PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - BREAKING: D-backs LAND Nolan Arenado in Trade With Cardinals

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks have made one of their biggest moves of the offseason, acquiring eight-time All-Star and perennial Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado in a blockbuster trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. We dive into the financial side of the trade, what Arizona is really paying for the veteran third baseman, and whether this move signals that the D-backs are gearing up for a serious 2026 playoff push. We also have Jesse Friedman from Snakes Territory (in prerecorded, pre Nolan Arenado trade form) to debate whether Arizona should pursue three-time batting champion Luis Arraez to bolster the lineup, or if he’s simply too one-dimensional for a roster with this many holes. Plus, we dive into why this might be one of the most volatile rosters in all of MLB and why absolutely anything could still happen with the 2026 squad.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/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.#dbacks #diamondbacks #arizonadiamondbacks #mlb #zacgallen #corbincarroll #ketelmarte #mlbtheshow #mlbtraderumors #tradedeadline #traderumors #allstargame  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, we have breaking news that the Arizona Diamondbacks have officially acquired third baseman Nolan Aeronado. And we have so many questions about the move, including will he play third base or first base? And how did they get the Cardinals to eat $31 million of his contract? All of this in 30 seconds, don't you go anywhere. And happy Nolan Aeronado day. Welcome in to another edition of the PHNXD backs podcast, Lai. Okay. presented by our friends at Circle K.

It is I, your mayor of PHNX, occasionally known as Derek Montia. Thrilled to have you guys here and thrilled to essentially be melding two podcasts together due to this breaking news that the Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired third baseman Nolan Aeronado from the St. Louis Cardinals.

We usually have our guy Jesse Friedman on and when we do those shows, they are pre-recorded just due to Jesse. schedule. So we will have Jesse Friedman from Snake's territory joining us here shortly to discuss more potential moves, including perhaps the Diamondbacks going after Luis Arise, which now might be irrelevant, and of course if this is a volatile roster, which we already know it is. But the big news this morning, of course, is that the Arizona Diamondbacks have in fact officially acquired third basement Nolan Aronado from the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed pitcher Jack Martinez. And

That might be a name. A lot of Diamondbacks fans might not know. Jack Martinez was the eighth round pick of the 2025 draft. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks receive Nolan Aronado and cash considerations. I have to confess, I woke up this morning to a source texting me, telling me, or asking me if I was ready to speak third baseman. That was the text message I got this morning. And shortly after that, we got somewhat of a confirmation here on what the hell my source. was talking about when the athletics, Katie Wu, reported that the Diamondbacks and the St. Louis

Cardinals were, in fact, in serious talks about the Diamondbacks acquiring Aeronado. This is a weird move because obviously at this point in his career, Aronado has had a few down seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals. He's not ancient in baseball terms, but he is 34 years old, so he's on the older side, and there's a lot of apprehension here about whether the Diamondbacks really want to add a player like this at this point of his career. The move has been, you know, the move does have some caveats to it. And it does have, of course, the biggest factor, the most defining element of this move, according to Nick McCorough, was that the Cardinals are going to eat $31 million of this deal,

meaning that the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals are both still paying Nolan Aronado's contract while he is a member of the debacks. And you can't hate that, right? You can't hate that. But overall, Aeronado did have to waive his no trade clause in order to make this deal happen. And again, the Cardinals are covering the majority of the contract. The Diamondbacks are responsible for about $5 million of his contract in 2026 and $6 million in 27, making the deal incredibly cost effective for the defects. And again, this is the exact type of risk that we have discussed the Diamondbacks needed to take. Okay, we're going to take a look here at Aeronado's stats. Here are his numbers from 2025. And again, these are some of the worst of his career. Last

season, Aeronado hit 237. He had an abysmal OPS of 666. And also terrifying, if you are a religious person or believe in such things. He had a 2.8% home run percentage. And on the good side, one of the career best strikeout percentage, a career low at 11.2%. He was worth a baseball reference war of 1.3. But overall, if you look at his stats for his career, comparing those stats, you can see why Aronado is an attractive addition to any team, even at age 34, even after having a downseason with a bad Cardinals team. He hit in his career, he's hit 282. He has a career 846 OPS, which is just phenomenal overall.

And I mean, this is a guy, of course, that has been in the league for 13 years. He has a 4.7% home run percentage, so you can see how that dropped. Overall, his career strikeout percentage is 14.6. So last year, you saw him have some pretty good plate discipline overall. That's probably one of the pluses from 2025 for Aeronado and his offensive production. and his average baseball reference war per season is 5.2. Back in 2022, he had a National League best 7.9 war for the St. Louis Cardinals. That year, he hit 293, 358, 533 for an 891 OPS.

He had 30 home runs and 103 RBI. I think the biggest thing about this deal is that most people are going to look at it and maybe compare it to when the Diamondbacks got Evan Lungoria, right? And that's probably a good comparison because he is still a stellar defender over at third base. And he is a veteran presence that's being added to a young Diamondbacks team that really doesn't have much of a veteran presence outside of James McCann and Merrill Kelly at this point. And you could argue that Nolan Aronado has played at an elite level for most of his career. He's a multi-time all-star. He's finished top five MVP voting multiple seasons, four times.

in his career. So, I mean, this is a guy that, that again, he is at the end of his career, tail end of his career, but still probably has a lot to give a Diamondbacks team that is not paying a ton of money for him. Plus, there was a report not too long ago. In fact, I think it was less than 24 hours ago that the Diamondbacks were one of the teams, along with the angels that were interested in acquiring Aeronado via trade. And the report said that Aeronado, was open to potentially playing first base instead of third base. Now, that is something very interesting in this entire equation. I think the addition of Nolan Aronado over there immediately makes people,

especially people who might be a fan of Blaze Alexander or maybe the other, the four of you that might want to see Jordan Lawler over there at third base. But regardless, people that feel like the Diamondbacks have young players that can play third base, there is a potential here that Aronado might solve the debacks first. base problem. That is a much bigger hole for this team. And again, he is a guy that probably would be pretty good defensively over there considering he's a multi-time gold glove winner at third base. The Diamondbacks missed out on Alex Brighman, but that might be a blessing in disguise. Obviously, Aeronado is not Alex Brickman. He is not going to put up Alex Brigman's numbers,

and he's probably not going to be as sharp defensively over there. However, when you take a look at a $5 million cap hit in 2026 and a $6 million payroll hit in 27. Not cap. There's no cap in baseball. I don't even know why I said that. Payroll hit. This is a really good deal.

I mean, the Diamondbacks give up a kid who is a prospect, but they did just get a pretty good pitching prospect in return from the Rockies. So overall, you could look at this as being a trade where the Diamondbacks, in fact, traded Jake McCarthy on Saturday. for Nolan Aeronado today.

Now that is probably being far too dismissive to the minor leaguers involved in the deal. But again, the Diamondbacks do get a starting pitcher in the minor league system for Jake, opens up a roster spot, and allows them to bring Nolan Aeronado in today. And now they have, at least for the time being, you know, they have a proven third baseman

and a veteran presence in the infield. Obviously, you know, the move is going to impact a lot of things for the Diamondbacks. It's going to impact where specifically Blaze Alexander plays. And if you have not been paying attention, Lordus Gurriel Jr. just posted video of himself

running bases and sliding into second base. That man had a progress bar at the bottom of the screen that said 95%. That seems to be as close as he is. So again, maybe the

diamondbacks don't have as many needs. to fill as we once thought because now with this Nolan Aeronado move this might impact either first or third base might have the versatility to move them around on the infield depending on you know situations opposing pitching things like that you also have the fact that Blaise can play left field that might be a temporary move until Lordis Guerrille Jr. comes back blaze might factor in to the infield he might factor into the outfield I still don't love that for Blaze considering I think that that man needs consistent playing time and has earned it with the way that he performed for this team in the second half of last year.

But I know there's some people that aren't excited about this move. Understandably so, right? I mean, this is not Nolan Aeronado from the good old Colorado Rockies days. So, I mean, it's something that is not going to move the needle as much as it once would have. However, you know, there is the change of scenery thing here. There is coming to compete with a Diamondbacks team that is hungry and looking to make themselves relevant in 2026, considering this could potentially be the final season. Corbyn Burns is a part of this team, right? There has to be a sense of urgency within this organization.

And I think ultimately that's why this move happened. They were in on Alex Bregman. Bregman ends up costing entirely too much. and they pivot on a low risk, potentially high reward deal here with, you know, with Nolan Aronado coming to this team. And I quite frankly don't hate it. I would have hated it much more if you would have talked about the Diamondbacks taking on that contract, that albatross that would have made no sense to take on.

But when we find out how much of this deal, the St. Louis Cardinals, are actually eating, then it doesn't make this, you know, again, the $42 million contract that he still had left. This definitely makes this more of the exact kind of deal the Diamondbacks needed to find in free agency and most likely weren't going to find. I love the idea of bringing Paul Goldschmidt back. This probably impacts that now, not only monetarily, but it also impacts it because the Diamondbacks may have filled that need at first base, at least in their game plan, with Nolan Aeronado being acquired.

But I also feel like if you looked at it, Goldie was going to cost you potentially double of this amount. And if you look at Goldschmidt's production with the Yankees last year, you can't really feel like that was going to bring you much more than what you're going to get out of Nolan Aeronado. And you're definitely getting a better defender not only at third base, but like I said, the potential for him to play first feels pretty good, and it feels like something that could be a great fit for this D-BACs team. Overall, the infield got better, and if, you know, Nolan can find a way to get his bat to come back around to what it was,

just a few seasons ago, you feel better, right? Like even in 2024, even in 2024, he slashed 272, 325, 394 for a 719 OPS, right? Perhaps, you know, hitting at Chase Field might yield him some extra bases, might help increase that slugging percentage and might help bring his, you know, his overall OPS up. He had an OPS plus last year of 102, which again is just slightly above league average. This year, 87, not above league average. But again, you're getting a guy now for $5 million that was once an all-star and still has the, ability, I feel like, to get back to that level where he's at least a slightly above league average hitter and the defense is much better than that overall. But I love this move.

I'm excited about it. And again, this is exactly the kind of budget move the debacks needed to make. I know that a lot of these budget moves aren't going to be exciting, even bringing back Merrill Kelly. I've said it though. Merrill, if you, if you, if I blindfolded you about the name and only showed you the stats, you would feel like Merrill Kelly would have been an incredible starting pitching acquisition based on the numbers he put up for the Diamondbacks last season for $20 million a year. So again, with Aeronado, if I told you that this guy was coming in with these numbers at $5 million a year, you probably wouldn't hate it. But if I also showed you his baseball savant page, maybe I can interest you in his baseball savant page might be, there's some red on there

still. Do we have that baseball some on page, Noah? This is, there's still some red on there. It's not all blue. It's not all terrible, right? I mean, some of them are pretty bad, but fielding run value is a 69th percentile. Nice. He also has still good with percentages and strikeout rates down there. And his range for fielding for outs above average is in the 81st percentile. So again, I think that, This is a guy that still has a lot left in the tank and still has that potential rebound, you know, in him, right? I think coming to the Diamondbacks and being on competitive team

rather than being on what was somewhat of a listless Cardinals team could help. And I also think that he's going to be looked at to be, you know, again, a bit of a veteran leader in presence in the clubhouse for this team. So overall, I can't hate this move at all. I would have hated the move much more if it would have been, you know, one of these high-priced free agents that the Diamondback simply can't afford. This still allows them the financial flexibility to go out and add to this bullpen that they still need to add to or perhaps find another deal when it comes to starting pitching

and bolster their depth there. I don't love the fact that they only have five starting pitchers. And despite the fact that they did add plenty of young minor league arms in the system, I still don't love the idea of those guys being called upon should an injury happen early in the season. Thank you guys all, by the way, for being here. If you're here right now in the chat, make sure to leave a like for us.

We love it when you do that. We got a super chat here from C. Lucas 33. He says, I don't like that Hayes and neglects bullpen help. Waiting on Puck and Martinez to come back and hoping Ginkle returns to form feels like punting this year. The last two years have been lost by the pen. there is not an ounce of that that is not true.

That is 100% the truth and I cannot agree more. I have said it for those of you that might not have stopped by over the last couple of weeks, but it's the reason why rumors about Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman made me sick. It has nothing to do with acquiring a player of that caliber and adding it to this team. It just has to do with baseball being such a fickle sport where a guy that hits the ball, 28% of the time is considered to be a stud that deserves $200 million a year, and a guy that hits it 23% of the time is a wash, and it's a wrap on his career, right? So I didn't love with the amount of needs the Diamondbacks had that they were going to go out

and spend that much money on a position player when they could spread the money around. If they do have, they do, in fact, they have that amount of money. They could spread it around a bit more. Now, Breggman's deal ended up costing the Cubs only, what, $20 million a year officially on, you know, on the book. So that's not a bad deal at all. And again, it's the reason why trading Catelle Marte was actually a factor because if they could defer the payments and get Bregman to essentially accept something similar that they did with the Cubs with the Diamondbacks, the difference there is about $5.5 million between what Cattel was getting paid and Bregman would be getting paid. and they would get the hall that they would get for Catele Marte overall.

But again, this move isn't that move. It's not the big name, at least not anymore. This would have been a much more exciting move five years ago. However, like I said, I have to stick up for older guys, and I have to say that, again, 34 years old, not that old. All right, let's hope that he can have the renaissance in his career. And I agree with Top G, Marte is better. and it doesn't matter who else you put there on the other end of that.

It's just Marta is better simply put. But I love this move. I really do. And I think it's still sinking in. I was not awake very long ago. So I'm still absorbing all of this information myself. But I think that this does improve the diamond backs. And I think overall, if it ends up not being a great move,

and if we see Aeronado put up similar numbers to what he did in 2025, then at the end of the day, it's not like it's going to, impact the Diamondbacks, you know, in an enormous way financially where they, you know, it could ruin the franchise, essentially, right? A Bregman, for instance, they signed Bregman for $175 million and he ends up coming out and hitting 240 in 2026, then you scream and you run away from this franchise forever. But I appreciate all you guys being here. Of course, like I said earlier, We do have one, we have our pre-recorded portion of this show with our guy Jesse Friedman here coming up. We had so much more to talk about, but when we did record this last night, it was feeling like the Diamondbacks did have a big move imminent.

However, we did have to wonder what would happen if they didn't make that big move. I'd love to hear from you guys. Is this a big move for you? Do you think that this actually moves the needle for the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise? I mean, as much as it is a low, low risk, potential high reward deal, it still doesn't feel like it's enough to compete in this crazy National League West with everything the Dodgers are doing. But I could be wrong about that.

And the reason why I could be wrong is this now is definitely a very volatile team. And when I say volatile, I don't just mean in a bad way. Volatile means that this team could win 90 games or it could be a complete disaster. And we have no idea which, for sure. sure. But we are going to take a quick break. On the other side of this break, we're going to welcome in our guy Jesse Friedman from Snake's territory. And we have more on potentially adding Louisa Rise, which I will admit now is probably not going to happen. But hey, let's take a fun trip down memory lane from last night when we were wondering if Louisa Rise might be a good

fit for this team. Don't you go anywhere? You're watching the PH&X Diamond Back Show. Well, if you're looking to get your brand to stand apart from the crowd, look no further than branded bills. Branded Bills is an incredible. a wonderful hat company. We love their hats. And if you are a hat of Fictionado, they have a wide variety of hats to choose from, Arizona hats that celebrate this great state we live in, as well as hats for ASU and U of A as part of their campus collection and the Phoenix Suns. But if you are, again, are looking to have your brand stand apart from all of the other brands out there, look no further than branded bills. They can get you started with a custom headware order and they'll get you

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when we knew they needed a backup catcher. We're thrilled to have McCann back, so that's a great thing. But again, a lot of questions about what the Diamondbacks are going to do with the rest of these positions. Like you said, Jesse, of course, there is the idea that they want to go with a platoon. We know right now that they are kind of set to have like Pave and Smith platoon with Tyler Locklear

when he returns at first base. We also know that, you know, there's some questions about what the Diamondbacks are going to do, as you said in the outfield with center field and Alec Thomas, as well as what they're really going to do at third base, is Blaise Alexander going to be the regular third baseman if nothing changes? Does he start the season and left field with Jordan Waller over there at third?

So there's a lot of things that we still don't know until we get into camp. And more importantly, until we see the Diamondbacks make some more moves to add to this roster. But one name we brought up yesterday was the possibility of adding Luis Arise to this team. And that's obviously an exciting proposition because Arise is one of the most consistent contact hitters, not just in Major League Baseball currently, but in Major League Baseball history. He has a career 317 average, three batting titles in both leagues, an extremely low strikeout rate, and obviously great bat to ball skills. Now, his numbers haven't looked as great in last season as they have in the past, but it still feels like if you are adding Louisa Rise to this team, you are adding elite contact ability, Jesse, and you are very likely to boost an offense that last year was already pretty good. you know, I mean, some some, some subtractions from that offense definitely change things,

including, you know, Gino Suarez's bat, but it does feel like if you could somehow slot in a guy like Louisa Rise with Cotel Marte, with Corbyn Carol, with Errol Doe Pardomo, we're going to see him cross home plate quite a bit in 2026. I don't hate the idea as much as I maybe thought I would. I think if you, I think if you asked me like a month or two ago, I would have not. not even gone down this road, one iota. But the more I think about it, it does make some sense. I mean, as of right now, the Diamondbacks Planet DH appears to be Adrian Del Castillo as

Plan A. At least right now, there isn't really anyone else who clearly is in the thick of that other than Pavin Smith, but you imagine that he's probably going to get most of his reps at first base. So right now, I think there's situation. against right-handed pitching in particular. I mean, really, their whole DH situation feels pretty up in the air. And Louisa Rise would raise the floor of their performance at that position pretty considerably.

I think that even though he, on paper, you know, is about a one-war player. That's what he was in 2025. Correct. I think there's probably a little more value in his bat than what OPS might tell you. not a ton of value above his OPS, but maybe a little bit of value just because of how often he's putting the ball in play. I think he still has a shot to, you know, to hit 300 for the next couple years. He's only 28 years old. Feels like he's a lot older than that, but he's actually pretty young. It's because of how much he's accomplished in his young career, honestly, and he's

done it not quietly, but I mean, nobody thinks of Luis arise as a superstar. And that seems to be the case, it felt like going to San Diego was a strong move for him, and then his numbers kind of slipped a little bit. It's easy to kind of get lost in that machine that is the Padres with all of those big personalities and superstars that they have over there. But like overall, yeah, he's a guy that could, with his contact rate, could bang the ball around Chase Field quite a bit. It doesn't have the traditional, strong batting numbers.

Like his walks aren't great or his walk percentage isn't great. His power isn't great. But again, he's like a guy that you feel like you add him in with these guys. It's somebody that gets on base a lot, gets hits a lot, and is able to just, again, just constantly find a way to get a hit or make contact. You feel like it's different from the rest of the lineup. that's one thing that you feel like you're getting. You also feel like you're getting a guy that is kind of like,

I mean, without the power numbers, a lot like the other guys, right? A lot like Perdomo and Corbin and Kutel, you just feel like you put those four guys together and you feel like something good is going to happen. But again,

there's a lot of negatives against a rise. And this is what I was alluding to earlier. The Diamondbacks are not in a position to add a player at this point that just plays one position. Sorry, we can't do that. And when that position and all you play well is designated hitter, that's especially something that the diamondbacks really can't afford to address for a guy that's going to get, according to reports,

somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 million, $12 to $14 million per season. And the diamondbacks really need, if they're going to go after a power bat or a bat like this, I can't say power bat about a rise, but a bat like this. It needs to be a guy that can play first base. And quite frankly, his defense is, fairly atrocious. I mean, he seems like he's more of a liability over there than somebody that's going to be reliable, especially if the Diamondbacks are counting on him playing

first base a lot. It would be kind of an awesome encapsulation of like how baseball has evolved to have Luis arise as your designated hitter every day. Like, you know, 10, 20 years ago, you view a designated hitters like, all right, they're, you know, big time power guy might not hit for much of an average. Just a big guy in general, big beefy boy, Jesse, with big arms and probably a big gut. Somebody who you think's not going to run around the base. Bases very fast or defend well, but you don't need him to because all he does is mash dingers. That's the kind of guy that used to be a DH, not a not a 312 contact hitter. Not that guy. That's not a D.H. That guy needs to play a corner position. Yeah, and that's what's just so weird about a rise is that he in

in so many ways is not your prototypical DH. I mean, he's listed at 510-175 on baseball reference. But at the same time, there are aspects of his game that unfortunately kind of are like a DH. Like he doesn't really run well at this stage in his career. And as you were talking about earlier, I mean, his defense has just not been very good. Hence why we're talking about him as a DH. I know he spent quite a bit of time at first base for the Padres this past year.

But he didn't grate out very much. well there and he hasn't graded out well as a second baseman basically ever so you know you could you could have him play first base for you occasionally if you if you needed to i think he could do that but it's definitely not going to be an ideal situation and i think for the debacks the biggest obstacle maybe is just the the fact that he has won several batting titles in the past like his credentials are are much more lofty than the reality of who he is as a player. And so I think you're going to have to pay just a little bit more than like what he's probably worth it to you.

And for a D-BACs team that doesn't have like a ton of money floating around, at least it doesn't feel that way. It seems unlikely. Also with what I said earlier, right, the Diamondbacks kind of have guys like that. They have guys that can get on base. They have guys that are faster than Luis Ruiz. They have guys that are better defenders than Luis Arise, right?

So you really feel like if you are going to add a DH to this team, a guy that just is your designated hitter, you want that power because you feel like that's the thing that's kind of missing. It's not to say Catelle doesn't have power or Jerry doesn't have power, Corby doesn't have power. But you feel like, again, those guys are going to get on base a lot. And what you need is that guy that can deliver the big hit, or at least consistently get the balls to fly out to the outfield so that you can bring home runs and such, right?

You also have the fact that the Diamondbacks are prioritizing defense, right? That's what they said. They're prioritizing defense. My Kason also said he's prioritizing pitching. So that's another reason why I don't see them spending the remaining amount of money they have, essentially the total amount, on a Luisarize, right? but for a team that does want their everyday players to be able to contribute multiple ways,

be versatile and be good defensively, he just doesn't fit this team in that way. But like yourself, this is the Stockholm syndrome I was talking about last week, Jesse. This is where you start talking yourself into a player simply because of what's left on the market. The Diamondbacks would be irresponsible to be honestly in the conversation

for a lot of the players that are left. I mean, outside of like a Ranger Suarez or even honestly, is that gallon? Like it feels like, I mean, again, I don't want them to spend the kind of money that it's going to take for most of the top free agents left. So you have to start looking further down the list, which you could argue Louisa Rise absolutely is. But once those bigger teams start missing out on the players that they were trying to get, Red Sox for instance, they're now focusing on Boba Chet. So they're going to change their, you know, their focus and they're going to go after the next guy. And then if Boba Shet gets picked off, the Red Sox are going to change their focus and go after someone else. And it could be a Louisa rise.

So again, it's not really a player worth the Diamondbacks kind of getting into that negotiation bidding war with as resources start to dwindle here in the free agency market because he doesn't really fit, you know, this team well enough for them to do so with him. I'm still just so curious about where his market will land. I mean, my guess, as I was saying earlier, is that he's going to get paid a little bit more than what his raw stats would probably suggest. But, I mean, maybe there's a chance that he doesn't. Maybe there's a chance that the market sees him really just based on what the numbers are. And they're kind of expecting him to continue to regress, which he certainly has the past couple years. And that's probably the route for this to happen for the debacks. It's like, oh, wow, Luis Arise market has actually dropped a lot lower than we thought.

Maybe we actually can go out there and get him. Again, I think he does sort of fit the roster. I mean, they really could use another bat, especially someone who can hit right-handed pitching to slot into your DH roll every day. So it makes sense, but given the limited resources they have, it also might not. also working with this coaching staff right like i don't know i mean the diamondbacks have in the past been good at making people better defenders i don't know if this particular coaching staff can do that but you know i mean you just never know you never know you could be a pleasantly surprised but i think we have louisa rises stats from the last three seasons jesse and this is

another you know bit of a concern right like you said when you were talking about his you know, his batting title years, right? You're just seeing kind of a drop off from those seasons. In 2023, he hit 354 with an 861 OPS, 10 home runs, 69 RBI, nice, and a 4.6 baseball reference war. But since then, with the Padres, he has, you know, been considerably worse. 2024, still good numbers, 314 average, 739 OPS, four homers, 46 RBI, and a one baseball reference war last season, 292, 719 OPS, 8 home run 61 RBI,

1.2B war. So definitely not the player he was with the Padres, you know, for sure and not the player that won two batting titles with the Padres. But perhaps, perhaps the fact that he did have those poor numbers in San Diego

allows him to be a bit cheaper. There are some projections that have him going for two years, like, 18 million range, right? If that's the case, the Diamondbacks can get him for less than $10 million a year, I really don't hate that. And I think, again, when you talk about the needs of this team, it would be so beneficial for them to still spend the money that they had considered, you know, spending on Bregman just a little bit to add to the rest of this roster. I'd still rather them

spend it on starting pitching, but again, Louisa Rice feels like a guy who is going to make the offense substantially better and run kind of on that a chaos theory once again that that that you know maybe not the power that we've seen out of this team the last few seasons but more of the base path chaos and getting a lot of hits he is a valuable hitter against righties in particular i mean looking at his his splits from 2025 even as the numbers continue to kind of drop off overall he hit 304 with a 751 OPS against Ritey's. So if you had, if you put him in sort of a platoon situation, at least some of the time where he was mostly just facing Ritey's,

granted, I don't know if a rise would be willing to sign with a team that wanted to use him that way. But I think it could still, I think he could still provide quite a bit of value there. I mean, if you can slide a rise at the top of your lineup and push Pardomo, Moreno, Carol, you know, all of those guys back a spot. Who am I forgetting? I know there's a name that I just did not.

Marte, thank you. That's the other one. You're not pushing him back too far. You're getting him second no matter what. That's the most you're going to push him back. Yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah, I don't know. I mean, maybe you'd want to just hit Arise lower in the lineup anyway.

But it would add another formidable hitter against Ritey's that the diamond backs really, really lack as of right now. And Arise is also just kind of a fun player. Like he's more, he's more fun than the numbers would, would tell you, right? Like he basically never strikes out. I mean, in 471 played appearances against Ritey's, he struck out 11 times. That's crazy. That's crazy.

That's crazy. Hey, and you know what? Like, not only is he a fun player, but again, it's just he's, he's the kind of guy that it's going to probably find success at Chase Field. I just feel like this is that kind of ballpark where you would see that OPS, that slugging percentage go up because of the bases that he could potentially nab, you know, and his number. Still, 291 is,

291 still puts him as like the best hitter on the Diamondbacks, even as we talk about him kind of regressing anyway. So that these, this is not a bad thing to add a man like this. I just, once again, don't feel like he's versatile enough for him to fill enough needs to spend 10 million or 14 million on, but again, you change that by a few million, and we're talking.

But we're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, much like when I asked Jesse last week, if we're just one injury away from this starting rotation falling into a disaster, we're going to talk about the Diamondbacks possibly being the most volatile roster in Major League Baseball in 2026, at least with the way it's currently constructed.

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Terms and conditions apply at participating locations. Visit CircleK.com for details. Jesse, when you talk about a volatile roster, when I talk about volatile roster, obviously that means that they could go not just careening off the edge to disaster, but could be surprisingly fun to watch, much like this Phoenix Suns team. I've said it before and I will say it again,

people pick this team to win like 26 games and I think they just won their 24th game last night and that is or the other night and that's well before the All-Star break. So that's Sun's team doing some unexpected things as could this Diamondbacks team. They could win 90 games or they could fall apart by June. There's so much of this depends on you know health obviously. We know they've had a lot of health issues so you feel like if this roster can stay healthy, especially the new addition of Michael Soroka, things could be. good. It also depends on young pitching, especially in the bullpen, right? Not only just in the bullpen, but it depends on depth beyond just the major league roster. The way this team is

constructed right now, they only have five starting pitchers. And as Corbyn Burns warned us, we never get through a season with just five starting pitchers. So this isn't just about bad or good one way or another, but just again, unpredictable. This team feels very unpredictable as far as what we could expect out of 2026. And again, a lot of that is, because when the Diamondbacks parted ways with so many quality players on their roster, like, you know, like Gino Suarez, Josh Naylor, and Merrill Kelly at the trade deadline, you just expected this team to be bad, if not horrible. I mean, we expected them to also trade away Zach Gallen,

and we expected just to be struggling through the final few months of the season. Instead, they fought harder than they did all season long and made things competitive for, you know, that wild card spot. I will say it time and time again. That was far more about the Mets collapsing than it was about teams like the Diamondbacks and other teams really having this huge comeback. However, again, when you see the way this team played in the second half

and you think that this is largely the same team that did that, it's kind of hard to be, I guess, immediately negative about their chances for 2026. It's a decent spot compared to where it's been. recently, I think their starting pitching depth is in a better spot than it's probably been in a long time going into a season, which granted, like, do we really know much about Cole Drake or Christian Mena or Mitch Bratt or, you know, whether these guys are going to be able to really give you quality major beginnings? We don't, but there's a, there's at least more

names that are promising than the team has had in a while. At the same time, like, we've all seen it so many times watching baseball. Like sometimes the team you think is going to win 72 games wins 90. And sometimes you think the team that's going to win 90 wins 65. Or I mean, it still blows my mind. The 2021 Diamondbacks won 51 games or 52 games. I don't want to shortchange them. 52 games in a season where they were going for it. I mean, that was not a year where they were tanking. and yet that's just what happened because the depth was in that poor of a spot. So I don't expect a, you know, a mega scale collapse. I don't really view that as being all that possible,

although, of course, you can never rule anything out entirely in this game. But there's some volatility for sure. I mean, you know, is Edwardo Rodriguez going to have an ERA of five or an ERA of 3.75? like I think those are both probably on the table. Brandon Fott, there's a lot of, there's a wide range of outcomes there as well. Michael Soroka, I think there's a fairly wide range of outcomes there.

Certainly hope he can, he can stay healthy. Offensively, I think they have four of the best hitters in the sport. Like they have four of the best position players in the sport. And I think that acts as a significant floor raiser. So to your point, though, I mean,

there's a lot of volatility here for sure. There's no getting around that. It feels like the biggest problem is what we just saw in 2025. Now, I know fingers crossed that that was an abnormally bad year for injuries, right? But I guess when I take a look at this roster, the one problem I have is like what happens if we have a catastrophic amount of injuries again? Now that's something, of course, you could ask about any team and the results aren't going to be great. But it just does feel like the Diamondbacks are teetering on the point of not even being able to feel the team should they experience what they experienced last year, right?

I mean, it really does feel like that is one of the reasons why it feels like this season could go in either direction, health. But it also, you know, Michael Soroka, a lot of question marks about what he can do. A lot of question marks about the bullpen, right? Like we like a lot of the guys in the bullpen, but it's hard to. to sit here and justify or at least argue on behalf of the bullpen being good when you're like, this guy had a 4-7 ERA and this guy had a 5-3 ERA, but I think they're all going to be better next year. Like there's a lot of, I feel like they're going to be better, you know, but you have to, right, right? I mean, it does feel like it feels like Brandon Fott's going to be better.

It feels like Erod's going to be better. I don't know why. I don't know what, what proof I have or what thing is making me feel. like that other than you you feel like these guys especially for stretches were all better than their numbers said especially erod erod again i will defend erod quite a bit because i felt like for a five game six game stretch erod was suddenly one of the best pitchers in major league baseball going against some of the toughest lineups in baseball and putting up some amazing performances but that once again slipped right off so if that would have continued until the end of the season i would

be far more confident that I think Erod's going to come back and have a better 2026. But I do think that. I do think his numbers are going to be better than the past two seasons. I do think Brandon Fott's going to be back. But again, this volatility that I described, Jesse, is more of the what if they're not? What if they're worse than they were? And that's also a possibility. So that's the reason why it feels like, I mean, again, if this team, if those pitchers,

for instance, are as bad as they were last year. that could be enough to sink this team alone, you know, or if they experience the injuries they have or whatever, you know, it really comes down to the Dodgers and those other teams that have a lot of money. They can so easily overcome major injuries to practically anyone on their roster. But the Diamondbacks might not be able to overcome two starting pitcher injuries, no matter who those guys are. And it could be their four and five starters as far as they're concerned.

And that might be enough to be like, yep, we forfeit the rest of our games. for 2026. Not literally, but you get where I'm coming. I think, I mean, I think their, their season is, is disproportionately dependent on Geraldo Perdomo, Corbyn Carole, Catelle, Cartel-Marté, and Gabriel Moreno. Just from a, just from a mathematical standpoint, you look at the projections for the Diamondbacks, and like, you know, about 70% of their position player value comes from those four players. So if you lose one of those players, you lose one of those players for a significant portion of the season or one of those players just sort of out of nowhere

it has a down year that that really could be problematic i think on the position player side the there are not quite as many promising names ready to step in if guys get hurt on the pitching side you can at least have some some hope you know some guys haven't made their debut yet that are are well-regarded prospects you can you can hope that those guys can step in and do a decent job for you But the position player side, I mean, we talked about Ryan Walshman earlier. Like, he's an exciting name. But, you know, Jordan Waller, like, can he take another step? That's another high volatility player, like the distance between the best outcome and the worst outcome seems very, very large.

So those four position players, like, they have just an outsized impact on this team. And the debacks will probably go as they go. Well, we as a website go only as our diehards go, Jesse. So we just want to thank those of you that are already diehards. We've had so many new diehards sign up and we can't thank you guys enough. If you are not part of our diehard family, sign up today, get some exclusive content, join the PHNX Discord Lounge, which is the best place to be an Arizona sports fan. You get yourself a free t-shirt.

You get yourself 20% off merch, 20% off events, and a whole lot of fun being part of this family. Plus we have some fun surprises. We're bringing our diehards in 2026, and I look forward to all of that. So head on over to go phtonx.com, improve your fanhood by becoming a PHNX diehard today. Before we get out of here, Jesse, I just wanted to get your entirely too early spring training overreaction predictions. I know that's a lot. I know that's a lot. So I'm going to break this down.

But of course, we are now less than a month away from spring training. I guess, or at least camp being going on. Of course, pitchers and catchers reporting on February 11th. So I wanted to see what you predict for the future based on absolutely nothing. So, Jesse, I want to start off by asking you when spring training finally comes around, which minor leaguer do you predict will turn heads in camp? Minor leaguer. I think I think Jillbert Diaz comes to mine.

I know that's a name that we've already seen in the big leagues, but it really seems like Diaz figured something out down the stretch. 2025 was just a brutal year for him where he really couldn't throw strikes in AAA. The Diamondbacks demoted him down to double A to try to help him out. But toward the end of the season, he started pitching pretty well, and he had more success in the Venezuelan Winter League over the offseason. So I think Diaz could come in and could have a good spring. training and could win a bullpen spot. Like if he, if he appears to be one of the one of the eight

best options, I think the diamondbacks would totally be willing to to put him in that role. We expect them to add to the bullpen in the next few weeks, but there's probably still going to be one or two spots that are just kind of open for competition. So Diaz is a is a name that, that stands out to me for sure. I also had a pitcher myself. I was thinking Cole Drake would be a guy potentially but I do know Cole Drake still kind of like he's he's back but you know again there was an injury that kind of held him back a little bit I also think Tommy Troy who has just I I hear nothing but glowing things about every time I read about him I think that like scouts and people in the organization seem to love him and I think he is a guy who might understand the assignment here

of coming up and not necessarily letting himself be blocked by all of this stuff. going on, right? Like, there's, there's a lot of opportunity for minor league players here to impress, and I don't think anybody is 100% set in their position. But again, again, I think that it's hard for guys like Troy to kind of look at the Diamondbacks roster right now and see where they're going to fit in at least anytime soon. But screw all of that. Just come up and impress. I mean, right now with the way things are, we'll convert you to an outfielder or whatever. We'll figure way out what if you can impress in spring training i think that uh you know again especially for someone like him he could be seeing major league roster time very soon i i do want to ask you which veteran

will show up in the best shape of his life and why that person is james mccam yeah james mccann's name definitely uh definitely i mean just thinking about the diamondbacks roster like at least on the position player side. I mean, they don't have all that many veteran-type players. I guess Catelle Marte would fit in that category. I mean, I guess Lordus Gurriel Jr. Maybe in spring training, we get to see him up close and personal, and it looks like he's just ready to go, you know,

six months ahead of schedule or what I guess it wouldn't be quite that far, but pretty close to six months out of schedule if you look at in spring training. So he's a, he's a name that comes to mind. on the yeah I mean on the pitching Merrill Kelly is not showing up to camp in the best shape of his life we know that that is no offense to Merrill but Merrill isn't even showing up with pants that properly fit him because he doesn't give a damn and he will wear whatever baggy sized pants he wants and he will go out there and pitch in whatever shape he wants to and you know what

he'll be great when he does but I don't see Merrill Kelly being that guy it has to be James McCann we've talked enough about his giant muscles and his arm tassels and everything else he brings to this team. But you're, you're probably not wrong. I think Lordus Guriel absolutely could be the most impressive, you know, veterans showing up ready to go. Because if he is, then, you know, I mean, I don't know. I look, like, I know it was just speculation, but based on the time frame, I had said it on this show. We, we might not have ever seen Lordus in a Diamondbacks uniform ever again. That was definitely a possibility with the time frame that was set for his particular injury. So it would be great to see him show up in camp and be ready to go.

Last, before we get out of here, Jesse, which pitcher from the starting rotation or the bullpen is going to throw 97 miles per hour and instantly turn into a Cy Young candidate? This is bold on my end, but I'm going to throw Michael, I'm going to throw Michael Soroka's Yes, that's mine too. Let's go, Jesse. I think Michael Soroka is just clearly dedicated to his craft. and really, really wants to prove himself. I mean, he's just had year after year marred by injuries. We heard in his press conference how much he's been working on adding different pitches

and building on his arsenal. So, you know, 97 miles per hour, I guess wouldn't be that out of the ordinary for him. He averaged just under 94 in 2025, but it would be on the upper end. If he's thrown 97 in spring training, like that would definitely turn heads. So that's the first name that comes to mind for me. I think the thing about him is that he was so good at one point in his career before all of those injuries held him back that the minute you see him do something like that, you're like, oh, well, we're back.

You know, like, I don't know if anybody else is really going to make you feel that way because we all, we know the rest of the starting pitchers in the rotation so well. We've seen them. So again, it would be neat to see some of them hitting those numbers, but you also don't feel like, you know, like we're going to see something completely different out of what we've seen in the past. Michael Soroka's a guy that if you see glimpses of what he was

at one time with the Atlanta Braves, you're going to be like, this may have been the greatest signing in the history of baseball. So who knows, who knows? But again, that's what adds to this volatility that I'm talking about. This team, I have no idea what this team is going to be, and I've never been so unsure about what they could be.

I would not be surprised, once again, to see them win 90 games, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them be awful in 2026. Let's hope for the other thing. Let's hope for the 90 wins for sure. Well, thanks to Jesse, of course, as always, for being a part of this show. Of course, you can follow Jesse at Jesse and Friedman. Make sure to check out Snake's territory with our guy, Jack Summers. They will be covering this Nolan Aeronado trade, I'm sure, very, very soon.

But just coming back to the Aeronado trade, we got Coolbro 297, had a super chat, and he says Nolan Aeronado feels like eating an ice cream cone to satisfy a sweet tooth. But it will get the job done, but not long term if you are looking for nutrition ally. Coolbro is always making food metaphors here when it comes to the Diamondbacks acquiring people. Yes, that is right. But it's also maybe a values cone, like the 99 cent cone you get at McDonald's. It's not a very expensive cone. So yeah, it's not going to be very fulfilling.

It's probably not going to, again, like Nolan Aeronado, it looks great on the poster. And it's very attractive looking overall. But of course, perhaps not that much nutritional value. I still think that Aeronado is going to be of value to the Diamondbacks over there at third base. And I still very much love the potential of him playing first base for this team. I think Blaze and Jordan are very capable of handling. the third base duties and you not feel the same level of confidence about who the diamondbacks currently have over there at first base. But we got Jacob Franklin, Big Jacob in the chat, is asking

predict the next big move. Well, since Damon is not here, I will do it on his behalf. And that is that the diamond back sign Sir Anthony Dominguez to bolster their bullpen and perhaps have him be that bridge closer, guy that closes the bridge, between now and the time where AJ Puck and just and Martinez return. But Crystal is asking us to be positive, and I am with Crystal. I'm very positive about this. Much like your mama, your mama definitely understands baseball, says Ornato for $5 million a year as a steal. I feel the same way. Again, it's not the Nolan Aeronado of the past, and I think many of us understand that at this point. However, there could have been an, and I don't know, maybe this says something about his character. I'm just speculating here,

but maybe there was an effort issue with him in 2025, because again, going back to his 2024 numbers, if he is able to put up something similar to a slash line of 272, 325, 394, for 719 OPS with close to, you know, 20 home runs and close to 100 RBI, I mean, this is a deal, right? Like this is a huge deal for the Diamondbacks. If he doesn't, then it's still just a guy that they end up paying $5 million for in 26 and $6 million for in 27 that can still help them considerably defensively in the infield.

This is what the Diamondbacks want to get back to in 2026. They want to get back to their calling card to be a solid defensive team, and I believe that Nolan Aeronado definitely helps them with that. But I appreciate you guys so much for stopping by. Apologies for the Frankenstein of a show here. but like I said, big thanks to Jesse Friedman again for being here with us. And yeah, we have to pre-record Jesse sometimes, but a pre-recorded Jesse is better than no Jesse at all. So make sure to follow him at Jesse and Friedman.

Make sure to check out Snake's Territory at Snake's Territory and wherever you get your podcast, wherever you get this podcast. But of course, I am your mayor. I am at Cap underscore Cid Man with a K. Damon is not here. We got Noah on the ones and twos today doing an awesome job of filling in. he does not want you to follow him on social media. So he's asked me to not tell you at all. In fact, if you do follow Noah on Instagram or Twitter, unfollow him right now as we speak.

But our show is at PHNX underscore D-Backs. And, of course, all roads, as always do lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys so much for everything. And yes, let's keep things very positive with this Diamondbacks team. At the end of the day, this was a fantastic move and a move that helps not only with depth, but to bring veteran experience to a team that, quite frankly, doesn't have very much of that right now. So excited to see what Nolan Aeronado can do,

wearing a Diamondbacks uniform, and again, excited to see what this team can be. It's going to be very volatile. We know that much. So again, thank you guys for your time. We'll be back tomorrow at 12 p.m. with Dre Jameson joining us in studio. So make sure to join us for that.

He just got himself a brand new Corvette. So fingers crossed, he's going to take me for a ride around downtown. it when he gets here, but that's probably not looking very likely. So regardless, make sure to join us tomorrow for Dre Jameson here in studio. And of course, we thank you guys for your time. Make sure you are careful of who you share it with. Your time is a commodity. Only share it with those who deserve it. But appreciate you guys giving us some of your time today. We'll see tomorrow. Until then, have yourselves a wonderful evening. Behave yourselves, Killer Rex. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you look at Nell and Aeronado's numbers from 24.

and not 25.