High Hopes: A Phillies Podcast - The Phillies Traded for Gregory Soto Emergency Pod

Episode Date: January 8, 2023

James Seltzer and Jack Fritz react to the Phillies trading for Gregory Soto. Presented by Miller Lite. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is the High Hopes Podcast. High Hopes! It's a bunch of baseball nerds talking about the Phillies. On Radio.com and Sports Radio 94 WIP. Yo! It is another edition of the High Hopes Podcast. A Sunday morning we have to record because the Phillies got Gregory Soto podcast. What up, buddy?

Gregory Soto. We got a dude out there, bro. I know. They got Gregory Soto. Automatically becomes the best Soto in all of baseball. A hundred percent. I can't think of another one that, that even compares to him.

So, you know, we had been talking to the last go podcast of like, all right, they got Kimbrough and he started going through it. And it's like, yeah, Kimbrough strength.

It's literally how he ended the last pod. I was like, Jack, this is the one area I'm like, do they have enough here? Yeah. And then I guess Dave was like, Hey, I one area i'm like do they have enough here yeah and then i guess dave was like hey i listened to the pod i kind of agree like i i kind of agree so um i just

love that absolutely no one cares about the eagles clinching the one seed today uh gregory soto is at the top of everyone's brain um and james the stat was thrown out yesterday by uh so good 81 percent of left-handed through 100 mile an hour fastballs last year were thrown by jose alvarado and now gregory soto um you know it's so funny james because i believe that the the foundation of this podcast for the first three four years that we did it was just give you guys throw hard and have like ridiculous stuff. And now you start going through the entire bullpen and it's just stuff on stuff, on stuff, slider, cutter, 98, 99.

And it's like, what universe? Like, dude, three years ago we were watching Mike Moran and like Blake Parker split their way to like whatever we have come so far. And Gregory Soto. I can't wait, dude. I can't wait. And, you know, we talked last podcast about I kind of felt like they're going to name Kimbrel the closer. This this signing just confirms that they're going to go with whatever works every single night, you know, like whether it's.

Well, they can, they can, they have, they actually can. Yeah. They got like matchup, like guys now, like you can really like play it by what you need to do and do it the right way. Like it's, it's a really well put together pen where the, all the kinds of strengths and weaknesses work together. You know, arms, all of it. And you know the –

Lefties, Jack. We got like three lefties who we feel good about. What the hell is that, dude? I mean, you want to talk about living in an alternate universe. Yeah. We're at a point now where let's say Sir Anthony or Kimbrell pitch two days in a row and it's like oh we're going for three straight wins like would hate to lose the momentum this is okay let's just throw gregory soto and close out the game you know 30 saves last year no big deal well because like because of the last couple

years it was like oh my god sir anthony gets hurt like we have no one that can get the last three inning three outs of a ball game you know and we we would have to like go with whoever to close out a game and now we're sitting here there's four guys that you could have close that close out a game um it's insane and i mean on paper it's far and away the best bullpen of my life you know i mean obviously the the 08 bullpen they ended up being the best bullpen that we've seen um but just stuff wise just talent wise just um depth wise i mean it's hard to fathom james they're they're they're top seven right now this is before even getting to the interesting names is sir anthony soto alvarado kimbrough

baladi brogdon strong i mean i trust every single one of those guys like i trust every dude i can't any guy comes in i'm like yeah they can get outs for me like what is that jack when we never mike moran was throwing 60 mile per hour curveballs jack like we were sitting there like what what am i you hated him that made you so sad mike moran being on the phillies like broke your heart and soul like that was the exact uh like symbol of all that was wrong with the Phillies at that moment for you, Mike Morin. Well, it's because he just said nothing. Like he just had, he had, he had no stuff. And that's what I hated.

I hated guys that didn't have stuff, but like, I'm looking over it, James. I mean, Tommy Hunter, Blake Parker, Adam Morgan, Brandon Workman, David Hale, Ramon Rosso, Heath Hembree, David Phelps, D'Alesi Guerra, who ended up being pretty good last year, Reggie McClain, Trevor Kelly, Austin Davis, Marisa Oliveira. Austin Davis. That was our lefty. We had Austin Davis coming.

Austin Davis. I mean, think about it. Think about how far we've come. You want to talk about things that we've deserved, things that we've earned, like things that we've gone through. Oh, we've earned, buddy. We've earned.

We've earned this. We had the single worst bullpen in the history of baseball. There was, like, the Phillies have a lot of records for the worst thing. The most losses. I feel like they've had the most errors. They've had like the least inning started by starters or whatever. And here we are. And they've sort of built a super ish bullpen.

Yeah, dude. And that's the thing too, is coming off the world series and seeing how that played out. Like one of the biggest, if not the biggest reason the Astros beat the Phillies was because of the bullpen. It was the best bullpen we've seen. And they just shut it down time and time again when they need to that three, two game, obviously the no hitter of the last game. Like it was just over. It was other than game one. It was over when they went to the pen and man, to your point, I point i honestly i like it's hard for me to believe that this bullpen is this good jack i'm so used to to not trusting guys coming

in from the pen on a consistent basis and to your point like there's seven deep and that's even before we get into all the guys you talked about in the last one with the drew bakers and the griff mcgarry's and all these other options to go up and down, which you'll need, you'll need depth. But all of a sudden, they have dudes, they've got depth, they've got high end. It's a really well put together bullpen. You've got three, four righties you can count on.

You've got three lefties you can count on. It's like a really, I can't get over it. I can't get over it. I'm like, it was the one thing I said at the end of last pot. I'm like, look, I feel really good about the starting pitching. Assuming we assume painter is going to be a part of this later. And you think about that and yeah, I could use a little more depth, but you know, they're good there.

We got something there, the lineup. We're going to feel amazing when Harper comes back. But I said to you, I'm like, I look at this bullpen and I worry if they're just a guy or two short, like if they don't have that and you, and you made a great case for the youngsters and how that'll they can cycle guys in and for the first time in a long time we have that but then they just go out and trade for for a guy who is a difference maker and get an end and I know a lot of people have talked about this and it goes to the stat that Suspense Barbecue put out there but like the Phillies were able to fix Jose Alvarado

Jose Alvarado was in the minors last season and then became one of the best relievers in the sport for three months like this is the exact and and look Soto has been way more consistent the last two seasons I know he's got some control stuff but way more consistent than Alvarado is I mean what's the what's the ceiling with this guy if they can get him where they need him to be, it was a masterclass of a move. And again, no offense to the guys we gave up. We love Matty V. Thank you for everything. Nicky Mayton, this fan base loved the guy.

But I mean, they essentially gave up bench players to go get a guy who could be pitching the eighth inning of the World Series for you, Jack. That's the kind of trade they made. And that's what makes it so surprising to me. Because if you're the Dodgers, why were so surprising to me because like if you're the dodgers why were you not more on this if you're like the the rays in a way and they know but a guy is talented as gregory soto is available how are they not on it and and hey maybe the tigers

value of nick mates on more than we do and i think that if he played every day relations probably mattered too they probably did and they have the guy who was with the tigers last year chad or whatever his name is they've been inside information on the whole thing all that like that stuff matters too we know that no it does um and the brassy talked about that yesterday that he he had some help from from david chad i think his name is um that that he had you know good scouting on these players but even if you that, if you're just looking at pure stuff, if you're just looking at the numbers, you're looking at the spin, you're looking at just the, like, if you're,

if you're one of these teams that has always had these super bullpens, the Astros, the Dodgers, like these teams that we view as smart, you know, you let, you let, you let Dabrowski have a little masterclass for, for Nick Nathan, Matt Veerling, you know, like Donnie Sands like how donnie sands i don't know i don't know it's crazy to me so just inside baseball for everyone out there when jim salisbury and chad jim had the scoop first um jim tweeted out you know hearing a possible gregory soda trade or whatever he said to the phillies or phillies are in on soda or whatever it was jack texted me mick abel like

that's what jack thought we would probably have to give up to get a guy like Soto and they gave up Matt Verley and Mayton and Donnie Sands like we were ready to give up Mick freaking Abel for this guy Jack yeah and maybe though obviously that was an overreaction overreaction but still the point being that I can't believe how much less than Mick Abel it was well because and my thought process was he has three years of control left he's been a back-to-back all-star um he has some of the best stuff in the sport you know those kind of guys just seem to go for they say they do like it's not that i just think those guys go for more than than what they gave up and absolutely i mean

maybe listen um veerling i i can't see an everyday player mayton i i could see an everyday player um donnie sands like is probably a dh more than a catcher like yeah i think they got three major leaguers you're giving up a legitimate like you're giving up a a possible guy that can again you mentioned it they pitch the eighth inning of the world series which is the ninth in the world series yeah you know um he can pitch in these in these big moments because his stuff is that good so i honestly just to hear more flabbergasted than anything that that's all they gave up when i when the whole narrative around the sport is all the dodgers have so much that they can go get anyone uh yankees uh you know these teams they can just go get whoever they want because they have loads

and loads of young talent the phillies were able to get it done for guys who aren't going to start next year. I mean, is it nice to have the right-handed platoon option with Brandon Marsh if he struggles against lefties? I mean, yeah, he's like, what, a 5'19 OPS guy against lefties in his career, so hopefully he can figure that out. But, like, dude, in a perfect world, these guys never play. Exactly. They're bench guys, and they are replaceable like maybe you can't

get the same a young player with the potential the mat and not that it's through the roof but the potential matt veerling has you can get someone to give you more or less what matt veerling would give you this year for cheap like that is not a super expensive guy to add to this team and again to your point like look or like philosophically if a team like the tigers that is clearly not trying to compete this year is not ready to make the the steps or whatever the affiliates are and all that trading a a controllable middle reliever for like a young bat who can turn into something is the right trade it's the right trade they just got the wrong guys they just traded for guys who are like i mean what's feeling ceiling like a uh the eighth hitter in your lineup

maybe and a fine defensive player like what's mayton ceiling like maybe an everyday second baseman like maybe i don't know probably not though like i just and maybe donnie sands that can hit and they they're into that look i i i think the idea of trading control believer for three bats and if one of them hits it was a great trade for the tigers i just don't think they got enough upside on these bats and it's crazy to me to your point that one of these other teams who could absolutely love would love to have gregory soda in their bullpen wasn't willing to give something maybe again beauty's in the eye of the beholder maybe the tigers just really like these guys again maybe dembrowski's connections with the tigers help pump these guys up whatever i don't know't know. But I was shocked, Jack.

I was shocked that that was all they gave up for this guy. Well, apparently they think that Vierling can start at third base. So maybe that's what he did. Is that really? Wow. Okay. Okay. I think the quote was that Vierling and Maitzahn are in the mix

to start at third base. So they got two starting middle infielders there. Wow. Good trade. Good trade, Tigers. Listen, you got to do that that deal anytime of the week now the the very real possibility of this is that you and i are blind and and oh and soto comes in and he's in he's in the minors by the three months like alvarado and then they maybe they fix him

maybe don't yeah yeah but he's been good he's been good the last two years i know that you know there's been a little luck in there and obviously the control stuff. And I will say, and maybe you can speak to this, he doesn't have quite the strikeout rate I would expect for the stuff that he has. But, you know, he's still been really good. I mean, he's at what, 3-3-3-9, 3-2-8 ERA the past year. It's not that that tells the whole story, but it's not like he's been an all-star, you know?

I know he's a tiger, but it's because they need an all-star. But he's been, if nothing else, good at worst the last two years, you know? Well, and and, you know, they have had Joe Jimenez and Alex Lang in the bullpen. And so it has been the guy they put in the ninth inning. So it's not like they have no talent out there to where it's like, well, this is, you know, he's just he's just the only guy that has semi good stuff in the bullpen. Joe Jimenez is good. I was bummed the Braves signed him. I know.

Well, to be fair, like Alex Lang would have just been well he's the yeah yeah he's the guy he's the guy regardless regardless we got gregory soto um but my thing is like in looking through his game logs like he would pretty much go he'd pretty much go a month where it's like zero or one run you know whatever mixed in there and then he'd have like a three run and then he'd have two weeks of good pitching and then the five run and then two weeks of good pitching and a three run that i think kind of jacked the zra up um and then that's just how it goes with bullpen pitchers they don't pitch enough to keep the era down and one kind of blow up you know outing gets it you know into the three, listen, there is a possibility that he comes in, that he can't fix the control, and the strikeout numbers are weird.

You'd think they'd be higher. Weird, right? I was surprised as I was going through all the numbers and all the stats. I was surprised by that. I mean, he's barely one per inning. He's in that range, maybe a little over, but nothing crazy. He's in that range, maybe a little over, but nothing crazy. But look at what Caleb Cotham and Brian Kaplan have done with less talented guys.

Yeah. I mean, Andrew Pilati was a 13K for nine guy last year. And again, look what they did with a similar talent in Alvarado. It's such a one-to-one to look at that guy and be like, oh, that guy did such a similar profile. And people keep bringing up Alvarado and whatnot, and is he better than him? Gregory Soto is more talented than Jose Alvarado.

And he's way more accomplished. He's just had a better career so far than Alvarado. I mean, those three months Alvarado had, it's like he was okay in Tampa. He had some saves, and you could see the talent. But the last three months Alvarado had are like's like he was okay in Tampa. He had some saves and you could see the talent. But the last three months Alvarado had are like light years, the best thing he's ever done in baseball. And Soto's basically been a version of that for the last two years. Yeah.

So if you look at his little baseball savant page, like way more whiff, like way more all of that. So they added a legitimate difference maker. And it's just, this is going to be the least surprising thing that i think you've ever heard but i think for this is if you're if you're a if you're a first-time listener to this podcast you'd be like wow that guy sounds insane i'm way more excited for this bullpen than i am the lineup like i just knew that was coming i was i if you had said what am i gonna say here that's what i would have said like i am there's like i am such a sucker for stuff and i'm

such a sucker for a possible super pen and just the idea that these guys can go six innings and bang seven eight nine like i have guys that i that i trust that are coming out of the bullpen um and maybe it's because i legitimately haven't felt that since 2008 and most of last year um but they're like it's it's it's such a it's such a a pleasure like they are so like what is the hole right now like the hole is the hole is starting staff you know yeah back into the starting rotation you could say like the falter being your six or or what at five who knows how that kind of goes like you know until painter can give you meaningful innings and you feel like he doesn't he's not limited from an innings perspective and all that they're gonna have a

bit of a hole at the back of the rotation i think and and especially like we talked about with how many innings nolan wheeler pitched last year you know i think they're they're gonna need someone to fill some people to fill in those gaps over the course of the season to give those guys blows when they need them and all that too yeah well, well, I was going to save this for later, but might as well just put it out now. But like, I think one of the things that they've done here is I wouldn't be surprised if they just go six

man out of the jump. And I wouldn't be surprised and I know that this is going to ruffle feathers of the traditional baseball minds, but like for the first two, three months of the traditional baseball minds but like for the first two three months of the season like i don't think i'm letting nola and wheeler pitch more than five innings to start and wow i don't i don't disagree i just love you're absolutely right this is the kind of thing

where old school baseball fans would not like that they wouldn't but i'm not i'm not letting that pitch more than five or six innings to start five innings in a perfect world and then i'm getting through the rest of the game with like the falters the plasmeyers the chris sanchez's um you know whether that's griff whether that's um any of these guys like that that gives you four options um that that they should give you some depth to where you know you can extend these games and you don't have to ride wheeler and nola into the ground so that they're not tired come come september come when the innings get get you know more important and this is kind of what they did last year was like last year they essentially gave wheeler a month off you know with nola they started giving him extra rest to

make sure he's good to go and it ended up benefiting them wheeler had a bit of a dead arm i think in the playoffs but but still i mean who knows what it would have been if they hadn't given in that time right i mean does he even make it through the playoffs if it were exactly for that so um i just have this idea that they're heading into the year they know that nola pitched 230 some innings uh wheeler 175 and pitching into game six of the World Series. Go six men right from the jump. Let those guys pitch like five innings and then hand it over to the rest of the bullpen and kind of manage your way through this thing

until you get to hopefully the postseason and you can go from there. And then, you know, around mid-August, September, start ramping them up. You know, say, okay, now it's go time. Like, we got to shut this thing down. We'll get Bryce back. And, you know, okay now it's go time like we gotta shut this thing down we get price back and um you know hopefully it doesn't screw them early obviously well yeah plan that's that and that's the part of it right is that is it it's that you're in the toughest division in

the sport and you're going up against two teams that are both hundred coming up 101 win seasons or whatever it is 101 seasons like that and And it does matter to win the division. Look, we saw the Phillies go on a run in the wildcard game this year and go from there, but you don't want to. You don't want to have to play those extra games. You don't want to have to be a part of that first round, even though I know there was a lot of success for the wildcard teams in the second round, and there's the argument with momentum

and all that stuff. But, I mean, ideally, the regular season is going to matter for this Phillies team. They can't just coast to the playoffs. Like, they need to try and win this division. They need to try and set themselves up for playoff success. But, but having said that,

even with that in mind, I think you're right, Jack. I think that the only way that they can, again, unless that, and look, the other part that we don't talk about is if they're in a certain

position at the deadline and they can trade McAble for a starter or this or that, and you can change your team still in season but like i i just don't see how you make a deep run in the playoffs if you don't get nolan wheeler rest throughout the season like i just don't see how those guys could do what they did last year come back after again a short off season we're not used to that either they played in november we're usually done at the end of september um you know that i don't know how you can't you have to get those guys rest you can't just say right, go out and do it again.

Like they will not last. They won't. It's kind of like why they should sit Jalen today. Oh, who cares about the Eagles today, Jack? It's a Philly Sunday. What are we doing here? Yeah. Yeah.

They're 16 point favorites. I'm sure Gardner Minshew couldn't beat David. No, but I do love that the whole Giants not playing their starters went from Tyrod Taylor to like, ah, we're just going to throw Davis. We care so little about this game that we don't even want to get our backup quarterback

hurt. Cool. But we got to get Hurts out there because they're going to blow it. Who's not 100%? Anyway, it's just whatever. That was way too much Eagles talk. What are we doing here? I know. It's Gregory Soto today.

But yeah, it's like they have to be – I know Angelo might come out of retirement if they come out and they're like, listen, Wheeler and Nola, no more than five innings to start. I think Angelo signs a three-year deal, a three-year extension. Yeah, I'm back in the middays in that case. Nothing changes for me, yeah. And I know it sounds insane, but they have the depth now.

We don't have to – this is what – and now it's not the best example because they choke every year, but this is essentially what the Dodgers have done. The Dodgers don't let their guys get overworked. Now, I do think it does have to be a balance. I don't think you can do this throughout the entire year, but this is essentially what the Dodgers have done. You know, the Dodgers don't let their guys get overworked. Now, I do think it does have to be a balance. Like, I don't think you can do this throughout the entire year and expect them to go into the postseason and be like, all right, give me seven. You need those.

And, A, and also you need your relievers to be fresh, too. I know you have a bunch of guys that you can go through, but you don't want to do it to the point where you overwork some of these guys where you don't get the best Soto or the best Alvarado or the best. I mean, we saw those guys. I mean, Alvarado, I mean, that was one of the biggest reasons they ended up losing is because he just didn't have anything left in the tank by the end of it. You know, so you got to worry about both sides of that. It's not just the starters. It's also those relievers. Yeah.

In November and stuff, too. And he probably extended to the bullpen, too, like no back-to-backs until July. Joe Girardi. Oh, he's finally got his team. Would you let Joe Girardi! He's finally got his team! Would you let Joe Girardi come back and manage his team now that he essentially has a super team? That he essentially has a Super Bowl pen? Would you let Joe come back? Say, alright. We got you what you were looking for.

We basically built what you had in New York. Now go try to win with it. But yeah, the difference is that last year, they had the pitching guys on back-to-back because they didn't have the depth. Like, Knievel should have been pitching back-to-backs on those guys because they need wins.

And look what happened to Knievel, right? Yeah, exactly. So now, with the depth they have, with the top seven where you can trust some of those guys, four or five of them to close out a game, you can kind of mix and match. Real quick, can we just not gloss over the statement that you just, like, we have four dudes who can come in and close a game?

What? The Phillies? Is that allowed, Jack? Is that allowed? Dude, between that and Craig Kimbrell in his, like, press conference the other day talking about how the Phillies biomechanics or whatever, like whatever got him sold on everything. It's like, what world

are we living in right now? Smart world! Philly smart team world! I think they have the second most analytics isn't the right word, but the second most scientist guys or whatever in baseball behind the Dodgers.

It makes me so happy to hear that well now like listen listen and factor in that they're building a 300 some million dollar complex down in clearwater to make it even like more souped up and my start tearing up honestly this is more this is more important to me than when we're entering the golden era of the phillies all this stuff. Dombrowski set up the organization for success. Dude, it's so funny. It's like, I just wish he'd go back to the beginning. Like when Dave Dombrowski walked in and he was like,

we're going to do this, this, this, and this. And Middleton's like, sweet. I don't know. Just take it. Cool. Whatever. Here's my checkbook. Go ahead.

Whatever you need, buddy. That's what they're doing, dude. That's what they're doing. That is what they're doing. is that, you know, listen, you can have Steve Cohen all you want, but without the right guy running the team, it doesn't ultimately matter. And, like, the Phillies have a good mix.

It's so true. And also, to your point, I think Middleton always wanted to be the type of owner who trusted. He did trust Clint Tack and Mcphail too much even right to the point where at the end he kind of just had to step in and start doing things and get involved and doing the harper stuff and all that but like i think that ideally middleton wanted someone there that he just felt confident knew what he was doing and he could give money and support him and let him do it the problem was with clint tack and mcphail he couldn't trust them and he found that

out he's like oh crap i can't give them my money i can't let them do this stuff i have to be involved i think ideally he this is what middleton wanted to well and um the other thing that has made me realize is that you know i think that in a perfect like i think um he wanted i think they wanted to hire hayim or whatever and the difference between hayim is that the red sox like wanted to build the raise from a standpoint of like not spending any money whereas the phillies have essentially if things go to plan you know the the the the dodgers hired friedman and then we're also like hey you can go spend a ton of money as well and it's like it's almost they are almost developing a perfect mix. Now,

the last thing that they have to get completely right is developing hitters and drafting and developing and more guys through the draft and figuring that out. But even that, like even that they did a whole overhaul, James, like they hired another guy from driveline. That's all like biomechanics.

He said, I saw it at biomechanics here said i saw it by uh biomechanics here got hired by the phillies it's like you're damn right you did but damn right you did don't know what you do couldn't couldn't explain it to anyone but no i don't even know i don't even really know what a biomechanist does but i want a room full of them down in the in the complex yes but like you you read everything they're going through with the player development stuff and it's like they want to pick a mixture of old school and new school. They're developing a Philly's way.

Like they're, what does this sound like? Well, I've never heard these concepts except the entire history of this podcast. Again, we, we gave them the blueprint and to their credit. Listen,

they got some, listen, we were wrong. Nebraska, you know, whatever we might've been wrong, but they're doing everything we wanted. And now they added Gregory Soto to a bullpen that was already pretty good.

Now it puts them over the top. They're adding in their best prospect in the history of the franchise to be in the starting staff next year. They have Trey freaking Turner. Like, they have a $250-plus million payroll. They went through the luxury tax. I mean, think about what they have. They have, like, $500 million guys, right went through the luxury tax. I mean, think about what they have won.

They have like $500 million guys, right? I mean, Cassidy, over $100 million. Cassidy, Harper, Trey, JT, Wheeler, all over $100 million. Nola is going to be over $100 million soon, I would think. They, I mean, Schwerber, $80 million. Like, no jokes, man. Tom Walker, $70 million. $72 million or $70 million.

Well, that was the thing. What was it? The White Sox. Who was it they signed? They signed someone. It was Ben Attendee. Ben Attendee. It was a $75 million deal, and it was the biggest contract in the history of their franchise, man.

He's done five more than that in less than four years. Well, the biggest one is Zac Eflin. I mean, $30 million. Yeah, I know yeah i know to the raise but that's less surprising that i mean it's still insane that that's their biggest contract like the white socks have been around forever the most they've ever spent is 75 million on someone like that's nuts it does show that sometimes i know we've gotten a little you know you can get a little frustrated as the losing happens and stuff but but middleton really has put his money where his mouth is, literally and figuratively. 100%.

And now he's got the right guy running it. They brought in Ani, who, like, dude, every time I watch the guy they traded for the other day, Ullman, or as we call him. Slider guy. Slider guy. Every time I watch him, it's like, why in the world did they give him up?

Like, it doesn't compute in my brain that they gave that guy up. If you make minor changes to him, he is so obviously a top seven guy in a bullpen. It's obvious. It's a wiped out slider. It's a fastball that they can fix and move around. It's a guy that they got for cash. That screams Ani. That just screams Ani. Luis Ortiz, the guy they picked up from the Giants. like it's it's it's a guy that they got for for cash and that's that that screams on me like that just screams on me louise ortiz the guy they picked up from the giants andrew vasquez they

both mentioned by dombrowski yesterday or a couple days ago on the kimbrough thing as guys that they think can help this bullpen that they just claimed off waivers you know a song move the noah song move that we talked about like it just seems like they're like for for a podcast that i feel like for the first five years never got to talk about smart things, maybe some fun, big signings, but never like, wow, that was that was some next level stuff. The Phillies are doing there. You see what they did. They went, you know, like we never had those conversations. And I feel like they haven't all the time now.

And they're not all going to happen. If you had only one of those guys, it's like, wow, what a move, you know? Well, and they're they're they're going after the right guys. They're going after guys that have stuff, and I love that. And, you know, they're just – I forget what I wanted to say. But the overall point is that they just continue to do smart things. They continue to – oh, oh, that's what I wanted to say. I think the Gregory Soto trade officially qualifies as there's the cool trade.

Yeah. Oh, that's definitely the cool trade. Definitely, definitely the cool trade. And like it fits the criteria of go trade for a guy with stuff. Go trade for a guy that has three years of control left after this. That can be a back end. Don't don't don't go sign. Now they sign Kimbrel. I understand that. But don't go sign now they they signed kimbrough i understand

that um but don't go sign one of these older guys for a ton of money you know don't the kimbrough signing feels way less annoying with paired with the soto trade it's like all right so basically you know because soto's makes nothing it's like all right so i'm paying like 12 mil for both those guys yeah it sounds great you know whatever it is you know yeah so yeah so uh the trade qualifies as a cool uh the cool nebraska trade it fits every criteria of what i wanted um and it's now on on caleb golfman and brian caplan to to get him to be you know the the best version of himself because i think the best version of gregory soto is like one of the test 10 best relievers in baseball. His stuff is that good.

I mean, you see the slider. Oh, his stuff is definitely that good. It's 91. The slider is insane. And then we go back. Yeah, exactly. Again, I don't take that stat lightly that 81% of 100-mile-per-hour or more fastballs thrown by left-handed pitchers last year were thrown by Alvaro and

Soto. I mean, that's an astounding number, Jack. 81%? Like, that is an astounding number, Jack. 81%? Like, that is stuff. They got dudes with stuff. Well, and I guess he was messing around with a change-up last year. He said, I mess around. Why not?

Maybe I'm going to come back with a change-up. Sure. Yeah, see if it works. Keep expanding on that. I'm sure the Phillies will teach him a cutter. You know, whatever. Whatever. That's what we do.

The Mariano Rivera factory over here uh with the phillies um so dude i just i can't believe it they've built a almost now listen they're gonna go out and play and there's good teams in the in the nl east i understand but they have built a damn near flawless team yeah once harper comes back it really i mean player for player it is arguably you know it's one of the two or three best just flat out rosters in baseball three four or five whatever it's like in the it's in the discussion like they they're absolutely we know they almost won the world series last year they're clearly talented enough to but they are really a a really well put together well thought out team that just makes a lot of sense and i go back to

something you said earlier that just kind of stuck with me this whole time. And it's something we joke about with defense and have for years where we always do that. Like, ah, you know, who cares about defense? You know, just go out mash. And then, you know, five games into a season, we're like, oh, my God, get some guys who can freaking catch the ball, please. Like, this is the worst thing.

So it kills you, right? Like, there is nothing worse. Nothing worse as a baseball fan than watching a bad bullpen on a night-to-night basis. There's nothing worse. How much have we talked about over the year 2020? I mean 2021 even. Where it's like you can't ever feel good about a baseball game.

There's any game you could lose at any time. And that's the worst feeling as a sports fan, as a baseball fan. To just have dudes out there. We can trust to come in and get out when we need them is like as people who watch every single game. I just I can't emphasize enough how excited I am to have that in my life, Jack. Like I can't. It's like it's amazing. It's such a great feeling. Well, and I mean, listen, I made money. Just every time the Phillies had a lead, it's like, well, here comes the live show.

I could just sense it. My feels like a lost sense. Oh, it's from that. They're going to be off this year. Because it's like, well, I don't know. That's a good point. Yeah, that's a good point. Usually I can just sense it.

Here it comes. But now I don't know if it's going to be that obvious. And you mentioned the bullpen being the worst thing like which is worse a bad bullpen or bad receivers in football a bad bullpen i i jack i said this during the 2020 run and all that and i still believe it to this day i really i really feel this way i think that in all sports the american sports that we follow having a bad bullpen is the worst thing I think it's the worst one of all of them. I honestly believe that. I do.

Obviously, you can't win if you don't start. There's a million things going on, but just in terms of a unit that breaks your soul the most when it sucks, there's nothing worse. There's nothing worse. Because how many times do you get wins turned into losses with everything else you do, right? That's what they do. They turn wins into losses right in front of our eyes on a night-to you do right like that's what they do they

turn wins into losses right in front of our eyes on a night-to-night basis that's what we do baby so yeah um not anymore buddy not anymore because let me just run through this one more time james yes please a top seven of sir anthony soto alvarado kimbroughl, Bilotti, Brogdon, Strom. And that's not even... It's not even factoring in, James. And again, four righties, three lefties. Drew Baker, Ullman, Griff McGarry, Sam

Coonrod, Nick Nelson, Luis Ortiz, Andrew Vasquez. And that's not even factoring in if you want to go even deeper, Andrew Schultz. And you want to keep going down to the minor leagues with all the guys they've drafted the last couple of years that are like 100 and seeing what they can do and being brought up. Like, it is – it's insane. It's insane.

It's insane. And then if you want to go through it, you want to extend the rotation out, you can go Falter, Plassmeyer, Sanchez. Like, you know, give the guys a break. It is – it's freaking awesome, man. It's freaking awesome. And I can't wait to see Soto. I can't wait to see the back of the bullpen.

I can't wait to just almost – I can't wait, James, to essentially kick my feet up. You know what I mean? Just kick your feet up. Well done. Let the game run on cruise control. The back end's got it. Now, I think Soto's going to have those outings where it's like,

oh, my gosh, this is awful. You know well they're gonna be those like alvarado does or has in his you know yes he will have those no no no as much um you know other than i don't know the world series um potentially i still don't i still don't know what happened in game six i didn't i don't they didn't want that hey buddy keep it that way let me tell you i turned off the yearbook you won't you won't like what you found you did you stopped at that moment yeah i've made it a point that i will never see a replay of the yord on alvarez i'm not the guys when i watch it live good work by you i will not ever watch it again good and that's something i'm gonna pass that down to my my that's's good. Yeah. I mean, it was the worst.

Ball still hasn't landed. It's pretty great. Before we get out of here. Yes. You have to work today. Look at you. Just another day. Just another day.

Another day. I'm going to be sitting there at the pregame show freezing and just thinking about Gregory Soto. Yeah. And the back of the bullpen. So it's all good. So, you know, when my future son becomes of of age do i go back through all the yearbooks like would you oh i mean well first of all you know you're going to like this this question is this is like a uh rhetorical question because you already know the answer you're definitely going to but yes i think you do i think what year do i start at the

06 i think you started where you yeah i think you started somewhere where you feel like you started it because so he can go on your journey with you correct but right but i think he needs to know i think he needs to know what he is now a part of what he is joining the the you know the fraternity that we have here, like it's, it's built on pain, right? Like it just is. And, and maybe this year is not going to be, and that's cool, but he has to know where his roots come from. Yep. And I think I, I'll identify the correct podcast to go back and listen to, you know, losers. I always think about that like years later if Zoe goes back and listens like with like

some of the like stuff I've said or this or that or whatever it's always like what is wrong with you dad like why would you say that about me on your P.A. anyway love my daughter I'm proud of you buddy that's a good sign and last thing before getting out of here

yes is the perfect cherry on top to replace Matt Um, and, uh, last thing before getting out of here. Yes. Is. Uh, the perfect cherry on top term replaced. Matt Veerling would be a nice one year signing of Adam Duvall. I love that move, dude. I love, I've,

I like Adam Duvall. He's had moments in the playoffs. It seems like every year, if he gets a shot, he hits 30 plus homers. Like I like the dude, he can play defense a little bit. Like I'm pretty good.

I love center field. Yeah. Is he a gold Glover? I think you want to go glove a couple of years. Wow. Cause I know he's good. I saw it. Like it really, I didn't realize he was that good.

I mean, well, I think all, at least all his advanced metrics were like, this guy's ridiculous. Yeah. Like I love that. I love what's it costs for you, Bill. Like that's not, he won the gold glove in 2020. Wow. I did not read. That's my bad.

I didn't realize he was quite that good. I love that. be all in on adam duvall's that's he's a winning dude he's like edmund no social he's like just a guy who's on winning team i love it oh you know who else like what a what a what a dorky franchise the cardinals are they had two uh gold lovers that year i mean how many times you have to learn that defense doesn't matter i I know. I mean, if we just saw which team won in the playoffs, was it the Cardinals or the Phillies this year? I couldn't remember. People forget that. They do.

They do. They do. All right. This was fun, man. I'm really happy. I'm like, as a Phillies fan,

I'm really happy right now. I'm, I'm, I just needed to be Philly season. Like, let's go. I'm ready. Yeah.

I was going to get through this little football thing first. I know. It's a possible Super Bowl run. Boring. The real season starts March 30th. Yeah. Give me freaking Gregory Soto getting out in April and I'll feel like sports are back. Let me watch

all spring training games in the hospital when I have to wait. Yeah, it is. It's the end of March, uh, when I have to wait. Yeah, it is. So it's the end of March. Is that when it is right there? Wow. You're March 15th.

I'm so excited. We're going to have so much fun with it. The content. Uh, are you getting final thoughts for get out of here? Final thoughts is, uh, the Eagle should bench Jalen today.

They should not play him. And, uh, Gregory Soto is a Philly and it's okay. Like we can go to bed at night not worrying about our bullpen. And that's a good spot to be in. It's a great spot to be in. My final thought is what I expected

Jack to say and say they went the other way. Who cares about the Eagles? Go Phils. He's rid some seltzer. you