PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - BREAKING: D-backs Heading to Mexico City to Face Padres in 2026 International Series

Episode Date: December 11, 2025

¡VAMOS A MÉXICO! Per MLB’s announcement on Wednesday, the Diamondbacks are heading to Mexico City next season to face the Padres as part of MLB’s International Series! We discuss the series and taking the show on the road to Mexico. Former Padres pitcher Robert Suarez won’t be making the trip as he has reportedly signed a 3-year deal with the Atlanta Braves, removing another high-leverage bullpen option from the market for Arizona. We also discuss Pete Alonso signing with the Orioles and the financial commitment Baltimore is making to an aging Polar Bear. Plus, we take a look at the three players the D-backs selected in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft.JOIN 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/Aura Frames: Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/PHNX. Promo Code PHNXALLCITY — 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-thermostatsBranded 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=allcityShowNotesChicken N’ Pickle: Family friendly fun awaits! Visit chickennpickle.com to plan your visit today!Visit https://www.macu.com/accounts/checking/mystyle-checking?cid=ea-PHNX-AZ-mystyleAugust2025-checking 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/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: Use Monarch to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/phnxWhen 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.

My gente, we'll see you, METEMA podcast. Presented by our friends at Circle K. We are live from Studio K. And it is I, some mayor, occasionally known as Derek Montia. We're lighting up the cactus light today because this feels like a win.

We are pumped and we are thrilled to have you here. Of course, welcome it to the PHNXD Back show. We are presented to you by our friends GameTime. Make sure to go download that GameTime app right now. account, use our code of PHNX. You'll get $20 off. Your already low last minute ticket deals. Terms do apply on that.

But welcome in to you guys. Bienvenitos. It's the PH&X feedback show. Got my guy, Damon Dogg on the ones and twos, aka Damon Farrell, definitely the leche to my con cafe today because we are already planning our trip to Mexico City to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the San Diego Padres, who are now. Crumbling, crumbling, Damon, but welcome. Before our eyes, Derek.

Crumbling before our eyes, but still, you love to see it. You love to see it. Again, big news this morning, huge news, you could say, that Robert Suarez has reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with the Atlanta Braves. Robert Suarez further strengthens the Atlanta Braves bullpen, and it's not great that he's staying in the National League. It's not great that he's helping essentially one of the teams that were, you know, kind of there in the in the rut as far as the playoff race was concerned last year.

So you got to be a little bit worried about what the Braves are building down there. He signs a three-year deal worth $45 million. It's a little bit like the structure that I was talking about that the Diamondbacks might be able to come to with some, you know, somebody that they agree to a multi-year deal with. Suarez will make $13 million in 2026 and $16 million in both 27 and 28. That's a lot of money for a reliever, but Robert Suarez put up elite numbers with the San Diego Padres in 2025, quite frankly. And you got a Glock and spiel me for every quite frankly. But he is considered one of the best arms on the market.

And once again, we see yet another closer now off the market. And I mean, in this case, at least he didn't do much to, I think, increase or move the market because this is a, I feel like a fairly conservative deal for a guy that had a 2.97 IRA, more importantly, a 0.904 whip and a potting batting average of 189. He had a 2.3 baseball reference war, and he had 40 saves out of 45 opportunities. He was elite. And Katie's right. The Braves need to calm down already. I don't love that. I don't love what's going on. And again, he will actually serve as a setup man for the Braves, because according to reports, he will be the setup man for closer, Rossiel Iglesias, who returns to the Braves

on a one-year-16 million-dollar deal that he signed back in November. So that's the kind of back-end security that the Diamondbacks could only dream of, could only dream of, to have a guy putting up these numbers as your eighth inning guy and not even your closer. It's surprising a little bit there that Suarez, I think, with the suitors that were out there chose the Braves. But as far as we are concerned, get them out of our division. Get them out of here. I don't want to play them anymore and I want to see the Padres continue to spiral here. Like they're going to make moves just like you can only assume that the

Diamondbacks are going to make moves. But you can't help but wonder, you know, what's going on with that organization and how active they're going to be in the free agency market. Front office doesn't really have much to do with the ownership situation and that turmoil that they have going on in San Diego. However, you know, again, you can't help but wonder how much that's going to impact this spending and how much money they already have committed to that team right now. It feels like they're trying to shed contracts and not necessarily take on more, right? So I don't know. I don't know if that, what's going to happen there. But Robert Suarez to the Braves doesn't feel great. And yes, piece of Yoshi asks, didn't Rosiel Iglesias?

literally help blow a seven run lead. Didn't we all watch that happen? Yes, we watched that, enjoyed it very much, very much. So I don't know. I mean, again, nothing is written in stone. So perhaps Robert Swares is being brought in to become their closer. The MLB.com article discussing this basically alluded to he being the set of man.

And again, that's just the kind of security, Damon, that I can only dream of. expect to see the market start to move now. Now that now things are starting to go, you're starting to see a lot of the closers off the market. I feel like the Diamondbacks have to make a move here soon. Hopefully that move is Pete Fairbanks. I think of the available options, he feels like the best affordable option, an option that most likely will cost this team less than $10 million for the 2026 season. It'll probably be a multi-year deal. But again, that's the kind of situation they need right now is they need to figure that out so that they can also get the Merrill Kelly deals done. Stop, stop dragging your feet on this. Let's get this stuff done. Let's move along. What's interesting is now we also have the

report yesterday that we kind of missed out on with our pre-recorded podcast. We did sound a little bit like crazy people talking about, or not talking about the Pete Alonzo deal. Pete Alonzo, too, the Baltimore Orioles. Damon, I think we can now agree that the AL East is probably still the most difficult division with the addition of Pete Alonzo. It does feel like the Baltimore Orioles aren't backing down from what the Toronto Blue Jays are doing and what the Yankees are doing. The Baltimore Orioles are doing what we've discussed. You just kind of have to get into the arms race at this point. And they did so with a big five-year, $155 million contract for. or Pete Alonzo, which is shocked a lot of people.

It really did. But I think most people felt like he was not going to return to the Mets. Honestly, Derek, all I could think of when I saw that move this morning was Chris Davis. I was like, is this? This feels like Chris Davis 2.0, doesn't it? Like, we're going to pay him a ton of money and he's just going to strike out and be terrible. You also have the fact that they have a lot of first basemen, but they weren't getting a lot out of those. first baseman so maybe they move one of those guys perhaps well was it mount castle okay yeah i mean

maybe he becomes an option for the diamondbacks to uh work out a trade that seems like a reasonable situation considering they have a surplus of first baseman perhaps they would like one jake mccarthy he can get closer back to pennsylvania yeah totally i'm i love i love when we we do these like fake scenarios where it's like perhaps they would want this guy that nobody else wants who like is a fan of the team that he plays for maybe that would be a good trade but did you see also speaking of first baseman that they might want to put teams that want to offload there's rumors about christian walker i saw that as well potentially the astros wanting to get rid of christian walker as well what would it need what would it take for you to want to get involved in that maybe we go seawok and goldsmith and you've never seen anything like it in your life and bring back marron bring back zack let's just say you get the band back together. No, I don't think it's going to happen, but I do feel like the Diamondbacks, as much as I think the results would have been different if Christian Walker stayed here, I do think that the Diamondbacks made the right call. And it is the call that teams like

Arizona have to make. It sucks, but when you see a team like the Baltimore Orioles paying someone like Pete Alonzo, I mean, I thought the Taylor Ward move that you, you wanted was much more savvy by the Orioles to bring in Taylor Ward, right? He almost has the same amount of home runs as Pete Alonzo did in 2025 and he did it quietly with the Los Angeles Angels, right? So like I really wanted Taylor Ward. I know. They bring in like 74 home runs to the Baltimore Orioles offense between Taylor Ward and Pete Alonzo. So that's big, but I don't want the Diamondbacks paying a first baseman that's the age that Pete Alonzo is that put up the numbers that Pete Alonzo did five years, $155 million contract.

That's a lot of money for a guy that you could probably find someone much cheaper that was going to put up comparable numbers as Pete Alonzo. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think Pete Alonzo is a good player. And for a team that, like, you know, can have luxury additions or even a team like the Mets who he, you know, who he played for, right? Like that, they have endless amounts of money, and that's a guy who, while not like a great defensive first baseman,

just hits a ton of home runs. So I would understand why a team like the Dodgers, the Mets, one of these teams that has just so much money that it's not going to impact what they can do in the future because they have a Pete Alonzo. But for a team like the Orioles or a team like the Diamondbacks, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me because he needs to be like, you need him to be consistent now and to hit 30 plus bombs every year on that deal or else he's going to be debilitating towards your entire team towards your entire franchise like the Orioles are

they're a team that struggles to resign their own players right and now you're going to you're going to not resign like a like an adly rushman down the line because you're like oh my god we're paying 30 million dollars APY or whatever it is to pita loneso and and we can't afford it Well, there's also a partial no trade clause per source. So you have the fact that if it becomes a problem, you can't, might not be able to unload them. Partial, partial no trade clause. Oh, so you get to put like 10 teams on it. Yeah, he has teams blocked.

It just felt like Bradley Beale all over again for a second right there. Yeah, I saw the panic on your face. It was like Vietnam. Yeah. What do I do? What do I say? But I'll say this. It is the highest annual value in Orioles history and the second largest,

financial commitment made in the history of the Orioles. Second to Chris Davis, seven-year, $161 million deal, 2016. So, yeah, you were spot on with that one. I don't know. I mean, again, this kind of causes some problems. Now there's talk that the Mets might go after Paul Goldschmidt. And if that's the case, then, you know, it's convenient for Paul to just stay in New York and on top of that.

You know what? Derek, screw that. They're going to pay him way more money than me. Stand up for something, Paul. What does it mean to you? What does legacy mean to you? to you, Polly. Polly G. I mean, this isn't about, this isn't about, you know, all of you stay in New York City. You're not a big city, man. You went to Texas State, San Marcos.

Yeah. You came, you came and lived in Arizona for, for 10 plus years. People want to build a statue of you here. 100%. And you'll get one. If he comes back, he'll get one. You'll get one. I'll get you. What can we get him? A cold stone creamery unlimited gift card. I'm sure. We'll name one of their frozen creations after. Yeah, for sure. Why isn't that done? And a sandwich at Ikes if it hasn't already been done. Yeah.

These are easy things, Paul. If this is all you want, we can get all of this done for you. But again, I mean, there is now going to be this amount set, right, for these players. And again, when position players, when you have a very few amount of position players available for each position on the free agency market, A move like this, even though those people aren't, Pete Alonzo, does kind of move the needle a little bit. And on top of that, like with the meds, you have teams that are still in need of a first baseman. They had that money to spend. They were interested in Pita Lanzo.

And at the end of the day, a lot of them might choose someone like Paul Goldschmidt and just again, try to offer him more money than the Diamondbacks might feel like he's worth to outbid them or whatever. I don't even know. I haven't even seen necessarily that there are talks with Goldschmidt. I just feel like every single person in the baseball community wants that reunion to happen. And again, Kobe is right. If we miss out on the opportunity to have Gulchman and Walschman on this team at the same time, the law firm, the law firm of Goldschmidt and Walshment, you know, like that, what are we doing? What are we doing?

Injury lawyers at law. But again, a lot of movement here, interesting movement. And the Diamondbacks, once again, have yet another closer that could have been an option for them off the market. And I'll say, I will say this. I want to make this point because I did tweet this out before we move on. Can you imagine what Catell Marte would get paid as a free agent this season? That's what makes his value. Can you imagine?

That much bigger. I mean, it's crazy. If Pete Alonzo got five years, 155, is it out of the question to think Cotel could have gotten like eight years or seven years and 225 million or something crazy like that? No. I mean, he's an MVP candidate. He's the best second basement in baseball right now. It's why the Diamondbacks value for Cattle Marte should be through the roof because he's signed through what year exactly now?

2031 with a, I believe, a player option or team option for 23rd. Yeah, so you got him for another half decade. He's being paid very reasonable amounts of money. You up that just to keep him happy a little bit more, but, but, you know, he's still making a reasonable amount of money. And as you said, he's a, he's an MVP candidate. it year in and year out. He gets better and better. It feels like hitting every single year. Like, it doesn't it feel like recently the last, you know, three years, he's just ramped up his

game every single year. And that's why, you know, I was, I was having the conversation because I don't know, did you see the report, Derek, of the two raise pitchers that the, the, the rays were floating for Ketel and a trade? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I saw that. Gross. Don't get me, don't. You know what? Here's The disrespect. Shane Baz and Ryan Pepeyo. Ryan Pepeio is a good picture. He's a fine pitcher. And Shane Baz is okay.

But it's like I'm looking at Derek, when I'm, when we're discussing these trades, it's like I want Hunter Green. You know, I want, I want like an harm. That's what you should want. That's what this organization should be.

Absolutely. A guy who is, who is on the upward trajectory looks like a future all star. Yeah. And is a young stud. And has years of control on his contracts. Absolutely. Yeah.

Even a Terrick Scoobble deal doesn't feel very smart. I mean, we talked about it. We were like, to bring our guy home? Yeah. But how expensive is resigning him going to be after the season? It's the reason why the Tigers know that they can't and that trading him shouldn't be an option for that team. They shouldn't even consider trading him this offseason.

But they are because they know the value is going to be so much higher to trade him now than at the trade deadline later. and they know inevitably unless they are, you know, world series bound kind of by that point, they probably will have to trade him in order to get something for him knowing that he's going to walk at the end of the year. And that's the worst part about these contracts and having to part ways with so many of these players. So what's going on with the Brewers with Freddie Peralta, despite the fact that man is only making $8 million this year and you're going to trade him? I don't give a crap, man. Like that guy's staying until the last day.

I don't care if I get anything in return for him. He's been so good for the brewers that they owe it to him to stay there the rest of his contract and help them win a title. I feel this way about Catell. This is why these rumors really piss me off more than anything else is that Cotel has agreed to this team-friendly contract to help the team. Cotel could have gotten paid and he knows it and his agent knows it. He's not naive. He's not stupid. He did this because he wanted to help the team have financial flexibility to build a competitive team around him.

So as much as we talk about Cotel being this terrible teammate because he stayed in the Dominican Republic for two extra days during the All-Star break, let's not forget that portion of what Cotel has done for the Arizona Diamondbacks. And not just one team-friendly contract extension, Damon, two, if I'm not mistaken. Well, the second one was we up, I think the Diamondbacks upped his value because they were like, we owe you more money. Right. It was kind of like a trying to keep a star. But it's still a very team friendly contract. It's still a friendly contract.

Yeah. And I think that the first one, you know, it's that classic baseball contract. The Braves are so well known for it, right? Where it's like, oh, this guy has some injury issues. We're going to give him a lot of financial long term security. And we're going to take a slight chance on that in his health and his, is, you know, long term. availability and he's going to take less money per year than maybe he could get if he is fully healthy, if he does sustain this for a long time. And so that was like the beneficial

part from Catell's side is that he got long-term financial security. But you're right on the open market, like he could probably double up, you know, 150% whatever he's making right now in Arizona. And so in order to get rid of that, it costs even more than because you have that good contract. You have that guy locked up. Right. And that's why, you know, like the packages that I'm listening to right now are, are, you know, the reds with, and like I know we floated and like Snake's territory has floated like the Hunter Green and Matt McLean. It feels like a lot. It feels like the Reds might not even do that. We haven't even heard the Reds mentioned. But as Mike Hayzen says, maybe they don't even have the right teams going on right now. The Red Sox is interesting. I think, you know,

like you could get yourself a good outfielder in Duran who I think they're trying to get rid of. They have a lot of good pitching prospects. You know, you could maybe try to get another young player out of them. But like there's the raise like that offer feels like disrespectful to me. Yeah. It's like, okay, get, lose my number, race. Yeah. I don't want to now.

I'm not talking Ryan Pepio as the as the key piece in a Cite trade. No. The hell out of my face. I won't even consider it. I wouldn't entertain it. That's a, that's an instant hang up. And honestly, I think Mike Kizen, in my opinion, maybe I'm just. making this up in my head, sounds like he's getting more and more annoyed. He can't do an interview

or have a media scrum that he participates in that doesn't involve questions about Catelle Marte coming up. And the other day, the audio we played, I thought, sounded very clear and sounded very annoyed. And that was with Mike Faron, who everybody in the world loves. Right. And I don't think he was annoyed with Mike. I just think he's annoyed at this idea that this year is somehow different. Like, he's been honest about people calling about Catelle because if you ask about people calling about Cotel, he's going to tell you, yes, they have. But at one point, he even said he received calls on Herald O'Prodomo and Corbyn Carroll and Gabriel Moreno and everybody, because that's what happens when you're a GM. And I mean, on this, you know, this, this last interview,

I, that sounds like what he did. That's like, Corby, Carol. But again, it's like another guy who's on an insanely team-friendly contract who it's like, you better come bringing your entire AAA roster. Like, I want your whole, I want you to trade me the rock hounds for Corby and Carroll. Like, that's what it takes to get a guy like that off of my roster. You know?

We have an extra minor league team now, and all of the players on that organization are ours. Two AA teams now. Oh, well said, but I'm in a good mood. And my good mood is that, you know, you and I are going to Mexico City and so are many of our diehards but you know who's not going to Mexico

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We told you so. We knew. We knew this series that they had on their schedule. It always was weird to us. It never made sense. And from the day it dropped, we were like, that two-game series on April 25th and 26th is weird. Are the Diamondbacks going to participate in WrestleMania in Las Vegas?

that weekend with the Padres? No, no, no. We are going to Mexico City. That is right, friends. Two regular season games as part of the MLB Mexico City series. Of course, we are going to have ourselves, Damon, we are going to have such a fun time. I cannot wait for this. I'm going to eat the best food that you guys have ever seen in your entire lives. Dude, Derek, I am so pumped up about this. I'm so pumped too. I don't think you, I don't think you understand how I mean, look at how I'm dressed. today. Look at how pumped this guy is. Well, I didn't.

I thought that it was going to be a little bit more of a conversation. I was like, all right, Derek, now it's time to like fight like hell. And then Derek, Derek's showing me texts where it's like you and Damon are going to Mexico. Yeah, no. I'm like, okay, I guess we don't really need to fight. I guess we're going to Mexico. I don't disclose these texts from ESPO often, but his reply to me saying that we are in,

like, there was no can we go? It was like me and Damon are going to Mexico. And he said, I already put it on the calendar and budgeted enough. to get you out of jail. He further went on to say he also has looked into a mercenary group and wonders if he can put them on retainer if the cash doesn't work to get us out. So, Damon, we have a full-proof plan. We have everything locked down.

It is going to take place at Estadio, Alfredo, Harp, Helu Baseball in Mexico City, Mexico. And let me tell you, if you love high offense games, if you love high-offense games, if you love high altitude games. This park sits at a very high elevation, reminiscent of the Reno Aces, reminiscent of Amarillo, and we are going to see a lot of offense. It's even higher, is it not?

I think it is higher. It's higher elevation city than Denver. Yeah. I know that for a fact. Oh, wow. It's a Mexico City, I think, is like one of the highest elevation cities in the entire world. It's unbelievable.

Nope. And the Diamondbacks are the home team for both games. So you know what that means. That means we all got to get down there. We all have to cheer for them. The Padres have already played in Mexico City as the home game. They did so in 2023 as the home team. Excuse me.

This was the first time that we had the Mexico City series played. In fact, the Diamondbacks and the Padres were supposed to participate in the first ever Mexico City series. And that was canceled due to COVID back in 2020. 2023, you had the Padres versus the Giants. In 2024, you had the Astros and the Rockies playing. down there. The Astros, I believe, won both of those games. And again, this statement is yet another part of their MLB's push to grow internationally and most importantly to make as many snakes fans as possible in Mexico City. I hope they were like they have to wear the Serpientis

jerseys. Right. Do you. There's no other choice. There is no other choice. I will not stand for them to not wear anything but the Serpientienses jerseys in Mexico City. City. We're going to be baby faces. The minute we walk in the arena, the crowd is going to go crazy for us. And we're also facing a team whose name is father in Spanish. So this is perfect, right? Serbientes versus the Padres. It's going to be so much fun. Derek, I do have an answer for you, by the way. Mexico City is over 2,000 feet higher than Denver. Oh, my God. Denver is the mile high city, 5,280 is the number there, 5,280 feet in the sky. Mexico City is 7,000 plus feet.

So expect to see some bombs. Yeah, yeah. Ketel's going to go crazy. Again, if you haven't seen the video on his Instagram account, Katel was blasting home runs with a metal bat off of the Lone Depot roof there in Miami. So I cannot wait, cannot wait to see what he does in Mexico City. Ticket sales for the games are going to open in January of 2026. And we'll get some finalized details on the TV and radio broadcast side as well.

But I got to start doing some research. I got to start getting. What are we, where are we going? What are the sites we're going to see? What food places do we need to go to? I mean, I need to know this. Mexico City is huge, by the way. Oh, yeah.

I have flown and I've done transfers in their airport, but I have never actually spent time there. So all I know is flying over it. It looks at times like one of. the biggest cities I've ever seen in my life. They have a metro area of 22 million people. That's nuts. That's nuts.

We got to find the best places to eat. I mean, that's bigger than New York City. Yeah. That's literally big. New York City's metro area is 20 mil. 22 mil? It's ridiculous.

I'm already, Damon, take me to the CU Dodd. Yeah, take me to the CU Dodd. Let me know where we're eating. And I'm already looking up, best places to eat near Estadio Alfredo Harpe Loo. Kobe, I think that this is absolutely the time that you need to, you know, make your way down to Mexico. My guy Kobe, he's from Tucson, Derek, and he's never been to Mexico, apparently. Yeah.

I mean, this is it. This is the moment. The snakes are in, are in Mexico. And you just go experience the CUDD. There's nothing like it. I actually, like, I'm getting more and more excited about it. Zabe in our chat says steer clear of seafood. My tip to you all.

Noted. Noted. I don't think I will. Yeah. I don't think I will, Derek. I don't think I probably will here. I think I'm going to be probably diving head first into the seafood game. Ryan has a great question, though.

Ryan wants to know, do you think my ballpark pass will work for the Mexico City series? It is a home game. It is a home game. I'm just saying. And Craig is not wrong. apply for your passports now. I got mine fairly easily when I was going to Japan, and then I got my Japan trip canceled, so that didn't happen.

But I still have my passport, and I'm thankful I do, because that's going to make going down there easier. Damon, I found some casual spots like El Poyuto de Istacalo, and then we also have La Vicenta, Tezont. I don't even know how to pronounce some of these words, and I speak Spanish. Oh, yeah, we're getting deep into Mexico now. You got steak options?

Yeah, we're good. A lot of Z's. A lot of Z's being used. Also, buffet style dining at New Country Buffet. Okay. I don't know why. They have some Michelin, like, star like taco spots that are just like on the street kind of kind of vibes as well. Yeah. I'm it. I've heard it's like the one, maybe the best food city in the world. I can't wait. I cannot wait. But more importantly, Derek, we're going to get, we're going to spend such an unreal amount of money. You know, oh, I know the merch. Start budgeting. The merch now. I can't even think about it. It's. the holiday season. I'm so broke right now. I'm so broke. But I will save some money for that series. Any concerns about the Diamondbacks playing a series like this in the middle of the season?

I mean, again, I know that the year we went to Australia to open up the year was a disaster. But again, that was kind of just a disastrous season regardless. I don't know how much that trip impacted it. But it did feel like it got us off to a terrible start. I don't know how much I, love it but considering the diamond back season right now is already like 50 50 if it's going to be good or a complete disaster i i need this in my life you need this in my life you need this in your life i need you in my life drunk i need to be in your life drunk and uh yeah this is going to be a great time can't want cannot wait for this i might wear this shirt the entire time between now and then just because of how fun time yeah i mean i the the the travel is a bit of a concern

you look at, and I don't mean to change sports on you, but you look into college football and how Kansas State and Iowa State both fared this year. Like they played an Ireland game in Week Zero, and both teams had a lot of expectations. Iowa State starts off 5-0, and then they just collapsed down the stretch. Kansas State never had the season that they were expected to have.

They were the favorites to win the conference. And a lot of people bring that back to like their Ireland trip as the thing that like really kind of started the destruction of both those seasons. seasons, it is a bit concerning that it's in the middle of the year and that you'll have to adjust to it. Here's the one thing I'll say that it's a little bit, like, takes a little bit of concern off me is it's not a time zone thing really.

Right. The time zone might be different, but it's only going to be different like an American style because it's in the Western Hemisphere. So it's, it's only like it's going to be like from a time zone change, like being going on a road trip in the MLB. The flight is going to suck, but they won't have to. to like adjust to you know getting different days and nights times it's comparable to a cross country kind of trip yeah hopefully hopefully it's not that it's not that bad in that sense and uh you know

they can kind of just take it and move on but um it definitely like would be a concern like for sure like the first series or two after that to see how the diamondbacks look uh two bmc in the chat says the ballpark is thankfully close to the airport if you're looking to pop in for the games great advice also here's more advice don't even try to drive there uh if you're thinking about driving there it is not as close as you think it is go ahead and look that up right now i believe it's a multiple day trip oh my god yeah it's it is Mexico is a vertical country and Mexico is deep very deep in the Mexico yeah yeah at least we are playing the Padres so i feel better about playing a division rival in this series because we both have to take that travel

We'll take it down with us, yeah. I don't love that it's a home game, but let's be honest, right? The Diamondbacks don't have a huge home field advantage. They just don't. Not against the Padres, at least. Exactly. Yeah, the Padres are one of those teams that brings a lot of fans to Chase Field. So I don't, this doesn't feel like it's that much of a hit to the debacks.

But overall, those, I'm going to tell you right now, Arizona Diamondbacks. I know you're listening. I know you're a huge fan of this. show pack as many Serpiente's jerseys as you can bring an extra plane of merchandise because I guarantee you the fine folks of Mexico City when they see those purple jerseys they are going to scooping them they're going to sell out you're going to sell out so if you love money bring as much bring as many jerseys as you can because you will sell them all I still remember one of the first games after those Serpienti jerseys dropped it was against the Dodgers

and I took pictures of it. Like there were Dodgers fans in line with hands filled with Serviente stuff just because. And I mean, I even heard a couple of them. They're like, I don't normally buy teams, you know, opposing team stuff, but this stuff's so cool. You know, so it's like. I was in a sports merchandise store not that long ago, Derek. And there was a guy wearing a Diamondbacks hat. And he was telling the due to work there.

Well, I'm a Dodgers fan. Yeah. And I was like, you get that. You get that hat off your head. You get that lid off your nod. Get out of here. Get out of here. All right.

You know that fired me up. I had to leave this door. I was like, I hate this guy. I know. I know. But see, if you would have known that we were going to Mexico City,

you could have scooped up all sorts of extra merch for you in preparation for this trip. But like you said, we're going to spend so much when we're there. It doesn't matter. But we're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we are going to talk about one of our last throwback Thursdays, at least for a little while.

And it's a very unfortunate subject matter. So hang around. Don't go anywhere. You're watching the PHA next Diamondback Show. Well, if you want to get fitted for that trip to Mexico City, got to make sure you stop by Rally House. It is the place for you to go get all of your Arizona sports team gear, including your Arizona Diamondbacks, those Phoenix Suns and everyone else. Cardinals, you'll have to wait until next season for now.

But they do have Cardinals stuff too. They have everything you need. They'll get you set up for game day. Of course, they will get your game day fit ready. You can get yourself a large hat just like this one. They have hats, they have jerseys, they have shirts, they have everything you need. And of course, there's never the same thing to us. You always go in there, you find something new at a rally house location.

You can shop their locations in Tempe, Mesa, and Glendale today. And of course, the best part about a rally house is that they only carry Arizona sports teams. So don't have to go in there and look at any of that gross Dodgers stuff. And of course, again, they always have something that matches your game day vibe. So find your local rally house location and shop their entire product assortment online today at Rallyhouse. And you know it is never ordinary at bet 365. Bet 365 is perfect for football season. It is made for football season.

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But let's end it on a bang and let's take a look back at December 17th, 2019. When the Arizona Diamondbacks signed one Madison Bumgarner to a five-year contract, he made 69 starts and nope you're not going to get a nice out of me on that one his record in those 69 starts was 15 and 32 in his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks he was a well below league average producer

and worth roughly replacement level or slightly belower in his time with the Diamondbacks 2021 was his best season with this team posting a 1.4 war It is the only season that he posted a positive war as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2020, he had a 6.48 ERA, and he went 1 in 4 and 9 starts during that COVID season, which was good for a minus 0.4 baseball reference war. In 2021, he had a 1.4 with a 4.67 ERA. In 26 starts, he went 7 and 10.

and then things only get worse from there. 2022, 4.88 ERA. He went 7 and 15 and 30 starts and 158 and 2 thirds innings pitched. He had a 1.437 whip that year. And then in 2023, his career ended after four games and three losses with a 10.26 ERA. His time with the Diamondbacks, he went 15 and 32 with a 5.23 ERA and a total war of minus 0.4.

I would say he's arguably the worst thing to ever happen to this team, but I don't think you could argue that there was ever anything worse that happened to this team. I mean, historically, the Diamondbacks have made their fair share of mistakes, especially early on, especially at times. You know, we kind of made jokes about that initial expansion draft. both teams really missing on Bobby Abraeu in that one. But anyway, the, I mean, this was an absolute failure. This was just an abject failure.

And it's amazing how much I, you know, you felt like this was going to hold the Diamondbacks back. And somehow, you know, once they made that decision in 2023 to eat the money on Madison Bumgarner, no longer allow him to impact the performance of this team on the field, they made it to the World Series. That same year. 7 and 10 record 2021, ERA in the mid-fours, ERA, ERA bad, O&3 record, ERA over 10. This is just his seasons with this team. And on top of that, we've had stories.

We had Archie Bradley in here that I think one of the worst parts is is that Madison Bumgartner sounded like one of the worst teammates you could ever imagine. Just the kind of guy that's screaming at guys for having a positive attitude after a loss, doing weird stuff in the locker room that he thinks is funny, like, that isn't. And just being a terrible teammate, just being a terrible teammate. So again, I just can't really emphasize enough what a disaster, Madison Bumgarner was here. I remember being so delighted by the Mason-Sonder stuff, you know, And then it kind of came true.

Like we made some jokes that maybe he was just moving here to be closer to the rodeo culture that he so loved. And yeah, like, apparently he was more into his horses than he was to helping this team win on the field. Also coming up here in a few weeks on December 22nd, 2003, the Diamondbacks did agree to terms with Lordus Guriel Jr. year on a three-year contract. So that is that that was fun because we thought we were going to lose Lourdes after that 2023 season. So it was great to see him come back. It's unfortunate that Lourdes has been a streak as he has and has not contributed as much

as, you know, he did in that 20-23 season. But, I mean, again, his time here has been pretty, still pretty good. I just wonder if we'll, if we've seen that. the last of Gouriel. I mean, it feels like we have seen the last of Lord's Gouriel Jr. in a Diamondback jersey due to the injury and how much time he's going to miss. Again, pretty good in his time here with the Diamondbacks overall. Posted a 263-309-439 slash line with the 748 OPS. So again, Diamondbacks have some work to do when it comes to figuring out what they are going to do

to replace him in left field and what they're going to do to give their outfield some depth. But I did want to remind you guys, speaking of December 22nd and a few days after that, the holiday season is coming up. We might be out of time to get things here for Christmas, but that doesn't mean that you still shouldn't treat yourself with one of our brand new hats. We got some gorgeous new hat designs available at our online store. Quantities are limited on these hats. I implore you to remember that.

So act now before supplies run out. That Phoenix Sun's hat that we have is, going crazy. They have three branded bills designs featuring their new canvas model, which looks delightful. I can't wait to get my hands on that. They also have the crest design, which as we've talked about is destined for my

yacht rock concerts and parties that I'm going to inevitably have. But to check out these wonderful designs, go to store. Dot all city network.com or to our website over at go p.nx.com and then click on the merch tab to find your favorite sports network merch. And that's us.

That's us. So make sure to check it out. David, I think we have a shot of these beautiful hats. Look at these things. Yeah, we got a visual. Look at these. Sorry I haven't had this in here earlier. I mean, we got to show it to the people. You got that.

That's Derek's yacht rock hat that he will be taking to all of his concerts that he goes to on a very regular basis. Oh, I cannot wait. Of course, we have our pH and X, you know, just regular golf hat there. Each city got one in a different color. Of course, you know, I think they went Cardinals red there for us. and then you have the All-City Suns, PHNX hat. And then, of course, the one that I've been talking about, Derek, the one that I ordered, this brand new canvas hat that branded Bills has come out with recently. They just started doing their canvas hats.

And then, of course, they put a pH and X logo on it. I've been begging Max for it. Yes. And now I got one on the way. They're preparing my shipment. I love it. I love it. I got to get, I mean, I have the red one.

And I got to get the rest of them. But very excited for that. very excited to see the Arizona Diamondbacks add a few guys through the Rule 5 draft yesterday. Jesse and I did not get a chance to explain and it came up to the last minute, but since the Diamondbacks did not make a trade or they did not free up a roster spot, they actually weren't able to make a draft pick in the Rule 5 draft in the major league portion of the draft. So that is hopefully explains that, but they were able to make picks in the minor league portion of the draft. So they were able to add these players. So these players have different rules.

This isn't the same situation where the Diamondbacks have to keep them on the 26 man roster in the same way. But again, they did pick up some guys that they could add to the 40 man roster, that they could add to the 26 man roster. and the Diamondbacks are absolutely in, I mean, in a position where they kind of need this. They need to take some chances on a few guys, and they were able to pick up three players, two of which were relievers, and one was an infielder from the Detroit Tigers. Their first pick was Antonio Menendez. He comes from the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He is a right-handed pitcher, and he was originally drafted by the Rays and spent multiple years in their minor league system.

He has logged innings at both AA and AAA, and he has a good strikeout ability, but does struggle with controls at times. Diamondbacks add him to bolster obviously their pitching depth. Same with their next pick, which was Sean Harney, a right-handed pitcher from the St. Louis Cardinals. He was selected. He is a University of Kentucky product, and he has worked in both relief roles and starting roles in the minor league. So he does have some versatility when it comes to his usage as his development continues. The last player selected was Danny Sorretti from the Detroit Tigers. He's an infielder.

He has spent a solid college hitter, University of North Carolina. He's shown offensive consistency and gap power there in a senior season, and the Diamondbacks have him to come in and help with their infield depth. He didn't have a really strong season offensively in 2025. He did have a batting average of 209. He had three home runs, had 28 RBI and five stolen bases, with an OPS of 624. But again, he's shown some good patience, a good walk rate,

and his on-base percentage was 313. So not terrible numbers there. But again, when you look at some of these other guys, nothing from their seasons is going to wow you at all. In 35 relief appearances, Antonio Menendez had a 5.08 ERA. He had 42 strikeouts, a 1.40 whip. but at AA Montgomery

he did in 22 and a third innings pitch post a 1.99 ERA. It was at AAA Durham where things went off the rails for him at AAA Durham in 21 and two-thirds innings pitched he posted an 8.31 ERA. So at least he won't be to put off by what his numbers will be in AAA Reno

even if he does a good job. But again, he pitched at both AA and AAA level and his development can continue with the Diamondbacks. Again, they need that pitching depth. Meanwhile, Sean Harney, again, not great numbers last year and 34 in 34 innings pitched in AA Springfield. He posted a 4.24 ERA and a 1.410, 1.41 whip. So again, primarily out of the bullpen. He has occasional starts every once in a while.

But all three of these young guys, these are all, again, this is a minor league portion. These guys have shown some consistency. There's things about them that their numbers aren't going to show. When we look at stuff, we're going to immediately look at the batting average for someone like Serretti and think like, why did the Diamondbacks go after him? He walked 12.5% of the time and he only struck out 19.6% of the time. He walked 30 times against 47 strikeouts and 240 played appearances last. season. There are things like that that an organization looks at that is far more appealing to them as far as having a good eye and such, rather than necessarily putting up flashy numbers. In some cases, those numbers can be impacted by ballpark factors or lousy competition or whatever the case may be. But obviously a long way to go for someone like Seredi. Coming over to the Diamondbacks organization, at the very least, he does go to AA Amarillo and then AAA.

Reno so there's a good chance that we're going to see as offensive numbers improve, but there are certain key, you know, batting metrics, certain key things that young players don't typically have that usually you feel like you can build on the rest, you can coach up the rest. There's strength conditioning that can happen. There's this, there's that, there's the other thing. But again, when you're not necessarily looking for guys that are going to be an immediate impact here at a major league level in the rule five in the minor league portion at least of the rule five

draft the major league portion is far more where you're going to where you're going to see that and again I'm very jealous that the Colorado Rockies are not only putting together the front office that they're putting together but the Colorado Rockies also got our guy Damon they they got the guy that we wanted so much and I'm bummed out about it the six foot eight guy RJ Petit. He was the number one. He was the number one overall pick by the Colorado Rockies. Yep.

He is now the Colorado Rockies number 26 overall prospect immediately. A guy that was essentially, I don't want to say discarded, teams and organizations have to make very difficult roster decisions when it comes to these young players. And, you know, the one thing we talked about with Petit is, why at his age is he not, has he not already made his debut? Why is he not pitching at a major league level? So again, it made a lot of sense as far as taking him and adding him to a major league roster. And again, especially a team like the Rockies that are rebuilding and in need of pitching depth. If they end up having to let him go back to Detroit, it's a small $50,000 investment. But yeah, the Rockies definitely have room in the bullpen as piece of Yoshi says for him to stay up all year.

the White Sox took Jettixen Pais from the Red Sox. He is now the White Sox number 15 overall prospect. And the Nationals with the third pick took Griff McCrary from the Phillies. He is now the Washington Nationals number 30 overall prospect. Later in the draft, the Yankees actually took a guy from St. Louis, Cade Winquest. He becomes the Yankees number 30 overall prospect. And then the Phillies take Zabe McCambly with the 12th overall pick from Miami. he becomes the Diamond Bad, or excuse me, he becomes the Phillies number 30th overall prospect.

The White Sox then took a second player in this draft. They took Alexander Alberto from the Tampa Bay Rays. So he becomes now their number 21 prospect. In this Rule 5 draft, the White Sox added their number 15 and number 21 prospect, without losing a single person besides guys that they had to move off of their 40-man roster in order to clear space for these two guys. it's incredible. Ruggnard.

Yeah, I wish we were in that in that spot. I wish we were in that spot. Obviously, the Diamondbacks had no plans to take anybody in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft. So from that perspective, it doesn't feel like, you know, it is too big of a, you know, too big of a deal. As we've discussed, Roberto Clemente, the most notable Rule 5 draft pick in Major League Baseball history. But outside of that guy, it gets pretty. slim. I mean, there's been some difference makers, definitely, that have changed from one organization to another. The Guardians ended up getting Peyton Palette from the White Sox. I know

there was a lot of talk within the White Sox about them not protecting him. He now becomes the Cleveland Guardians number 19 overall prospect. They took him with the number nine pick in this draft. So again, there was some moves. The Pirates took the, took right-handed pitcher Carter Bomler. from Baltimore and then traded him to Texas for right-handed pitcher Jacker Garcia and Cash. Another trade was made. The athletics took Ryan Watson from San Francisco and then traded him to the Red Sox for infielder Justin Reamer and cash. So some interesting moves being made there when it comes to prospects being drafted in Rule 5

draft and then traded. Also, the twins pulled off a similar move. they took the catcher Daniel Susek from the athletics and traded him to the Giants for Miguel Catabayo and Cash. And so now that- Daniel Sousatch is an Arizona Wildcat. That's right. And he is now the San Francisco Giants number 15th overall prospect.

He's a hell of a hitter for a catcher. I'll tell you that much. Oh, apparently there was talk about Zabe. I'm sorry. I might have messed that up. No, it was Cade and Zach McCamblay. It was Cade, WinQuest, not Zabe. We're not trading Zabe to anybody and we're not trading.

God, no, I would never trade Zave. No, her contract is far too team friendly, far too team friendly. But again, I think that there is some, you know, there's some potential talent here, especially with that R.J. Pettit, man. Now he's in our division. So not only did we not get him, but now, Damon, I have to watch him pitch again.

us. I hate that. I hate that. But again, I do sit here and ponder when we're going to see the Diamondbacks make some sort of move of any kind. These are very, very small moves, but really what we need to see is some sort

of move made to bolster the Major League bullpen and get them another starting pitcher. So do the thing, Diamondbacks. I was a little bit worried that they might wait. And with the run on, closers. I don't think that they can afford to at this point. I don't think that they can wait

to see what falls to them closer to the beginning of spring training. I think that they need to get a guy in here soon. And I mean, quite frankly, two guys. Two guys. And again, I said quite frankly, so I should probably be Glock and Spiel. But do love you guys so much. Appreciate you so much for your time. Hit it, Damon. There it is. Appreciate you guys for stopping by. We'll be back tomorrow with another 12 p.m. show. I will make sure I get enough sun tan lotion for all of us or sunblock. I need sunblock. I can't get the sun tan

lotion anymore, but we'll get all the stuff we need at Rally House to make sure we're equipped for our trip to Mexico City. Until then, you can follow us on Twitter. I'm at Kapp underscore K-Map K-M-A-W-G. Damon is at Damon Dog with a DAW-W-G and we are all

Damon's pedos, bark, bark. Our show is at P-H-N-X underscore D-Bax, but as always all roads lead to at PH&X underscore sports. Damon, what are you looking forward to the most in Mexico City? The food or the drinking? Man. Or the baseball.

Man. You just keep throwing things at me. And I like all of it. All of the above. I can't wait to see the Diamondbacks playing that stadium, man. That's going to be killer. You know what? I can't wait to see what the food and drinks in the stadium are going to be.

Let's just combine those things all together. I can't like that's going to be. I can't wait to see how far could Telmar take and hit the baseball in a mile and a half high city. He might hit it out of the stadium. For this team because we don't trade him in the off season. That's what I can't wait for, Derek. That's my number one. Get it.

Get it. Tell the people. Tell them, Damon. Louder for the people in the back. Well, we appreciate all of you, including the people in the back. Thank you guys so much for stopping by. Again, we'll be back tomorrow with another 12 p.m. show. We got our little PHNX holiday party tonight.

So we're going to have some fun around here. We're going to celebrate this year that we've had around here. And we're going to hopefully have some good time. So hope you guys all have good times tonight. Hope you all have a wonderful evening. Behave yourselves. Zabe, don't worry. You're not going anywhere.

We would never trade you the heart and soul of this podcast right there. But as always, we appreciate all of you for stopping by. We thank you for your time. It's your most valuable commodity. Be careful who you share it with. And again, see you tomorrow. Until then, have a wonderful night and remember kids. Baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you get to watch it in La Ciudad de Mexico.