PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - D-backs broadcaster Mike Ferrin talks trade deadline plans, farm system, and more

Episode Date: July 27, 2019

Diamondbacks & MLB Network Radio broadcaster Mike Ferrin joins the show to discuss Arizona's trade deadline plans, the impressive rise of the D-backs' farm system, and much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another special edition of the Rattle Podcast. My name is Jesse Friedman, your host. And here today we are joined once again by a very good friend of the show. His name is Mike Farron, and he is the radio pre and post game show host for your Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as a radio host and broadcaster for MLB Network Radio. Mike, I got to ask you, I know you're in Miami right now. you're traveling with the team. You're going to be on the call for these next few games against the Miami Marlins.

First, I have to ask, what's better right now? The 110 dry heat of Arizona or the muggy 88 degrees with rain in Miami, Florida. Absolutely. I miss Arizona. It's not even close. Okay. Although this morning is a little bit more pleasant than yesterday morning was. By 6 a.m. yesterday here, it was.

really damp. But in the last three cities I've been in on the road have been St. Louis, Dallas, and Miami. And those aren't three cities that you necessarily want to go to at mid to late July. But no, I miss home. Like, it's funny, we were, we got back from Arlington, in the series against the Rangers, and we got off the plane, and it had been just really hot and thick. And we were sweating like crazy in the booth. And, you know, there's about air conditioning at the front of the booth. It's still the last year of the open air stadium there. And it got off the plane and it's like 1 o'clock in the morning. It's 92 degrees in Phoenix. And I was like, oh, this is heaven. So yeah, I'm just home.

Okay, good to know. I want to go ahead and jump right in. We're just a few days out from the trade deadline, four days to be exact. Obviously, there has not been a horribly lot of action around the league, which we'll get into in a moment. But I want to go ahead and hit it right on the head with the Arizona Diamondbacks, what you think they will do. I'll start by just kind of giving my take, and then I'm curious what you have to say. Following the loss, yesterday the Marlins, it seems like some teams in the National League picture, specifically the St. Louis Cardinals have really started to heat up along with the Nationals. It seems like the Diamondbacks have kind of had some distance grow between them and the teams

that they're chasing after. So here's my take, Mike, and I'm still a little bit conflicted between two different ideas, but they both involve selling. I think, number one, the Diamondbacks could sell, but do it kind of conservatively, where they only look to move the guys who are on those one-year deals. Maybe Gerard Dyson would draw some interest, maybe Adam Jones, Alex Avila, those guys who are going to be free agents at the end of the season. I think at this point the Diamondbacks would, you know, I think it at least makes sense to check in on what you could get for each of those guys on your roster.

But the second path, which also involves selling for me, but would be maybe a little bit more aggressive, would be to look at, you know, what can you get for a guy like Zach Ranky? What can you get for a guy like Robbie Ray? I think the starting pitching market right now is maybe a little bit thin. And I wonder if the Diamondbacks could cash in on that with so many teams in this race, especially with Robbie Ray. Seems like a lot of different teams have been mentioned. He's got that one year of control following this season, and maybe that could, you know,

lead to the Diamondbacks cashing in a little bit and improving what has already become a pretty good farm system. So, Mike, those are my two thoughts. I'm curious, where are you at as we stand right now on July 27? Well, here's what I think is most likely to happen. I mean, I think, you know, listen, you're right and that there are teams that have been, playing better than the Diamondbacks ahead of them.

And really, you know, like Hazen said on June 9th, I think it's sort of just as the team was getting to Toronto, he said, listen, we need to create some separation in order to be buyers. And I think at that point he meant separation from the rest of the pack in that they were definitely going to be in a group that was in the mix and not necessarily separation. And I don't think he missed separation from 500 at that point. The thing is, the team's still at 500.

Now, the pact is separated a little, and the Diamondbacks are at the tail end of the pack that's in contention still, but namely because there were a number of teams that really fell off. Colorado, Cincinnati, San Diego, Pittsburgh, those teams fell back. So it's a tricky position to be in, right, to start with. That said, I mean, again, T's basically played 500 baseball. They played 500 baseball all year. And that's what they've done. really outside of May, they haven't had a terrible month,

but really outside of April, they haven't had a great month. And so you're stuck in the middle position. What's most likely to happen is that they will move the players that have the best markets for them. The players that they feel like they can get the best returns for. So I think when you're looking at that, you're most likely looking at, you know, a handful of players that would move.

Some of them with control beyond this year. But for the most part, it would be guys in their free agents. But probably a couple fewer than even the names that you mentioned. I'm loved to go into specific names just because for a couple reasons. One, I'm not, you know, I'm in the club outs every day. And I think trade speculation is really difficult on players just from being around them. Like, imagine if somebody were publicly discussing where your job, or your next job transfer might be every day, right?

You know what I mean? So, like, it's really tough, especially if it's something that you have, you know, at least some, even a modicum of a professional relationship with is going out and talking about that behind your back publicly. And then you walk in and you're like, hey, buddy, how you doing? So I don't know that I necessarily want to speculate about those names or who they could be, but most of them have been in the paper. But I would say that it's certainly fewer than you would guess. I will speculate on Zach Brackie, and here's why. I think it is highly unlikely that he gets moved. And there are a number of reasons for that.

One, the salary is part of it. Two, the complexity of his contract with deferred money makes it very difficult to try and put together some sort of financial package that makes sense and how you compensate the future money that's not paid out. And the deferred money, so deferred money from the first contract, contract, whatever's been deferred through the first, what, now nearly four years, when a player is traded, it's considered paid money. So the team has to come up with that. And they have

to figure out some sort of structure, whether it's still in deferrals or in cash to be able to give him right away. So it's complicated in that. And then you have, you know, how much he's owed. You also have, you know, how much is still deferred with, is a team comfortable with that? and, you know, he has some control over where he goes with a no trade clause. And I don't see him just waving it to go anywhere. You know, there's been speculation about the Phillies and all that. Well, I don't know Zach that well, probably less than any of the players on the team. I know, but I don't see the sense that Philadelphia is necessarily a place that he's itching to get to.

Right. You know, they're not in a position necessarily to win a World Series. They're kind of, you know, trying to add to keep fighting like the Diamondbacks are. So, and he's comfortable here, and also he's really good. And generally, when you have those big contract deals, you know, you're either, A, looking to shed salary or be willing to pay down a ton of it in order to get a better return because the guy's been pretty good. Well, the thing is, Frankie's kind of pitched to his contract over the last four we did. He had a rough first inning last night and then settled in and was dynamite. Like he's just been outstanding.

And I think that that's, you know, that's another equation that has to come into the mix for it. So I think it's really unlikely that he gets strided. I think it's very unlikely that, you know, call me in two years and maybe we can have the conversation about whether or not he gets dealt at the trade deadline of his last year if the Diamondbacks aren't in competition. But I think it's very unlikely that he gets dealt. it would, if he did happen, it would be much more likely to happen in the off season than it would be during the year. Yeah, I'm totally with you there. I think, I think Zach Granky is absolutely, absolutely here to stay in Arizona, at least for this year, probably, probably next season as well. One thing I want to ask you about, Mike, is this Diamondbacks team, the record sits at 52 and 52, but I think there's a lot of people, a lot of fans of this team that believe that the Diamondbacks are probably underperforming, just

a little bit and I think one number probably has more to do that, do with that than anything else. It's the number 63 and the diamondbacks are plus 63 as we enter play here today. And yet they only have a 500 record to show for it. I mean, you look at other teams across the National League. That 63 is third best in the National League behind only the Cubs and the Dodgers. The Cubs are only a few runs better. They're at plus 66. I at one point, Mike was a big advocate of run differential. I was a strong believer that the Diamondbacks were, you know,

underperforming by five, six games potentially and that things would eventually even out. At this point in the year, I've kind of backed off that. I kind of think the Diamondbacks have just won a few too many blowout games for their own good, and it's caused that number to be really, really big, even when maybe this team isn't quite at the level that they're, that number would indicate. But Mike, where are you out on run differential? What does that number mean to you?

Well, I mean, I think it's extremely instructive. And you're always going to have outliers, right? And so right now they look like one of the outliers. And a major reason why is because they had a poor record in one-run games. You know, they had, especially in the month of May, a significant amount of one-run losses. and that's really been the difference in the season has been those. And there used to be this old adage,

and you're probably not old enough to remember it now, because fortune is gone by the wayside for the most part, that good teams win one-run games, and they have good records in one-run games. And that's a milarchy. I mean, good teams win games, right? So, in fact, I think one of the teams are the best one-run record in baseball is the Padres, right?

So, you know, it's not indicative of why they're a bad team, but it does explain why they have a high run differential and why their record isn't commensurate with it. You know, I do think that, I mean, you know, listen, I think it's usually a pretty good indicator of where a team is or where a team should be. It probably is a better indicator of true talent level in some regards. But I also don't think coming into this season

that we necessarily anticipated the debacks being plus 60 runs, at this point in the season, right? Like, we weren't, we weren't coming in going, yeah, this is a team that's got a chance to compete for a division title or maybe even compete for playoffs or whatever. So I think it's, you know, a lot of that was built in April when they were playing really, really, really well, when the offense was really, really, really clicking. You know, I think there's, there were a lot of things that went right that month. And since then, you know, I haven't looked at it, but I bet you if you were to

look from May 1st on, I bet you that their run differential was a little bit closer to even than what it was then. And I think that that's probably, I haven't looked at it. It would be worth taking a peek at, but it might be, you know, plus seven, plus eight, plus 10, something like that. And that probably gives you a little bit better indication of what's happened, how things have settled out over the last, you know, over the last two months. Following last night's game, Obviously, a tough loss for the diamond backs. Greg Holland had another rough outing out of the bullpen. I think a lot of fans are looking for answers at that closing spot.

I think it's probably pretty much settled. The diamond backs are not, you know, they're not bringing in Felipe Vasquez over the next few days. They're just not in a position to add potentially at all to this bullpen. Do you think the diamond backs will look at maybe switching their closer up here over the next few games? Is that something that you think Tori Lavello is inclined to do? Or is Greg Holland just, you know, the best option that the Diamondbacks have at the moment and you think they'll just roll with him for the time being?

Yeah, I mean, I don't know the answer to that and I won't until I get to the ballpark later. You know, part of the job that is a little tougher is I'm not in the post game scrum. So I don't have a chance to ask Tori that. It's actually kind of better this way because then he's got a day to sleep on it. you don't run the risk of irritating the manager. Yeah. So for my relationship with Tori, I think it works great. But it is something I will ask him.

You know, I will ask him about that and what the closer role is going forward. Because, you know, Holland the last, since the end of June, I think it's now 10 appearances. He's thrown seven in a third innings. He's walked eight. He's given up a couple of home runs. He's allowed seven runs in that time, including the two last night. And really, to me, you know, the double was whatever, the double that started the inning. I don't know how much of it you saw.

Now, Marlins had a specialty in wrong way hitting last night. They had three hits and were just like almost like jam shots. And Garrett Cooper had a chalk line double down the right field line that started the inning. But then Holland wasn't, didn't look like he was real interested in being aggressive against Neil Walker. And I get to deal Walker's, you know, a veteran hitter. But he was kind of all over the place. And that was what got me a little bit concerned, just because we had just seen it against Baltimore.

And, you know, you've seen it a little bit over the course of the last month. Obviously, that came against Los Angeles. So I think there's probably going to be a conversation about what happens in the ninth. Listen, I like Gray Holland a lot. I think the guys, he's a true professional. He has handled himself. all very well. He has, he knows that the last, he hasn't pitched well. And he's, you know, he's a guy that is extremely proud. So I, you know, I feel for Greg a lot in this because I know that he expects

better results out of himself. I mean, the guy was for a long time, the best closer in the American league, and that included a league that had Mariano Rivera in it. So he, he had, you know, a five-year stretch or four-year stretch in the city where he was as dominant as anybody. So I just, you know, like I feel for him a little bit. I'm not sure exactly what they're going to do next, but that's something I would think this afternoon and evening we get a better idea on. I don't know if you saw this last night, Mike, but I think it was pretty late into the night.

MLB pipeline released their mid-season re-rankings for their top 100 prospects. I immediately went in to try to figure out how many top 100 guys the Diamondbacks have. Turns out they have four with Jazz, Chisholm, I believe, was number 59, Alec Thomas, 63, Christian Robinson 93, and then Corbyn Carroll, their draft pick from this, from this draft just a couple months ago. He came in at number 99 on the list. And, you know, the Diamondbacks, they've got four top 100 guys, I believe this is the

first time, Mike, that they've had four guys in that top 100 list in quite some time. And I think it just points to Mike Hazen and the job that he's done, rebuilding this farm system. I think the Diamondbacks farm system is, of course, deeper than just those four guys. I think there's some intriguing talent beyond that as well. And just the other day on our show with me and Jeff Weiser, who I know you know very well, I was dreaming, Mike. I was dreaming about a Christian Robinson, Alec Thomas, Corbyn Carroll outfields in Arizona about two or three years from now. Jeff, of course, thought I was crazy. You know, he's like, you know, if you hit on one of those guys, that's a big success.

So maybe I need to dial it back just a little bit on that. But nonetheless, I think it speaks a lot to what Mike Hazen is done with this farm system. Diamondbacks already a top 10 farm system. If they make some moves, this deadline, it's not out of the question. They can maybe be considered a top five system by the time we hit the offseason. Yeah, I mean, I think I was really surprised in baseball America's midseason rankings is sure that they have them still in the 20s. That one really got my attention

because I think Fangraphs has their future value, and they do it based more on, you know, how they look at the future value of players in the organization and how it ties to surplus value and wins when it comes to wins above replacement. And they have them seventh. And I think that that's probably a little bit closer to where the Diamondbacks are going to be in most of the rankings.

I think ESPN midseason had them eight. you know, I think my guess is that pipeline will end up having them probably in like that the 10 range, you know, like 8 to 12 somewhere in there at the end of the year. But you're right. I mean, like, I think one of the reasons, one of the things that the front officers are a lot of credit for is they have, they've traded away a lot of minor league players over the last two years in an effort to try and stay competitive.

But they have done so while. you know, while also building up a really good farm system and resisting the urge to trading away their premium players. And I think that's where they deserve a lot of the credit beyond that. I mean, they have a very good draft strategy, I think. You know, and we think about this, and they have, you know, they have had two first rounders in that mix that one who didn't sign. Now, granted, they got a compensation pick for them this year and one who, you know, until the last, seven weeks had really struggled in Paven Smith. So, yeah.

So, you know, and Smith, by the way, has been swinging a really hot bat since the beginning of June in Jackson. And the Southern Lee's been a tough place to hit this year. He has been swinging a well. So that's, you know, another good sign. So, like, I think that they've done a really nice job in building up the organization. I think they, they, you know, obviously are interested in building from within. I think in the market size that the Phoenix is, that that way, that you're going to get the most return on your investment rather than trying to play checkbook

baseball and go out and signing a ton of free agents to be able to augment your roster. You have to know when to deal some of those guys, you know, the guys that maybe you feel like outside evaluations are higher on than your internal ones to be able to add core pieces when you get to that point competitively. But I think that for now, yeah, there's a lot of hope. And tell Jeff to not step on your job. dreams, you know? Like, you're allowed to dream big. I mean, even though the, the likelihood of all three guys turning into stars is pretty slim, you know, like, at least you can still dream about it.

Tell them to, like, take it easy and dream big for a while. Yeah, no, I will absolutely tell him that, Mike. I appreciate that. I know you're one of, you know, you're, of course, one of the main people in the world that Jeff actually respects. So I think, you know, if I can, if I can throw that out there, Adam. Maybe he'll, maybe he'll change his mind. Last... He's too busy honeymooning. He doesn't care right here. Right. Yeah, you know, he's in his, he's on cloud nine right now, somewhere in Italy. Right. And here are doing their thing. But anyway, last question here for you, Mike. This is a little bit, kind of switching gears a little bit. Something, something interesting I came up with when I was writing questions for this

interview at about 3 a.m. last night, so hopefully this is going to make sense. But your job with the Diamondbacks and with MLB Network Radio, obviously, as you've made very clear, even just in this show alone, you do a lot of interviews with players who play this game on a daily basis, and you care a lot about those players as people, and, you know, not just stat lines, you know, these are people. And I'm curious, is there, has there been a moment in any of your interviews with players lately that has been especially memorable? Is there anything that has kind of stuck out to you, anything that somebody said to you recently that really stuck out? Oh, man, that's a tough one.

Anything that really stuck out from talking to players. You know, I had a really good conversation probably about a month ago with Carson Telly. This isn't one of the public interviews. There's a lot of stuff that, you know, go into in conversations I have that might not be, you know, for broadcast interviews, but just conversations, and then we'll weave into the broadcast. You know, if you're talking about, you know, pitching adjustments or whatever with a guy like Meryl Kelly

or, you know, Alex Young's development of his cutter and stuff like that, but, like, you know, that are fun. But in terms of, like, in an actual interview, I think Carson Kelly got really hot at the end of, what, the middle of May, right? Went to the series in Colorado and got hot. And I asked him, we said, what was the adjustment that you,

made that let the kind of freed you up and he said it was hitting my first big league home run and i was not anticipating a being in response right he was like he was like i said really he goes no seriously he goes like i know there's still so much pressure on me to hit my first big league homer than what i did i just kind of relaxed and went from there and was such a great answer carson's a really terrific guy and a really really obviously a really talented player and i think i think as dyngeyx fans continue to get to know him, I think he's going to be a real favorite because he has an extremely positive personality. He's exceptionally bright. He continues to improve seemingly every game. And I'm a big fan. And he's that, you know, really he has a significant amount of self-awareness

for someone who's so young. Mike, as always, I really appreciate your time today. Thank you so much. Yeah, of course Jake to talk to you.