PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - BREAKING: Andrew Saalfrank to Miss ENTIRE 2026 Season After Having Shoulder Surgery

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

While we were trying to celebrate baseball being back, we received unfortunate breaking news in the form of an Instagram post of Andrew Saalfrank in a hospital bed. According to Steve Gilbert from [MLB.com](http://mlb.com/), the Diamondbacks reliever will miss the entirety of the 2026 season after having shoulder surgery. We react to the news and discuss what Arizona is going to do to replace one of their best bullpen arms from last season. But that’s not the only gap in the D-backs roster. With a glaring hole to fill in left field heading into the 2026 season, we break down the three most realistic options as Spring Training officially gets underway. Is Arizona’s everyday left fielder already on the roster, or could Mike Hazen still have one more move up his sleeve before full-squad workouts begin? We also dive into what (and who) to watch closely during camp, plus the latest on 11th-hour deals popping up around MLB. And of course, we wrap it up with Mailbag Monday, answering your questions about breakout personalities, the D-backs’ closer situation, and much more. 0:00 BASEBALL IS BACK!!!! 9:15 Are the Brewers done? 13:45 BREAKING: RP Andrew Saalfrank out for year 20:30 Potenital Blaze Alexander replacements 26:40 Jordan Lawlar moving to OF 32:40 Ryan Waldschmidt = LF of the future? 38:00 Lourdes Gurriel Jr. back soon 43:00 Back to being sad about Saalfrank 49:50 Derek's thoughts on Bad Bunny halftime show 53:30 Mailbag Monday 1:04:50 Sign Zac Gallen + trade Brandon Pfaadt? 1:12:30 Most exciting things about 2026LIMITED-TIME 60% off Diehard Offer: https://gophnx.com/intro-offer-youtubeJOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsportsMERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-lockerALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of PhoenixPHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/Phoenix Raceway: Get your tickets now for March 5-8! https://www.phoenixraceway.com/march-cup-weekend/?CID=PIR_DI_TP_BA_PHNX26Spring_251120ALLCITY — 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/Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order!Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visithttps://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotesbet365: 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/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!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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We made it. Pitchers and catchers report tomorrow, and baseball is welcoming to another edition of the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast. L! from Studio K! presented by our friends in Circle K. We are back, baby. Baseball is back. We are going to be seeing dudes in tight pants running around throwing baseballs here shortly, and we cannot be more excited about it. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor of P.HMX or El Mejor, depending on which way you want to pronounce it. I got my guy Damon Dog on the ones and twos, bark, bark to Damon, aka Damon Farrell. And I'm thrilled to be joined by all of you guys here today. We got Mighty Schumann trying to predict what thing is going to befall us after we're done wrapping this episode up. He says, I bet Gallen will sign right after the show. You're probably not wrong.

You're probably not wrong. And we actually do have a question about that for our mailbag Monday chat, because as you know, today is that day and you know what we do on this day. But more importantly, we made it, folks. We made it. We made it through the long winter. We made it through that terrible period of time known as November when no action was really going on for this team and free agency or during the offseason. And we have arrived at the week where spring training officially starts. pitchers and catchers report tomorrow the diamondbacks will open their 29th spring training this week

let's go there's 16th at salt river fields a talking stick and uh it's thrilled i'm thrilled i'm thrilled to be out there i cannot wait to go out and watch some baseball action uh of course uh thank you guys for being here only one like in the chat we got to increase that let's get some likes in here of course make sure you subscribe we are so incredibly close to 50 000 subscribers We didn't hit it by the Super Bowl, so no pizza party for Damon, but we still want to get 50,000 subscribers anyway. Sorry, Damon. Sorry about your luck on that. No food.

I sleep at the office. It's brutal. This was all I had was the pizza party. Damon will put a little bit of dirt on his tongue and mix it with some water. He'll be fine. Speaking of dirt on my tongue, can't wait to be at Salt River Fields tomorrow with that wind blowing in my face and watching these guys do. my favorite part of this week is how simple the routines are, Damon, how rudimentary, how they get back to basics.

And you see guys literally rolling the ball on the ground to each other and such. It's just a reminder of how baseball is still a kid's game. And you got to start with the core essentials, right? You got to start with the basics here. And that's what we'll be watching baseball players do. If you have never come out to Salt River Fields, now is a great. time to do so. Not only is the weather going to be beautiful this week and probably throughout the entire spring training season, but I mean, it's, it's amazing. The access you get, the, the,

the players you can meet, the, just the fun to be out there watching these guys get ready for the 2026 season is a great way to spend a day, maybe playing hooky from work. It's the best time of year, Derek, from a weather standpoint out here in Arizona. It's fantastic outside. It's so good outside. some there and they're my roommates being you know particularly the freaks I'm talking about here but there there's been some chatter about how you know don't you like the winter no no no I like the fall in the spring I live in Arizona for a reason I've been watching the winter games taking place in Italy it looks awful to me Damon the way that those people are all they're they're wearing huge jackets and they have hats on top of hats like don't get me wrong that doesn't seem as terrible to me as sweating away uh in in Arizona sometimes during July, like maybe being wrapped up in a jacket might be a little better. However, nothing's going to beat the springtime in Arizona. I'll tell you that much, especially when you get to go out and watch so many of these young prospects, make a name for themselves, perhaps find a way onto this team, find a way

under this major league roster. I think that's one of the most exciting parts about spring. This year is going to be a little weird with the World Baseball Classic and so many Diamondbacks players participating in it. We're not going to get to see Corbyn Carroll and Cattel and Geraldo as much as we normally do, but there'll be plenty of at-bats to go around for the other guys. And that means that watching guys like Ryan Waldschmidt, who is ranked as the organization's top prospect by MLB Pipeline,

you know, out there is going to be a lot of fun as well as, you know, left-handed, left-handed pitchers, Cole Drake and Mitch Bratt, infielder Tommy Troy and outfielder Drew Jones, all going to be out there. It's going to be a fun time to see all of these guys. So the Diamondbacks open their official spring. game schedule against the Rockies, as they always do, at Salt River Fields on February 20th at 110 p.m. And they will play host to Team Mexico, Alec Thomas's Team Mexico. That's going to be an awkward afternoon. Team Mexico will play an exhibition game against the Diamondbacks on March 3rd

at 110. Then they have a game here with the Dodgers on the 25th at Salt River Fields. And then they host the Cubs on March 18th. So a lot of fun to be had, some big matchups to go out if you care about big matchups during spring training. I'm not going to expect you to. It's fine if you don't. Another fun thing to watch when it comes to the young talent and the future of this organization is the spring breakout game. We talked about that a little bit when it was announced. But again, it's a team comprised of the Diamondbacks top prospects. They will be taking on a team of the Rockies top prospects. And that will happen on March 21st at 5 p.m. out at Salt River Fields. That's part of a double header. So if you buy tickets to the game that day

at 110 against the Reds, you will also get a ticket for the spring breakout game. If you love baseball, that's the day to attend. That's a good double header. But with spring right here happening soon, we cannot wait to get, move on to, you know, what the Diamondbacks roster is going to look like. We're going to talk a little bit about who we think. ends up in left field for this team. And one of the options that's kind of been floating around and rumored that we don't like. We're going to talk about that as well. But some deals happen today, 11th hour deals, if you will, when it comes to spring training and pitchers and catchers reporting.

You have the Boston Red Sox finally making the move. It feels like they've been attempting to make here. They get somewhat of a replacement for Alex Bregman and Raphael Devers, I guess, if you want to say. They complete a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers where they will get Caleb Durbin, who is a top prospect, has been a top prospect across baseball. He's 25 years old, versatile infielder, finished third in National League, rookie of the year voting last year for the Brewers. They also get infielder Andrew Monastiero and infielder Anthony Siegler.

And they get the Milwaukee Brewers competitive balance. Round B draft pick. By the way, the competitive balance draft picks, the only draft picks that can be traded in Major League Baseball. In return, the Milwaukee Brewers receive former top prospect and Kyle Harrison, infielder, David Hamilton, and lefty pitching prospect Shane Drohan, which a lot of people have talked about the pieces

that the brewers received being some very highly touted prospects. But this is weird, man. I mean, the Boston Red Sox obviously addressed their need at third base after Alex Brighman leaves in free agency. And the Brewers get a young left-handed arm in Harrison, who is, who was the key piece in Boston's Devers trade. So now almost every piece from the Raphael Devers trade has been moved by the Red Sox, I think, with the exception of one player. And the Brewers, who had the best record in the National League, seemed to be. having a fire sale before 20 to 26 has even started. Damon, it's a weird situation.

And I understand the Brewers being in a similar position as the Diamondbacks as far as constantly needing to rebuild and that the key to rebuilding is through young prospects with years of control that they can turn into stars. There's no doubt in my mind that this pitching prospect, Kyle Harrison, will turn into probably one of the best pitchers in baseball. in the brewer's system. So I guess that's the big difference between them and us. But just odd.

Odd considering how close the brewers were to being a top contender for the World Series. And now, you know, they're moving on for so many of their key pieces. No team in baseball will have a larger falloff from their win total of last season to this season than the Milwaukee Brewers. Jackson and Truro has to do everything for that team, man. offensively at least it feels like and then Bryce Durang I mean they also got rid of freddie Peralta who's their best picture I mean they're they they got rid of a ton of pieces that's off season and I think it's a retool and it's a lot of what we talk about like selling high on players and trying to get the most value I guess you can but the brewers just take that to an

entirely new level they had the best record in baseball last year and it seems like they're going to get like third place in their division this year maybe maybe that doesn't check out because they're just a good organization and you know they have good you know stability in place to, you know, keep above water. But at the same time, it's just hard to envision getting rid of that level of talent, Derek, and, you know, somehow being even close to as good as you were last year. So, yeah, I mean, it's what gives like the pirates a chance in that division, right? Is that, you know, the Reds fans probably feel like they have a slight shot.

Like, the Cubs are the favorite, but that division is wide open, man. Well, I mean, and I'll tell you this much. it means there's one last team in the National League, I feel like that we have to really worry about. Some of these moves that are occurring recently are good for the Diamondbacks, right? It makes these teams less powerful. Also, is this it for the Cattell Martade of Boston Red Sox rumors?

Did we finally defeat them? Did we finally put them to bed forever now that the Red Sox got some sort of young infielder? lose this number once and for all but Damon speaking of teams getting better in the National League or not getting better

Marcel Azuna is now a pirate the pirates agree to a one year $12 million contract with the veteran slugger Marcel Ozuna still pending a physical includes 10.5 million in salary for 2026 and a mutual option for 27 which just means that

there's no option for 27 that features a $1.5 million buyout. It feels like a lot. I know we discussed OZuna possibly coming to the Diamondbacks. I mean, three-time All-Star, D-H, personal issues that a lot of people don't want to be connected to him as a player for those reasons, but still a guy that hit 21 home runs in slash 232, 355, 400 in 2025 for the Braves. Yeah, I mean, we, it feels like every guy that we've kind of talked about filling a need on this team recently. signs with a wild card contender in the National League.

Whether it's Luis Arias or Harrison Bader to the Giants or now you're looking at Marcelo Zuna, the pirates. Like, everybody's signing with whoever we would most probably want not to them to sign with. From a competition standpoint. That's the true. So, yeah, this is fun. But all good. Hey, you know what? At least we didn't pay that much for them.

And I think that's what it comes down to overall. I mean, it's not a bad contract. It's not. I'm not saying it is, but I'm also. He's an above average DH and, you know, it's very short term. I think, you know, if that was a move that Diamondbacks made personal standpoint things aside, like that would have definitely been an upgrade on this roster, no doubt about it. Speaking of upgrades on this roster or maybe downgrades, Damon, we kind of have some breaking news here.

I just sent you the link in the chat, if you would. if you get a chance to grab maybe that image, but some unfortunate news for the Diamondbacks this morning. Andrew Saul Frank has posted an Instagram post, which I believe Mighty Schumann addressed in the chat, Damon. He said, did Saul Frank get surgery? Are we getting injuries again? Well, 12 minutes ago, right as we started this show,

Andrew Saul Frank posted an Instagram post that shows him in the hospital, in a hospital bed with a sling on and things don't look good. Now, this is a man that we just speculated, what was it, last Friday, that he could potentially be the closer for this team or at the very least with the amount of, you know, with the competition being what it is in the bullpen, would at least be probably a late-inning setup man, if not the closer for this team. and instead we're seeing this post this morning. Andrew Saul-Frank said the game of baseball can be a brutal one,

but it's also given me some of the best moments in my life, and I don't expect that to change moving forward. It's all part of a bigger plan that I will never understand. A big thank you to Dr. Meister and the entire team at TMI. And then thank you to everyone in advance for the sport and what wishes just another bump in the road of living out my dream. So, and then a proverb, proverbs verse. I mean, first of all, devastating, considering how good Andrew Saul-Frank was for this team in 2025.

In fact, we called him one of the lone bright spots for the Diamondbacks last season. No update yet. This does not appear to be a Tommy John surgery, but we do not have really very much in information in regards to what has gone on with him. So I'm sure we'll have some info come our way here very soon. especially with this Instagram post while I continue to do this show, I'm sure Steve Gilbert and Nick McCorough are on the case. But again, a devastating blow if the Diamondbacks do lose yet another one of their relievers for a significant period of time due to injury.

This is, again, one of the best arms that the Diamondbacks had in 2025 in their bullpen. So that sucks. But we have so much more to talk about, including what the Diamondbacks are going to do in left field. we might as well need to do another show here right now about what the hell they're going to do for their bullpen, which continues to take blow after blow. But... Sazar says Dr. Meister's making millions off the debats.

Oh, Dr. Meister is putting his kids through college on the Diamondbacks payroll. But on the other side of this break, we are going to talk about the Diamondbacks other kind of big hole in their lineup, which right now would seem to be left field. We have had some rumors about a potential free agent addition, But more importantly, we think we have three good qualified players that are right here on this team that could end up being realistic options for the Diamondbacks in their outfield in 2026. We're going to talk about it on the other side of this break.

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I'm trying to muster up the enthusiasm to continue doing this show. But I'm not okay right now after seeing the Andrews-Allfranck Instagram post. I won't lie. I'm not okay. I'm going to try my best here to figure things out. And I'm sure Mike Hazen's feeling something very similar as well if he's just now finding out about this. I'm sure that's not the case. But again, the bullpen, a lot of questions when it comes to what they're going to do with the bullpen. Greetings to Robert Berman. Robert, sorry to welcome you in like this, but since you just got here, I do need to tell you that Andrew Saul-Frank just had surgery and we'll be missing time. And we still don't know the exact details about that. But we also don't know what the Diamondback's plan is for left field. And while there are

some options that are members of this 40-man roster, it still doesn't feel like those options are great options at this point. Now, they could very easily turn into great options and make me look foolish as I sit here and act like they won't be good out there and left. But again, you know, when it comes to the changes that were made to this team and especially the players that they've moved on from, including Jake, you know, Jake McCarthy there, that this team definitely has a gap until Lordus Gurriel Jr. returns.

And we have some options that may include Lordus, but we did see one rumor floating out there in regards to a free agent that the Diamondbacks might target. And that's utility man Luis Reniore. Guifo, who is capable of playing a whole lot of positions, just none of them exceptionally well. He's a switch hitter, and the rumors have kind of started because after the Diamondbacks traded, Blaze Alexander, they have a hole to fill not only in their infield roster, but a hole to fill in their outfield as well.

They need someone to back up second and third base, and Rehnifo kind of popped up on Insiders' radars as what would be a low-cost, versatile option to fill the gap for the Diamondbacks. But even as a one-year signing, even as a low-cost option, it's not a great option overall. His ability to switch hit and have some shifting needs and stuff makes him appealing. But he's not a splash target by any means. He's a practical piece. just nothing that you love. I mean, this is a guy that's definitely going to serve the utility,

outfield, infield position, similar to Tim Tawa, similar to Kevin Newman in the past. He can play second base, third base, shortstop, and even the outfield, which is huge for the Diamondbacks. And I think that's the reason that makes him most appealing. But his career numbers aren't great. If we take a look here at his stats for his career, he's been with the Angels his entire time as a major leaguer he's hit 250 with a 688 OPS he's got an 89 OPS plus got minus 16 defensive runs saved in his career and he averages a 1.6 baseball reference war though did not put up those numbers last year last year he struggled and his numbers were far worse than this as far as his inconsistency at the plate and not being a big power sword.

that's all fine because I'm not sure if the Diamondbacks would be looking to add a player that can be a utility player like this in the same way or and expect much offensive production out of him. But Damon, his defense is pretty bad. Yeah, I'm looking here, Derek. He had negative 4 DRS at second base, negative 5 at shortstop. He's horrible at shortstop. He barely even plays there and that's how bad he is at shortstop. We don't need him there. Negative six at third base, which he mostly plays second base.

So that's that negative four, I guess. You probably want him at second base is what we're seeing here. And then in the outfield, he's negative one. And that is at times split over in left and right field. So he's probably primarily a second baseman and a left fielder for this team. He's been okay at those positions. You do not want him to play third base or shortstop from the looks of this. Well, and he would be asked to play third base.

Maybe not a lot, but he would be asked to play third base, I'm sure. From what we saw from Blaze last year, Blaze is a significantly better third baseman than Luis Renji Fo is. Yeah. And at this point, it would definitely not be about finding a player that's, I guess, better than Blaze. It's kind of like the way that people have speculated on that trade the Diamondbacks made last week for Alexander that they could. could have traded someone else like Jordan Lawler. And Damon and I gave our reasons why we think the organization might not do that. The biggest being that it would be selling low on Lawler,

but it also might just straight up be the fact that the Orioles didn't want Jordan Lawler. Maybe for what the Diamondbacks wanted in return, they very specifically wanted Blaze Alexander, right? I mean, I don't think Jordan Lawler is on the table for a guy like Cade Stroud. No offense. I think Cade Stroud could be very good. Like Jordan Lawler is supposed to be the headliner of like a big baseball just stopped for a moment type of trade. That's fine.

I mean, that's fair to say, but there's nothing that he's done that would warrant that at this point. No, and that's probably why it hasn't happened, or in part at least. Right. But again, that's the reason why we don't love Rengifo. Now, again, based on what he could bring to this team, he very well could be a versatile player. It's just like not somebody we want to see as an answer to their outfit. field problems specifically. This might be a guy that backs up and does some of the things that Blaze used to do and just have that versatility also be a bench bat and a pinch runner in certain

situations and whatnot, but it still feels like the Diamondbacks have better options. And Jordan Lawler feels like he is that option. So when we take a look here at realistic options for the Diamondbacks, Jordan Lawler would apparently appear to be the most likely player to take over in left field as of right now. Originally a shortstop in an elite top 100 prospect, Jordan Lawler has obviously battled injuries and a crowded infield for playing time, an infield that he wasn't necessarily going to be able to break into with the way that Cotell Marte and Heraldo Perdomer playing. It's the reason why they attempted to make him work over at third base. right so but now you know the trade of blaze alexander kind of makes jordan lawler i guess stand out a little bit more is that is that it because blaze and jordan were in a similar spot right where we

didn't know where they were really going to play especially once the diamondbacks added nolan or notto and it did feel like especially based on the performance from last year blaze got playing time in left field and he excelled there defensively had one of the best defensive plays of the year when he robbed a home run out there. So I do feel like, you know, again, if those two guys were on this team, it would feel far more likely that Blaze would be that guy. But Mike Hazen made some very explicit comments as far as what the DeBack's plans for Lawler are in 2026.

He said on his position in spring training reps that Lawler will, quote, get the majority of his work in the outfield. that's what Mike Kaysen said on where the Diamondbacks plan on using Jordan Lawler this spring. He went on to say, let's do it. Let's go. I mean, it's, and it was, you know, Mike, I'm not going to say that Mike is noncommittal, but if it, you know, if it was just a possibility, I doubt he would be that firm on it. And he said, we're not closing off the infield, but I still think that's probably more, the more realistic path here. You're going to see him work in the infield some. The majority of his work is going to come in the end field.

outfield. And he said, I think we're excited about what some of these younger guys can do. Performance in earning it is going to matter. They're not viewing Jordan Lawler as a prospect any longer. They said that last year. So at this point, Jordan needs to work out somewhere. We saw that in a very limited capacity he was playing outfield in the Dominican Winter League. And now, again, it appears that he is going to be a primary option there in left field. I don't hate it I mean I think that He struggled a little bit in the infield

Especially at the major league level It seems like he's been fine at the minor league level But majors You know when he's played a little bit of shortstop A little bit of third base It hasn't exactly been pretty I think that he's you know Definitely a top tier athlete

There's a reason he was a top 10 prospect in the entire world When it comes to this sport Let him go be an athlete in left field Let's like let him just react to stuff be an athlete, makes him athletic plays, I think it could be a good move for him. And if it's what gets him at bats, it's the best move for him. I was going to ask you this because of your time playing baseball.

Like, is it an easy transition to go to the outfield? I feel like we assumed that it was going to be with Cotel Marte when the Diamondbacks moved him to center field. And it was a disaster. Yeah. Now, part of that is just due to the fact that Cotel Marte, at least at the time, and still to this day is a very good second baseman. So it's more about his skill set definitely seemed like it was meant for an infielder

and it didn't translate well to being a center fielder. But with Jordan, they've moved him all around anyway. So does it matter moving to the outfield? What are your thoughts on? I think it's a case-by-case basis. You know what I mean? Some players are just naturally going to be better at playing multiple positions or transitioning. Like, I mean, look at a guy like,

As much as we hate him, like Kike Hernandez plays everywhere that the Dodgers have him play every postseason. And it doesn't matter. He's just going to give you a good defensive output no matter where you put him because that's just a very good defensive player. So I feel like Lawler definitely has the athletic chops to make that transition. And there's a reason he's playing third and short and it's because he does have a pretty good arm. Right. And so that plays in the outfield as well. I think that it certainly could work out.

And if the Diamondbacks are putting this much faith and belief in him in making this happen, and that seems to be plan A as Jordan Lawler takes over to left field until Lourdes gets back, to me, I think we have to trust the organization for putting that trust in belief in him, that he can make that transition because they're the ones that are around him all the time. They're the ones that see all the data on what he's getting readwise. and how fast he's running and how that would how his arm strength would play in the outfield. They know all of that stuff, right? They know all those analytics and are privy to that that we're not.

So I think that, you know, we got to kind of put our faith here in the organization in terms of them being like, yeah, this guy's an outfielder. All right. Let's see it. I think, you know, he definitely could be. And it definitely feels like the path to playing time for Jordan Lawler right now. And you're right. I mean, again, there is definitely something to be said about what they are.

seeing and what they like about him being out there versus what we know and what we've seen out of him in a very limited capacity, right? Overall, we have not seen him play outfield. So we don't know how well he could do it. No, no, we don't. And when he played in the Dominican League, I think Jarme put it up there in the chat. Like he didn't hit well. He was playing outfield.

We don't know how his outfield looked in that Dominican Winter League. But he, I will say that his stats at the, at the plate were not. anything close to good or something that you would be excited about. I think that, you know, it absolutely, to Jarmy's point there, it absolutely is a proven season for Jordan Lawler. This is his, this is probably his last chance to show people that he's the prospect that he was hyped up to be. And I, the Diamondbacks are going to give him that chance.

And, you know what? It's, as I've said a lot recently, like, it's going to be one of the things that makes or breaks this entire season. Well, another young athlete. prospect blue chipper that could fill that role in left field could be Ryan Walschmidt. I do feel like Mike Hazen overall was talking more about Jordan Lawler when he was referencing guys coming into spring training and being able to win a job. But he also had a weird response to our guy, Alex, from 98.7 Arizona Sports when he kind of

wouldn't name who he was referencing, but he kind of was like, we all know who we're talking about. And really, when it came down to it, it's Ryan Walsh Schmidt. That's who he was really referencing, and that's who Alex was referencing. A guy that was drafted 31st overall in 2024 out of the University of Kentucky by the D-backs, 6-2-205-pound right-handed hitting outfielder. Kind of sounds like the exact same thing that the Diamondbacks need. A right-handed hitting outfielder out there playing left field who was known for excellent on-base skills, excellent plate discipline, power and athleticism, most important.

importantly, defense in the outfield. I mean, he had a breakout season in 2025. And the minors, he was the Diamondbacks minor league player of the year. He finished with strong overall numbers. And again, he's in AA Amarillo. I know that jump would be drastic. It would be pretty drastic to have him just bypass Reno. And when it comes to hitting, I almost want guys going to Reno, right?

I just want... Isn't Amarillo even crazier, though? They're both similar, right? Yeah. But I just don't really feel like, again, if what I see out of you I like, I don't see necessarily a need to stop in Reno. So there could be a big shift from him being a AA minor league prospect to potentially being on the major league roster. I think that's unlikely. And of the three people we're discussing here, I think he's the least likely.

Just because he is so important to the future of this franchise that you do not want to simply move him up and bypass. an entire year of development in the miners simply because of need. However, if he's ready, he's ready. So if he's ready, Walschmidt could be part of a youthful group that adds long-term depth to this team. And again, just could make this a very exciting outfield to watch. Yeah, I mean, I'm excited for Ryan Walshman. I've said that.

He just feels like such a high floor player to me. Like, and I'm not saying that the ceiling isn't high as well. I don't mean, I don't think it's Corbyn. level, but there's a reason that Corbyn was top 10 and Walt Schmidt's like top 50. But at the same time, I just think that this dude is like, there's no way that he's not a decent MLB player with his profile, right? Like he just seems like such a steady hitter. He seems like he's balanced. He does everything well. He can hit for power. He can hit for average. He gets on base. You know, you look at his stats last year for both the hops and the sod poodles. And, you know, you got to keep in mind here that

he wasn't he was drafted in 24 right like he's already in double a he played as he's he's jumping up really fast at the level that you would want to see a top prospect move up like you know to this you know this speed right and over the course of the season he hit 289 had a 892 ops Derek that's a 419 OBP a 473 slug and he totaled up 18 home runs 70s 70s RBI and then as you said he's a solid defensive player as well like I just think that you know if he gets an opportunity I could really see him kind of taking it and running with it I'll say if Jordan Lawler gets off to a slow start and Lordus needs a bit more time yeah like I'll tell you the options are not so thin where you know you can put in Ryan Walschman and maybe get back a pretty

decent output if he doesn't make the opening day roster I think he is one of the first in line for a mid-season call-up, even with whatever level he is at. I imagine that he's going to start the year in AAA Reno after having this invite to spring camp, but that's something that we could keep an eye on. Last but not least, you talked about him. Lordus Gurriel Jr., the superhuman, an X-Man, a real-life X-Man. Tori said, on September 2nd, Damon, and I quote, usually the first thing I go to is a timeline if it's accurate and it's fairly firm in regards to Lourdes.

This was the day that Lourdes came back that he had torn his ACL and he would miss the remainder of the season. And at the time, we were told a good chance he would miss the majority of the 2026 season. Tori went on to say, in this case, there's a little bit of fluidity to it. So I'm hoping that it's shorter than longer. which is always just a funny thing to say. Tori went on to say, Lordus feels like it could be eight months. That might be the case.

This is when he got injured, by the way. This isn't Lordus talking about it during rehab or after surgery or anything like that. Lordus at the time was like eight months. Tori said, I told him to get on the phone, talk to some players that have had it, go ask questions and figure this out and understand what you're getting ready to walk into.

So Lordus did exactly that. Eight months, Damon, from that day, exactly, would have him returning on May 1st, 2026. But according to Google and the Internet, which you know is always reliable and is never wrong, and there's no misinformation out there. Typically, nine months is the average turn time with complicated situation. taking up to 12 months. And in some cases, athletes returning to full action

within six months. Damon's six months puts him available for opening day. And this man's already sliding into bases and jumping up onto boxes with his bad ACL. So I don't know. I know we talked about all of these other options, but it feels like there is an actual chance,

an actual, fairly unbelievable chance that Lordus Guriel Jr. is ready by opening day to play left field for this team. Yeah, it's non-zero for sure. I mean, he said it himself. He's floated that out there himself, right? Go look at his IG. It's insane.

Hashtag opening day 2026. And I feel like there was a time where, even in my lifetime, you tell your ACL, it's career-threatening. Oh, God. We're talking about... That's how Tommy John used to be, right? Yeah. Pitchers didn't just come back from Tommy John surgery.

Absolutely. It was like a 50-50 chance you would be yourself at one point. Now they're just casually doing them every other day. That seems to be the Achilles now is like what really... And there's a lot more Achilles injuries we're seeing nowadays. I don't know what's going into that and what in sports science is making that happen. But ACLs are fairly easy to come back and routine to come back from, I feel like at this point. and Lourdes, you know, maybe there was some other stuff that went on there.

Hopefully it was mostly just an ACL tear and the rest, you know, kind of healed itself. But if there were other ligaments that could complicate things a little bit, I think that he's going to be ready to go pretty fast here, though. And at the least, I think he could DH, right? Yeah. Maybe he's not going to go out there and play the outfield right away. But with the, you know, kind of missing middle of the pack hitters that we've talked about, where you have the upper echelon guy.

And you have a lot of guys where you're like, we need them to be better, and they have some potential. And they've shown flashes, but they haven't been consistent. You're looking for a little bit more of those consistent middle of the pack hitters. And Lordus is that. And if he can come back and even be the designated hitter for a month before he plays outfield, that would be huge. You know, Damon, that I have sauces. Of course. Yeah, of course.

I'm a sous chef. I'm not a full-on, like, master chef yet, but I'm a sous chef. but I have sauces. And according to my sauces, they said that there is a very, very good chance that Lordus is back by opening day, as unbelievable as that sounds. The prognosis is that the only thing that might be holding him back

is fear that he's coming back too soon. Like needed recovery time just to play it safe and not have him, you know, get injured again so quickly. Someone suggested flea ball in the chat suggested Lordis could DH for the first couple of months. I have heard about the potential of his returning initially to DH and not necessarily being in the outfield option. Love it.

So there's that as well. I also, from my sauce, have three other names that I was told to look out for. Those three names, Damon, AJ Vukovic. Okay. Tommy Troy. Makes sense. And Christian Robinson. And I was told.

That one feels a lot of the same. To keep an eye out for all three of those guys potentially getting a shot at playing left field for the Diamondbacks. Christian Robinson, what a story that would be. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see that happening at this point. He is the starting center fielder for the Great Britain team, the juggernaut in the World Baseball Classic, known as the UK. Greatest jerseys in sports too. But I think, you know, you look at the, you think about the other two. I think Tommy Troy absolutely could compete for the left field spot here.

There's no doubt in my mind. Yeah. He's been playing outfield. He is already in AAA. He, you know, played three years of college at a high level in the Pack 12. I think Tommy Troy easily could make the opening day roster. He could probably be the guy who fills that blaze spot. Honestly, I think that that would be better for the team.

I think that if Tommy Troy was given the opportunity to be the guy who could play second, third, outfield, given, you know, who needs a rest that day. I think that would be better than signing a Rengifo. I also think maybe even Tim Tawa could be better than Rengifo in that same role. But I like Tommy Troy out there. I think that that's also an intriguing option. And then what was the first one that you said as well? A.J. Vukovic.

Yeah. I mean, listen, he's shown a lot of like power speed combo. Yeah. I think he's actually somewhat of an intriguing player. I don't know how good he can actually be, but he hits home runs and he steals bases. And I think that that's something that you can hang your hat on and be like, athleticism, it's there. Maybe it works out.

And he's been a good minor leaguer for this team. He just hasn't really had the prospect hype that a lot of other players have had. So I could see that one working out as well. Christian Robinson, though, I'm a little, I'm a little bit more like, all right, I'll wait and see. I'm interested to see what he'll do in the spring. Got to see what he does in the World Baseball Classic. Big news, though, that's overshadowing our discussion here about the last. left field is Andrew Saul-Frank and his injury. We showed you guys the Instagram post, and we have

an update from Steve Gilbert that some of you were discussing in the chat. Steve Gilbert said on Twitter 14 minutes ago, don't have all the details yet, but D-back's left-handed pitcher Andrew Saul-Frank had shoulder surgery today and will miss the 2026 season. We didn't even get to pitchers and catchers reporting, Damon. We didn't have a single pitcher or catcher report. before we're reporting on another pitcher missing the entire season. Unbelievable. And it's, of course, it's one of the guys you feel better about. And a guy that's been honestly pretty rested, right?

Like, I mean, he didn't pitch the first half of the year last year. He comes back. He looks good once he gets ramped up in the minors and then comes back up to the majors. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. We don't need to cover why. We all know who. No, no, no. That's what I'm saying.

He was fresh. He was fresh. He was ready to go. He hadn't been pitching for a. while and so I thought it was going to be you know he was going to be like kind of really really ready to go after getting kind of that ramp up last season and getting some confidence under his belt he posted a one point zero zero zero zero whip he posted a one point two four a in 29 innings pitched I mean I still understand that's a small sample size but if you

combine that with his run at the end of 2023 where he did not allow a run in 10 games For this team, it's just, it's just heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking for him. This was going to be a huge opportunity for him. Yeah. He was 100% going to get an opportunity to be the closer for this team. And now he misses another entire year of his career. Yeah.

Classic. I swear to God. I swear to God, I cannot stand. It's classic Diamondbacks. This whole. And it's part of the reason why getting a guy that had a higher floor. than what you brought in was important. That's why I wanted Sir Anthony Dominguez so bad,

because I at least was like, you know what, no matter what, I'll think we'll have a guy who throws hard who's consistently pretty good and that we feel comfortable with can be like a bridge closer until we get back our players that we need. But Andrew Salfranc was supposed to maybe be that guy. And now we lose him as well in the process. AJ Puck and Justin Martinez, you know,

couldn't come back fast enough. I want them to hopefully Lord us can maybe Wolverine style give them a little bit of his healing powers because we need those guys back now yesterday it's it's weird it's like a chicken or the egg situation does the lord just have an adamantium skeleton or does he have a super healing factor that allowed him to have the adamantium skeleton it's a whole weapon 13 x-men conundrum damon and i can't figure it out what i do know is that i wish everybody had mutant powers on this team because i can't stand this i can't stand the fact that even when the Diamondbacks have someone who did step up.

I mean, we've talked about it time and time and time again, how bad this bullpen was. This was the bright spot in a very dark bullpen. And it sucks now that the Diamondbacks who so desperately need their bullpen to take a step forward in 2026 for them to find success, lose a major part before we even get to spring training. Yeah, it's brutal. It's brutal.

I mean, it doesn't feel good. it's definitely a shock and a surprise and, you know, we wish Andrew the best. I had so much happiness coming into today this week. It's pitchers and catchers reporting. Baseball is finally back going to be out at Salt River Fields, feeling the dry desert wind on my bones, as somebody in the chat pointed out that your joints go bad out here in the desert. I thought old people moved here so that we could have less problems with our joints.

I don't know how that works, but I feel, I definitely feel live. do. I'm going to try to get over this. I'm going to try to get over this and press on. I'm not saying I'm going to successfully get over this and press on, but we're going to give it a shot. We're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we're going to do one of the only things in life that brings me joy and happiness. And that is answer your questions from our mailback. Death, taxes, mailback Monday. That's it. That's the only things. Three certainties in life. That's the only certainties in life. But we're going to talk about it on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PH&X Diamondbacks show. One thing the Diamondbacks could use is to

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Well, I know we're going to get on to the mailbag questions, but someone did ask what my thoughts were, speaking of the Super Bowl, on Bad Bunny's performance, aka our pal Benito. And I just want to say this. Like, I am a Puerto Rican kid that's lived in, kid, that's funny,

a Puerto Rican old man that's lived in this state for the majority of my life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But for the most part, my, you know, I definitely at times identify far more as an Arizona than I do being Puerto Rican. But again, there are times where I realize how important representation is to me when I get to see somebody like Bad Bunny perform on the stage that he did. And not only that, but just put so much love for our tiny little island into his performance, into the stage designs, into everything that they had going on. They literally had human beings playing the roles of bushes and trees in that performance. They had Pedro Pascal casually on stage and they didn't even like highlight him or throw to him or anything like that.

Cardi B, Carol G, all these other great Puerto Ricans, it's amazing. So for me, overall, I think that, like, I have had moments like this. And I also compared it in our chat here for PH&X to like seeing Miles Morales, the newer Spider-Man in a video game. And that might just seem silly. The reason why is the details, though. It's the little special things that represent your culture where they went that extra mile to make it authentic and make it feel like home.

I remember when I was watching a cutscene in that video game and it was Miles and his mom speaking to each other in the exact same way. I speak to my mom and she was making a Rojo Campoyo. And it was just, there were so many things that felt so authentic and it felt so cool to see, you know, my culture represented in any kind of form of media. but playing a video game

like got me teary-eyed and watching the halftime performance also got me teary-eyed. It was a great moment. Not to mention the fact that Benito killed it. That was an incredible performance. And the only thing I'm upset about

is no Chambaya and DTMF did not get more play than it should have. I would have liked to hear that song played as many times as Kendrick Lamar played not like us when he was in the Super Bowl. But I digress.

We can't always get everything we want in life. Shout out to Cool Bro. 97 for his super chat. Cool bro says, let's hope Lordus isn't like Lindsay Bond. Yikes. Let's hope.

Yeah, maybe she came back a little too early. Maybe her poll got stuck on a thing as she went around it and got caught and she pulled around. I don't know if it was her knee given out, but still, what a, what a legend. What a true competitor who probably doesn't have another, you know, Olympics games in her. And she decided to give it her all in what could be her last time. out there competing. And I will say that, you know, much like athletes sometimes, or much like baseball players, football players, basketball players, all athletes need to be protected from

themselves when it comes to injuries and such. I hope that's the case here with Lourdes. And again, if it ends up taking a little bit longer, no matter how ready he appears to be, I hope that they take that caution because, again, we don't want that happening at all. But anyway, moving on, you know what we do around here. You know what day it is. You know what year it is. Every single year is the year of the snake. Every single year is our year. Every month on this podcast is Black History Month.

Every month on this podcast is Women's History Month. And every month on this P.HNX Diamondbacks podcast is Black Women's History Month. Every single week is Shark Week. Every single day is the Benito Bowl. But on Mondays, Damon, we go to the mailbag. Let's go the mailbag. something interesting in my mailbox. I try to get to everything in my mailbox.

And then what's it just... All right, Damon. Well, we got ourselves our lead-off hitter here in the mailbag with Travis Moore. What do we got from Travis? Travis asks, is there any official news yet on how we can watch all of the Diamondbacks games this season, Derek? Well, that is a great question from Travis. Now, I will say that every time we have this conversation, it starts off with me saying,

if you watch right now on whatever cable or satellite provider you currently watch on, there should be no change. Diamondbacks are still going to be on Channel 34, I believe, on Cox. They're still going to be on Channel 686 on Direc, on DirecTV or wherever it is on your direct TV. I don't know if our Direc TVs are different. I'm a little ignorant to how that stuff works sometimes. But what I will say is if you are a subscriber to the MLB.tv package, there is some surprises coming up, unfortunately.

It would appear that with a few exceptions, and this is from an article on awful announcing.com, MLB.tv subscribers will have to have a subscription to MLB.com for out-of-of-market games, but they will also need to have an ESPN unlimited subscription in order to purchase the package. In other words, MLB.combe.tv is now behind a double paywall thanks to ESPN. You'll need to purchase MLB.tv, which is priced at $150 per season for new subscribers and 135 for returning subscribers. And in addition to that, you will need to spend $30 per month on an ESPN unlimited plan. Now, there are some, again, exceptions. MLB.

TV.TV offers a free month of ESPN Unlimited upon signing up. So you can cancel that unlimited subscription during your free trial and still retain access to the MLB.tv. But that's so silly. It's such a silly workaround. It's so stupid to have to have it be that way. And you imagine it's not going to be that way for long, nor is it going to be that way for people that may have used that trial subscription at some point and now no longer have it when they go to sign up for MLB.tv. You know, Maybe you used it to watch one of the WWPaper views. Well, guess what? You're not going to have it when you want to go sign up for MLB.tv.

Additionally, if your MLB.tv subscription is set to be auto-renewed from last season, you will not need an ESPN unlimited subscription. So go out there and I guess auto-renew now. So that way they don't make you do that. But this all is very stupid. And I feel like things are only going to get worse. There are a lot of ways around it. Like, again, if you are an ESP,

ESPN subscriber on some service. You also have access to ESPN, right? Unlimited or whatever. But this whole thing is dumb. And I hate paywalls enough, but I understand how necessary they are. I would be a hypocrite to sit here and say that we don't have our own versions of paywalls right here. But again, this definitely seems greedy.

And considering that ESPN is the one controlling MLB.tv, it also feels like they're double dipping by requiring you to have two different subscriptions in order to watch one of the things that you wanted to watch. We were doing all of this so that we could move away from a world where you weren't forced to have a cable package or satellite package pressed upon you with hundreds of channels that you will never watch. And yet somehow we sit here in this world where everything is a la carte and you're supposed to be able to stream here and stream what you like and stream this. And it feels like it's more expensive than ever. And in order for me to have, you're the things I want, I need to have 10 different streaming services and pay double for certain

memberships. But Katie says- I mean, as with everything, Derek. As with everything. We just, the product gets worse and worse and worse and worse. And it's our only option. These are the reasons why I feel like they're not doing a hard launch this year and that you can still just get MLB.tv through the app, MLB app, MLB.tv.m. Right. So, but it's preparing you for the future. And the future is us getting taxed, double taxed, triple taxed. And the people that are in charge not really caring about how unfair all of this is getting. There comes a time. And as much as some people don't like government overreach, where the government does have to get involved in all of this stuff to prevent these companies from legitimately ruining this whole experience.

and crippling customers financially, right? So, but yeah, there is that. What else we got? I don't want to talk about it. Katie says, how do we watch DBAX streaming in market? I don't think there's going to be, I think this is all for out-of-market subscribers at this point. So I think at this point,

deba-dbax.tv is still a thing. You can still get the app and you can still subscribe directly for in-house. You can also, again, like I said, the channels aren't going anywhere, and that isn't part of this overall plan. So it's not like they're going to remove the diamondbacks from TV if you already have them on a cable channel or satellite channel. I hope that clears things up,

though I will say I still don't understand what the hell is going on or how this is going to play out when it comes to all of this, all of these subscriptions being needed to do the thing you simply want to do. You're pushing us into a world where we're going to go to services that you don't want us to use. Don't do that. Don't do that. People want to pay you money and they want to do it the right way. But there comes a point where everybody's going to be pushed too far and they're not going to want to pay for, you know, the subscription.

All right. What else we got? Our next question here is from Austin. And Austin asks, we talk about breakout players often, but what about breakout personalities? Who do you think will become a fan favorite like Blaze or Perdomo? Oh, man. Me and you have been pretty good about weeding out these guys, I will say. I think so. I mean, I showed up here in my first, my first decree as producer of the PHNXDBACS pod when I was part time at PHNX was Heraldo Pardomo is the man.

You know, that was number one. Blaze has always been this podcast guy. I feel like we, we know likeability, Derek. I mean, I think that's what makes it so hard right now for me. There is a blazed Alexander shaped hole in my heart. And I don't know who's going to fill it. Um, but again, uh, I, I, I think that there are some fun guys on this team. I honestly thought Jordan Lawler, I mean, I've said this a few times.

I think Jordan Lawler's personality is, is great. I don't think he shows it off enough, but I feel like in certain scrums and certain interviews we've done with him, he's really shown off, uh, just a real great personality, you know, um, but if you were going to ask me who was going to like be a, uh, a, of, a, fan favorite. It's kind of hard. There weren't a lot of additions being made to this team. And I don't know who's really going to like stand out. I think Gabby might be a little bit more precocious and a little bit show a little bit more personality. He is a guy that in the limited amounts of personality he's shown, he is delightful. He is delightful, you know, but I think part of it is the language barrier

makes him a little uncomfortable sometimes with showing off his personality. And I also think it's a matter of, you know, him as a person. I think he's like, whereas Perdomo is a guy that loves doing it at times for the camera. I feel like Gabby does it more for the boys or the other players. How dare you? I'm just saying. I'm just saying. And Jason says, remember Gabby's English interview with his son?

Yes, I was right in front of him. It was one of my favorites. And again, it's not to say, like, I can't, the only way I can really relay this is because of the fact that I grew up once again as I had to talk. about a little while ago in a Puerto Rican household where my parents didn't really speak to us in Spanish much. So what I will say is that sometimes when you have a grasp of the language, but you don't feel comfortable sometimes, it's about confidence in what you are saying. And sometimes it's hard to show off your personality when you're also not confident. Now he, just like the

other guys, like Cattel and stuff, have definitely shown off their personalities in Spanish-speaking interviews. But I think that could be a little bit of a changer. I like Michael Soroka's attitude. I think that he is a guy that seems like a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun talking music with him. So that was cool. But Damon, who do you think? I like Drey Jameson. I like that shout. Oh, yeah, Dre Jamison for sure. I think if he pitches well, he will 100% be an immediate fan favorite for D-backs fans. I also think that one of these guys, Tommy Troy, Ryan Walschman, will carve out a big role on this team. And I think that that automatically, when you're a rookie, that will, carve out a spot in the fan base's heart for sure what about Nolan Aeronato I mean that's that's a

weird one because he's so already on everyone's radar sure and we're so used to playing against him that it's like it kind of feels odd to be like he's going to be a fan favorite that kind of comes out of nowhere I would I would love to see him have like a personality and like kind of be fun you know I I feel like I expect him to be very focused, very serious, very much like perhaps Corbyn, right? Not to say like he comes off as unapproachable, just a guy that in general, he feels like he's going to be, you know, very much more focused on improving and getting better every single day, not necessarily coming out there to joke around and spread the good vibes. James McCann is another guy that just popped up in my head, I think, Damon.

Yeah, I mean, James McCann definitely captured DeBox fans. last season. In such a short amount of time. Can you imagine him now feeling like, again, more comfortable with the role that he's in, more comfortable being a veteran around these guys. It's only going to lead to more sunflower seeds being thrown in people's hair and stuff like that. So can't, can't wait for that. Better arm workout. Oh, God, yes. We're going to get, we're going to add mass, but we're also going to tone. We're going to get, we're going to get ripped. Damon is what's going to happen. Katie, by the way, to answer your question from a little while ago, I still show that Dback's.tv is going to be the streaming service for in-market games for

1999 per month. So I don't see anything that's changed as of yet, but again, that also is based on perhaps old information here that might not have been updated yet. We'll keep you guys posted, though, if there are any changes to streaming in market for Diamondbacks games. What else we got in the mail bag there, Damon? Our next question here is from Michael Rokickey, who, who says hot take, sign Gallin trade, fought? Hot, hot take. Not what I love.

I won't lie. I feel like you don't extend someone like Brandon fought just to trade him. I think that would kind of be a mistake. You're also not going to get Zach Gallin for the length of time that you have fought under control for. You're going to maybe get two, Gallen to agree to maybe a two-season contract at best. And there's still plenty of question marks around Zach Gowan. Like, what is Gowan done to make you feel like he's vastly better than Brandon Fott? I also think this would be selling low on Brandon Fought.

Would it not, Damon? Like, it's not like he's coming off a tremendously good season. I think that it's, you're comparing, you know, apples to spaghetti. You know what I mean? Like, Brandon Fatt, looking at his contract here. he's got he's on the books for 3 million 5 million 8 million 11 million 15 million then a club option for 21 million and 2031 which if he's not that guy it won't be picked up like you know if he's not if he's not pitching at a level that we need him to at that time it won't be picked up and that's all fine and then the rest of it you have a starting caliber middle rotation pitcher hypothetically for five seasons here left I mean And at a very reasonable cost, Gowan, as you mentioned, would cost

about twice as much as the back end of that Brandon. He would probably cost you close to what that entire contract, including the $21 million option, is going to cost you. And you also don't get the draft pick by another team signing him. Even if it's competitive B, right?

Even if it's competitive round B draft pick, it's still a draft pick that you're going to get from a team if they sign him. So I just don't know. I don't love that. and I still think Brandon Fott's best years are ahead of him. Plus, I saw him and his father out at the People's Open, and they were great to run into, and I will not speak an ill word of any member of the Fott family.

They're some of my favorite people. Also, I just think it's honestly from not joking aside. I just think it's a terrible time to do it. Neither of the guy, neither of those guys makes me want to do that deal. I don't think you're going to get enough for Brandon Fott, and I don't think Zach Gallen has done enough recently to make me believe in him over Brandon Fott. Yeah, I mean, I think Brandon, there was a time, Derek, and we were called idiots for it,

and that's fine. But there was a time where we floated like a Dylan Cs plus, or for Jordan Lawler and Brandon Fott trade. And now we're talking about, could you even get any value for either one of those guys? And I think it just goes to show, like we were talking about getting on paper. And I know Cs is a little bit, you know, leaves a little bit to be desired for what maybe he has costed teams. But on paper, you were trying to get an upper echelon arm for a Brandon

fight if you traded him. Yeah. And now that he's extended and you got him at a reasonable rate, it just doesn't really make sense to get off of that contract when he isn't pitching all that well. Like I feel like you have him under control. And if he has a good season next year, now all of a sudden he's so valuable.

You probably don't want to trade him if he has a good season. But I just don't. I don't think that it's really that compare of what. think Brandon Fott is being paid like a SP3, SP4, and Zach Allen is going to want to get paid like an SP2, SP1. And that's, yeah, that's, that's, that's, that's what he wants to be paid at least. For sure. Yeah. Katie, meanwhile, says Fott seems like a sweet little cinnamon roll. Hmm. That's so nice. I've said the same thing. Yeah. No, I mean, I'm not going to go as far as, say, cinnamon roll. That might be a little too sweet for Brandon Fought, but he is definitely a dame.

of some kind. Hmm. And not that he is Danish. He's just a Danish. He's like maybe like a bear claw. Like maybe something that doesn't have the blatant, um, frosting on top. But it's still a hearty, uh, breakfast pastry. Maybe with some almonds as a part of it and some sweetness to it, but not a lot.

Like it's going to be a little healthy. It's going to be a little well balanced and it's not going to get out of control basically is what, what, what, what I'm saying Brandon Fott is. But I want Sinevon. No, I know you do. I know you do. That's good tell Marte. Catel Marte is Sinabund, okay?

Heraldo Perdomo is Sinabun for sure, right? I will say this. Thank you guys that have subscribed for those of you that haven't. Wait a deprive date of a pizza party is all I'm saying. We had a date. We had a goal to reach. We fell just short. In fact, we fell 40 subscribers short of hitting our goal by the Super Bowl,

which is a little frustrating. But nonetheless, we're going to hit it today. and we're going to do it with your help. So, of course, if any of you have not subscribed yet, do so now. We would love to hit 50,000 subscribers. It means the world to us, and apparently it means something to the YouTube algorithm, which we are just all slaves to anyway. Tell a friend.

Tell one friend. They don't even need to love. 70 of you in here. Arizona Sports. If half of you told one friend and that friend subscribed, we'd be good. Yeah, unsubscribe, resubscribe. Yeah, Ernesto says unsubscribe, resubscribe. subscribe. I don't know if that helps, but I'm, I'm here for it. I'm here for it. Try it. Unsubscribe,

resubscribe, and then leave a review. Yeah. And like this video again. I don't know. Cool bro says too sweet. Fodd is part of the bullet club. Too sweet me when you see me in the streets. What else do we have in the mailbag, Damon? Can we get to that before we get out of here? Yeah, we can get to our mailbag. Flea ball ball ball ball, here in the chat says we are not going into the season again with a bullpen by committee. Are we? It never and ever works. Can we just name Saul Frank the closer? I was prepared to come in here today and talk about Andrew Saul Frank's numbers when we got to this question. And not earlier on in the episode when we had to do it based on his Instagram post and Steve Gilbert's update.

For those of you that may for some reason just now be joining us, we have lost yet another pitcher for an entire. season Andrew Saul-Frank out until 2027, if there's even a baseball season then after having shoulder surgery this morning. So, oh boy. Well, this question is timely and also ironic. And I will say, yes, at this point, with Andrew Saul-Frank being on the shelf for the year, it very much looks like we are going to have a bullpen closer by committee. And that sucks. And we know that it doesn't work. Hopefully someone steps up and assumes that role. There are guys capable of that. There are guys that they recently signed a minor league deals that might be capable of that.

I'm a big fan of Derek Law, not just because he spells his name correctly, but based on his numbers from the last season, he was active in Major League Baseball. But yeah, the outlook, the prognosis, whatever you want to call it for the bullpen in 2026 takes a major hit today. And there's a lot of uncertainty, a lot of questions definitely. in regards to this now that they've lost Saul Frank for the year. Let's do one more, Damon, and then I have to get out of here so I can go cry in my office for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Our next and last question here is from Jarmy,

and Jarmy says people may ask what is PHNX, but never ask how is PHNX? What are each of you most fired up for this season? Congrats on surviving the off season. This was supposed to be a question of joy and happiness, Damon. supposed to just let it rip right now about all the things we were excited for. I was going to talk about Gabby taking a step forward as I already did there about his personality. Mostly I was going to talk about, you know, the offense and how good I think the offense is going to be. I am pumped

for this offense and that's not changed by this Salfranc injury. However, it's hard to be excited about 2026 when we're dealing with this kind of breaking news right now. I'm excited to watch the best big three that baseball has to offer. That's what I'm excited to watch. No one has it like us, Derek. No one has Corbyn Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, and Catell Marte. And until they do, then that's when I'll start giving a crap about other teams. But that's not the case.

That's our big three at the top. And I can't wait to watch them go out there and ball out. Because I know those dudes are going to go out there and ball out. I also really want to see Walschmidt and Lawler and Tommy Troy and see that the development of those kind of guys. Yeah, those guys are close, man. Yeah. Yeah. So I think I'm excited for sure from a position player standpoint.

But as we just outlined. I mean, again, we just talked on Friday, Damon, about the fact that, you know, who is in, who is out and that nothing was guaranteed. And boy, nothing is guaranteed. But, you know, the Diamondbacks still have a bullpen that looks like it's going to be Cade Stroud, Ryan Thompson, Taylor Clark, and Kevin Ginkle with three to four names being added to that. And you have more than that. Christian Mena is a guy. Someone just brought up that definitely could fill a lot of roles for this team, not just on the bullpen, but he could be a guy that steps up should they need any kind of long-term relief or start, you know. Yeah, I think I'm keeping him in Reno until there's an injury.

because there's bound to be injuries. So you need guys to be ready to go. And I think that that's an arm that he's still so young, too, that I just, I hope he's a starter long term for this fan. I just don't know what they're going to do. I mean, again, when you have arms that are kind of deemed to be bullpen arms, even though they could be starters, do you do that with them if they are shoving and they're having success

when you need those kind of arms in your pen, right? And again, all they really need is one of these minor league. deals to work out a Derek law a junior Fernandez Jonathan Lois Sega Sean Dubin if any of those guys end up being a guy that they can rely on then you're building that much closer to a bullpen that has a nice mix of young arms and veteran arms out there right so it just a lot of uncertainty now and this Andrew Saul Frank injury makes things even more uncertain for this team in 2026 but I'm excited to go watch my boy Ryan Nelson on the mound.

If we want to do a little bit of pitching talk. That's right. How about a little bit of Ryan Nelson? One and a half years now he's been the best pitcher on this team. Can he go out there and do it again? And nobody talks about him. No one talks about it. That's what I'm saying.

If Ryan Nelson is the guy that he's shown the last one and a half seasons, this is a different ball club. It really is because that's a pitcher that is giving you a low three high two ERA who's just basically going out there and just being consistent. consistent, right? And so I think, you know, the, the sustainability of Ryan Nelson, what does that look like? Can he keep it consistent from what he's shown us recently? That would be massive for the debacks. I figured out what Ryan Nelson needs, Damon. Ryan Nelson needs an old-timey pitcher nickname so that his name sticks with you because Ryan Nelson is just very, it's very generic. He's the new rhino. Right. Well, I get that. But I mean, what if he was like razor Ryan Nelson? Catfish Ryan Nelson. Mudcat Ryan Nelson. You know what I mean?

Catfish Nelson. Yeah. Oil can. Oil can. Ryan Nelson. Here comes old oil can. Ryan Nelson. I'm telling you. We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. But until then, we thank you guys again. What do you make of BC just chilling, watching the show as always, and then laughing at me saying we have the best big three in baseball? Oh, because that's what BC does. I'm sorry. I must have. Did Mookiee Betts play better last season than he? I mean, I don't know.

Maybe I watched the difference board. He might like the Dodgers more than he likes the Diamondbacks, but he doesn't like any Dodgers podcast more than he likes. Kyle Tucker is better at having a giraffe neck than all three of those players, but certainly isn't better at hitting the baseball. I knew you were going to find a way to fit his neck into this discussion somehow. I mean, Freddie and Showing. They're awesome, but you don't have a third guy who's anywhere close to Cotel Corbin or Jerry. You just don't. You don't.

You don't. And you don't have the power of friendship. You guys are a bunch of, you know, mercenaries. Hired guns. Yeah, for sure. Mercenaries, dude. We got an announcement, like I told you guys last week, Tori Lavello is taking over our time slot starting tomorrow when pictures and catchers report. So we will be out there talking to Tori at 12 p.m. at Salt River Fields and bringing you back whatever he has to say for this show.

So for the rest of this week, we are going to be going at 4 p.m. Start time at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday for the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast. I hope that helps some of you. I know some of you, it's hard to hit the 12 p.m. time slot. So hopefully you guys can join us for that. And we're going to have some fun. We're going to be bringing you hopefully some interviews from the clubhouse. And we're definitely going to bring you sound from Tori every single day.

So I know how much Killarex is going to love that. Until then, you can follow us on Twitter. I'm at K-Bah-K-Ban with a K. Damon is at Damon Dog with a D-A-W-G, but as always, all roads lead to, or excuse me, we're all-Daman's dogs. I'm sorry, I'm jumping ahead. I'm confused.

It's because we're taking so much time. All roads lead to at Damon Dog. All-roads lead to Bark Bark, right? That's how it really works. But, of course, our show is at P-H-N-X underscore D-Backs, and all roads do lead to at P-HNX underscore Sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys so much for stopping by.

We thank you, as always, for your mailbag Monday questions. It would not be what it is without your participation. So we thank you for that. We also thank you for your time. We will see you tomorrow at 4 p.m. So make sure to join us for that time. And until then, have yourselves a wonderful Monday evening and remember kids. Baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you find a way to fit a bad bunny performance into a game.