OverDrive - Phillips on the Blue Jays middling season, Guerrero Jr. finding his stride and Soto under the microscope

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips joined OverDrive to discuss the stance on the Blue Jays leading up to expectations, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s start of the season, Anthony Santander's role on the roster, Fernando Tatis Jr.'s electric skill set, Juan Soto's hustling conundrum and the viewpoint from the market and more.

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Proudly powered by all your friends' fests, June 28th and 29th. Featuring Avril Lavigne, SimpleBland and more. Here's Steve Phillips, our TSN baseball insider. Steve, you know the market well, you know the Mets fan base well, how do you think they're reacting to the whole Juan Soto situation right now? Yeah, I got to tell you that it's not just that he didn't run out of ball, a ground ball to second base in the Yankee game on Sunday, where you know, it was a diving play and he sort of put his head down but it was bobbled and he could have beat it out if he hustled and then

on Monday he you know playing in Boston he hit one toward the Green Monster that he thought was going out the wind was blowing in and it ended up hitting off the wall and he got the he's got it now set the record for the longest single in Mets history. And so, you know, so, so, you know, he stopped at first base. Now he ended up stealing second and in his mind, I think he just like, ah, I made up for it's not a big deal. But it's the, it's the point of, you know, you're the highest paid player in the game. You're the highest paid player on your team. You're one of the best players in the game and, you know, you know, it was bad judgment for the ball off the Green Monster. I think if he knew it was going to hit the wall, he would have run and tried to get a double and hustle.

But it was bad judgment. And you can't assume anything, right? And so, you know, it's a bad look. The worst part isn't that he didn't hustle. The worst part is that he acted like people didn't, he didn't know what people were talking about. Like he's like, no, I don't, you see me hustling out there. Like he, and that's the thing where you get the media to turn on you in New York if you're not accountable.

Like if he had said, you know what, I'm a little frustrated and, you know, I thought that was going out and you're right, I should have been on second base, that's my mistake. And I'm a little frustrated and so I've gotta turn it and channel that into running harder, you're right, I made a mistake. Then people would accept it, but when he almost acts

like he's incredulous and he doesn't know what people are talking about, that's where you start to lose fans and you lose the media. And the media always gets the last word, always. And so, you know, I think that, you know, he set himself up right now that, and again, these were back-to-back days, but if he does something in September,

it will get added to these two days in May. It's now he's gonna have to go out there and really perform and put up huge numbers and at that point people will go All right, you know what? He didn't run that one, but he is hitting 350 and he's got a you know 1200 OPS and he's our guy but he's not that guy yet And so, you know, it's it's not a good look and it's not a good start to what's gonna be a 15 year marriage And so he's got some work to do. Well, and there's a perfect segue into the guy in Toronto

who's not making as much money, but he's making a lot of money. And Vladdy hit a home run last night, but that's his sixth of the season. In a way, he's not getting as much attention because Santander has been worse, although he hit a home run last night, his sixth of the season.

The Jays are a game under 500 and Vlad E you know it's it's not it hasn't been explosive I mean his numbers are kind of what what Soto is putting up in a way what do you make aware the Jays are out here a lot of people in the city that Leafs are out as you know and it's like all right here we go let's gear up the Jays are a game under 500 would you say this is about where you thought they would be at this point in the season? Is there reasons for optimism moving forward? Where do you stand on the Jays? Well, I guess I look at it and think it could be a lot worse Because the run differential indicates that their record should be you know with about you know, five or six fewer losses

and You know, they've they've outperformed Record-wise the way they've performed on the field overall. So, the starting pitching has underperformed in my mind, the offense has underperformed in my mind, the bullpen, although better than last year, has had its own significant bobbles. And so, yeah, I think that considering that they've not played well, and they're a game under 500, but everybody is, other than the Yankees in this division.

This was thought to be the best division in baseball, now it looks like the, you know, American League West, the National League West, the American League Central, are all, you know, these great divisions. So, it's hard to know. I think that, you know, I think they're fortunate to be where they are. You don't pay a guy 500 million to be a streaky hitter.

You pay him that money to be the consistent aircraft carrier to your offense. And so Vladdy has got to get it going. And it can't be the streak that comes on late in the season because by then it could be too late. The trade deadline's gonna be an important decision for this team. You think about it right now, you've got Seattle,

Texas, Houston, you've got Minnesota, Cleveland, and Kansas City. They're gonna be fighting for a wild card spot, most likely, with a lot of other teams, and they're gonna have to decide at the deadline whether they're gonna go for it or not so they need to they need to take care of business now they went through a tough schedule their schedules been tough on them early on but there are no easy games unless you're playing the White Sox and they're playing a little

bit better right now so you know I would say you know at this stage of the game I'm a little disappointed. It's less than what I thought they could be and should be. I think they can still play much better, but so can a lot of other teams that have underperformed so far. Steve, is it one of those years where as a fan, and fans are going to fan for that fact, they just can't help themselves, but don't get too high, don't get too low

because they're just gonna be hovering around and just try to enjoy the ride because what they're doing now is basically what they're gonna be doing. I mean, they've not been able to get traction over the last couple years. That's the thing is they don't ever get that Minnesota Twins 13 game winning streak. They just they hover right? They play okay, they play poorly, they play well,

they play poorly, they play okay and they never get too far beyond where they are. They don't get hot. It doesn't feel like at all and they have the kind of starting pitching that you could go through the rotation and get a couple times through and win 10 in a row but they don't seem to do it because there's always that game in there where it's close and the bullpen blows it or it's that game in there that they don't get the big hit. So it's just you know I think that from a from a fan base perspective I think that they're leery to buy in because they've been punched in the gut so many

times. And you know, if, if run prevention is mentioned, they're done. Uh, if internal improvement is mentioned, they're done. Uh, and so, you know, I think that that it's unfortunate, but I think you're right. I think it's going to be, let's just wait and see what happens cause you don't want to get too high because you know that even if they win a couple that what we've seen is they tend to lose a couple as well. With Steve Phillips and Anthony Santander has obviously not made the greatest first impression with the team he hit a big

home run last night you know famous for slow starts and not playing great in April but now we're you know 20-21 days into May and people waiting for him to turn around he's had a bit of a shoulder issue I think over the weekend they basically protected him they said you're just not gonna play take a couple of days off find your game you know again they referenced the shoulder which may have played somewhat of a role in that but how do you feel about the way Schneider in particular is kind of handled Santander and do you still have reasons to believe you know at some point it's just gonna pop for him because he's just too good of a player

and too good of a hitter in particular? Yeah it's it's you know he's following the you know Schneider's following the standard protocol right first you struggle you take extra batting practice then maybe you don't take any batting practice then you get a few days off to clear your mind within there you might Right, first you strong goal, you take extra batting practice. Then maybe you don't take any batting practice. Then you get a few days off to clear your mind. Within there, you might have changed the spot in the lineup and move them up, you might move them down, you might move them in, you might move them out.

So they're doing all of those things, but something has to click for them to get them back in there. And maybe the home run, look, that home run you got yesterday was a laser. I mean, that thing didn't get higher than the wall, just above the wall the entire way out. So, you know, maybe there's something there, he was able to pull his hands inside on a pitch on the inside part of the plate and drive it and keep it fair. So maybe there's something there, but, you know, just again,

he's done a little bit like the team and it feels like this should be the thing that gets him going. He just comes to a complete stop again. So, you know, there's got to be hope because he's the same guy playing for the Blue Jays that hit 44 homers last year for Baltimore. So it's in there. And so it's up to the team to get it out. With Steve Phillips, our TSN baseball insider, you get the Padres in town and Fernando Tatis is a guy, like we talk about all these young players, you mentioned Soto, you mentioned Vlade, these Latin American stars that got paid at a young age and they've popped and he's still a lot of fun

to watch play, man. Where do you stand on Tatis in terms of the best players in the game and the Padres who had a really hot start and they've really, really slowed down? and the Padres who had a really hot start and they've really, really slowed down. Yeah, so Tatis is a proverbial 5-2-0 player. It's legit. When you watch him play, he'll hit one out of the park,

he'll hit one of the gap, you can watch him fly, he can steal a base, he'll run one down on the outfield, make a great play, and he's got a hose from the outfield and he can throw out baserunners right and left. So he's got a hose from the outfield and he can throw out base runners right and left so he's he's got all the tools and and you know I think further away from the injuries he's starting to play like that guy again with that level of confidence and you know you have the PED suspension a major wonder a little bit last year the offensive power numbers not quite what you thought but he's gonna get back to being that star he's that good of a

player the Padres are an interesting team there there's a lot of talent there they've got a lot of guys locked up till like 2032 Cronoworth Machado Tatees Jackson Merrill Jander Bogarts they've got Dylan Sees the free agent at the end of the year which I think the Jays are going to miss him as he threw yesterday, but they don't have Darvish there. So they've got Michael King. So listen, they've got some good pitching. They've got a great bullpen and a solid defensive team.

Everybody on the field was originally drafted as a shortstop for them, everybody. Everybody was a shortstop that's now playing elsewhere. And so they're a really good defensive team. So this is the time to play them when they're down a little bit You sometimes not who you play it's when you play them This is the time to get them and the Jays need to take advantage of it So they're not playing their best baseball big time and they did that last night like the Jays I don't believe it shut out anybody all season long Which says something about the pitching and you know everything that's been going on up here

But they got that last night and yeah Tatis his numbers are I mean sit 12 home runs already this year the Padres have not gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position in the last four games Wow so this is the time to get them they're not coming through that's what we saw last night that story before we have seen it we have heard it and And hopefully that continues tonight, again on the right side of things. Great catching up with you Steve, as always. We'll do it again soon. My pleasure guys, anytime. Steve Phillips, our TSN Baseball Insider. Unmistakably Canadian. I want a look in my eyes and you can tell that's true.

Made in Canada delivers 100% homegrown hits. All day, every day. Carry my words. Tap into Made in Canada now on iHeartRadio.ca or the free iHeart Radio app. Made in Canada! Proudly powered by all your friends' vests, June 28th and 29th. Featuring Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan and more.