before. He's better than he was in the second half. We know that. But they have too many players. They're starting to have too many players. At some point, they can't have a roster that has Nick Williams and Oduble and Mikel and Cesar and still play Scott Kingery.

If they sign one of these big players, they have to make a trade. I wonder if they're going to use the players they have here for pitching. And that might be whatever. So for some reason, Sixto Sanchez started getting dangled out today. Apparently in multiple deals, they've talked about his name. Which is a change of course for them and this this speaks to what you have i when you and i have talked about before is it feels like they're kind of pushing their chips in as if they're going to go try to win next year world series next year yeah you don't trade six of sanchez unless you're getting back a a top top

flight player whether it's a real mudo who i look if i'm being honest i don't want to put six of sanchez in a jt or a real Muto trade. He only has two years left, and catchers age in dog years. He's going to be a first baseman in three years, right? You would think? I think real Muto's amazing. I think he's probably the best catcher in baseball, but is it really worth it? Why wouldn't you just have

Alfaro and trade for Francisco Cervelli? That takes care of catcher. Because they want to win the World Series next year. I know. It's just crazy to me that they're actually dangling 6-0. Could it be a Kluber deal? Would you put 6-0 in a Kluber deal? I'd rather do Kluber because you get him for three years. And he's just better.

Corey Kluber's better at what he does. He's more impactful than getting a Ketcher. If you trade 6-0, you better get something really good back. The fact that they've held him out of other deals— I know. It signals to me that there's something big growing here. I wonder if there's someone we're not thinking about. There has to be.

We know the names that are out there. Realmuto's out there. Kluber's out there. The Bumgarner thing has been out there for a little while. I wonder if there's a player that you and I aren't thinking of. Because he was involved in the Edwin Diaz talks, right? But Edwin Diaz has four years left. I wonder if there's a young

player that we're not thinking of that might be available. Syndergaard? There's three years left. That fits. But I don't think the Mets trade him with the division. I don't agree. And the Mets want to try to win next year, so they're probably going to try to flip Syndergaard to win next year. Is there a player we're not thinking of at third base in the outfield starting pitcher?

It wouldn't be Baumgartner. Because Baumgartner, you don't trade Sixto for one year of Baumgartner. That would be... Makes no sense. Too bad allocation of a Sixto-Sanchez trade would be one real Muto. Two years of a catcher. Two years of a catcher. And listen, he may be great.

He's going to be a first baseman in three years. It's completely pointless. Or a guy on a one-year deal like Madison Baumgartner. You should not have to give up Sixto-Sanchez to get Madison Baumgartner. Who does Klintak going after that we're not thinking of? Maybe a young starting pitcher like you said

Syndergaard more established Controllable asset Yeah A guy that's around 3 or 4 years You can't trade 6-0 for just a year or two

That's silly You are trading 6-0 for a win now move That's the only way you're moving 6-0 Is there any way that they call the Angels and put him in

a Mike Trout offer? But I just don't We've talked about this Yeah they're not gonna It's not gonna cost 6-0's not gonna be in a Trout a Mike Trout offer. But I just don't... We've talked about this. Yeah, they're not going to... It's not going to cost... Sixto's not going to be in a Trout deal. Because Trout's going to control the trade? Trout has a no trade clause.

They have to find a trade that Trout will approve. And they also get a semi-fair return for it. And the Phillies can just say, we're not going to be using Sixto. So we think the next thing is a signing of the pitcher or a trade? I think the next thing is J-Hap. I feel like Hap's a Philly. I wonder if they sign J-Hap and still trade for a pitcher. Would you? I hope so. I don't want to go into next year thinking J-Hap. I feel like Hap's a filly. I wonder if they sign J-Hap and still trade for a pitcher.

Would you? I hope so. I don't want to go into next year thinking J-Hap's my number two. I think in a pinch he could do it, but I would much prefer having like a Bumgarner or a more established two so Hap can kind of settle into a three and not have the pressure of being a number two on a playoff team. Well, that adds to what I was saying before. It just adds to the pitching.

As I said, they have too many players. They have Mikel, they have Cesar, they have Oduble, they have Nick Williams. Would you go three years just to get Jay Happ here? He's 36. I don't think so. He might take it. Apparently, he only has two-year offers out there. Which makes sense.

He's 36. Right. But if they sign Happ and trade for a pitcher, Jack, again, they have too many players. At some point, Matt Klintzak is going to use the on-the-field assets he has right now, forget the prospects, to trade for somebody else. If you add Jay Happ, who goes from the rotation? Who do you want out? Eflin or Velasquez?

Well, I think Eflin's going to be put in a different deal. So you agree with me? He's going to trade some of the players that we've watched last year. Right, right. So maybe, does Eflin Sixto and Nick Williams get you Corey Kluber?

Eflin Sixto and Corey, I think it does. I think it does too. I mean, Corey Kluber is a guy who you put behind Aaron Nola or you put with Aaron Nola. That's the best one

to punch in baseball. Well, Scherzer and Corbin. It's close. And Strasburg. It's close. I actually think Nola Kluber is better. Nola Kluber, I mean, we're talking two-seam fastballs. Well, Scherzer and Corbin. It's close. And Strasburg. It's close. I actually think Nola Kluber is better. Nola Kluber.

I mean, we're talking two-seam fastballs. Yeah. I think it's better than Scherzer-Strasburg. I think it is. I mean, Kluber is still a top-ten pitcher in baseball. Nola became that last year. But again, the thing with that is... There's just no trade I can see for a young, controllable asset.

Like, that you would want to give up... Besides Jose Barrios? Yeah. Jose Barrios? From the Twins? I just wonder what he's thinking. Look, I think the Phillies have done a good job so far. They haven't given up anything that is significant.

The only thing they gave up so far, obviously, was J.P. Crawford. They haven't signed a guy to a bad deal yet. They're doing a good job. And the slate is still blank. They could do anything. Clemson had a really good start. A really good start. I mean, McCutcheon, it may be a little bit of an overpay.

But they're not afraid of that. They've overpaid Santana last year. It doesn't matter about an overpay. You're right. The OBP is exactly the same as Santana's. Higher average. More position of need defensively. Will keep the train moving and again I mean I think

the culture is something that's very very important when it comes to when it comes to building a clubhouse I think I think the Cubs taught us that there was some there's a lot of they factored in culture into every single decision they made the Ashes were the same way and the Red Sox last year I mean that team was tight yeah and the Phillies needed it I mean that they need they need a leader and I think Ruth Hoskins can be the leader

of this team for a long time but McCutcheon helps and I also think it's going to take some pressure off of whoever they sign like with Andrew McCutcheon here he he commands a presence in the clubhouse that it's not all going to be on Machado and Harper to talk after every game right McCutcheon will be that guy yeah all right close your eyes all your eyes. All right. How does this sound to you? Do I have to close my eyes? I don't know. It's up to you. All right.

Doing it. Second base, Cesar Hernandez. Opening day lineup next year. Okay. Second base, Hernandez, shortstop Segura, right field Harper, first base Hoskins, left field McCutcheon, center field Herrera, third base Franco, catcher Alfaro. Listen, man. I had a tweet.

85 games? I had a tweet in August that said they had the deepest lineup in the NL. I'll just retweet that when they do that. That actually would be one of the deepest lineups in baseball. It's a good lineup. It still has high OBP guys until you get to the bottom of the lineup. With Alfaro. But the first five guys are all tough guys to get out.

The one thing it doesn't include is Scott Kingery. Right. I mean, I think... I think he'd play third base pretty quickly over Mikel. You heard Gabe yesterday saying he thinks he could play third base? I know. I still... I think Mikel's gone. Nothing's really shifted me off of that. Do you think they trade

Mikel if they don't get Machado? Mmm... Because then they would have to just slot Kingery there, right? Who else would play third base? Well, if they keep on going that Boris route, Moustakas. Moustakas. He's basically left-handed. I like Jed Lowry.

Moustakas is basically a left-handed Franco. He's not better than Franco. Franco and him are the same player. Yeah, they're the same guy. I don't get the Moustakas thing at all. Another guy that's been floated around, and I just want to address this one because, again, Trevor Bauer seems to be another guy that people want to address this one because, again, Trevor Bauer seems to be another guy that people want to bring here.

You're not putting Sixto Sanchez in a Trevor Bauer deal. He has mentioned many times that he only wants to sign one-year deals and he wants to hop around and pitch on a bunch of different teams. So he has, what, two years left for a free agency? Yeah. So two years of arbitration. He's 27. Obviously he's amazing, but for me, Trevor Bauer is a guy that puts you over the top rather than is a guy to build around for a long time.

Yeah, he also worries me with the way he throws and his mechanics. He reminds me of Tim Lincecum. Come on, it's driveline, bro. And look, Tim Lincecum, I loved him. He was great. And then all of a sudden, one day, Tim Lincecum woke up and he had a bad hip and he couldn't pitch anymore. So I could see Trevor Bauer being pretty similar.

Is Thor going to be a Yankee? Listen, New York Sports Radio will just implode if the Mets trade their most talented pitcher to the Yankees. So I'm rooting for it to happen. All right, sounds good, Joe. Quick emergency podcast. Thanks for joining the IOPs podcast in a pinch. Listen, it was an emergency podcast.

We're both very happy with the Andrew McCutcheon deal, and we'll be back as soon as possible with maybe another podcast. Maybe tonight. Maybeese hoskins is breaking some news and i'll have to do a solo pod at midnight i don't care i'm in for it i'll do as many solo pods as i have to because this is all i care about all-star closer kenley jansen we have a question what's the best podcast of all time? Baseball isn't boring, baby. I'm Rob Bradford, and every single day I'm sitting down with the biggest names to show you this great game is the greatest game.

It's my podcast. It's my passion. It's a cause I started more than two years ago and is now the most prolific national daily baseball pod there is. Another fact, so jump aboard the BIB 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.