OverDrive - Phillips on the Jays avoiding rust, finally getting “internal improvements”, and what his rotation would be for the Jays

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips on the Jays avoiding rust, finally getting “internal improvements”, and what his rotation would be for the Jays.

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Time. All right, joining us here on the Maple Tudah Hotline. Here's our TSM Baseball Insider, Steve Phillips. Steve, if you're Ross Ackins, Mark Shapiro, or I guess John Snyder, what's your plan here to keep the J's sharp over the next four or five days? Well, you know, if anybody knew the exact answer about what was the right way to do it, they would bottle it and sell it. It's just that everybody has tried everything, and sometimes you come out of it, feeling like you're ready to go, and sometimes you don't, and I don't know that there is

an exact way to do it. So, I mean, ideally, you want to play simulated games. What they'll do is they'll have their own pitchers, pitch to their own hitters, and play situations. They'll play a game. They'll play, you know, set up situations about how they want to set up and do it. And, you know, you can never recreate the energy of a playoff game. It's just, it's just not possible to do it. And so you do the best you can trying to replicate what it is like, knowing that you can't perfectly do it. But every team has tried different things. Some have given some days off. Some have grinding it out. And some have played games. Some have called them minor league pitchers to pitch to the guys. But I personally would want major league

pitchers, pitching to my hitters, my own guys, which is good because it at least keeps you, you know, seeing 95 to 100 mile per hour fastballs. But, It's not the same release point. It's not the same look. It's not the same pitchers as the guys you're going to face. And it's not the same energy level. It's going to be empty stadium. You know, even if you let people come in, it's not going to have the same feel to it.

So you do the best you can, but you don't know whether he did the right thing until you realize if you did the right thing. Steve, me and Hayes mocked the term internal improvements for a long time because we thought it was just a sham. It was just an excuse. But is that going to give a bunch of GMs around? baseball the hall pass because of what the jays have done this year because that's what they preached they're like you know what internal improvements internal improvement if we get it we can do

it and that's exactly what they got they did now you know they also changed hitting coaches and and a different message different approach different philosophy and sometimes it's a different voice saying the same thing all of a sudden a light ball goes on yeah some drastic improvements though, Steve, like, guys like Springer, Bichette, Kirk, like, massive. Yeah, yeah, I mean, Bichette's health was a big thing. You know, Kirk had the setback in spring training the year before. It did not get off to good time. I mean, there's a story for everybody, but I'm with you.

I think the other thing is some of the young players matured at the right time. I mean, Ernie Clement took his game to another level. I mean, Nathan Lucas, dude's got 65 RBIs this year, and what he gave them. And, you know, Davis Schneider had a bounce back year where that patience was there, but he sort of lost his approach last season, and he replicated what he had done previously. And so I'm with you that, you know, sometimes guys just, it clicks, sometimes it clicks for one player because it's happening for everybody else, and they sort of jump on the bandwagon.

And look, I don't know there's any guarantee that the same guys are being productive this year we'll be able to be productive out of the gate next year because it's just baseball that happens, but it does feel like it was contagious and their approach this year. They strike out the least out of any team. They force pitchers to throw it over the plate, but they're aggressive when it is in the zone. And that approach is the one that style is what has won over the last couple years in the World Series. Steve, maybe you can provide some context for this, but out of the 28 players that were on the field, you know, taking the picture and celebrating nine of those guys started this year

in the minors. And obviously, they were key contributors, guys like Barger. You know, obviously that's, that's good progression from those guys, but is that a lot? Is that a little to see from a team that has had that much success? And, of course, wins the ALEs to have nine guys that started the season in the minors and now be, you know, part of that, Trey I Savage, you know, key contributors at this point. Yeah, no, I think it's a good good thing to notice. You're right. It is telling about the player development system, that one, that there are players there to do it and that the players in the minor leagues were prepared to get to the major leagues and be productive. And so, you know, there's so many franchises where young players that have come up

and they've not been ready to get it done. And even for the days at times, that has happened. But, you know, many of them came up prepared, or when they went down, they got put back together again. André Jimenez, one that was able to do that and have, you know, he's given some quality at bats right now. And, you know, I just, I like him with somebody on base or a runner's score position because I feel like he's going to, if he makes an out, it's going to be a productive out.

And so, yeah, it is an excellent job. You know, when you have a winning team with 94-95 games, you know, the notion of it takes a village, that it's not just the 25, 26-man roster at the big league level. It's, you know, it's the players at the minor league level, the coaches at the minor league level, the development staff, your scouts, your training people, your performance improvement people, all of them have some level of impact. And that's really what you've seen this year. This is, they've won because they're a team because it never felt like everything was

great for them. It never felt like, you know, they're the best at any one thing. They just really played good baseball for nine innings. And, you know, it wasn't always the best starting pitching. It wasn't always the best bullpen. But when you put it all together, you know, it actually worked on a lot of occasions. And so, you know, they won as a team where it's not stars that are leading the way. But quite honestly, you can make the case that it was the complimentary players

who pulled the stars along with them to get them going. With Steve Phillips ahead of the ALDS, we've got to get through the wildcard first, and we'll get to the Yankees' Red Sox in a moment. You mentioned you Savage a second ago, Frankie, and I think it goes without saying. We know Gosman and Bieber are going to be a part of this ALDS rotation. I'm curious in terms of how you might approach games two and three. One of Bieber or Gosman are starting game one, clearly. Don't you consider the kid Hayes?

I think he's that good, man. He's looked really good, hasn't faced either of these teams. Game three is so pivotal, especially in a five-game series, and game three is going to be at either Yankee Stadium, or at Fenway. Do you consider that, Steve? Let's say it is he Savage. Let's say they know their three guys are going to be Bieber, Gosman, Yassavich.

Is it a lock, Beaver, and Gosman, go game one and two, or would you consider Yassavage possibly game two to take away the bright lights of Yankee Stadium or Fenway game three and put a veteran in that situation? Yeah, so it's interesting. They're a complicated team to think along with right now as to what to do with rotation. We know Beaver and Gosman are in, and I think Yosevich has to be in. I don't want to pitch Max Scher, and I just, he just felt way too hitable to me, and his stuff was flat, that if Chris Bassett is going to be eligible and healthy and, and able to participate, I might actually

pitch him in game two, and Beaver in game three and Yosevich in game four. because Bassett's home road splits are rather dramatic. Like he's sub-3 ERA at home, and he's a 5-plus ERA on the road. And I don't, and Bieber, I'm with you on game three, could be such a linchpin guy in three, and then I think you're seven to put it away in four, because I think you're going to need four because it's game one, two, off day, three, four off day, game five. And so your game one starter will pitch with an extra day's rest because of the off-day. but you're going to need four starters.

And so I'm not bringing anybody back on short rest. So I would exclude Scher, but I'd have to know what Bassett's health status is, and I might play with him pitching at home in a game two only because he's been twice as good at home as he's been on the road. How tough is it? I mean, Scher probably knows it the way he's performed, but just to kind of tap him and say, you're awesome, you're Hall of Famer, you're great,

and take a seat for a bit. it's awful i mean i i would uh i would send my assistant jim to go have that conversation uh with so no i mean it would not be a fun conversation because you know how competitive he is and his belief is well it will be better this time and i and the way i look at it is that i have to avoid a clunker and uh you know and so i can't afford a seven run first inning or a three-run first inning where I'm going to the bullpen right away and so I don't know that I trust that I won't get that from him

I feel better about Bassett if he's healthy and about Yosevic if he's healthy than I do Scher and it's not so much that Scherzer can't dial one up it's just that I can't afford him get knocked out in the second inning and then trying to figure out what to do for the next seven-plus innings with my bullpen Well, we'll find out starting tonight, you know, Yankees or Red Sox, who's going to be coming up here on Saturday?

If you had the choice, if you're the Blue Jays and you could pick, either the Yankees or the Red Sox, who would you choose? Oh, definitely the Red Sox. Definitely. I mean, Crochet is great, but he won't be able to pitch in game one or two, probably, and maybe two. But he'll only make one start. you know, it's not like they, you know, the Yankees have freed and Rodon and Cam Slittler, where

Lucas Gialito is shut down for Boston right now. And so Brian Bezos, their number two starter, and their number three starters Connolly early, the rookies made four major league starts, kind of their version of Yosevich,

but they don't really have, their four starters is Kyle Harrison, that they got in the deal for Devers from the Giants. So I don't, the depth of pitching is different between the Yankees and Red Sox. I'd much rather play the Red Sox. Plus, I'd rather not see Judge and Stanton, because I think they're likely to really come out of the gate swinging the bat. Now, that was my question about Aaron Judge, because it just, it hasn't gone well for him in the postseason. What makes you think this time around everything's going

to click for Aaron Judge? Is it just, you know, a lot of averages, you're back there again, it's bound to happen? Yeah, so part of it is he's swinging the back rate at the end of the season. You know, he and Stanton both were really locked in. And Judge really turned it on as the Yankees were winning 10 out of 11 or 11 out of 12 to wrap things up. He was at the center of all of it, hitting for average, won the batting title, hitting over 3.30, you know, 50-some home runs. And so there's that. I also, you know, my belief is, give me the guy who keeps getting me to the playoffs, and sooner or later, he's going to hit in the playoffs. Bonds, you know, Barry Bons, I thought, oh, Bonds can't hit the playoffs, can't hit the playoffs until he did.

A-Rod can't hit in the playoffs until he did. And so, you know, I think that if Judge is going to do it, he has certainly set up right now to be successful because he is swinging the bat very well. Well, you look at what happened earlier this afternoon. The Tigers end up beating the Guardian. Scoobel goes 8 and 2-thirds, 14 strikeouts. just a legendary outing, and, you know, that's what scares. Automatic win when you can get a performance.

Basically, you know, it doesn't hurt that Jose Ramirez, you know, takes off on a dribbler to the mound in the 9th, which was not an ideal play for the Guardians. But, I mean, having a guy like that, what else can you say? I mean, Scoobel, is he kind of, is he by himself at number one? Like, is Crochet close? Is there anyone close, or is it the last two or three years? It's just Scoobel and then everyone else.

Yeah, Crochet's close. I mean, you look at the, you know, their numbers. You know, the ERA, scoble's about, you know, four-tenths of a run better. But Crocee has more strikeouts, a few more walks. But Scoobo got the better whip. Scoobo's the Cy Young Award winner. I think it should be unanimous, and maybe somebody will get a vote to Crochet. But scubal is unbelievable.

And look, even though, I mean, Gavin Williams matched them, they just made two blunders defensively behind Gavin Williams. One in the first inning, the right-fielder Rodriguez booted a ball, allowing to run to score. And then Genji Noel lost where first base was, his foot slipped off the base that led to, you know, runners on, and then ultimately a safety squeeze to get the run in for the second run. But, I mean, this was a game where they were nickel and diming each other. I mean, it was, you know, death by a thousand cuts just trying to find ways to score. It was going to be who could get the most infield hits to score runs in this game because they were both great pitchers in that matchup.

And tonight, look, I think Crochet and Freed, you mean, Crochet is 3-0 against the Yankees this year and it's four starts and they won the other start. And Freed is 6 and 1 with like a 170-RA and his last 7 starts. That's going to be a great duel as well. should be awesome we got baseball it's cooking now steve we made it to the playoffs it's going to be a lot of fun basically every single night so enjoy the games we'll do it again later in the week okay thanks so much you guys steve phillips our baseball insider joining us here on the maple toota hotline drive the built in canada fuel efficient fun to drive toyter rap four

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