High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Maikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez Era is Over and Is His Replacement on the Way?

Episode Date: December 4, 2019

James Seltzer may be sick but he gutted out this podcast along with Jack Fritz as the guys talk about the end of the Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco era, their replacement and more! 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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It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. Jack, I don't feel good, man. Is it because the Michael Franco andanco and cesar hernandez era is over it is not though part of it is that the fact that cesar is just leaving for nothing which is like great that's real useless no i'm sick buddy this is my uh my bloody sock game my flu game wow i mean that's that that's that's a major dedication to the podcast i mean um just let's go inside the podcast real quick james was all set to be like uh no i'm feeling a little sick and i said i said listen we cannot let down the listeners of this podcast i already put out the bat signal last night saying hey we're gonna record a podcast tomorrow night i didn't want

to do that again i didn't want to do that again. I didn't want to lie to the people for two times in three weeks. So, if so facto, James may not make it through this podcast, but we are recording it. Yeah, expect a lot of Jack in this one. This is going to be a Jack-heavy pod. I'm not bringing my A-game, but you're right, Jack. As soon as Jack appealed to me and said, come on, man, high-ups listeners, I said, you're right. as soon as jack appealed to me and said come on man high ups listeners i said you're right this is what we gotta do this is like this is like back in the day when i used to do those solo pods where it was just me talking well that's what's funny is

you might have done that a year ago at this time i was in the hospital waiting for zoe to be born so there's a chance you did a solo pod somewhere around here one year ago jack you were in the hospital for the infamous gene segura trade i guess so was it a year ago well i remember i remember they trade for gene segura and you were in the hospital well there you go it's either that or mccutcheon because i remember i had to do the mccutcheon podcast with jilio um because you was – I don't know if that was when your face got bitten off by a dog. I've had a lot of things happen in the last year to me. It's been a big year for you. It's been a year of change.

And, you know, I think you've really come out strong. I mean, your High Hopes performance has just been okay for the last the last year but you know i'm proud of you a happy one year to zoe is thanks buddy it is tomorrow at the december 4th so we're recording it thursday night the 5th the 3rd so yeah she's a few hours away from being one how great so this is the this this is the zoe seltzer birthday podcast. Hey, look at that. That makes it a lot easier to power through, Jack. Just think, James, 18 years from now, 17 years from now, when you're sending her off to college, you can say,

Hey, listen to this podcast the day before your year birthday. Yes, that is exactly what I'm going to do. How about that? It's a really good send-off. Yeah. She's like what what is wrong with you well a lot yeah do you think your voice is good do you think your voice is going to be as high as it is and so it's a great question um i think so yeah i think it persists jack poor zoe i know poor everybody i mean can we just call it like it is poor everybody poor. Poor High Hopes listeners. Yeah. They've been waiting for your voice

to deepen, bro. Well, I'm sick right now, so I think it's a little deeper because of the sickness. It's good. Yeah. You do sound great sick. Thanks, buddy. You do a great sick vibe. Look at that. How about the Phillies? Should we talk some Phillies?

We could just talk about me being sick for 30 minutes i'll be good well i mean i don't think that people want to listen to that but neither um we sure could if you wanted to um so the cesar hernandez and michael franco era is over um james what are you gonna miss most from the cesar or not not what we you going to miss most from the Cesar? We'll get to that. What is your favorite memory of the Mikel Franco and Cesar Hernandez? It's a great question. It's a great question. I have a few. So of the Franco era, one thing that sticks out to me is when you were still on Mikel Island

and I was yelling at you and giving you crap for it, Mikel Island, and I was yelling at you and giving you crap for it. And then to eventually see you have to swim away as the island continued to submerge underwater. That was a pretty great moment for me. Yeah, so I'm not going to make it about me and you. No. So, honestly, it's pretty crazy that we're at this point with Mikel and Cesar. Like, if you were to tell me, you know, Cesar Hernandez has been at Philly since 2013.

You know, and I remember the days of, like, Utley or Hernandez. Like, remember how awful that was? Because, like, Chase was obviously hurt and wasn't the same player. But Cesar was objectively the better player at the time. But benching Utley to play Cesar was, like, it just hurt my heart. at the time but benching Utley to play Cesar was like that just hurt my heart um and like Cesar Cesar and Michael Franco have played so many games together as Phillies and it was such a horrible period of baseball they're gonna be like we're me and you are gonna be doing this podcast in like 2040 and we're gonna be like oh remember the Cesar Hernandez and Michael Franco era? I feel bad for us in 2014. I know, but, like, that's four seasons together.

You know, like, four full seasons of Michael Franco and Cesar Hernandez, and it's just over. And, like, it's crazy. That's the thing about baseball. Like, 162 games a year. Obviously, they don't play every game, but you're pretty much with these guys through most of their their 20s and it's now coming to an end and i mean i'm glad it's coming to an end i'm like i'm not gonna miss those guys but it's just crazy if you would have told me

in 2015 after the um after the yankee series that michael franco would just be released by the team at age 26 i would have said you were crazy i I mean, do you remember that Yankees series? Oh, my God. I mean, there was a time where we thought Franco was the future. I mean, that was the guy. That was the guy who we thought was going to be a centerpiece for this team. He was never the same guy after those scumbags down in Arizona broke his hand his rookie year.

Like, after they broke his hand his rookie year, Michael Franco was like. That's a take I have not heard yet. Well, do you remember? I mean, they broke his hand his rookie year michael franco it's a take i've not heard yet well do you remember i mean they broke his hand i remember how awesome he was when he first came up yeah of course it means it was the second biggest broken hand since at least in 2007 wow it it literally altered a guy's career um the michael franco um broken hands so they're done um it's i can't believe they couldn't get anything for them in a trade well i know they Michael Franco, broken hands. So they're done. I can't believe they couldn't get anything for them in a trade. Well, I know they could have obviously gotten some for Cesar a couple years ago.

I mean, he's like a top 10 second baseman in baseball. And I think the thing that's most frustrating is, like, he put up back-to-back three war seasons. He's a top 10 second baseman in the sport. He's making nothing. And at that point, like, phillies weren't going anywhere and like it was a perfect time to just sell high on cesar and try to get something back i don't know why they thought that a that they were close to competing or b why they thought that he was going to be a major part of the next great phillies team

especially when he's a guy in Scott Kingery that was a second baseman coming up through the farm system. Like, it's just surprising, and it's pretty bad mismanagement that they couldn't get anything for Cesar Hernandez. And now they're letting a valuable player just go for absolutely nothing. It's once, I mean, another part of the glowing Matt Klintzak resume. Yeah, honestly, with every day that passes, and I know that it's been a while,

but I feel more and more less confident in this front office's ability to make the right decisions. I mean, that's like easy stuff, you know, evaluating, all right, is this guy a part of our long-term, you know, core? Is he going to be here for a long time? No. Does he have value? Yes. Okay. Let's trade him. Like it, it's not hard. Like this is not something that should be a difficult decision. I'm, it's like, again, look, we're talking about Cesar Hernandez. We're talking about getting a B level prospect back at best, or maybe a middle reliever or something, whatever. Like you're not talking about getting a massive haul back, but it's just another example of mismanagement. And

we've seen so much of that from this front office. And again, it's a small scale example of it, but it just, it's just another nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned in terms of my belief in whether Matt Klintak can do this job. I mean, that's really how I feel about it. Well, to me it showed that Matt Klintak probably wasn't ready for the job.

Like a GM that has done this before knows when to sell high on players. And I think that's just showing the showing the youth of Matt Klintak. And maybe it had to do with they didn't really have an analytics department built yet. They didn't know what they were doing from that standpoint. Again, this is kind of why I give Klintak a little bit of a leash, is that when he got here, there was absolutely nothing here. I mean, the farm system was meh. They had no analytics department.

They had no infrastructure because they were not a modern baseball team when it took over, and that was just in 2015. So it's not really an excuse. I still think that if he was a competent you know, a competent GM at that point, I think it says our trade would happen. But again, like for them to hold onto him for this long, not be able to get anything for him leak that they were going to get

something for him for the last three years. And then ultimately just have to release them. That is pretty gross mismanagement of your, of your roster. So I don't know. And, and like Michael Franco, again, I think they held onto him another at least a year too late.

But I guess with Franco, the case to keep him was always if someone else figures him out, he's going to be a really, really good player. So, I get it from that standpoint. But if you think that, you should be able to get something for him in a trade. But whatever. They're gone. And hopefully, they don't make that mistake for you know a long time yeah yeah let's just you know hope next time's better i think that's a good philosophy out here yeah just blind faith i'm gonna close my eyes and keep going forward so what was your favorite moment of either the cesar or i mean pretty much the same

cesar the longest tenured philly which is crazy to think about on the way out the door does cesar even have a moment no no i mean i really enjoyed that lead-off walk that one time that he got i mean that was that was stellar i did really enjoy the uh opening day home run against the reds a couple years ago yeah i honestly you know what's funny is when i think of cesar i think more about like the period this past season for two weeks when he forgot how to field that sticks that sticks out to me where he kept going down to his knee to field balls that was weird dude he he forgot how to play second base for two weeks yeah it it was like everything that he had

been taught with baseball he just forgot how to do and then and then and then he was fine like he was perfectly fine the rest of the season it was just it was it was developing into markel faults right in front of our eyes are you gonna miss the walk-up song jack i'm guessing that's gonna be tough oh my god the walk-up song it's so awful. I literally think you can attribute the September collapses the last two seasons to them being sick and tired of the Cesar Hernandez walk-up song. Like, it is such a depressing song that, like, no one would be excited. Like, even the pitchers are like, well, I guess I'll just throw

five miles an hour softer and tear up. And Cesar couldn't even hit him after that. He couldn't square up pitchers who were literally crying on the mound. So I do think that was a good time to move on when he could not face the pitchers that had tears in their eyes anymore. But it was – I just – for a guy that's played as many games as he has for the Phillies for four seasons, going on five or whatever back in 2014 when he played like 66 games,

to not have like anything crazy happen that's like, oh, I remember Cesar Hernandez. Yeah, it's a great point. All I remember from Cesar is like, oh, he was pretty good for two seasons. And he was able to – Got on pace. Yeah, cool. Yeah.

Like I'll remember like in the Cesar metrics community, he was able to – Got on base. Yeah, cool. Yeah. Like, I'll remember, like, in the sabermetrics community, he was pretty good. And that's about it. Yeah. That's literally about it. Like, Franco's got a bunch of moments, which is funny. You know, I mean, he's got a few walk-offs. That one against the Marlins sticks out.

That walk-off homer with the helmet came off. And he's also – I mean, like, you can think of more than a handful of really nice defensive plays that Franco made too. Those ones were the ones range far to the, you know, in the outfield territory at their base and do the hop throw. He's good at that. Yeah, the ones that he

can get to, he was very good at. Yeah, exactly. He couldn't get to anything else. He did his best. I mean, my favorite Franco, well, it'll always be the Yankees weekend in 2015. I mean, the Yankees weekend in 2015 is single-handedly the reason why I never got off of Mike Alfranco until the bid round. Because I was like, this guy was unbelievable. Even though today's Mike Alfranco ate that Mike Alfranco, that should have been a tip-off for you.

Yeah, that is definitely true. have been a tip-off for you but you know yeah that is that is definitely true um end of an era um an awful era of philly's baseball michael franco is he is he more disappointing than don brown no i mean no don brown was a top three or four prospect in baseball some places brown was don brown was right behind Trout and Harper. I would say no. I would say Don Brown was more disappointing. Well, I don't know, man. Mike Schmidt had him as an MVP candidate the last three

off seasons. That's a very good point. And one member of this podcast that maybe was before this podcast existed said that he could have been Adrian Beltre. And I believe that was you. Yeah, right.

You know me, vaunted Franco supporter until the end. Always believed. And I just can't believe that they just simply non-tendered the best eight-hole hitter in the history of baseball. And I also can't believe that the Reds overpaid for a worse. Four for 64. Yeah, for a worse Mike Alford. Yeah, well, same guy.

Same guy. Let's be fair. Same guy. All right, well, let's get to some of that because I think I know you feel very strongly, and certainly the whispers, the news seems to be going that way, but you think Didi's going to be the shortstop on this team? Yeah, I think it's bordering on Locke.

I feel really, really confident that Didi's going to be the shortstop on this team. And once you saw the stories starting to come out about Gene Segura and they don't believe that he can play shortstop anymore and I mean it makes sense he was getting on the on the pudgier side at the end of last season and he just wasn't able to get to the same amount of balls as he was in in the years prior I guess and really Gene Segura's best position probably is second base I mean he just has you know more range from that position and his his offensive profile

actually profiles pretty well for a second baseman like if you're adding a uh like gene segura was obviously an all-star and uh you know a consistent 300 hitter like you're adding that to second base that's that's pretty good if you can put dd at shortstop and dd is obviously an unbelievable like a really, like he is, I've been watching a lot of Didi the last couple days, just because, like, I don't know, this is what I do. We know. He just, it'll be like watching, it's not the same thing,

but he reminds me a lot of how J-Roll used to play the position, where it was like really smooth smooth gets to everything every throw was just right on the money you never have to worry about a ball like j-roll every single j-roll throw was like right at the chest and watching dd play shortstop it's like it's like seeing a taller j-roll um so i'm excited i'm excited from that standpoint um the offensive stuff, I'm a little worried about. Just because, like, if you look at his expected stats versus his actual stats, like his expected slugging, his expected WOBA, there was a big differential between his actual WOBA

and his actual slugging percentage. And when you're leaving a ballpark like Yankee Stadium, which is obviously a lefty haven, and it's not like Citizens Bank Park isn't, I just worry what we're getting from an offensive side. I would be thrilled if for the next two seasons, not sure about the third season, but at least the next two seasons,

if I can get 270 and 25 home runs like that's that's what they need from dd gregorius and i'm not totally sure he can do that now it is nice that in 2017 he did have way better road splits and home splits which is interesting because in 2019 it flipped, or 2018 it flipped, and he had better, obviously he had better home splits than road splits, but 2017 he had another good offensive year, and it was better road splits than home splits, which is a good thing to see. It's good that he didn't just crush at Yankee Stadium and suck everywhere else. So that's good. um that's good getting segura off of shortstop is good um i think they want to trade segura and and just put kingery at second base if they could um but i just think that segura is gonna

be a tough contract to trade at this point i mean 14 million for the next three seasons um but as a second baseman like i'm kind of just fine with it i've kind of just you know reserved that he's going to be our second baseman next year. So I'm excited about Didi. I think we're going to love Didi Gregorius as a baseball city. I've been talking to my Yankees fan friends in the last couple days trying to get a gauge on Didi, and they're all like, you're going to love him.

He's just a great clubhouse guy. Joe Girardi was talking today, I guess they had something at Citizens Bank Park, and Girardi listed off four qualities about Didi. Left-handed power, outstanding defense at shortstop, strong work ethic, and he's really important for clubhouse culture. I'm excited to have another guy like that. I feel like it's adding another Andrew McCutcheon. I'm excited for the another guy like that. I feel like it's like adding another Andrew McCutcheon. So I'm excited for the D.D. Gregorius era.

Yeah, I am too. I'm not – I think he's a nice player. I don't think he's a superstar. Obviously, you know, I don't think he's going to get paid superstar money or anything like that, but I think he's a nice player. You know, I think he's an upgrade. I think, like you said, for me, the biggest thing is getting Segura off short. I mean, that's such an important defensive position,

and Segura's just not good at it. So, you know, I feel the same way as you do about that. And also, look, Didi's someone who has consistently brought it in the playoffs as well. It's a small sample size, but has been a star in the playoffs. And given the opportunity, I'm never against getting someone like that. I mean, I think it's fair to say he's been the most clutch Yankee shortstop in the last 25 years. Oh, I don't even know if there's a number two, right? I mean, he's just one and then, you know, a way ways down. There's been an obvious hole at yeah the yankees i mean i mean not that

that other shortstop could ever get to a hole um but that that unanimous hall of famer who looks like he's running in quicksand um that that slapped slapped singles to right field with 3,000 hits. You know, I think it's definitely fair to say he is the most clutch Yankee shortstop in the last 25 years. That's good work right there. That's well done by you. Yeah, I'm in on Didi. I think it's an upgrade.

Well, and, like, with Didi, he is the perfect stopgap for Bryson Stott. Like, Stott should be ready in two to three years, and then he can just come in. It's a perfect segue. You know, Didi's not so unbelievable that, you know, you're not going to, like, in three years you're going to be dying to keep him. Like, Stott will be ready to go in those two to three years and he can just assume the shortstop role he's he's the he's the perfect stop gap for for this team at this

moment so um it's not happening yet but it like the reds feel like they're out of it now the brewers are pretty much out of it now it seems like um and like it's like down to the phillies or yankees it seems like but it seems like the the dd thing could happen either this week or at the winter meetings next week yeah i'm with you in the sense that i think it's absolutely going to happen there's just too much smoke there to to not have some fire to it and it is interesting uh all the connections to gerardi players that we've heard i know i know the dd thing dellon batantis austin rom that we've heard. I know the Didi thing, Delon Batantis, Austin Romine. We've heard a few names of guys who played for Girardi.

What do you make of that? Do you think that this is something where Girardi actually has input, or do you think it's something where there are players that the Phillies were thinking about targeting anyway, and they went to Joe, and Joe gave them a ring endorsement or what? Because it is interesting. Yeah yeah it's just funny like it's not like it's not like jim schwartz having to come in and teach a new defense to where it's like oh you'll go grab you know i need my guys i need my guys like to run to run your system like it's not it's not like that you know it's not like

oh we need to bring in this guy and run gerardi's system it's baseball um but I do think that I do think in you want to develop a clubhouse culture right from the jump and by bringing in guys that have kind of played under Girardi uh I think it does help from a clubhouse standpoint when you're coming from Gabe Kapler. And if you're a younger player coming into a Girardi clubhouse and you have Didier Correus there, you have Austin Roman, you have guys who – and Delham Tans is like guys that have played under him. You can go to those guys and be like, hey, what is Girardi like? What does it mean when he does this? I just think it adds more comfortability because, I mean,

players are going to want to talk to players if they're having trouble. Or not trouble, but if they have questions, they don't want to go to the manager and, you know, come in from that standpoint. So I think it just adds more to the clubhouse of, like, what does this mean when he does this? What is he like? How can I help stick out to the

new manager, at least for the first couple of years, not one year that Girardi is here. So I just think it's from that standpoint. And Girardi, I think he also wants guys that he can trust. I mean, he, he, the Tantus flourished under Joe Girardi turned into one of the best relievers in the sport. He knows how to use Dylan Batances. He knows where he can trust Dylan Batances and what kind of ball game he can use Dylan Batances in. He knows that Austin Romine would be a solid guy behind the dish. And Didi, he knows, will be Didi.

So I think it gives comfortability from the clubhouse and also the manager. All right, Fritz. More free agents have out there. Nothing specifically linked to the Phillies, It gives comfortability from the clubhouse and also the manager. All right, Fritz. More free agents have out there. Nothing specifically linked to the Phillies, though. It does appear that Zach Wheeler already getting an over $100 million offer. Where are you at with Wheeler, Bumgarner, kind of the lower tier? Obviously, not much has moved on the Cole Strasburg front or the Rendon front, though it does seem like the Rangers apparently out in front there,

but who knows. Where are you at with the guys we talked about last time, the more likely options for this Phillies team? Yeah, I thought the Phillies would be more in on Wheeler, and I'm a little surprised that they're not. I am pretty glad that they're probably not going to be the team that's going to give him 150 me too yeah like I like Zach Wheeler uh I don't like him for 115 million dollars like

last year when Corbin got that contract I at least knew that he was coming off a season where he figured it out he figured out what he wanted to do from a slider usage standpoint um so when when Corbin signed that i was like oh well at least i know he'll be good for at least three or four years of that deal before year five and six with wheeler i'm not even sure he'd be that good right now and then you factor in the injuries and and all that stuff and i'm i'm just pretty glad i don't have to talk myself into zach wheeler staying healthy and you know he here's the thing that always worried me about Wheeler was that his stuff is he's so good. Like stuff wise, mechanics, movement, percentiles of all his pitches.

And he throws like five or six pitches. He should be better than he is. And there's clearly something that is off there. Like Wheeler should be dominant, and he's just never been dominant. And to give $115-ish plus whatever million dollars to an unproven guy, that's just not great team building. The problem is the Phillies need starting pitching like everyone in the world needs oxygen. And they're probably going to have to pay now for prior success in a guy like Madison Baumgartner or Cole Hamels.

The list goes on and on. It's almost like I would rather try would rather try to make like an interesting trade than sign well i guess hamels depends on the money like we've said we'd be fine if they gave him like 224 i guess at this point which doesn't look like it's gonna happen at this point but sure which is which is crazy but i would i would almost rather trade for a pitcher that still is either at his level or has another level rather than go after these guys, which I just feel like we're getting another version of Arrieta. And Baumgartner, I will definitely talk myself into Madison Baumgartner

if they sign him. If they sign him, it just feels like it doesn't feel like they're that in on Cole Hamels. It's weird how, to me, it's weird how to me it's weird how inactive it seems like they are on the starting it's so weird man because they need to they they have to make moves what are they waiting for like what is going on here well i mean i don't know i i don't care that they that it might take a little while like i'm sure they're in and they know what i don't care about it taking a while i just feel like they don't they've not earned the benefit

of the doubt from me that oh they're they're smart they're evaluating the market they've got their plan like i don't think they do i have no faith in them to make the right decision so why am i gonna like i want action at this point like i want to see something happen i want you to bring me a player who i could say all right i like that now i'm gonna give you another chance because right now i don't believe in this front office at all so you want to see yeah i i get it from the standpoint of it i'm not sure what the philly's plan is like is there i guess their plan is to sign dd and then just have king or like it feels like they don't even know what they really want to do yet. I don't know.

It's really – Well, that's great. It doesn't feel like they know what they want to do. I know. It took them until 8 o'clock to decide if they wanted to non-tender Michael Franco and Cesar Hernandez. It's unbelievable. What took them so long to do that?

I don't know. Everyone in the world knew they were going to non-tender those guys. Like, what are you doing? Yeah, I know. But I don't know. You know me. There's a part of me that always believes. I know it.

I believe. I know. I don't. I so don't. I just don't. I don't believe in these guys. Was it the Klintak quote today that really set you off about Ben not having any meetings set up? Oh, yeah.

I saw that. That was great. That was awesome. Why would you? I mean, they got it. They're fine. They're fine. That's how I feel, Jack.

You just want to move for selfish reasons so we can do an emergency podcast. Well, that too, obviously. But no, seriously, I want, honestly, I want to believe in them, and I don't. And right now the inaction while I see other teams go out and make moves that, sure, there's some that maybe the price is high or whatever, but there are a lot of players who've been snatched up who I would have liked to have on the Phillies, whether it's Chris Martin, whether it's Will Smith, whether it's Drew Pomerantz, whether it's Mike Moustakas.

And I know that the contracts are what they are, but, like, go get me a player I want. Like, I know it sounds silly and simple, but I don't trust this front office. I just don't. I need them to prove it to me, and right now they're not doing anything. That's how I feel. Well, the frustrating thing about the Braves thing uh and i'm i'm fine they didn't go after will smith just because like i didn't want to give a second round pick for a closer

or a third round pick or whatever but like the braves won this offseason and they they knew what they wanted to do and they went and signed chris martin they signed um will smith like that was their direct plan from jump street and that should make braves fans feel better and with us it's like i don't know are we gonna like dd's a move are we gonna overpay for madison bumgarner are we gonna it's like there's so much hat like so much things going on in the air there's have so much things they've got to jumble around, but they also have to assemble a roster that has to be ready to win next season. The more you talk, the more I get depressed.

Sorry. Whoops. That's what you get for forcing me to do the sick pot. What do you expect? Sick James is bringing down the whole room. I just want to go to sleep, Jack. That's all I want to do is crawl into bed and die.

That's what I want to do right now. It's 845. And don't talk about the Phillies offseason like that. Oh, Jack. They'll be fine. Yeah. Your leg's sipping tea. Chilling.

It's good. They'll be fine. Okay, okay. Do I sound confident? You sound so confident. It's really, your confidence is infusing confidence into me, Jack. I'm in, I believe. Thank you.

I don't. So what else you got? What's on your mind tonight, otherwise? There's a lot of weird stuff that's going on like like there's so many think pieces around trades right now um i don't know if you saw the one that the passing one well there's that but there's that but this was this is on black friday um where mlb.com put together uh seven blockbuster trades for Black Friday or whatever. And they had a Phillies trade in there, and it was Francisco Lindor for Alec Baum and Gene Segura.

And they had – So ridiculous. I will drive to Cleveland right now and bring Frankie back with me. Like, really? Sorry, Alec. I mean, I like you and all, but really? And they have the Phillies saying no.

Which is absurd. It just, it declares, it destroys all credibility for that article. Period. It's done. I know. It's embarrassing. I'd really want Francisco Lindor. Me too. Me too. I want him so too. I want him so bad.

I want him so bad. Yeah. So, I mean, that was weird. And then the passing article today was really interesting. Had a lot of thoughts on it. I mean, there's a lot of players available in the Phillies. I would just like to see them get creative. And there's creative moves to be made out there for sure.

Like, there's there's creative moves to be made out there um for sure like there's just there's salary dump potential i mean there's there's trades for i mean they've they've been linked to whitmerryfield for a couple years there's you know big name guys that can get in on on frankie lindor and and mookie and chris bryant like there's just there's so much stuff that they can do and i just have this sinking feeling that it's going to be like Didi, the Tansys, Baumgartner, and like, that's it. I just, I have all these hopes of like a really funky, fun trade for an upside guy or taking a shot on one of the stars or, or something like that and in my gut i just think they're gonna play it safe take dd uh take patantis sign a big pitcher and and like

maybe sign another starter or just rely on spencer howard like i just i would love for them to do something cool and they're certainly cool moves to be made. I just don't see them doing it. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's exactly where I'm at. That's literally where I'm at. You just basically said what I've been saying. Now the winter meetings are next week, and this could all change.

And I cannot wait for the winter meetings. We know. I think everyone who listens to this podcast knows that you've had that date and I cannot wait for the winter meetings. We know. I think everyone who listens to this podcast knows that you've had that date circled on your calendar. You check it every morning. You're like, ooh, one day closer. Can't wait. Let's go.

Well, it just feels like there's going to be a lot of action this year. It seems like there's been more action so far this offseason than there was last offseason, and that makes me excited. I think there's going to be a big move next week. I hope so, man. Again, like, and that makes me excited. I think they're going to be a big move next week. I hope so, man. Again, like I said, give me something. Just something. All right.

What else? You got anything else in the note bag over there? Well, I feel like we have to talk about this right now. It's not technically in the note bag. Uh-oh. But, James, nappy. Oh, I was hoping we could go with the pod without bringing it up nappy new year oh man

what are you trying to do to me are you like i'm here i'm here i'm gutting it out i feel like death and you bring nap in my face it's's messed up, Jack. Not gonna lie. But just think about this. You know, there's 168 bats that he's gonna have next year. Sweet 090 batting average. It's gonna be great. Just think about that he's gonna be making $135,000 more than Reese Hoskins. thousand more dollars than reese hoskins oh when you're when you're going to bed tonight and you're as sick as a dog yeah and you're thinking about you know your your future salaries and how you're gonna make money just remember and your nap's gonna be making 700 why are you doing this to me

why why i tough it out. I got all I said. I originally was like, I don't want to do the pod night. Can we do it tomorrow night? And Jack's texting me sad faces and people need it. And I got it up.

And I'm here. I'm doing it when all I want to do is be in bed. And you're needling me? Needling? It's my subject. You sound fine. Honestly, you sound good now.

Well, you brought him nap nap it gets me all fired up he's back that guy i hate him on the same day that the phillies signed oh that's a great golf on the same day as the phillies signed jim tomei back in the day, they also brought in Andrew Knapp for one more year. Say it with me, James. One more year. One more year. Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Don't test me. I will hang up on you right now.

Alright. Now the bad is out of the way. Please. What else you got? Can I go to bed? Nope. I'm going to keep you forever. I just want to go to bed. I would like to congratulate former Philly Greg Jeffries because he is a movie star. Was he in The Irishman I saw, right, or something like that? Yeah, yeah.

John Stolz pointed it out on Twitter because I was watching The Irishman, and now you know me, I think all movies are terrible. Twitter. I was watching The Irishman. Now you know me. I think all movies are terrible. I'm shocked you watch The Irishman. Was it three hours and 40 minutes? Three hours and 40 minutes is too long for you. Yeah. I like being trendy.

That's good. I like being up to date on modern things. Once I heard it was set in Philadelphia, I was all in. Now, my big flaw with the movie was that they didn't have any Philadelphia accents in it. Yeah, that's an issue. And I really wanted to hear some Philly accent. See De Niro bust it out. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. De Niro being like, yay, Fowler. yeah yeah yeah yeah then you're gonna yay foul um um i was also i was also amazed at uh the ability to just you know shoot bang bang dead like it was very very quick work by rob so what was your overall takeaway without spoiling it for anyone including me who has not seen it um i don't like movies but it was a pretty good it was a pretty good movie ah that's a ringing endorsement from you well uh that's like a ringing endorsement

i like joe pesci me too joe pesci's great i'm happy he's back i thought he was dead he's not yeah beautiful thing yeah um i thought i thought i thought his last movie was Home Alone, honestly. Wow. You missed a few along the way. I met Greg Jeffries once. Nice. Well, Greg Jeffries was in a small scene in the movie where he was like, De Niro's watching the Phillies play. And again, didn't have a thick Philly accent, which is disappointing. And I thought it was John john cruck i thought it looked

more cruckish than greg jeffries ish um but congrats to greg jeffries on being in the irishman and also i'm in on more movies being on netflix maybe i would turn back into a movie guy if modern movies were on netflix i think there go. Look at you while they're doing it. That's good. Greg Jeffries, you think he was a dick or a good guy? Greg Jeffries? I have no idea. Take a guess. Good guy. He was a really good guy. He was super, super nice

when I met him. Super nice guy. Now I can sleep tonight. What else you got? The Phillies. What else are you going to keep me awake with here? This is really, really important. This is so not going to be important. The Phillies claimed Trevor Kelly off a waiver.

Why are you doing this to me? From the Red Sox. Can I get a bad man? What are you doing? No, this is important. This is important. Oh, God. Trevor Kelly, he had like a six plus era

in the in the in the big leagues last year for the red sox so i honestly i'd never watched him pitch before um so i went on baseball savant and just started watching some tape and i finally And I finally came to the realization after watching about six clips that Trevor Kelly is the human embodiment of how Jack Fritz thought he was going to make it. stole my idea of being a crossfire three-quarter arm slot guy that was just pretty much fastball slider except trevor kelly is doing it at 88 89 with pretty good rise to his fastball on a decent slider i was trying to do it at like 80 to 82 um so a difference. I thought if I ever was going to make it to the big leagues, I was going to do it in a gimmicky way. Trevor Kelly is fulfilling my dream.

It's awesome, man. It's great stuff. You done? I'm glad that it's Trevor Kelly and not Ty Kelly. There you go. I'm not a big Ty Kelly fan. Mostly because I hate the name Ty. It's just an awful name. I'm sorry if anyone listening

is named Ty, but it's a rough name. TY looks like thank you. It's just not a good name. Sorry. Poor Ty Daubert. Poor Ty, what's his name? Burrell. Poor Ty Wiginton. Yeah! How about Ty? I own Ty Wiginton in Yeah! How about Ty?

I own Ty Wigginton in fantasy a couple times. All right. And I'll say, oh, I want Tywon Walker. That's one of my... Okay. I want Blake Trinan. Yeah, I want Blake Trinan. I want Blake Trinan, too.

Yeah, I'd take Tywon Walker. Why not? And my final thing here in the Jack Fritz mailbag is the Jack Fritz official trade of the week. Oh, yes. I know the trade, but I'm excited to get it out there. You couldn't wait. Jack came in and said, I got the trade, but I can't wait. I'm so excited to tell you something.

I'm telling you now. Yes. So I am trading. Well, I'm not trading anything. The Rays are trading me Kevin Kiermaier and one of Shane Baz, Matthew Liberatore, or Brent Honeywell. And obviously they're going to have to give up something better than nothing to get either Liberatore or Honeywell. I think Liberatore is pretty much untouchable.

Yeah, you're not getting Liberatore in that situation. I don't think. Unless you give up something real valuable i know the idea of the trade being to take on kiermeier's salary and get something back for doing that is the idea right right and the rays have so much like even if it's not even if it's not shane baz or brent honeywell it could be you know it could be yoni's cherry cherenos uh i love i love i think it's yanni trinos but either way i love that guy he's one of those guys you watch here's like oh like he's he's got stuff like he's good i'm a fan and even it's not that it's like you know i i would still

love to to try to get jose alvarado like there's just there's they have so many guys that would be like like diego imagine diego casio oh my goodness like like dude trevor richards is like pretty decent he barely even sniffs their starting rotation like it could be something as small as that but i I'm shooting big picture, baby. And if I can get my hands on a Shane Baz, a Brent Honeywell, like they love Brent Honeywell, but he's had injury concerns. And with the Phillies and ability to really develop a starter outside of

Spencer Howard, if I can give up, like I would honestly, I would put Haisley in a deal to get back a Shane Baz or a a brent honeywell like i want another frontline starter and i think those guys could develop into frontline starters and it's something the phillies should be all over i mean i don't like the rays are so cheap that i don't think they're pumped to be paying kevin kiermeier who's really not any good anymore um 12 million dollars for the next two seasons.

But it's just like, first off, there's so many guys in the bullpen that are interesting. They have so many prospects that are interesting. They have so many guys. And I would love to see them take advantage of the Kevin Kiermaier situation. Even if they don't put Haseley in a deal or whatever into a straight salary dump, Kevin Kiermaier could at least be a fourth outfitter

that's a really, really good defensive player. So that's my trade of the week. Please do it. It's something a smart team would do. And as always, I just want the Phillies to be a smart team, James. I do too. I don't think they are, but I love that idea, and they probably won't do it.

All right, I'm going to bed. You have a final thought, and if you do, quick that was it that was it okay good good my final thought happy birthday zoe i love you you're an awesome one-year-old uh i'm so going to bed uh i love everyone who listened to this podcast thank you for gutting it out with me like i gutted it out jack whatever all right he's fed some he's fed some salt, so we'll talk to you later. 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,

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