PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - 5 D-backs Rookies Who Could CHANGE The 2026 Season After IMPRESSIVE 2025 Debuts

Episode Date: October 1, 2025

JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4 The MLB Postseason heats up as four teams face elimination on Wednesday! We break down whose season could be ending and explore the latest managerial openings. Could this really be the worst time to search for a new skipper? And did that factor into the D-backs retaining Torey Lovullo? Plus, the Guardians’ No. 2 overall prospect Chase DeLauter makes his MLB debut in the playoffs, and we spotlight D-backs rookies who debuted in 2025 that could have a huge impact on the team’s success in 2026. We also have more from Mike Hazen on what this team will be prioritizing during their offseason quest to improve. Join Derek and Kevin for the PHNX Diamondbacks Show LIVE! An ALLCITY Network Production SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtube ALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-locker ALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Phoenix PHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/ ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/ APS: Find instant rebates, discounts and special offers on smart thermostats, energy-efficient appliances and more at https://marketplace.aps.com/default/heating-cooling/smart-thermostats Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order! Zen Leaf: Visit our friends at Zen Leaf (http://zen-leaf.store/phnx) for 50% off using promo code ZENPHNX Spencer’s Appliances: Visit Spencerstv.com and use code PHNX5 for 5% off appliances OR use code PHNX10 for 10% off TVs, audio and mattresses Chicken N’ Pickle: Family friendly fun awaits! Visit chickennpickle.com to plan your visit today! Phoenix Raceway: Tickets, hospitality and upgrades are still available for the NASCAR Championship Series October 31st through November 2nd! Visit the link HERE to get yours now! Access Auto Insurance Agency of Arizona, LLC (Access Auto) is a renowned agency offering personal and commercial auto insurance options to Arizona residents. If you’re on the hunt for a new policy, call Access Auto today at 1-480-400-0546 or get a free insurance quote by visiting our website. Visit Mountain America Credit Union to learn more about their MyStyle Checking Accounts! bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets! Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/ Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 20% off your first order! Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people. Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you! Monarch Money: Use Monarch Money to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/phnx When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #dbacks #diamondbacks #arizonadiamondbacks #mlb #zacgallen #corbincarroll #ketelmarte #mlbtheshow #mlbtraderumors #tradedeadline #traderumors #allstargame Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, it's Elimination Day in MLB, which teams will survive today, and also which managers will survive the day after some more firings occurred. Is now a really bad time to be replacing your manager? We're going to talk about it in 30 seconds. Don't you go anywhere? Another edition of the PHNXPACs podcast live from Studio K, presented by our friends in Circle K. I have way too much energy for this to be an off-season podcast, but welcome it to you all. Thank you guys for being here. This is the PHMX devax podcast. My name is Derek Monty, occasionally known as your mayor at the HNX.

And we're still talking baseball. Apparently, Damon missed the memo, and he's just not here today. So we got Kevin on the ones and twos, aka Large Intimate is back to beat me up. And also talk about baseball with me. No, no Wilbur's in the chat. Kevin, no Wilbur's in the chat. Those Wilbur's out of here. It's the wrong show.

You're obviously confused, sir. but welcome in to all of you guys. We are still doing this show. We're still talking about baseball. Glad to have you guys here with us. Of course, this show is brought to you by our friends at Bet365 in GameTime. Make sure to download that Bet365 app.

Use our code of PHNX 365 and get yourself some bonus bets when you first sign up. And over at GameTime, use our code of PHNX. You'll get $20 off your first ticket purchase on those already low last minute ticket deals. It is Elimination Day here in Major League Baseball. a couple of teams here facing elimination. Overall, we got the Tigers right now facing off against the Guardians. Last I checked that game was 1-1. Kevin will give us an update on that score.

Cubs could eliminate those ringless bums from San Diego once again, and that would be outstanding to see just based on pettiness and spite NL division rival. We can't ever hope for any of our division rivals to do anything good, right? Kevin, I mean, that's something that you as a car. Cardinals fan must staunchly believe in. And that's why you might not feel the same way about this series. Yeah, no, absolutely not. You cannot, you cannot root for these divisions. They can't do anything for you. When's the last time? The Cubs have ever done something for me? Never. It's like I said, I mean, I appreciate, like I appreciate what the Marlins did, right? The Marlins, they put up a fight,

much like the Diamondbacks did after the trade deadline. They played well after the trade deadline. but most importantly, they ended the Mets season. And at that point, they had nothing to play for. They were eliminated from the playoffs themselves. But what did they play for? Spite, pettiness, and I'm here for it. Eliminating your division rival who had an epic collapse, being a part of that,

being the one to land that final elbow off the top rope on them after your faction jumped them already in wrestling terms is amazing. But again, it's one of those things that you'd love to see the Padres go out. You would love to see the dogs. who could end the Reds fun today. The Reds were, you know, at least that team that benefited from that collapse there. And overall, love to see the Reds come back and do it to the Dodgers. Dodgers proved to be fallible.

They proved to have a weakness. Something we knew all too well. Their starting pitching is very good. Their offense is very good. If you can keep that game close, if the Reds can figure out a way to keep that game close today and get once again to the Dodgers bullpen, I think they have a chance. And I don't think this Dodgers team is nearly as tough as people think, considering how weak that bullpen is. I don't know who's going to step up for them, but I hope nobody does.

I hope all the bad things happen to them and nobody but them because, once again, spite. Great to see you guys here in the chat. Andrew, great to see you here. Candice, lovely to have you here as well. Kevin, get your emojis out of the chat. And again, the Red Sox could end the Yankees fun as well today. So who's going to be eliminated overall? I don't know if anybody's going to be eliminated.

I do feel like the Dodgers will probably end the Reds little postseason fun. I propose this to Kevin or to damning yesterday, Kevin, but I'll throw this fictitious situation out at you. Do you really care if your team makes the playoffs, if they just came in and get steamrolled in two games and that's the end of their playoff run? Not to say that that would have happened to the Diamondbacks because they do play the Dodgers well

and that season series ended 7 to 6 in the Dodgers favor, but it could have easily gone in the Diamondbacks favor, considering that one extra innings game. But overall, like, does a forgettable run in the playoffs matter to you for your baseball team? I think in other sports I'd be more inclined to say, you know, no, I'd rather finish lower, get the higher draft pick. But I think in baseball, it's just a different dynamic, right? I think you'd rather be in the dance because you never really,

know, but I guess in the hypothetical, where they do go in and get blown out immediately, I still think you take pride in making the run to the playoffs. I don't think there's really any shame. There is shame, in fact, in being like the first team not to make the playoffs, right? The first team to be cut, the first team to be eliminated out of that run. I think that is shame in there. If you're just bad the whole year and there's no hope, there's no faith, that that's one thing. But I think if you're in the race, as a fan, I want you in the race. Well, what are your thoughts overall on the three-game playoff format? Like having a, I mean, the alternative, I guess, could be the one-game playoff format,

which seems to be more dramatic, more fun, right? But, again, you're not really giving a team a true chance and considering that baseball as a whole is a game of series, right, throughout the year. It does feel like multiple games makes more sense than doing just a one-game playoff. Yeah, I think a three-game series is electric. Honestly, I think it gives the underdog, the road team an opportunity to shock people in game one really make their mark early on in the playoffs. And I think if you are, you know, if you're a road team in this situation and you're like, ah, you know, we want another chance to play at home. We want more opportunities.

Then go win. Like, if you have a problem with it, win game one and take control of the series, right? That's what I think about it. I think the three-game series to start the playoffs is electric. I think most people, most casual fans, when you find out the playoffs are going on, you're like, oh, it's the wild card already? And then it's already almost over. And you can just roll right into the stuff that really matters. Right. And that's, I think that's what happens with casual fans is they do get interested in the playoffs right away, but they haven't really been paying attention that much.

As Candace says, once the playoff starts, everyone is zero and zero. So there's that factor, right? And I do believe a team playing well and getting hot is a big factor. But I'm a lot. But I'm Kevinbacks did play extremely well in the month of September. I think that the way that they just kind of fizzled out with five losses to end the season, it's hard for me to imagine that particular team going in and doing anything in the playoffs. But, you know, again, I also was a skeptic when they made the playoffs in 2023. So much so, Kevin, that I made vacation plans two weeks out. It was like, I'm going to Vegas, baby.

And as you know, as you have been told in war and are well witnessed to, I had to change those plans. And I was happy to do so. It's just that I think that reinforces how little of little faith I had that the Diamondbacks were going to advance past the Brewers and take on the Dodgers, let alone did I think that once they faced off with the Dodgers that they would have handled them the way they did. We made the joke about it yesterday, but this is all our fault.

The Diamondbacks did this to the Dodgers. They smacked them in the mouth so hard that they went out and were like, no, we're getting everybody. We're going to get everybody is what we're going to. do we're going to ruin baseball for you because you beat us in the playoffs but real quick Derek in that vein of the question you asked me earlier about you know when's the last time a division opponent did something good for you yeah that red sox yankee series i feel like playoff rivalry series or is there anything better than that right getting like yankees mets or like redsox yankees or like cardinals

cubs especially this high of stakes right like where it's a three game series so it's not really different than what you experienced during the season. But the stakes couldn't be higher. A literal elimination game here. A little literal elimination series. And you're right. Rob Manfred must not have been able to sleep. He must have been so giddy about the facts

that the Red Sox and the Yankees matched up in the first round. It must have been like Christmas morning for him. He decorated his house and Red Sox and Yankees decorations and everything. Like big moment for Major League Baseball. But that's because, again, this is the kind of fun that could be had. Also, again, you know, we talked about. of yesterday, but the dichotomy of the Dodgers facing off against the Reds. Essentially, the biggest payroll in baseball against one of the smallest payrolls in all the baseball,

right? It's crazy. There's a 400, nearly a 400 million dollar difference between those two payrolls. And, you know, of course the Dodgers are going to win, but what if they don't? What if the Reds find a way to beat them? And I mean, again, it just says a lot for how random baseball could be and reinforces why Jesse hates this many teams making it into the playoffs because anything can happen. Anybody could be eliminated, especially here first in that, in that first, you know, three game series. I still like John Boy's proposal of adding more teams in. That was his proposal with the expansion of Major League Baseball, with adding additional two teams through expansion, adding it so that there are an additional, you know, additional teams that make it. But having the very first round be one game

series and then the next round be a three game series. This allows it to still move along quickly. And again, one thing I underestimate about that old playoff format was how exciting those games were for those one game wildcard games. We got to experience one of them against the Rockies and it was one of the most exciting moments in Diamondbacks history. I still have a lock of Archie Bradley's beard because of it, right? So there's there's that. But there's also the fact that like, again, baseball, one of the things that people constantly, have a problem with baseball that aren't fans of the game is just in general how long things take. The excitement of having that one game playoff game feels like it just generates a lot of

excitement right out of the gate. People are engaged and they're like, oh, wow, this is, you know, this is high stakes right away. So I don't hate that. But I really do like the three game format and I don't want them to make it longer. So I'm fine. I'm fine with the three game format. I think it makes a lot of sense. I do, I did think it was silly that, you know, again, so many series in baseball come down to three-game series and they reduced it down to a one-game playoff. That just always kind of felt weird for me. But speaking of eliminations, more managers have been fired in baseball, Kevin. The Atlanta Braves have partnered ways with Brian Snickder. I guess you couldn't really say fired. None of these are firings, and that's the way that sometimes sports works out.

We're just, we're just amicably splitting up. We're just both decided that we're were growing in different directions. You know, one of those weird Facebook posts from your friends that gets divorced. But the Atlanta Braves have parted ways with Brian Snickder. His contract has expired and the Braves will not be bringing him back. Meanwhile, the Colorado Rockies announced today that Bill Schmidt has stepped down from his role as general manager. And the Rockies just continue to be a mess, quite frankly.

And this might be good for them because maybe that organization needs some new leadership, but I kind of feel based on what I've been told by Rockies. fans that it comes down to ownership. It really does. And it's a weird situation there. I saw some Diamondbacks fans now starting to blame Ken Kendrick here for the Diamondback situation, mostly because fans feel like the Diamondback should have parted ways with Tori LaBello. But we've talked about a lot of managers being fired. Now, that does make mean that there's a lot of managers available on the market due to them no longer returning to their teams. But that also means that a lot of the viable candidates, if you're trying to upgrade

your manager to maybe a different point of view, maybe a younger manager or something like that, a lot of those guys are going to be interviewing for these other positions. And it would be very difficult this offseason for the Diamondbacks to be in the running, in the pool, against some of these other teams that are also looking for new managers in the dugout. So I feel like this is another reason why it's good that the Diamondbacks won't be entering this managerial search, this pool of teams looking for a new manager this off season. I trust your wisdom on the managerial front, but I had a different question for you, Derek, and not to throw you off your game here, or put you on the spot. But can Ken Kendrick win

with the fans outside of just winning a World Series every year? Because when the Diamondbacks make the World Series, right, somewhat like unexpected and kind of a heroic, fashion in a way, right? Then the next off season it's, well, he doesn't spend enough. He doesn't want to invest in the team. This team was just in the World Series and you're not going to invest. And then Ken Kendrick invests.

And now, that did not work out. And now it's Ken Kendrick can't manage the staff and Ken Kendrick should get rid of Tori Lavello. So I feel like, and I understand the fire Tory crowd, I'm not trying to be like a Tory apologist right now. No one's really in the position to do that. But I think like

Ken Kendrick, though, I feel like he's done what you wanted him to do at least this season. And I feel like it's unfair to be like, well, yeah, you spent, but now Tori's still here and I'm unhappy about that. And now that's your fault. Yeah, well, you could say something similar about Tori as a manager, right? Like, at the end of the day, it's not Tori out there on the mound throwing pitches, nor is it Tori who is supplying the team with the talent that, quite frankly, was underwhelming and under experienced. That is no knock. We are going to talk about five guys who made their debut for this team this year and we're instantly injected into high leverage situations that quite frankly I feel are unfair, but we're

extremely valuable to their development and for them to learn that you can go out there and get nicked up, as Tori likes to say, and you're not going to die. It's not the end of the world. You can post a six ERA and it's fine because we don't really care about the results as much as we care about getting a lot of those young arms, especially guys that they acquired at the trade deadline in the games to get major league experience. It was valuable from the perspective that the Diamondbacks were in the race right up until the end. So all of those games were meaningful. They weren't just thrown into meaningless, you know, junk time kind of situations. But they were also put into situations where they looked up and they were facing some of the best guys in

baseball, right? So I don't really feel like that's Tori's fault. But, Tori gets a lot of the blame for the wins and losses. Mike Hazen now gets blamed for not parting ways with Tori. And now Ken Kendrick has gotten blamed for not parting ways with both Tori and Mike Hazen, right? To be fair, those guys are good managers. Mike Hazen is a great GM. I would let him general manage my life. And Tori, I can't say anything bad about because me and Damon have Sunday dinners over at Tori's house and they're delicious. and I will never, ever, ever utter a bad word about that man. No, I joke.

But overall here, it's a factor of, to answer your question, Ken Kendrick has actually not received any criticism like he has in the past because there was criticism towards him in previous seasons about him being cheap and not spending. And now that's not the case because fans see that this team went out there. They added the best available pitching arm during the 2023 off season. That didn't work out. Jordan Montgomery was bad.

and then he got injured and then he was really injured. Then you also had Corbyn Burns, who was very good. And they added once again in the 2024 off season, the best available pitching arm on the market. And that didn't work out due to injury again. It's bad luck. I know Mike won't admit it's bad luck, but it's bad luck. It's really bad luck. It feels like when the team does open up their pocketbook and spend, it doesn't seem to work out in the best ways.

even some of the moves weren't great. Like we said the other day during Mailbag Monday, the Josh Naylor trade doesn't really look great now, considering that the Diamondbacks just got a few months of Josh Naylor for giving up the talent that they gave up, right? But it's just interesting, and I think it's a bad time to be looking for a manager, so I think it's another reason why letting Tori Lavello

finish out his contract in 2026 makes a lot of sense. And I think, again, the Diamondbacks are going to have a lot of changes that they're going to need to make in order to put a competitive team out on the field next year. That's another thing. As Ken Kendrick said, made some comments, which we will discuss about, you know, the payroll not being as big as it was in 2025. And again, Mike Hazen also responded to that, and we'll have video of that here shortly.

But I'm just, again, I think these are all reasons why as much as fans want to still be upset that Tori Lavello is going to manage this team in 2026. They feel like nothing is going to change with this team. and I don't think that's the case. I really don't. I just think that the Diamondbacks didn't have the personnel. And quite frankly, things happened to them at a time where they didn't have the ability to go up and pick up,

you know, the replacement players because of when it happened during the season. So I will also say this, though. Let's see. Deborah says in the chat, there's one more season on Lavello contract, perhaps not the right time. She also said Lovallo was there

when we went to the World Series in 2023. And I feel like that that run has run its course as far as giving Tory time, right? Especially considering when you look across the dugout at Bruce Bochy, who won that World Series and now is no longer the manager of the Texas Ranger. So it's another team that's in that pool, that mix, to try to find themselves a new manager. And I'm just thankful that the Diamondbacks aren't part of that. I don't know what this means for 2026 and beyond, nor does, or beyond 2026, I should say,

but nor does a lot of people due to the uncertainty of baseball even being played in 2027. So it feels like, again, that this is the right time to let Tori finish out his contract and outside of him having an extraordinary season with this team that no one expects them to have, you know, that most likely will be the end of his tenure here. He seems at peace with it. And overall, you know, it feels like, again, it's going to be a very difficult task for him in 2026 to find a way to have an extraordinary season. But should they find a way to do that, I believe talking extension and him being here beyond

that is on the table and rightfully so. But we're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we're going to talk about a Cleveland Guardian's rookie making his debut in today's game right now as we speak and some Diamondbacks rookies that made their debuts and what was basically a postseason race all through the month of August and September. We're going to do that on the other side of this break.

Don't you go anywhere? You're watching the PHA next Diamondback show. All right, Phoenix. Well, it's the off season, and I know we all need some peace. I know we still might need to get over this excruciating Diamondbacks 2025 season that ends with the record of 80 and 82.

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physically located in Arizona. If you or someone you know as a gambling problem wants help, call another next step, text next step to 533.2 or visit problemgambling.azin.com. Let's see. Mordecai in the chat asks for a mercury coverage. Kevin, we can just be a mercury podcast. I would do that. You can help on the Mercury pod tomorrow. Well, no, I know that's fine, but we could just have extra Mercury podcast because I want to talk about a winning

playoff team and they are in the finals and that's an exciting team to be watching. By the way, pay attention to that team. That team deserves your love. Not only do they deserve your love, but my God, I cannot believe the amount of people that have said the atmosphere there for what, game three? was electric

was more electric than anything they've ever experienced with any Suns game any playoff game in that building so what do we call the Merck Nation the X factor the X factor

yeah they're the X factor crazy that's behind me it's right there on the thing all right well real quick though I was calling them the pride of the valley thoughts on that I like that they are the pride of the valley I love that yeah I also have an update

for you I believe it's at a commercial right now But I believe it's still first and third with one out in the Guardians' Tigers game. Are they still one one? Yeah. Okay. Well, that's exciting. It's also exciting the Guardian's number two prospect, Chase DeLouter. I think that's how you say his name is making his debut in today's pivotal game, too.

That's fun. That's exciting. He is the sixth prospect in Major League history to make his MLB debut in the postseason. Can you imagine that, Kevin? Imagine making your debut on the biggest stage. in baseball. No pressure at all. Just go out there and get us a win, rook, right? You know, like, I mean, it's similar to what we do around here, you know, like, hey, welcome to PH&X. You're going live in like 15 minutes. Get in there and start producing, pal. No, literally. Like, you don't even know where catering is.

You don't know who your personal, like trainer is yet with the big league squad. And you're just shipped out there. And you're like, hey, go help us win a playoff game, a pivotal game on the road if you, if you must. I love the phrase ignorance is bliss sometimes because I really do feel like that's the case with rookies. You know, like you don't know any better. And I mean, honestly, sometimes the moment consumes you, it overwhelms you. But for the most part, if you just go up and you're just like, all right, I'm just treating this like it's playing, like we're playing baseball. And that's what, you know, we heard about Diamondbacks rookies a lot. Like, yeah, that's show Hey, O'Hawtonny that you're facing in the seventh inning. But it's really just a guy in a jersey with a bat in his hands.

go throw the ball like you know how to do and get the job done. And that was totally the case this year for Diamondbacks rookies. Like the Diamondbacks, yes, the Guardians have their rookie making his debut today, but you could say that the Diamondbacks have been doing this to their rookies since August 1st. The Diamondbacks have been fighting for their playoff lives since August 1st. And much like what the Guardians are doing today, they put their own rookies into these huge moments this season. I mean, all of these guys made their debuts this year. a lot of them were acquired via trades during the trade deadline and were pieces that were moved over here

and it didn't take very long for them to be instantly thrown into the fire and to see what they're made of. And I mean, again, there's a lot of people disappointed with this season. And I understand that. I truly understand the disappointment level with how this season went. But you probably couldn't have asked for a better situation to throw these rookies into, to really see what they're made of and to see where they're at and their development, which guys could handle it, which guys couldn't. I mean, there's all sorts of guys that made their debut for the Diamondbacks this season

that pitched in big moments and had their, you know, had that moment, had a moment, Taylor Rashi, other guys. But there were five rookies that made their debut that, quite frankly, next season could have a huge impact on this team's success and could be a big part, especially of the bullpen or a part of the starting lineup. I mean, guys like Branding Garcia, Juan Burgos, Superbad, Andrew Hoffman, Tyler Locklear, they were all minor league prospects acquired at the trade deadline that came to this team. They may have made their debut, may have played a few games at a major league level,

but still qualify as rookies that were then thrust into some pretty high leverage situations. Tyler Locklear was put into the everyday starting lineup until he was injured. You also had a number of arms that went out there and just had an amazing season for this team. their numbers don't reflect that and we are going to talk about their numbers because that's a part of this is that this there was very small sample size

and a lot of these guys didn't get a chance for things to even out for them but one bad outing shows how it can balloon your ERA you know putting up four earned runs, five run runs in a game suddenly change things for these guys but I don't think that changes their value to this team going beyond the season. Yes

their numbers look ugly for this year but I do think that a lot of them made a lot of big steps forward and that progression was only made due to the fact that they were playing at a major league level receiving major league coaching and you know just getting this valuable experience that quite frankly the diamondbacks wouldn't have like been able to afford to give them if they had better options but they didn't they didn't it was just like here you go this is what you have go throw brandon garcia out there in the eighth inning go throw brandon garcia out there in the 10th inning against the Dodgers. Oh, and then throw them back out there in the 11th inning,

by the way. You had Philip Abner. He went from pitching in High A Hillsborough to facing Sho Hey Otani in the biggest game of the year all over the course of one season. That's crazy. Yeah, he ends the season with a 4.91 ERA. He had three and two-thirds innings pitched of relief this year. He had three walks, five strikeouts, right? The end numbers are not going to overwhelm you again for any of these guys. But at the same time, it's the efforts that they gave. It's what they did for this team. And it's the improvements that we saw out of them. Brandon Garcia had a shaky start when he came up, right? But he quickly turned into what I would call a certified G and a bona fide stud. And quite frankly, as we've researched, you cannot teach that. He had a seven game stretch in September where he did not allow an earned run and only gave up six hits over six and two. two-thirds innings pitched. And oh, yeah, those six and two-thirds innings pitched in those six games were against some of the best teams in baseball. Welcome to the big leagues, kid. Go out there and get us some outs, right? Same thing with Andrew Hoffman. Andrew Hoffman's car spent more time in

Reno this year than he did. Super bad, as I love to call him. He got injured and he didn't give a chance, you know, he didn't get a chance. But he was incredible right away. And it caused Tori to just like be like, well, you're going out there. You're our new eighth inning guy. You're our new setup, man. You just got here to the major leagues for like a cup of coffee, but you're already setting up for a major league bullpen, right? A couple of other names I think will have a huge impact. And again, Hoffman, six ERA in 12 innings pitch with a 2.00 whip. Awful. Not great. None of these numbers are going to be great. But again, because it was in time in a time where it was valuable, but again, the Diamondbacks didn't,

really have any other choice. It gave these guys experience that you just can't put a price on. You cannot put a price on putting these guys into these high leverage situations and allow them to understand that they're not going to lose their jobs by going out there and not being able to strike the Dodgers out, you know, go one, two, three in a big game against the Dodgers, right? That's not what this team. I don't think that's what Tori expects them to do. I mean, he would love it if they did and he's hoping for it. His fingers are crossed, his toes are crossed. But in all reality, what you're hoping for is these guys to, in the moment, gain invaluable experience about facing a foe that is legendary. You know, you're sitting there on the mound against, you know,

Otani and you got a guy like Philip Abner who has ice water in his veins, right? So those are the guys that you feel like as they continue to develop, you are going to see them get trusted more and more and you're going to see them become a part of this bullpen that Mike Hazen somehow has to figure out what to do with during this off season. And again, Mike Hazen does not have a lot of money to spend here. But a couple of other names, Juan Burgos is another guy I think that's going to develop for this team nicely. He ends the year with the 6.08 ERA and 13.1 innings pitch. But he's another guy that looks like he has the makeup. Not a very big guy, but a guy that I feel like has the makeup to be, you know, a big arm for them out of the bullpen.

And then last but not least, Tyler Locklear. Lord knows what the Diamondbacks are going to do with their first base situation. I hope they have a first baseman next year. That would be great. Pete Alonzo is available. I don't know if you guys heard that. Maybe we go spend all of our money on him. No, I'm joking.

Don't do that. Please don't do that. But Tyler Locklear, meanwhile, made some big steps forward. I think offensively, defensively. He still has a lot of work to do. He ends the season slashing 175, 267, 262 with a 529. OPS and 103 at bats. He had three home runs, six RBI.

He walked 10 times, unfortunately struck out 43 times. So these guys do have a big responsibility now because much like Jordan Lawler, who will also be a part of this team next year and be a big part of their success, hopefully. They are not going to be evaluated after what happened at the second half of the season as prospects any longer. These guys will be evaluated as big leaguers, and that requires them to make that step forward this offseason and start producing on a more consistent basis. And that goes for the pitchers and for the position players like Tyler Locklear and Jordan Lawler. Jordan Lawler is no rookie, but still, again, another guy that kind of made his unofficial official debut this year where he kind of came up and stuck around.

And it looks like he will stick around for the foreseeable future and will be evaluated as a big leaguer. He slashed 182, 247, 288 with a 545 OPS that's gross. It's stinky. It's not good, right? But it means that he did take a big leap forward from having a zero, zero, zero, batting average and not being able to hit a breaking ball. We saw him to deliver in some big moments, including a game winning hit.

If you want to call what that was, a game winning hit that went like 45 feet. But you just felt like he did make some vast improvements with his bat. besides his bat, his defense has been something that he's working on. You felt like the Diamondbacks didn't really trust him defensively over there at third base. I will say this about Jordan Lawler from a personal perspective. And that is that every single day when I came to the yard, when Jordan Lawler was on the Major League roster,

he was the first and only guy I saw out there working on his defense with Sean Larkin and Tim Bogard on the field. Every single time I got to Chase Field. We arrive at Chase Field at 2 p.m. typically. Media availability with the players is usually at 2.30 and then we talk to Tori at 3.30. And that is, again, for a 640 start. So that is four and a half hours plus before the game when we arrive at Chase Field. And when I get there, Jordan Lawler is already on the field working on his defense. The guy's a dog. He wants to be here at a major league level and he wants to do everything he can to improve himself. Whether that's going to translate over to him actually being. you know, good defensively over there remains to be seen. I just, I have hope and I have more than hope. I feel like what we're seeing is a guy transforming into a big leaguer and working his way to, you know, to making himself into a very valuable baseball player for this team.

They need it out of them. They really do. There are too many positional gaps for this team next season, and they really could use Jordan Lawler to be a good. consistent everyday third basement for them over there so that they can play plays Alexander elsewhere perhaps in the outfield and fill that hole left by Lordus Gurriel's injury. So these things would all help this team vastly to not have to spend more money than they're going to this offseason. But we are going to talk on the other side of this break about the money

that Mike Hazen has to spend and also what his priorities are going to be with spending that money this off season. I did want to say, though, Kevin, I know you didn't watch the Diamondbacks consistently, especially once you beat me up and left the show, but do you feel like it's unjust of what the Diamondbacks did to their rookies? To see

those young guys put into these situations, like I said, Brandon Garcia put into the 10th inning and then brought back out for the 11th inning in a tie baseball game against the Dodgers that could essentially decide the Diamondback season. Is that a lot to ask or is that kind of like what

I was alluding to, a very valuable experience for him to have on a season where most likely you weren't going to end up making the playoffs anyway. I think it's both. I know that's kind of a cop-out answer, but I think it's little column A, little column B, right? I think it is great experience for a rookie to have, but I think it also speaks to some of the issues you've had all season. I mean, there's a lot of context as to why you're relying on a rookie in that kind of a spot, but I think relying on a rookie in that kind of a spot is kind of a red flag.

You don't have guys that you can rely on to go to in that spot. You're like, well, let's call up the rookie. See what they got. See what they got. Like, you should have someone you know who they have or what they have, rather. But I do think it's great experience. If you can be a rookie and you can show your medal, so to speak, in that spot, I think it's great. So I do think it's a little bit of both there, honestly.

They didn't have a choice. You know what I mean? And again, that's not a Tory situation. That's a Mike Hazen situation. Tori was consistently criticized for his usage of the bullpen, but who do you go to? Who do you go to when you look at the Diamondbacks 40-man roster? When you look at where they're currently at and what they're left with,

I mean, I still didn't like it, but Mike Hazen referred to this roster as a bad roster, right? I don't love that because I don't love the look for that for the young players and hearing themselves referred to as a bad roster, but I feel like it's straightforward and truthful about what this Diamondbacks had. and what they were able to do. I mean, I guess that, that again lends to what they were able to do here down the stretch

to keep themselves in the playoff hunt up until the final weekend. However, a lot of it required them to rely on some of these guys and kind of say, I don't care about how you feel in this moment. You're going to go out there and you're going to pitch in this moment. We're going to see what you're made of. And I think that we saw what a few guys like Abner and Garcia were made of. Yeah, no, I agree with you. Like you said, it's a great moment to see a.

exactly what you have in these young players. But to speak to what Hayeson said, I do think that that's a rough look. I won't say it's a bad look, but it's a rough look. If you're a player on the team and you're fighting and you're sacrificing a lot to be and try to try to pursue and be better every day. And then for your GM who's brought you here, so to speak as well, to look at the roster that he's assembled and been like, it's bad. Yeah.

I feel like it doesn't really help. But I also think that like you've alluded to on this podcast many times, Mike Hazen usually has a great relationship with his players. So I don't think that it's something that he would say without having like one-on-one conversations about, hey, I don't think you're a bad player. But right now, this compilation of skill sets that we have, they're not meshing.

And that makes it a bad roster. You can be good players that can't play well together. And what does that make you? A bad team, right? Full of good players. It would be like if Mike Hazen assessed this podcast. And he was like, look, we're trying. We're going out there.

we don't have the personnel we used to right we lost some bodies and unfortunately they were key members of this staff but you know we're gonna go give it our all and they're gonna do it every day during the off season too you know like that's i wouldn't hear my feelings heard about it maybe a little bit like i'd be like wasn't what it used to be yikes you know but i would be like he's right he's right what can i say you know we had some losses but all right well we're going to take a quick break and we're going to hear from Mike Hazen about what this team is going to do during the offseason and what their priorities are going to be in targeting. Mostly it sounds like they love the defense.

They saw a lot of praise coming Blaze's way. So don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PHA next Diamondback show. Well, the offseason is made for Pure Edibles. And of course, especially if you are a Diamondbacks fan, you want to still get over this loss. There's some wonderful, wonderful candies from our friend of Pure Edibles, which is a full-fledged candy company. They offer more than just gummies.

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You need baby's diapers with the sun's logo on it. That might be fitting. I don't know. I don't really want to get into the weeds on that. one, but they got it. They got it covered. Sunscreen with the D-Backs logo on it. It doesn't matter. Find your local Rallyhouse location and shop their entire product assortment online at rallyhouse.com today. And the Diamondbacks are getting ready to approach the offseason. We are going to do a lot of breakdowns on this podcast. We are going to give out our player grades for every player because why not?

We have plenty of time to do so. We're also going to break down the Diamondbacks offseason needs. And we already had a question on Mailbag Monday about what we felt like the Diamondbacks needed to do as far as priorities on assessing their off-season needs. Again, we got some more from Mike Hazen from yesterday's media availability on exactly what the Diamondbacks will be targeting. Here's what Mike Hazen had to say about that. Yeah, I look back on trying to figure out why that team played as well as it did. And, you know, some of it, we just played better baseball. I do think on the whole our defense was considerably different in the second half. I do think that helped smooth out the pitching that we were all very frustrated by in the first half of the season.

And I think that's probably something that I'm going to look to lean into a little bit more aggressively into the offseason. I think ensuring that our defense at all eight positions is where we needed to be. there's going to be knights that it's not going to be ideal necessarily or going for an offensive approach. But I do think we have a bunch of young, athletic, dynamic players that are good defenders that can impact the game on that side. And I do think, you know, our strategy offensively, I think we've led baseball and runs for the last couple of years and at various points in time, certainly a top five offense over that that timeframe. I think we're capable of having a little less maybe thunder in the middle of the lineup

if we're offsetting that with a much better defensive team. I think as much as we were all complaining about the results of the pitching staff in the first half, it was very difficult for me to tease out where the pitching wasn't up to par and where the defense was below. And those things were, those things were in combination with each other. When we don't make plays that I just, I look at what Blaze did, really in the second half. I mean, the amount of plays that Blaze made to get us out of innings that in the first half turned into a dumpster fire out on the field. And we're giving up a six-run inning. And we're just running back into the dugout and nobody thinks anything of it.

Oh, we put up another zero. Well, we put up another zero because Blaze shut it all down. And we have good defenders all over the place. And we can lean into that more aggressively. And I do think that's something that I take away from this second half. I don't think that the pitching staff and aggregate was more talented than the first half pitching staff. I think the defense was that much better in the second half. That's a great assessment, especially his assessment of it being a dumpster fire over there during the first half. Like, honestly, that's no attack on Gino or any of the guys that left.

But Josh Naylor did not play a good first base. And I felt like it got better as the season went on, but we had a lot of problems with infield. We had a lot of problems with Gino missing balls. Quite frankly, they weren't errors, right? But what Mike Hazen is alluding to there is that Blaze was able to make highlight real defensive play after highlight real defensive play. He was incredible. He was a game changer over there, as are many young players at times.

And that was the tradeoff with Gino. It's based on his age. You aren't going to see Gino necessarily making those plays as often as someone like Blaze. It's not to say that Gino wasn't capable of that because he absolutely was. However, you just felt like this team got a big injection of enthusiasm, enthusiasm and energy when Blaze came up and started playing third base. And a lot of that came from those type of plays that he made. And again, there were a lot of mistakes made early on, a lot of mistakes made by Geraldo Perdomo, who after the season confessed regrets about his defense and wish that he

had played better this year, which is incredible considering what he gave this team this season and what he was to this team. But everybody has ways that they can get better. Corbyn Carroll has, you know, some things with his base running there that we wish we got to see more, some more stolen bases. However, he just hits stingers now. So he gets on third a lot. So we just can't steal bases as often. Candice says Tony Parrishika made that infield defense.

He sure did. He sure did. But I will say that to not disrespect Sean Larkin too much, he was not very good as a third base coach. But it felt like things turned around drastically once he was able to focus on the infield defense and let Tim handle third. third base. Also, they work together in tandem to coach these guys on the infield defense. So I don't know

if Sean Larkin will return. There was no updates from Tori in regards to if there will be changes to his coaching staff, but I did feel like they got a big upgrade over there from Tim Bogar. And I think that that was another reason why this team improved in the second half, obviously. Making those tough decisions as the season went on is the only reason why this team became what it became. Right. But they have a lot of, you know, they're going to have a lot of holes to fill. And Mike Hazen commented on essentially Ken Kendrick saying that this team will not have as much money to spend this offseason. And he was asked if he would still be able to accomplish what he needs to do in order to make this competitive team. Here's what he had to say.

Yeah. Yeah, I don't care about the payroll. Although I think I've been fairly consistent with that for 10 years. I don't care what the number is. What we have, we'll figure it out. We have a lot of good young players. We have a lot of good young minor league players that all had really good years. So we traded off players at the deadline and picked up nine new players.

We should have access in the trade market to make improvements to this roster without money. And, you know, there's ways for us to move things around to free up where we may need to supplement. Yes, having those specific four guys on the IEL to start the season is not going to be ideal. We are expecting all of them back, which could be a big boost. for us, you know, moving in through the season, picking up Corbyn Burns in the middle of the season, wherever hurry up, lands back in, the two relievers, you know, those should be additions that if we can put the roster together at the beginning of the year and hold our own, we could be looking at a situation where we're adding impact talent as we move through the

season, which could be a huge plus for us. We will find ways to approve this roster going into the offseason, for sure. I don't think on the whole, you know, building a better defensive club comes at as high a cost as having to put together a huge offensive club. The starting pitching is going to be something we're going to need to focus in on going into the off season for sure. That's probably the number one area outside of building the bullpen again that we're going to have to focus in on. I mean, overall, the trades that were made were very effective for this team and are going to be a big way they're going to make up that gap next year. Those guys getting experience, as we just discussed a little while ago, is a big part of that, getting that. Getting

fast-track to be ready for 2026. And yes, it is Ladies' Day in the chat. So, hello. Hello, ladies. Good to have you here. When you take a look at the trades that were made by the Diamondbacks, right? You have what they got Cole Drake, which is now their top pitching prospect. And they got them, they got Cole Drake along with Mitch Bratt and David Hagamann, all great pitching prospects in exchange for Merrill Kelly. Merrill Kelly, who's now a free agent and a Texas Rangers team who misses the playoffs. Meanwhile, they traded Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery for cash considerations, and Shelby Miller lands on the IL. He will have Tommy John surgery. Jordan Montgomery was going to be off the roster at the end of the year, so the Diamondbacks get some money back for him. So

overall, a lot of their trades made, they traded Randall Gritchick to the Royals, and the Royals did not make the playoffs either. A lot of the teams that they traded, their players away to, had a similar fate as the Diamondbacks missing the postseason. And in the end, the Diamondbacks were able to add some very valuable young players to their system in exchange for players that most likely were going to walk at the end of the year. And if they are going to walk, then the Diamondbacks could still theoretically bring them back, right? Merrill Kelly could still be a big part of this team. He could still come back and help solve this problem that the Diamondbacks have with their two, you know, they right now have a gap in their starting rotation that's two

pitchers deep. They need to figure out how they're going to replace two starting pitchers in their lineup should Zach Gallen turn down their qualifying offer. So maybe, maybe Merrill and Zas Zach do return, but I just still feel like that's a bit of a pipe dream, right? I feel like realistically they're going to have to figure some other cheaper options out. Merrill Kelly might be that cheaper option, but I doubt Zach Gallant will be. Meanwhile, in regards to what he said about the defense, the Diamondbacks end the season with 10 outs above average. That ties them with the Phillies for 11th in Major League Baseball.

Not horrible, but still not what this team was, is and is known for, right? When you talk about Diamondbacks baseball, what their DNA is, it is defense. And again, they also ended the season 11th in fielding run value. That's at 12 above average. What that takes into consideration is a lot of defensive metrics, including throwing, blocking, framing, arms, and range. We know that their arms are terrible, but McCann helped a lot with the blocking and the framing. Their range is incredible because of how good their defenders are. and they're throwing again okay okay but still a lot of work to be done and again there are certain guys that we would love to see step up in 2026 because quite frankly we expect that out of them i think gabriel moreno is one of those guys that with the way that the season ended there's a lot of questions about his his play calling behind the plate and his value as a catcher to this team so that is something that i think will need a lot of work we want to see gabby back there we want morano to be

the catcher of the future for this team. However, you know, the being behind the plate part, that's fairly important. I do think that I do hope deep down inside that the Diamondbacks figure out a way to bring James McCann back. His value to this team seem to be off the charts. And quite frankly, I feel like it's an unfair advantage because he seems to be just an additional coach as well as a player. So sexy man, Jimmy McCann, needs to be a part of this roster in 26. But of course, we do want you guys speaking of joining rosters. We want you guys to join our friends out at Rally House. We're going to be out there shopping, having a good time this Friday, October 3rd at 430. We're going to be having a special live PH&X Cardinals show hosted by our friends

at Rally House. We'll be at their West Valley location in Glendale, just as Stones throw away from State Farm Stadium, two days before the Cardinals hopefully smash the Tennessee Titans into little overall pieces. They're going to pick off Cam Ward at least three times in that game and maybe have five sacks. There's my prediction for that game. Because what are the Titans? Huh?

Because what are the Titans? They're ass. Wow. That's what Cam Ward said himself. Oh, that's what he said? I'll show you that video after the show. I'm going to have to see that show. But I mean, that seems like a fair assessment.

And for Cam Ward, of all people, to be saying that is kind of wild. I know his offensive line is terrible, but so is he. Tony Pollard deserves best. better, by the way, let's trade him out of there to a team that can help my fantasy football team win. But speaking of football, I am no expert, but the experts will be out there. See, Bo and Johnny in person. Plus, you'll have a chance to win. We'll be giving away $5.50 rally house gift cards to our fans and attended.

So the best duo in sports, God be Rally House and PHNX. So make sure to join us for that on October 3rd at 4.30 p.m. My favorite part about this ad read is they said October 3rd, and then they put they, put a little TH next to it. So is it October 5th? Is that what it is? Is it supposed to be the third? The third.

I got to call out when people make mistakes on my stuff. You guys don't get to see it, but I need you to know. All right. Well, it is MLB postseason bracket time. Kevin, let's take a look. We haven't had a chance to look at this beautiful bracket that we got here for the postseason.

And of course, we don't really care. People don't care. People have given up on baseball. I know a lot of you probably. are just waiting until the World Series takes place. But here where we at, here is where we currently are at pending the outcome of today's games. Right now, we got ourselves a lot of fun going on here.

2-1 Guardians right now, bottom of the 8th. Ooh, 2-1 Guardians. The Guardians could send that one to a third game against the Tigers, which is kind of wild considering what the Guardians kind of did there in general to the Tigers, like coming up and stealing the division title from them out of nowhere at the end of the season. but that's what 162 games is all about. We got the Reds versus the Dodgers here, and the winner of that game goes on to take on the Phillies,

and then I'm conflicted because that's a real, like, can both teams lose situation for me there? Can they eliminate each other and just have the winner of the other bracket go on? I'm not sure. I also very much don't like the Brewers either, so that's why we're rider dying right now with the Chicago Cubs, and I know that's something that this man could get on the same page with. So I don't expect him to do that.

The Cubs right now are down one to nothing to the San Diego Padres. So that's something to keep an eye on. Guardians score another one. Oh, they're up three to one now? Three to one with another man on second. That's one out. That's tough. It's the bottom of the eighth.

And again, they, I don't know, though, Guardian's bullpen, not as good as it used to be, thanks to Emmanuel Claese being a complete moron. What motivation do you have as a baseball player that makes millions upon millions of dollars of doing anything with your money, but besides like spending it, leaving it into the bank, making more of it. I don't know.

I wouldn't be gambling it, that's for sure, but at least allegedly. I don't know what's going on there with Class A. But anyway, Kevin, let's throw this bracket back up. There's a lot of gross scenarios here. We obviously, as we've stated in the past, are Mariners podcast now. This is what we are the sea snakes and we want to see the Mariners advance once they take on the winner of this Guardians Tigers series. But realistically, looking at this bracket,

who do you think? Who do you think? Because I mean, I feel like this is wide open, especially like the Dodgers bullpen being exposed the way they were in that blowout, even though it was a blowout win, makes me really doubt that they might even be able to make it past the Phillies. Honestly, I'm just thinking about what the nightmare scenario would be here.

Yeah. And that's like, it's some iteration of Yankees in there. And then either Dodgers or Phillies, right? Yeah, yeah, that's the nightmare scenario, right? That's just straight nightmare nightmare. Well, and I mean, again, you're going to have a big, you're going to have potentially a big rivalry matchup there with the Cubs and the Brewers in the second round, right?

And again, I think that the brewers might be a little fraudulent, and the Cubs might finally start to figure out a way to win baseball games, even though they couldn't help us in any way at the end of the season. Big thanks to the Cubs for that. But we're still kind of rooting for them overall. I don't know. I'm just rooting for baseball to be fun. I think like what you said is true, the nightmare scenario would definitely be a Dodgers Yankees rematch. That's the biggest nightmare rematch. Nicholas Dalton, I agree with you. He says the same thing. I also don't really care to see the Phillies in there. Right? So if you throw that bracket back up, I feel like anybody else from the National League, Kevin, can you throw that bracket back up? Anybody else from the National League is acceptable here to me, honestly. Reds would be great. Cubs would be fine. Even the Padres, those ringless bums for them to get the World Series,

would be fine only for them to have their heartbroken by the Seattle Mariners. That would be neat. But yeah, no, I mean, on the AL side, I don't really hate a lot going on there. I mean, I'm not a huge, I would love to see the Blue Jays make it. I wouldn't mind to see either of the Guardians or the Tigers make it, even though that would end our Seattle Mariners' hopes and dreams. And then Mariners, like, I feel much differently about the AL, but those teams have hurt me less.

All of these teams on the left have somehow hurt me in some way recently, and I'm mad at all of them. So it's hard for me to want to root for any of them at all. But I do root for you guys. And I thank you guys so much for being here. You guys are the true MVP's, including Faj, who took time out of his busy day being a father to join us. Thank you so much, Faj.

We're going to still be here talking about baseball. So make sure, of course, to join us tomorrow. We're going to recap all of these elimination games. And we're going to talk more about the Arizona. the Diamondbacks off season. We got some grades. We got some grading to do. I got a lot of grading to do. I got to get on that and hand out grades to all. We're going to grade every Diamondbacks player season, all 40 of them. Why not? Again, we have plenty of time. What more am I going to do with my time this off season? Are you also grading your exes or no?

We're going to be spying on our exes a lot. We're going to be spying on our exes quite a bit this off season because a lot of them are still playing baseball. But of course, we thank you guys so much for your time. Make sure to follow us on Twitter. I'm at Kapp underscore Kband with a K. Keb is at Kev-O post. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Bax, but as always all roads lead to at pHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We love you guys. We appreciate your time. Don't forget your time is your most valuable commodity. We thank you so much for sharing it with us and we need your time. So please make sure come back and check out this show. We ain't going nowhere. We'll be here five days a week at noon, except one day a week. We're going to be

doing a post-game show on Tuesdays to make sure Jesse Friedman can join us. So I hope you do too. I hope you stick around and hang with us because we're going to be talking about baseball all offseason long. So again, thank you guys so much for your time. We appreciate it. We will see you next time. Until then, have yourselves a wonderful rest of your day. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it is so much more fun when your rookies can get valuable experience in high leverage situation.