PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Could Nolan Arenado Be a SURPRISE First Base Option for D-backs?
Episode Date: January 27, 2026The Diamondbacks are reportedly in the market for another first baseman…or are they? We dive into a full-blown conspiracy theory that the D-backs may have already solved their first base problem whe...n they traded for Nolan Arenado. With videos, quotes, and a little detective work, we lay out the case for Arenado being Arizona’s surprise answer at first. We also break down Ketel Marte once again being crowned the best second baseman in all of MLB, and ask why trading him was ever a conversation to begin with. Plus, we’ve got the latest MLB free agency updates and are joined in studio by our friends from Big Brothers Big Sisters.0:00 SkeeYee!!! 2:30 Harris Bader signs in NL West 9:55 The Eugenio Suarez market is COLD 18:10 MLB The Show athlete uncovered (lame) 24:05 Ketel Marte = Best 2B in MLB 41:35 Nolan Arenado switching positions? 50:25 Big Brothers Big Sisters joins the show!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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Well, we know the Arizona Diamondbacks are out there seeking out a first baseman.
At least that's what we've been told.
But is their first baseman already a part of this team?
We explore the idea here that Nolan Aeronato might be the D-BAC's new guy over there.
First, we're going to talk about it right now.
Don't you go anywhere.
And welcome in to another edition of the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast.
L!
From Studio K.
Presented by our friends at Circle K, it is I, your mayor of P.NX,
occasionally known as Derek Mons.
Tia. Thrilled to have you guys here and thrilled to be, I guess, be a conspiracy theorist
with who the Diamondbacks might in fact have playing first base today. Something that we all
already knew was that Cotel Marte is the best second basement involved in MLB. And we're going to
talk about all of that. But of course, excited for today to be Big Brothers Big Sisters Day.
I got my guy Damon Dog, aka Damon Farrell on the ones and twos. And we're thrilled always to be
celebrating Big Brothers Big Sisters. We will be joined.
by Andrea and Casey later in the show to discuss what mentorship through big brothers,
big sisters means to both of them.
And I know mentorship can mean a lot, Damon.
I used to mentor a small child named Jesse.
And now look at him.
Look at all he's accomplished.
I'm so proud of him.
Our sweet, sweet boys, so growing up.
Jesse's older than me, I think, by like six months.
Yeah, I was going to say, in general, I figured out the other day that I am the oldest
person in this office, and I hate that.
hate that and so now everybody's walking around and I'm calling myself a mentor over all of them and they keep saying no you're not you had no impact on my life in any way it's weird but much different than the fine folks over at big brothers big sisters and of course we are thrilled to be joined by two people who exemplify that but first we got some n l west news finally I guess perking up a little bit outside of anything that the dodgers are doing to ruin the game of baseball Harrison bader is going to reportedly sign
with the San Francisco Giants.
He has agreed to a two-year deal worth
approximately $20.5 million, roughly $10.25 million per year
with incentives that could push it slightly higher.
We talked about Bader being an option for the Diamondbacks,
and I still think that he would have been a good option.
But Damon, what do you think about paying Harrison Bader $10 million a year
to be the center fielder for the D-backs?
I think that that's exactly the type of contract we were talking about
with Jesse Friedman when we were we had him on this show.
What was it last week, Derek?
I mean, it feels like every time we make a show about somebody that might still be available,
that person gets ticked off and signed that very same weeks or or at least within the next week.
So should we do a show about Framber Valdez not signing with the Diamondback so that maybe they once again get the top arm available on the free agent market or arguably the top arm available on the market?
Should we start like saying like should the Dodgers go get like each free agent maybe every off season?
so that we jinx that?
Or do you think that their devil magic is too strong,
that they'll still be able to sign all of those people,
despite the Derek and Damon Jenks?
I think, again, I don't feel like this tremendously moves to Neil for the Giants,
but I will say the Giants already had themselves a solid team,
solid enough for them to be something to deal with,
a team that we're going to have to deal with in 26.
And I think they're going to be a very good team in 26.
Bader is a defensive upgrade in Centerfield.
He is one of the best defensive center field.
fielders in the league with a gold glove back in 21.
An elite range metrics overall.
It's a big upgrade for the Giants outfield that ranked among the worst in outs above
average last year in the outfield.
So a big, big upgrade for them.
And I mean, again, it's Harrison Bader at this point in his career.
I'm not sure how much it moves the needle overall.
I feel like it does make them a more well-rounded team.
And he had one of his best offensive seasons last year, slashing 277, 347, 449.
with 17 home runs and 11 steals between the twins and the Phillies.
So he could report it.
He could be the thing that helps make that Giants team better.
And that's not great for us.
Bader reportedly called the Giants a perfect fit during free agency,
signing opportunity.
Yeah, because their lineup stinks so bad.
It is a perfect fit for any position player because you know you'll start somewhere.
Right, right.
It's a chance to play a lot and being on a competitive team.
team as well. Again, though, it's also coming to the National League West. I can't help but wonder,
Damon, honestly, how much of that is a turnoff for a player who's choosing to sign somewhere,
how much they might not want to sign in the National League West just because of the fact that you
have to deal with this being the Dodgers division. Interesting take. I mean, I think that maybe
there's probably a player or two that looks at that that way, honestly. Like,
That's probably not the most, I don't know.
I don't think that's the craziest take in the entire world.
But I would say that I feel like, you know, maybe the, like that that's typically not the case.
You're still seeing the Padres, the Giants, the D-backs are still signing pretty big-name free agents every year.
I just mean like Aaron Judge was almost going to the, to the Giants, arson judge, if you remember correctly.
Like, I feel like these teams are in on some of the big-name free agents.
The Diamondbacks have signed Corbyn-Burban.
and, you know, they've done some, some other work as well.
Like this, I think it's, I think that's possible for some players, but not for the consensus
around baseball.
And I wasn't talking historically.
I was just speaking more right now.
Yeah.
Right?
Like the UC Edwin Diaz going over there before the Kyle Tucker movie even happened, you had to
feel like, damn, that was that was like the one thing they needed to fix.
And they went out and they got the best guy to fix that.
Yeah.
And then they got the best hitter on the market on top of it.
Right.
So it's it's with a weird neck.
I'm just saying if another franchise is offering you potentially the same amount of money,
why would you pick, you know, to come to this Godforsaken division versus going somewhere else
where you feel like you might have a chance to win and win a division title, right?
Yeah.
I mean, I like Bader a lot.
I think he's a good player.
I think he, I think he's a winning baseball player, right?
Like that's the type of dude who just makes your team better flat out on both sides of the ball.
And so the Giants got better, no doubt about it.
I also am not like, if the Diamondbacks problem is the Giants,
then we're not good enough to really be having real problems next year, Derek.
Like, you know what I mean?
Like I'm not saying they need to compete with the Dodgers,
but I don't see the Giants necessarily as like our top wildcard competition in this,
you know, in this national league.
And so that's why I look more at like the teams in the NL East.
We're talking about the Mets.
the Phillies, the Braves.
Like, I think that's going to be a lot of the D-Backs competition.
And so, yeah, you know, I hopefully this signing doesn't really have too big of an impact on our team and our chances.
Right.
I mean, it does, again, it allows young Huli to move from center field over to one of the corner outfield spots, which is better for him.
And Harrison Bader's golden locks get to flow in the wind there in center field out there in San Francisco.
I'm ready to hate him now, Damon.
I'm prepared to hate him.
And again, that's just my natural instinct, my natural reaction to any NLS signing.
But meanwhile, it would seem.
Even the Rockies?
I mean, I told Susie Hunter the other day to take care of Jake McCarthy because that sweet, sweet boy made his first appearance as a member of the Colorado Rockies in person.
And it made me miss him.
It made me miss him, Damon.
It is sad.
It's bittersweet to see a guy like that walk out the door.
It really is.
Like I know that, you know, I've given Jake McCarthy a hard time, but he's been a good player for this organization.
And so, you know, you get used to having these guys around and then eventually, you know, they get traded or they leave.
So it's, it sucks to see a situation like that.
And hopefully he doesn't ever end up in Dodger Blue because I won't hate him unless that's what happens.
That's where ties get severed, Derek.
That's where David Peralta goes from franchise legend to a.
bum that I hate until the day that I die.
You're dead to me.
That's how, I mean, except, except Gonson, we don't remember that.
Yeah, no.
I mean, that one, that one, that one doesn't care.
That was before, that was before the Dodgers were taken over by MLB and then eventually
ruined baseball as well.
So it's, it is a little bit different.
I'd argue in that sense, but.
The good old day is when like Frank McCord's divorce was making everything so much
easier.
Oh, the McCord family.
How I miss, how I missed out.
How much.
Instead of this ownership.
group that has limitless money.
Instead of freaking magic and all the Chelsea owners.
Oh, and Chelsea's not good.
That's the worst part.
Well, speaking of not being good, it would appear that nobody wants Gino.
It appears that A.
U.N.S.
Juarez is still out there with very little takers.
I want Gino.
I want Gino too.
D.H.
You're telling me that's not the D.H.
I mean, rumors have linked him to a few teams like the Pirates, the Red Sox, going back to
the Mariners. However, you know, despite being one of the big bats of last season, like,
can we remember just for a brief moment when Gino Suarez was in the home run race with Kyle
Schwarber and like, Shohei Otani?
Brother, there's no better production out there on the market than 49 bombs out of the
DH position from one Gino's.
It's weird, right? Yeah, like someone who had 49 home runs in 2025 is somehow undesirable now
this offseason. It could be his asking price, right? I mean, insiders like Jim Bowden and others on
MLB have said that multiple teams aren't actively pursuing him, but it feels like they're going to like, well, almost like what the Diamondbacks might be doing here with their first base situation where they are like trying to figure out their other perhaps more pressing needs and then they'll circle back to perhaps a first baseman or even a DH. But this isn't because Gino's unappealing. It's just because according to reports, he doesn't have high trade value.
Later in the season, Damon, that seems to be it. I mean, we didn't get that much for him when you think about it.
I mean, one anonymous GM basically said, why sign him now and assume you can flip him at midseason?
His trade market dried up last year even after a 49 home run campaign.
So again.
What was the Gino trade specifically?
Because I get confused because it was.
Tyler Locklear.
Naylor trade as well.
Was it just straight up Locklear?
And Naylor was what, Burgos and Garcia and someone else?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was.
Izzy?
Ash and Izzy?
Let's see.
Two Mariners.
They're giving me the one where we traded.
Tyler Locklear, Hunter Cranton, and Juan Burgos.
Okay, so we got Burgos in that one as well.
We got Burgos in that one too.
Yeah, I mean, it doesn't.
I mean, that's a pretty good trade now on the Diamondbacks and considering the left interest overall on Gino.
I don't know about that.
Where are we getting?
I mean, maybe if Burgos pans out and is pretty damn good, but I don't, I don't, I don't,
I don't know that we're getting any sort of equal value in production there.
It's not equal, though.
I mean, I'm talking equal until the rest of time.
I'm talking equal from here to the end of Gino's career to the whole entirety of Tyler Locklear's career.
I don't know if he'll accumulate that amount of war, Derek.
You can't do that, though, because of the fact that Gino was going to be a free agent after this season.
That's the one thing that we have to factor in here with all of these trades is that none of these guys
were guaranteed to be Diamondbacks after this season was over.
So keeping them and not trading them isn't necessarily the same comparison as to what you said.
Most likely the Diamondbacks realized with how good his first half was
that they weren't going to be able to afford him as a free agent, right?
That seems like what was more likely here.
And then what ends up happening is Gino is a bust after the, you know,
as the trade deadline approach, he did not have a very good July.
He definitely started struggling and went into a slump right before.
before the trade deadline, and he was essentially moved to the Mariners.
I think that this is the big reason why, Damon, that he is not seen as being desirable as a free agent.
His numbers with the Mariners were atrocious.
That's one way of putting it.
I mean, again, I have tried to cap for Gino.
I've tried to say not only did he bring the good vibes that got the Mariners all away as far as they went in the playoffs and won them that division,
but he also had a very big home run in the playoffs.
That was huge for that franchise.
However, it's hard to look at these stats from his time as a mariner in the regular season in 2025 and say that it was a success.
Gino hit 189 with a 682 OPS.
He had a 5.9% home run percentage.
He had a 35.9% strikeout percentage.
And he was worth a baseball reference war of 0.3.
Now, I got the Dback side of that here verbally, Derek, just to, you know, for comparison's sake.
His home run rate was 8.2% with Arizona during his tenure with Diamondbacks last season.
His strikeout rate 26.8. So almost 10% less than what he was striking out with the Mariners.
And his B-War, I believe, was 3.3 with the Diamondbacks versus just what is that?
A 10th of that with the Mariners, an 11th of that?
Yeah.
I mean, his second half numbers after the All-Star game aren't better than much better than this.
He had a 196 batting average, a 267 on base percentage, a 729 OPS, 18 home runs after the All-Star break, worth an OPS plus 78.
So just not good.
And again, this is a guy that most likely is seeking out a multi-year deal in the mid-teens to $20 million annual value range.
and most clubs just don't really want to risk that, especially on a guy that could potentially be,
have a bad season and be worthless by the time the trade deadline comes around.
Yeah, I mean, it's scary, right?
I think you're at the point of the offseason where every player has their flaws.
And that's the case with most baseball players truly even at the start of the off season.
But that's why you don't have to probably pay Gino what maybe you thought you were going to have to pay Gino with that first half.
he was having this season.
And don't get me wrong.
Like he still hit some,
made some big,
you know,
big timely hits for the Mariners in their postseason run.
Like they,
let's not forget that they made it all the way to the ALCS.
Oh, I know.
And he hit like home runs in the playoffs that were,
that were big.
And yeah,
he's a boomer bus player.
There's no doubt about it.
But the Diamondbacks,
I think,
are the type of team that can afford to have a guy like that in the,
and, you know,
take a little bit of that swing and miss for some,
home run production because you're looking at the roster and who really does that on the roster
right now. It's not like they have a, it's not like we're the, you know, whatever it was,
2009 Diamondbacks when we had Chris Young, Adam Dunn and Mark Reynolds be the three league leaders
and strikeouts that season. Like that's not the team that we have right now. So I feel like the free
swiggin team. Dude, that was ridiculous. And it was it was kind of hard to watch back in those days.
You know what I mean? They hit a lot of bombs though. Someone check.
me on whatever team that was. I know
that I didn't get that year right, but it was, I know
that those were the three players that did it. I think they were
all top five or something in MLB.
I just, I think that you can afford a little bit of
swing and miss, and I think that we're looking at,
and I know I kept saying this saying the same
thing about Gowan, but we're looking at like,
is it discount mode? Because I'm putting
out a price where I'm like, hey,
Gino, I know you're looking for something more than
this. This is not to be, you know,
disrespectful to you. This is because we love
you here. We didn't think that this was going to be a
possibility. But if
you want to come back, here's an $8 million contract with a club option for the next year,
or something like that.
You know what I mean?
Like something that is or a player option for the next year, a mutual option for the next year,
something that gives him a bit of security, but also isn't really breaking the bank for the debacks.
And I think that that could make sense because we still have such a power hitter role to fill on this roster.
We're just bringing them all back, Damon.
I know.
Just we're bringing back.
But our team was so good.
We're bringing back.
What happened?
I mean, we just had the worst bullpen ever.
And then the whole trade deadline was about was about the bullpen.
The whole trade deadline for Mike Hazen was about the bullpen, right?
Max Scherzer's a free agent still.
What's Randy up to these days?
I'm assembling a team, David.
I'm assembling a team of former Diamondbacks.
Where is J.D. Martinez?
Give me his number.
I mean, you're not wrong.
I'm not saying Gino would even take.
that offer. I'm just saying that I would explore
talking to him in trying to
offer something that I deemed as a price
that was worth it to our team.
Yeah, for sure. For sure.
Well, we did get one mystery
uncovered about who was going to be
on the cover of MLB
the show yesterday.
We got our little tease
from the fine folks at San Diego Studios.
And we get this answer.
Lame. It's Aaron Judge.
It's Aaron Judge, everybody.
Aaron Judge is the person that is all
cover of MLV the show. I was kind of right. I did say it was going to be World Baseball
Classic. I was hoping it would be World Baseball Classic. We did get that. We got Aaron Judge in his
Yankees uniform and his Team USA uniform as well as the World Baseball Classic. What I do like is that
this cover does illustrate here that you would be following a player's entire career, Damon. You got
like high school, college, everything, minor leagues, everything going all the way up to World Baseball
Classic. So I feel like this, this is exciting as far as the cover making me excited about the game, but not excited about the athlete on the cover or their little ploy to get me excited about this. I really feel like I was like this ruse didn't pay off. And now I'm just upset with them over there at MLB the show. But I'm going to play the game. I'm going to play the game. You didn't want a Yankee on the cover, Derek? You know I don't want a Yankee on the cover. I don't want anybody on the cover, but Corbyn Carroll and his team USA uniform. What about that?
San Diego Studios.
Can I interest you in the,
in one of the top 10 players in the league,
young, exciting,
and on the World Baseball Classic team?
Yeah, that could have been nice.
I guess not.
I don't know.
R.A.
maybe Heraldo Perdomo cover athlete.
Yeah, yeah.
R.A. in the chat is suggesting
that the show 27 is going to have a lockout mode.
I'm not looking forward to that.
That's not great at all.
But I don't know.
What do you think?
Overall, when companies do things like this,
is it the right kind of hype?
I mean, I don't know.
I mean, it got people talking about something that generally wouldn't really be talked about all that much.
But don't be people, people have interest in who's on the cover of these video games.
Like, I feel like there's just enough interest to generate that to not have to.
Like, we all knew it was going to be something exactly like this based on the way they worded it.
It's not going to be a new athlete on the, you know, we were like, okay, so it's going to be somebody from last year.
Yeah.
Whatever.
I mean, you're right.
People do care about it, but I do think that the way that they framed it made it more of a conversation than typically.
Yeah.
And then now, and if they just had released, hey, this is Aaron Judge's second time on the cover.
Snoose Fest.
Snoose Fest.
Yeah.
So I think that what they did actually ended up working from a marketing standpoint.
I do wish that it was more World Baseball Classic centered because I think that would be absolutely sick.
I wish it was decoy.
I wish it was decoy.
I still want the dog on the cover.
But that's, again, just me.
That dog's in on it.
He knows everything, Damon.
That dog knows all the secrets.
But we're going to take a quick break on the other side of this break.
we're going to talk about our second baseman, your second baseman,
Catelle Marte being the number one second baseman in all of baseball.
We also are going to get around to maybe Gino comes back to this team
and does play third base, Damon, because maybe just maybe Aeronado will be over there
taking care of duties at first.
That seems like a bad idea.
I mean, I'd switch those two things if that was going to happen.
But we're going to give you all the reasons why we believe there's a conspiracy
happening right in front of our eyes.
Don't you go anywhere you're watching the PHNX Diamondback show?
well even though it's never ordinary in the MLB free agency market it's also never ordinary over a bet three six five right now they have great offers for all sorts of sports of course you still have your football offers out there right now I mean is a really good time for you to bet on those wildcats because they seem to be unstoppable that is a team that remains undefeated and if I were you I would maybe wait on the sons to get devon booker and maybe for jalen green to play three games in a row before betting on that team but
They do have offers for NBA over there at Bet365.
You can get down on the NBA tip off Tuesday's offer where you can place a qualifying same game parlay bet with the safety net bet feature on Tuesday NBA games and get up to $10 in bonus bets if the bet loses terms and conditions to apply.
They also have their early payout offer for NHL, which right now you're a winner.
If your team goes up, goes ahead with a three goal lead.
So there's all this fun to be had over there.
Do not miss out.
And right now new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when you bet $5,
win or lose.
Sign up, use that code of PHNX365 when you do.
Deposit $10 and place a bet for $500 or more to get $200 in bonus bets.
If your bet wins or loses, bonus bets can be used on the spread,
totals, players, props, futures, and more, whatever the moment.
It is never ordinary.
A bet 365 must be 21 or over and physically located in Arizona.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem,
and wants help, call 100 next step, text next step to 533442,
or visit problemgambling.az.com.
And of course, right now is a great time to get down on some new improvements around your home in the big two six.
And a great place to do so is at the window depot.
Do you need new windows?
Well, we got your spot, obviously, at the window depot.
But they are so much more than just a Windows store.
You got to check out their unbeatable prices.
And of course, their huge amount of quantities.
They have everything you need all in one place.
They do have windows, but they also have doors, skylights, cabinets, countertops, sinks, and more with tons of inventory in stock.
ready for pickup. Contractors love the window depot because of their job site ready quantities,
their unbeatable prices, and their expert service. They also do not require a membership for contractors
or for you. So make sure to check out the only place that you can go that will give you the best
price with the biggest inventory and also has in-house designers that are free of charge. If you
need help bringing your vision to life, their in-house designers are there to help you plan your space
at no extra cost. From cabinets to countertops, they make it simple. The window depot, more than just a
window store, visit the window depot.com and get started on your next project today.
All right. Well, MLB has this way of telling us things that we already know, Damon, and one of the
things that we already know is that Cotel Marte is the best second baseman in all of baseball.
MLB now has ranked the positions, and yesterday they ranked second baseman with Cotel Marte,
once again being ranked at the number one position ahead of guys like Jazz Chisholm.
and he's done it multiple times
with this being his first back-to-back
top ranking on that second baseman list.
These rankings obviously combine
all sorts of metrics,
traditional metrics, advanced metrics,
vibes are heavily involved in here.
And this is honestly widely followed
by analysts and media voices across baseball.
So it really, I know it's just a list.
I know it's something we kind of poke fun at
that we already know.
We already know we had the best second baseman in baseball.
There's no reason for you to put together a list and tell me this.
But again, this is a big thing for Catell.
This is the fourth time in his career.
He has been ranked the number one second basement in Major League Baseball, 2020, 2020, 22, 2025, and now 2026.
And of course, as we know, his performance backs up.
He slash 283, 376, 517 with an 893 OPS and an absolutely elite 145WRC.
plus. That's elite production for, especially for a second basement. Damon and I were talking about
second baseman not being featured very high on the top 100 prospects list, on the top 100 MLB players
list, and there's a good reason why. Hell, MLB network forgot Nico Horner even existed.
Nico Horner, by the way, ranked the second best second baseman in all of baseball,
despite the fact that he didn't make that top 100 list and several second baseman below him
did. So there's that. But you also have Cotel Marte hitting 28 bombs and 28 doubles.
And despite missing time due to injury and other reasons, he led all qualified second
basement in OPS roughly 80 points better than the next guy. So this is just, again,
Marte being recognized for the great player that he is, two-time Silver Slug Award winner,
named all MLB first team at second base for the second straight season in 2024.
2025. And earlier in 25, he was also named the NL starting second baseman, obviously, in the All-Star
game. So there's a lot to be said about how good Catelle Marte has been for this team. But this
brings back the question, why were we ever considering trading this man? What were we doing?
I mean, it's like amazing to me how quickly the narrative changed from Marte being one of the biggest
trade chips on the market to now us just congratulating him for being one of the best second
basement in baseball, right? It's just crazy. He's been an elite hitter. He has been elite at
run creation compared to all of his peers. He has production, this level of production across
multiple seasons proving it's not just some sort of fluke. The Kattel is elite. He's a MVP candidate.
He's the best second baseman in baseball. He offered.
you offensive and defensive contributions. I mean,
Catell is really good defensively.
I would argue there might be some better defensive second baseman in the league,
but they don't offer you nearly the production that Cotel offers you.
And also the vibes.
Let's not forget about the vibes, right?
But he's just, he's viewed as the positions benchmark.
That's what it comes down to.
Career, he went from being an underrated trade piece.
thrown in to a trade to the Diamondbacks,
to becoming a legit statistical leader in his position,
finishing third in NL MVP voting,
proving that he just, that this resonates, right?
Like, that this isn't just us talking about how good our guy is.
And, you know, the Diamondbacks once again rewarded him with a long-term extension.
Kattel in return has not only awarded them with his,
his play, his performance, but he also rewarded them with, you know, the fact that Kattel has been
on a fairly team-friendly deal his entire career with the Diamondbacks.
Yeah, it's part of getting an extension, right, where it's like there's almost a risk inherently
when you avoid arbitration with the player, but you give him more money now versus what he would
get paid in arbitration.
Right.
And then on the back end, the hope is that he's a good value contract.
Right.
The Diamondback struck gold with Gatel Marte because it's the best contract potentially in the entire sport.
Because he's so damn good, you know?
You're so right.
And it's not just that, you know, he, you know, you got him on a team friendly deal overall.
This is a guy that has made it known that he wants to be here, right?
Like he has said so many times that he's from Arizona now.
and he wants to be a diamond back for the rest of his life.
I mean, I guess that's all just lip service
that a lot of star players tend to give to the fan bases
and to the media when they're talking about their time with any team, right?
But I just feel people are like more honest now than they have been in the past.
I don't think that there's the judgment held against players
when they openly say they want out of a situation that they're currently in or they're not.
I mean, even that, they don't even have to say anything at all.
They just don't have to say like,
I want to be this team named for the rest of my career, right?
There's no reason.
There's no one forcing them to do that.
But Ketel has gone on record saying that several times.
And I mean, again, this is just to me further proof that they made the right call in not making a trade from.
Yeah, no doubt about it.
I think from our perspective, at least, we've always been keep Ketel guys.
And I've said, I would have thrown my computer out of the window.
if he would have gotten this award while being a member of the Boston Red Sox?
Brother, right out the window.
I don't know if you remember.
And it was right after I was, you know, I was very vocal on my, on my Twitter about
I thought what I thought Catell did during the season was unacceptable behavior.
And then I came out a couple days later and I said, because there was a rumor that he could be on the trade block.
And I said, if we trade Cattel Marte, I'm organizing a rally down at Chase Field with everybody,
welcome to join me.
In fact, please do.
And I, like, I was going to grab my pitch for it.
in my torch, Derek, because I didn't want him gone.
I just wanted him to show a little bit more, I think, professionalism because he's one of the
leaders of this team.
And I just think that I do think that these trade rumors of sorts bothered him.
I think that you could tell.
I think you could tell it upset him because I think you're right.
Like I think he wanted to be, I think he wants to be a diamond back.
And I think it's bothersome to him to kind of have this like kind of, you know,
label cast on him that he's not a good teammate that he's not a good leader bad bad teammate exactly and
and so he you know he's posting the not good teammate instagram post it's funny with corvin and whatnot but like
i i do think he was bothered by it and i think we've seen cracks of that so i hope that it doesn't
you know really escalate to anything and i hope that that doesn't lead to him down the road being like
you know what i i think i am done and i do want to trade out of here but i i think that that's also why
you have Tori and we've talked about that like ever people people want to harp on Tori for
lineup and bullpen decisions and you know things that maybe are in large part out of his control
here's what Tori does deserve credit or blame for his staff that he brought in last season was an
absolute disaster on paper so you know he has to wear that but what Tori is good at is connecting
people yeah and in getting to players from a person to person standpoint and I think that that's
why you employatory level is just to
you know to kind of smooth over
that situation and it shouldn't be an issue in my
opinion. Well Katie says in the chat
knowing now he didn't get approval I agree with
Damon I think days off are acceptable
but the lack of approval was unprofessional
I think that we can all agree with that
we can all relate to that. None of us in our jobs
are allowed to just miss time without
getting that sign off
and if you did miss time without that
sign off you better be sick or there better be
something really you know bad that happened
right but like I mean
And imagine if you called me, Derek, at like 11 a.m. an hour before the show and you were like, Amen, where are you? And I was like, the Dominican baby. I'm back on my island.
Oh, my God, I would lose my mind. You'd be like, you're aware?
What? What? Yeah. Who's going to produce me? Did you? Did you let anyone know?
No, man, I was having a great time. We came out here on Friday and just decided to stay the weekend. And then from that point on, I was like, let's let life guide us in whatever.
direction it takes us the wind is at our back and we are free and you're like I have a show to do
yeah I mean I think that you know that like obviously and I'm not an all-star second basement I would
get fired I would and Ketel Marte would or at least I'd be on a hefty hefty like like sort of like
suspension of Damon like you're on leave for a second while you figure some things out I I think
Catele-Marty, like, it was much less than that.
They, like, suspended him for a series or whatever and then brought him back.
Like, and then he made probably, like, almost the exact same amount of money.
Like, it's, it wasn't like a, a huge issue for, and it shouldn't be for that type of situation.
I don't think so.
He can't do it again.
But it's also, it's also.
But it's also the extremes, right?
It's like, and me talking to someone like you about going to extremes is kind of ridiculous.
However, you know, you can be upset with the player's actions, but you don't have to move that all the way down the scale to, I want them traded.
Yeah.
I need this bum off my team, right?
Like, and that's something that you can say in life, right?
Absolutely.
Relationships.
You have deal breakers and you have non-deal breakers, but as much as I sometimes legitimately lose my mind over my wife and my wife and
my daughter not washing these particular cups that don't fit in the dishwasher
themselves when they use them.
And I've told them, I'm going to leave you.
I'm going to leave this family and I'm never going to come home.
I don't have what it takes to do it over something so menial, Damon.
I make threats, but the threats don't stand because they know I'm not going anywhere
and they won't wash those damn cups.
So that's where we're at.
It's bad metaphor, but obviously I'm still mad about those cups sitting by my sink this morning
and I needed to vent a little bit.
Yeah, I mean, listen, that's what this podcast truly is for, Derek, is for me and you to get our just therapy sessions kind of out of the way.
Yesterday, you told me you were my therapist and you're kind of sick of not getting paid for these sessions.
We keep happening after the show.
So there's that.
I don't.
Did you check if our insurance covers my, is fine with my company and bills through?
It is.
I mean, it's, it is what it is.
It's part of your job description now.
Now it's part of your job description.
I did want to say, Derek, I was looking at Ketel's stats before we get out of here.
and or on this discussion.
Since 2019, that's been seven seasons, last seven seasons.
He's been, I think, without a question, the best second baseman in baseball for four of those seven seasons.
Another one of those seasons, he got hurt.
He played 45 games.
Oh, no, sorry, that was 2020.
So, you know, it wasn't really a real full season.
He wasn't the best of that season.
He had a 732 OPS, but like, who's to say he wouldn't have figured it out with twice as many games to play?
with that to go.
I'll give him a mulligan there.
And then the next season he got hurt,
played half the games essentially,
and was playing center field.
So in the six of the seven last seasons
that he's played second base,
he's been the best second base
been in baseball for four of those six seasons
pretty much undeniably.
And I think he's almost,
that's what we call a monopoly on the position.
That's what we call a borderline hall of fame player, genuinely.
Like,
that's what,
they always say best player at your position for five years.
We used to be the role in Major League Baseball.
And Catelle is close to getting somewhere around there.
And I think that, you know, he, like, he absolutely is the type of player that if he continues
to keep on to his offensive production, he could be in consideration for something like that.
Also to just, you know, ended up, 2023, he didn't even make the All-Star game.
Do you remember that?
I do remember.
I forgot about that.
remember that? I forgot about...
Wasn't that the year we had a bunch of guys make the All-Star team?
We had Lordus, Perdomo, Corbyn, and Zach Stark the All-Star game.
We had four players in the All-Star game, but Catele had a five baseball reference
war at second base and is just clearly the best second baseman in the sport.
He won NLCS MVP that year, Derek.
Not All-Star caliber.
And not an All-Star, according to Major.
league baseball in that season. So that
fired me up in hindsight
just looking back on that and being like, what
an absolute joke
that was. Yeah, it was.
But we love you. You could tell.
We're glad you're here. We're glad the Diamondbacks
made the right call on this one. But
are they making the wrong call
when it comes to potentially
where Nolan Aronado is going to play?
Is he going to play third base? Or is he
going to play first base?
Probably not. But we're going to, we have a
conspiracy theory and we have some stuff to back it
We're going to talk about it on the other side of this break.
Don't you go anywhere.
You're watching the pH next time in Back show.
I'll tell you, I got to work in my car today,
and as much as I was excited to arrive here at the office on time,
it would have been much cooler to arrive in a brand-new Corvette.
And our friends at Heila River Resorts and Casinos
want to make that happen for me,
and they want to make it happen for you.
Right now you can drive into excitement
with a fabulous Corvette giveaway running January 16th through April 24th.
Four casinos, four corvettes, four chances to win big at anyone of their participating locations,
all their casinos, Wild Horse Pass, V, Cuiva, Lone Butte, and San Tan Mountain.
And it's this easy to qualify.
You go on Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
They have hourly drawings for bonus play or for a finale entry.
On Tuesdays and Saturdays, you can earn four times the entries when you play with the card.
And on Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., they have a hot seat finale qualifier where you play with the card for your shot to win a fabulous new Corvette.
They also have exclusive swag giveaways throughout the promotion.
So for more information, go visit play atheela.com.
And don't miss your chance to accelerate into luxury, play, earn, and win at any one of their four casino locations.
And of course, Circle K is America's third stop.
And if you do win one of those Corvettes, you can stop by and fuel up with some cheap gas over there at Circle K.
And you'll save even more if you're an Inner Circle Rewards member.
All you got to do is join the Inner Circle for free right now.
It's easy to download and get rolled and then use your phone to score.
Circle K deals like when they have their inner circle fuel days where you will save 40 cents off
per gallon on those particular days.
You also get all sorts of great deals.
Right now you can save 25 cents off per gallon when you buy three Coca-Cola 20-ounce products
at Circle K right now.
That is for Inner Circle Fuel members only.
And also save on food.
It's America's thirst stop.
So you know they have plenty to drink inside, but they also have their meal deal matrix
where you can score meal deals from $3 to $6, which that $6 deal features two slices of
pizza and any 20 ounce Coca-Cola or Pepsi product or a polar pop up to 44 ounces.
That is quite the deal.
So join the Inner Circle for free right now by downloading the Circle A K app today.
Terms and conditions apply at participating locations.
Visit CircleK.com for details.
Craig in the chat says,
My Kids Little League has banned 6-7 along with 6-9 as possible jersey number.
I don't even know what it means.
Nobody does, Craig.
No one knows what 6-7 means.
It's from a song and it's just 6-7.
You find yourself saying it all the time, and it causes kids to lose their mind.
I can only imagine being number 67 on a football team, like in high school right now.
And they're like, coming him next, number six, seven.
And the kids all lose their mind, I bet.
But I think I just even make that gesture, the hand gesture that goes with it,
because I'm trying to get out ahead of some freaking dork in the chat being like,
he's a six of it.
So I'm just trying to, I'm trying to beat those kids.
And I'm also doing the Mark Wahlberg and the other guy's thing where he's like, yeah, I learned how to play the harp to make fun of the dude down the street in the neighborhood who played the harp.
Yeah, I want Intel.
I want to make fun of the stupid thing that the kids are doing, right?
You think I don't know how to do this?
And he does a perfect ballet routine?
Well, I'm going to get a little, I'm going to get a little crazy here because, of course, we know that the Diamondbacks are still seeking out their new first basement.
And we know that according to reports from like our guy, Gambo, he said that.
that that could be a position of the Diamondbacks add through free agency this offseason, right?
But again, there is one interesting option that's kind of popped up here.
And that is the Diamondback's new third baseman, Nolan Aeronado.
I say this because there seems to be at least enough information,
a little bit of smoke where there might be a fire as far as Nato playing first base for the Diamondbacks.
One of the reasons why this actually does make sense is the acquisition of Nolan Aeronado
didn't make a ton of sense just as far as the positions the diamond backs needed to fill third baseman
might have been you know something that they wanted to do right but it felt like didn't feel like a priority
they did make Alex Brighman a thing right and so it did feel like they were seeking to upgrade
third base but it also felt felt like they had two pretty good options over there blaze alexander
did a great job holding down third base as well as you know what what they had over there you know with
Jordan Lawler, at least defensively at third base, right? But again, Nolan Aeronado brings a wealth
of experience, and he is one of the best defensive third baseman in the league. So then explain to me
why on his Instagram, we have video here of him playing first base. Explain this to me. Explain why,
why is he over there? What is he doing? What is he doing? Show it again. I mean, this is like,
I mean, this is conspiracy theory level video here, Damon. We got, we got him. We got it. I mean, sure,
The next video is him playing third base.
So that kind of contradicts everything that I'm trying to say here.
But that video is him playing first base.
Not to not what, what, am I crazy?
Objective fact that video is him playing first base.
That objective fact you cannot argue against the fact that he is playing first base in that video.
Also, we know that according to reports, the Padres were in on him.
They were attempting to make a trade for him.
It was one of the reasons why I liked this move.
It blocked the Padres.
It hurt them.
And that makes us happy.
But they also, according to reports, wanted him to,
play first base for them after losing Luis Arise. They might bring a rise back to play first
baseman, but they did want to upgrade there defensively. We know a rise is not very good
defensively, and Aronado would be a great upgrade, I think anywhere on the infield that he plays,
but specifically he's, you know, he's almost overqualified to play first base with how good he is
at third. Aronado did tell the St. Louis Cardinals president, baseball operation,
John Mosiellic. I'm sure I'm butchering that name.
that he is open to a position switch through his agent.
He said if it would make Mo's job easier to get the right team,
Nolan is more than willing to move around.
That was Joel Wolf, his agent.
And then he quoted Nolan Aeronado as saying this, Damon.
He said, I'm not insulted to go play first,
and I can win a gold glove over there if that's what it takes.
That according to Joel Wolf is a quote from Nolan Aronado.
I'd also like to add into this discussion, look at Nolan Aeronado's elbow guard for a second and tell me what color that writing is in and those gloves.
I mean, was he trying to be on the D-Vax this whole time?
Did he know?
I didn't even notice that till now.
This conspiracy is getting deeper and deeper.
I feel like we are uncovering things live on this show.
I do love the attitude, though.
And I do think he is good enough to do that.
His arm has fallen off a little bit.
if you look at like his baseball savon particularly the speed of which he's throwing the baseball
across the diamond used to be upper echelon top tier and now it's a little bit below average
i believe i think it's somewhere in the 40s so he's not giving you the elite arm over there at third
base but he's still a really good glove when it comes to range and direction and maybe that has
some kind of bearing on why they're being like he could play the other corner and stop throwing as much
But I do think that with the Diamondback's current options, as much as Blaze showed some really positive flashes of playing third base last year, I just don't think that I feel more comfortable with Blaze Alexander over the platinum glove winner, maybe the best defensive third baseman we've ever seen.
10 straight.
I'm sorry, but that guy's just like, I'm asking him what position he wants to play.
Like you got third?
All right, I believe you.
Seriously.
I mean, he's that good at it.
Multiple platinum glove awards.
fielding Bible awards tied for an MLB record with 10 gold gloves. I mean, yeah, that's the big
question here is, is, yeah, there was a picture of him before he got traded posting a first base
glove. People were like, what's this, right? Again, we do a lot of Instagram stalking around here.
So this is a thing that it feels like it makes sense from the Diamondbacks needs. And you hear his
attitude about it. It feels like he's very open to the move. However, moving him off.
third base feels like a waste. He's a generational talent over there at third base. I mean, even in his mid-30s, he might not be as physically sharp as he once was, but I mean, it just still feels like he is, he's still one of the best defenders on the diamond, and we know that third base is a critical position for any team. We also know that the diamondbacks kind of want to once again make defense their calling calling card here. So moving Aeronado from third to first is generally a waste of his defensive skill set overall.
But, I mean, if you have somebody that you feel comfortable about playing third over there and like Blaze Alexander, then again, maybe that might be the move.
Maybe, I mean, why not maybe try Blaze out at first?
I don't know.
Maybe Jordan Lawler at first.
Like, these guys are good defensively.
Is it just the fact that you think their offensive production isn't enough for them to warrant them being in first baseman?
Exactly.
I don't know if, you know, I already feel that the Diamondbacks are headed towards a bottom five finish in team OPS at the first base position.
I can't wait for this to be a disaster for them in 2020.
I'm not rooting for it.
I want Pavan Smith to be better than that.
I really do.
You don't.
No, I do.
I do.
Someone,
I think it was Roldo Perdomo's biggest fan asked me on Twitter the other day.
He was like, he was like, if you had to pick a cover athlete between Pave and
Crayton Smith, Clayton, Kershaw and Shohey O'Hawtony, who would you pick?
And I was like, it's not even a discussion.
Yeah, it's pavement.
I love Pave and Smith when he, I'm looking at those other two guys in comparison.
You know what I mean?
So I'm going.
with, you know, I want Pavin to prove me wrong. I just don't feel confident that he will.
And I think that, you know, those guys aren't hitting enough power production in particular to warrant being played at first base.
But, you know, things are not figured out completely. And the one good thing about the dimebacks is it feels like they have a lot of directions they can go in because they have a lot of guys they can play in multiple spots.
Right.
There is that versatility. So Aeronado could see some time at first base, but that still might not end up being like his regular position throughout the year.
But it doesn't marry you to any sort of particular situation.
You know, Tori loves flexibility, you know, positional flexibility, and it would appear they have that, you know, and you look across this lineup right now without any additions.
Let's say Aronado plays first.
You got Marte at second, maybe Lawler at third, Pardomo at shortstop, blaze in the outfield and left, Alec Thomas in center, Corbyn, right?
D.H. Del Castillo, right?
And then, again, it's a decent lineup.
but I don't know, in the words of Damon, how intimidated you are by that lineup,
at least the starting lineup batting against you, right?
Yeah, I mean, you're talking about from the Diamondbacks perspective.
I think that, you know, the top three in the lineup have to scare you about as much as anybody in baseball.
Right.
It's not named the Dodgers.
And then there's a steep, steep drop off, especially without Lordus.
For sure.
For sure.
Well, again, we'll see what happens as spring training rolls on, and we'll see if we see Aeronado
playing more first base or perhaps getting some time out there during those spring training games.
But we are very excited to welcome some guests over from Big Brothers Big Sister.
First I wanted to tell you guys, we're almost at 50,000.
Y'all, we're getting there.
And the push to 50,000 is getting close.
We're like 600 away, Damon.
You think we're going to make it by the Super Bowl?
I hope so, man.
That's the goal, right?
We're trying to get to 50K before the Super Bowl.
So the Cardinals guys have a little bit more ground to see.
stand on. PHNX Sports means a little bit more, right? So if you guys can help us reach that goal,
that would go a very, very long way. And yeah, it would mean the absolute world to us to have
you guys subscribe to us if you haven't done so already. But I do have a good feeling that Derek,
a lot of the people that are in this chat are our strongest supporters, you know.
These are subscribers. These are good folks. Michael's asking the real questions. He's wondering
where Keller Rex has been. I think we're all a little worried about that, Damon. But again,
We got our guests here from Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
You guys are here, very positive.
The opposite, I guess you could say, of our friend Killorex from joining us.
But thank you guys so much for being here.
And I know that we've been excited to partner together with Big Brothers, Big Sisters,
just because of how much these mentorship programs mean and everything going on.
But I guess to get started, ask you guys, how did you guys get matched?
How did that start?
Sure.
How did that happen?
I don't fully remember at 6, but.
I did meet Casey when she was six years old.
Oh my gosh.
Yes.
Obviously, she's no longer sick.
Been from here.
Almost 25.
Yeah.
She and I met in May of 2001.
I was recently married.
I didn't have kids at the time.
And I thought, let me give back to my community.
What would be, you know, an opportunity?
Went through the interview process with Big Brothers, Big Sisters,
and was matched up to Casey.
We lived in the same area, had some similar interests,
except for when I first met her, she was the most quiet child, most timid
child. And I was like, what is this? I'm so loud and so voice.
Yeah, yeah.
What happened? And I don't believe that anymore because I don't really remember being quiet.
Right. I've only been told, like, I'm loud.
You talk a lot? Yeah, I'm literally like her copy at this point. So I was like, that's all I know.
Yeah.
So I don't remember this quiet person. She took that right out.
Well, I mean, again, it's like a lot of things like getting to know each other and feeling comfortable,
I imagine. You know, it's, it's.
It's a little intimidating at that young of age to meet a new person.
But again, what did it mean to you, especially when you were younger?
I think the biggest part is because it was just my mom and my older sister at the time.
It was just us three trying to find that balance.
My mom was always working.
But to have someone, I said, I had a big sister, two years old.
There's not much we can't go and do without my mom.
Right.
Having someone who became my best friend who could drag me places and have some money,
it really came down just being able to get out the house.
All I knew was going to work, going to start.
school and coming home.
Yeah.
And I was like, my mom was always at work.
So I was like, we didn't really do extra.
So having someone to show me what else is out there, I'd say it time and time again,
I didn't know what it was to go eat at a restaurant.
Oh.
And her taking me to one and just watching what she did.
I was like, this is weird.
Yeah.
We didn't go out to eat.
And if we did, we got McDonald's.
Right, right.
We didn't sit there.
We took it home.
Right.
We ate at home.
So it was like, to me that was like an experience that sat with me.
And it's like, I still think of like the way she showed me.
I'm like, oh, you do this.
You don't do this.
Like I was always putting my elbows on everything and I was like oh that's I also remember like teaching her to read like here's the menu you know like it's in front of you and she was like I can't read that so then that then marked you know our next step of like okay like we're going to go to the bookstore and we're going to learn to read basic things well what what became like your favorite thing to do together throughout your ears I honestly like to tell this to everybody just going with her and running her errands yeah was the most fun for me yeah I was okay with oh you have to go do all this stuff pay bills and
You know, because you couldn't do it on your phone back in the day.
Yeah.
I'll come with you.
Oh, you're going to the grocery store?
I'll come with you.
I loved doing that with older, like, it didn't matter who it was, right?
You only had a treat out of it probably.
No, yeah.
No, yeah.
Was it like the double chocolate chip rappuccino every single time?
100%.
Was that part of it?
Yes, but like, like, I said, I was like, my biggest was like learning what she was doing,
how she paid bills, how she went grocery shopping.
Like, I love my mom.
I was like, she did what she could?
We had TV dinners.
Right.
She bought ingredients.
I'm like, what are you doing with that?
Right.
What are we making?
Like that was, to me, it's still sits with me now.
Like, I take my kids and I show them what we're buying and what it's for.
It's because she did it for me.
Yeah.
And again, I mean, I can look back on my life.
And I know how many experiences and things came from people that weren't my parents necessarily.
Right.
I mean, friends or like co-workers or whatever, right?
We're always going to listen to others than on our parents.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's very true.
They were like, oh, our parents knew what they're talking about.
We just decided they weren't full enough.
Yeah.
So for me, whatever she did.
did was so cool.
Yeah.
Because it's obviously sports.
I was like,
I got to sit courtside at Sons game
because of her.
Well, yeah,
I mean,
I got to play basketball at the only time
I ever got to sit at court side.
So we both got to sit courtside
because of being matched to each other.
I got to play basketball at Darren and Tarassey
because of her.
No, that's so cool.
Like that one of came across
some day to day life.
Right.
Right.
Like the Redsic sisters helped make that happen.
And us being matched and her taking that time.
I was like,
it sits with me.
It shaped me.
I was like,
and now I work here at the agency with her.
So she really couldn't get rid of me.
No, see, that's amazing.
It became a life on.
Amazing, yeah.
Well, I mean, and again, what's something that you learned, I guess, about her.
I mean, you've already shared, like, so many experiences that impacted you.
But, like, what's something that you learned about her that you felt like made your life better or easier?
Honestly, learning.
She had similar upbringings that I was going through that I never heard about.
She wasn't hanging out with me going, oh, my life is this, this, this.
To me, she had a perfect life.
The fact that she had struggles in childhood and she became who she was.
today gave me that confidence that like I don't have to repeat everything I went through.
Yeah.
Like, oh.
Dang it.
But like that's what sense of me is like she showed me that I can be my own person and
because you do hear like it's a system.
You get stuck in that repeating cycle.
Right.
Right.
She showed me that it's not true.
Well, I mean, I was just sharing with the guys I used to work for like a daycare
after school daycare program.
And like again, seeing, you know, the parents and interacting with the kids, like I could see
how big of an influence we as adults are on children.
But when you're a parent, it's overwhelming and it's a lot.
You know what I mean?
It's a lot to take into consideration how everything you're doing, right?
But like obviously, you know, you going through something similar motivated you, I'm sure.
But what really like, was there something that really pushed you to join the program and become part of this?
I think for me, I looked back on my life and thought who mentored me, who showed up in my life?
And it was those additional people.
It wasn't, you know.
Yes, I had incredible parents.
Did I have a, you know, rough upbringing?
Absolutely.
but it was those teachers, the coaches, the, you know, my friend's parents, like those additional
people.
And I thought, why can't I be that for somebody else?
Like I said, I was recently, you know, married.
We had no kids.
I was like, who's going to go watch the newest Disney movie with me?
There it is.
Right.
There she is.
To watch kid movies.
Yeah.
You know, it was that opportunity for me to get back to my community in a way that was unique.
It helped that I had friends that also worked at the agency and were like, hey,
Hey, have you heard of Big Brothers Big Sisters?
I hadn't.
I was like, no, what is this?
Yeah.
You know, mentorship program is super easy.
It's a few times a month.
You go and pick up a kid, you know, from their home.
You're professionally supported.
Like I always, anytime I had a question, didn't know what was going on, I'd be like, hey, like, I can't get a hold of Casey.
What do I'm having a problem, you know, here?
You know, she can't learn, you know, what do I do if she can't read?
What's my next step?
You know?
I didn't have kids.
I didn't know what to do.
How do I teach you how to read?
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't remember how I'm so many teaching me.
Like, what do I do?
So it's an opportunity, you know, for me to be able to get back to the community.
And it just so happens that it's become a lifelong friendship for us.
That's amazing.
And, I mean, I got to ask, was it scary for you to take that step?
Like, I just, I think like, because I do.
I think like, I'm supposed to go, like, mentor somebody.
Like, how do, how is my life together?
I think if it's not a little bit scary, then you're not doing it for the right reasons, right?
Like, you have to be like, gosh, am I going to mess this kid up?
I mean, there's people who have kids all the time that you're just like, what do I do?
But I think you should have a little bit of fear, you know, going into it.
But knowing, like, for me, I knew that this was going to be a commitment that I was making.
In the program, we do ask for people to, you know, give a year commitment.
For me, like I said, it became a lifetime.
Yeah, I was going to say, this is.
She didn't have a choice.
Yeah, you weren't going anywhere.
I wasn't going anywhere.
She wasn't allowed.
I said, and then I was like, she's like, oh, make sure when you go out, you know, go,
make money don't get into this line of work
okay here I am
can I work here? Because to me
her impact made such a difference in my life that I knew I needed
to do more to yeah like I knew I couldn't just go okay she showed me
live here's some other ways I was like now that I work at the agency as well
I get to share that with others I can help other matches that are struggling
because I think we went through it all so any craziness that can come up in a match
that some people are not prepared for we went through it so I can be firsthand like
let me walk you through some steps.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
But I didn't scare her off.
I feel like people can survive.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, and I also think, like, obviously we know how good this can be not only for the person, you know, that's mentoring and the child.
But what would you have to say of how important this is to a parent that, because, you know, a parent has to be involved here to get them involved in the program.
And I feel like that might be a difficult step, like almost admitting.
you need the help in order.
I think for sure when the parent does the enrollment, because they have to start the process.
I think they learn what they're getting into.
But I think once the child's match, you get to meet the big and you get to see what they're doing,
it becomes accepting that.
It takes a village.
Yeah.
You have to accept that because no matter what it is, no matter how many kids you have one or four or whatever,
having the extra support helps.
And I think the biggest thing on my mom's end, and she always says to this day,
I'm so glad the school recommended for me to enroll you guys in.
She's like, I'm so glad I listened.
She's like, I'm so glad I followed through.
Right.
Because my mom will get stuff and she just like, oh, we'll get to it later.
Sure.
Who would miss the deadline?
Like she says it all the time.
Lots of field trips you miss.
Yeah.
So she said, I'm glad I followed through.
And I was like I think that was the biggest thing.
And then even like I said, I can't say that was an angel kid and did everything
perfect.
Sure.
But my mom also had someone she could call at least say, hey, this is going on.
You know Casey.
Has she shared anything with you?
And at least they can have that talk too.
So it does give the parents a little extra help as well.
Yeah.
You have someone else to hang out with your kid that might share more.
Right.
Right.
I don't think she ever shared all my secrets, but I think at least she was able to get that insight.
Yeah.
Because I'm going to give her a little bit more than I gave my mom at the time.
Yeah, for sure.
Like you said, you're going to talk to anybody else sometimes more than you're talking to your parents.
Right.
Anybody else besides my mom, I was going to share it at the time.
I was like, I want to tell you.
I'm going to tell her.
Yeah, no.
She's not going to get mad at me.
Right.
Can I say something, but she's not going to, like, ground me for it.
Right. No, totally.
Well, and that's the thing is sometimes you need that lack of, you know, I guess the parental, you know, I'm going to get in trouble, like that feeling, right?
Like the idea to say that, it's like, oh, great, I'm going to get in trouble for this.
Right.
Show with her and feel like that relief at least I got it off my chest.
Yeah.
And let's see what she talks about.
And she might tell me like, well, why did you do that?
No, that's amazing.
Well, thank you guys both so much for not only stopping by, but for what you guys do.
We appreciate it.
And we know how important this is.
So again, if you have ever been curious about joining Big Brothers, Big Sisters,
make sure to check out the website.
Please, please.
Yeah, do it.
Do it.
Just do it.
It's so important.
It's so important.
But again, we thank you guys so much for joining us, of course.
I've said this on the show time and time again, but I'll say this to you guys.
Your time is valuable, right?
So you've got to be careful who you share it with.
Absolutely.
And, again, sharing it with a little can be some of the most valuable way to spend your time.
So we thank you for sharing your time with us.
We'll be back tomorrow with another 12 p.m. show.
Jesse Friedman, again, my mentee will be joining us tomorrow.
That's just a little joke we have around here.
But Jesse's going to be joined us, so we'll be back at 12 p.m.
Yeah, not yet.
But I might sign up here very soon thanks to you guys.
But again, thank you guys for joining us.
You can follow us on Twitter.
I'm at Kapp underscore K-man with K.
Damon is at Damon Dog with a D-A-W-G.
I can't reach the dog down there, but we're all Damon's dogs.
Bark, bark.
Our show is at P-H-N-X underscore D-Backs,
but as always all roads lead to at pHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Again, we thank you guys so much for stopping by.
We will see you tomorrow.
Until then, behave yourselves.
And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you get back to your community.
