OverDrive - Phillips on the Blue Jays middling around .500, whether Ohtani should pitch, and if the Pirates should trade Skenes

Episode Date: May 26, 2025

TSN Baseball Insider on the Blue Jays middling around .500, the rarity of Jacob deGrom’s outing against the Jays on Monday, whether Shohei Ohtani should pitch for the Dodgers, the Rockies historically bad start, and whether or not the Pirates should trade Paul Skenes.

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Join today and be part of something amazing. Sunday on Ask the Experts, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board President Alicia Barry-Sproill and CEO John D. Michelle discuss market trends and why using a professional realtor is essential. Sunday at 3 p.m. on News Talk 1010. And yeah, we'll get to that a little bit later in the hour. Best bet still to come. The Jays have wrapped up their afternoon game down in Texas. Man, they needed this one. They

pick up a 2-1 win after getting swept down in Tampa and the bats were not exactly firing on all cylinders, but Gosman was phenomenal again today. And that's back to back really, really quality starts for him. His numbers are really solid. And he needed that. He had a bit of a roller coaster year last year. And Gosman's been really good this year and he was great today. And I think most importantly, Hoffman went out there and got the save in the ninth because

he has really had some issues the last few weeks. Here's Steve Phillips, our TSN baseball insider. There's Gosman doing it again Steve. I mean last year we talked with you a lot about it. There were ups and downs and you know the bats are inconsistent with the J's. They weren't exactly great today but Gosman was phenomenal and there's a lot of stress on this starting rotation but he appears to be ready to go. Oh yeah he paid through the ball very well I mean absolutely awesome and I think for Hoffman too an important bounce back save for him right that the indicator of a good closer isn't can you save a game it's what do

you do after you blow a save or two and to be able to get back on track again so he was able to do that didn't get his swing miss, but was able to get the job done. But you know, this is, you know, sometimes not who you play, it's when you play them. And the Rangers have been awful this year. So disappointing the way they're performing. And this is an offense that had a chance, I thought like a couple of years ago,

to lead the league and run and score. I mean, they have so many good hitters. I know Seager's on the injured list. It isn't quite right, you know. And Dolis Garcia has not been very good this year, but you know this was an offense that picked up Jake Berger to play first base and he was going to hit. They sent him to the minor leagues for a little bit of time and now he's back. Marcus Simeon looks horrible at the plate this year and so you know listen it's a it's you take a win when you can get it but this just happens to be a Rangers team that's playing worse than the Blue

Jays are. Steve where are you at with the Blue Jays I mean you know it's it's they've been up and down they got the 500 now I think they're game below it now with the win today I mean you know you see a surge or do you feel like they're just kind of hover around the record right now? You know they've got the starting pitching that could you know you could think you get a winning streak out of it because the starting pitching you know it's with some pretty good names and some some good pitchers but we've not seen a winning streak out of them for a couple years now like it's just they never seem to get traction it's this back and forth in level of mediocrity that

they've never been able to get over the hump the last back and forth level of mediocrity that they've never been able to get over the hump the last couple years. So you think it's in there, but until they go out there and get it done and start to produce, it feels like it's a lot of mediocrity right now. And yet we see that throughout the America Least other than the Yankees, everybody else. I mean, it's the Orioles but you like the you know the Red Sox and the the Blue Jays and they're in the Rays are all right there right around 500 they all beat each other up they'll lose to each other and so it just doesn't seem to be any traction where they get things going they get some momentum where you know Vlad is hot

and Bichette's hot Santander's rolling the pitching's good where you know you can can rattle off 10, 11 in a row and we've seen the twins do that. The Tigers are playing extraordinarily consistent baseball because they're you know their hitting is always good enough, their pitching is always good enough and they defend and so you know for the Jays it's in there but you know we've not seen it for a couple years and so you know I'm I'm not building an expectation that they're gonna go on a run. Well something we have literally never seen before took place today Jacob deGrom has made 229 starts over the course of his 12-year MLB career today's outing against the Jays first time he has failed to record a strikeout first

time in his career and it happened today and he went five and a third that's incredible Steve yeah it is amazing yeah it is and it's even amazing today because me I mean he didn't have his best stuff but he was you know you would have thought he would have gotten more swing and miss and and I mean he didn't have his best stuff but he was you know you would have thought he would have gotten more swing and miss and and I mean listen this you know he was still effective overall just they were able to put the ball in play you know some credit goes to the Jays for that for avoiding the swing and miss but you know it's so interesting for DeGrom like he's on pace to be considered in the race for the Cy Young Award the American League this year he's throwing

the ball very well and if you were to win his third Cy Young Award, you know, then it comes down to is he a Hall of Famer? And yet, you know, if you look at the numbers, I think he has 88 wins to his name and his career. That's all. Only 88 wins. You know, we're talking about, you know, with Verlander and Kershaw and Scherzer they're all the 240 250 230 range wins 88 wins for de Graub because he's had I think 48 starts in his career 47 starts where he has gone seven innings or more giving up two innings or less two runs or less and not gotten a win tied with Scherzer for the most since 2014 and so you know he always seems to pitch well, but they never seem to hit when he's out of the bow

Well one guy that does hit and one guy that could soon to be on the mound is is show Hey, Otani and he just hit a first pitch home run in Cleveland like ten minutes ago So the doctors are off to a good start show. Hey first pitch of the game He absolutely torched it to let to right field but the reports were out that he's starting to really ramp up his arm and we're a couple years removed now from his last official start as a major leaguer where do you see this one going and considering how he continues to play it you know in terms in terms of his bat and in terms of whatever whatever else he's bringing to the table with the Dodgers is this is this a gamble at all in your

opinion and what would you expect to see him you know from him once he does get back in the mound? Yeah you know for me I personally would just make him a hitter I wouldn't make him a pitcher you know what we saw is that he has now been the most protected pitcher. You know, he pitches once a week. They get him out, you know, when there's a lead. And yet he broke down twice and had Tommy John twice. And so I look at the investment being made and think, hey, you know, he's a pretty good

pitcher when he's in. I mean, he is. He's a good pitcher when he's in there. But if he's going to break down and he could miss potentially, you know Even if it's hitting wise half a year depending upon another third Tommy John surgery Because if he's been the most protected pitcher and broke down twice Then what do we do and you know and I personally think that the last time he was a two-way player His body was rejecting it. Remember it was down the stretch with

the Angels and they decided not to trade him at the deadline. They kept him. He started the game with Detroit where he threw a shutout in the first game, hit two home runs in the second game, but started cramping and from that point on had cramps everywhere, forearms, shoulders, legs, and then he ended up needing Tommy John surgery. I just, I get that nobody could do what he's done and he'll be able to do it to some degree again but at what risk for potential missing time in the future. So, you know, I just, I only make him a hitter and just let him go out there and dominate offensively. Even

if I put him in the outfield, like I think he can certainly play the outfield, he'd be just fine there. You don't have to D.H. him all the time, but I would capitalize on the bat and I'd forget about the arm. Steve, Tawny Dodgers, real competitive organization, tons of money. On the other hand of that, Hazy B., my guy here,

was bringing up the Rockies and what they're bringing to the table. Do you have any explanation to how they put that on the field? Is that just try to be as bad as you can or what? Yeah, I honestly don't even know what their plan is because it doesn't feel like a rebuild that they just don't seem to try and like they don't go sign that you know veteran middle reliever so that when your young starters get a chance to win a game maybe you could score a point get them a win and you know they don't get any veteran hitters to join their

young hitters there they've not drafted well and their hitters don't seem that anymore gain the benefit of playing the Coors, but the opposition still seems to have it. And so first of all, it's really hard to figure out what's the right formula to win in Colorado because of the size of the outfield, because the fences are so deep, but also because the ball travels so far in the light air. And then with your breaking pitches as a pitcher, the ball doesn't break as much. And so it's really hard to figure out how do you, what type of player do you put together there. I mean I have thoughts on what it would take, but you know I mean it's not

rocket science. I mean everybody has sort of tried along the way. Free agent pitchers don't want to go there because you know if it's a one-year reclamation project they're going to get roasted pitching in Colorado hitters you think would want to go there but they can't see if you got anybody go because there's always somebody better with a better chance to win that has interest in that hitter so they've got to start trying like I don't think they try in free agency they don't sign anybody they don't pursue anyone and so I don't know I just I don't quite understand the plan I don't understand the methods I don't know i i just i don't quite understand the plan and i don't understand the package i don't understand that that roster

uh... in the end you know and yet they don't seem to make changes to change the manager but there was a bug blackfall uh... they don't have a very good roster right now well they lost again today so uh... there's another one there nine in forty five now nine in forty five the car to do crazy yet that it really is the biggest market as much as i look at it

how do you lose forty five games i'm wondering how they want nine right but really that's the more amazing number when i look at them like how did you win nine games but you know it's a the other day i think the yankees on friday yeah the out the answer and yankee fans are freaking out naturally. Like that's how bad it is. If your team loses to them, it's such an indictment of you and your whole operation. It's supposed to be mandatory win night. And you know, they are clearly the worst team in the league, but you look at the National League,

you know, we were talking about this earlier, like the Pirates, it's basically Paul Skeens and then the rest of the team effectively in terms of the way, you know, baseball in the sports world kind of looks at it and Skeens looks like he's bent out of shape every every time I hear him he gets no run production we're just talking about de Grom and de Grom had a bad clearly at times with the Mets and now he's doing it with the Rangers Skeens they don't offer him anything like nothing he's got to be perfect every single time out. He's gonna say check please, Hayes. Well that's the question. Like team control through 29 I believe it is Steve. And you can't get

rid of it. You can't move off him because he's the only, he's your whole team. But at what point might he look at the Pirates and say sure we're not the Rockies but we're not far from it and what is gonna happen here? Yeah I mean I think they'll hold him they'll try to sign him he won't sign and at some point they'll trade him now it won't be now I mean whatever they could get now they'll get two years from now they'll get three years from now so there's you might as well hold them during the affordable years get one out of them what you can you know people do show up more at the gate when he does pitch and and get the benefit of that but yeah it's unfortunate right that you

know they don't invest in offense ever and they don't develop it they don't they don't draft it well they don't sign and develop the offensive players well and they have O'Neal Cruz and they're Brian Reynolds and really beyond that there's not much threat in the lineup for them. And you know, and then with the pitching, I mean, they had Jared Jones, they lost to Tommy Towns surgery. They've, Bubba Chandler's and O'Young pitching prospect, they have coming up like, you thought, I looked at them and thought you got a shot of, if you add some offense, you've got enough pitching that if you pitch well and score enough, you've got a chance to compete for a wild card spot but they

never add the bats that they need and ownership there just keeps collecting the revenue sharing money and they you know the competitive balance tax money and they don't ever reinvest it into the team I think they've got an 88 million dollar payroll and you know I think there there's few teams less than them but almost everybody else spends more money on player personnel than they do well we'll see what all paul skeens has in store for us the rest of the way it always could be worse you could be the colorado rockies for that i'm sure

they will look upon that positively down in pittsburgh great stuff steve as always thank you for doing this. We'll do it again soon Anytime guys my pleasure have good night you too. There's Steve Phillips or TSM baseball insider again The Jays winning 2-1 this afternoon down in Texas needed that I Heard radio live with three days grace. Hey, what's up? This is Adam from three days grace you and three friends could be joining us for a wicked exclusive Three Days Grace. You and three friends could be joining us for a wicked, exclusive, intimate performance

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