PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - D-backs' Disappointing Offseason Highlighted By LACK Of Bullpen Moves

Episode Date: January 31, 2026

The Diamondbacks have tackled several offseason needs, but national analysts still gave the team a lukewarm grade. We break down why the lack of bullpen upgrades is the main culprit, and how Arizona could fix it by adding two key relievers. We also explore the D-backs still being in the mix for a reunion with Zac Gallen and Geraldo Perdomo’s rise as a top-10 MLB shortstop. Plus we take a look at the current state of Arizona’s farm system according to The Athletic, and discuss the Aces staying in Reno for the next 20 years.0:00 SkeeYee & Happy Friday! 2:40 Zac Gallen's dying market 5:55 Geraldo Perdomo ranked WHAT?!?! 19:00 D-backs offseason grade 25:30 Could the bullpen channel their inner Phoenix Suns? 30:15 Trade target: Cardinals stud reliever 35:05 Free agent target: Veteran reliever 43:50 Potential trade packages 49:50 D-backs farm ranked 14th 56:00 Aces extending stay in RenoJOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsportsMERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-lockerALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of PhoenixPHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/Phoenix Raceway: Get your tickets now for March 5-8! https://www.phoenixraceway.com/march-cup-weekend/?CID=PIR_DI_TP_BA_PHNX26Spring_251120ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order!Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visithttps://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotesbet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets!Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We got so much to talk about on this Friday, including something, again, we already know with Heraldur Pardomo being a top 10 shortstop in Major League Baseball. We also are discussing the Diamondbacks getting a C-minus grade on their offseason and why the bullpen is purely to blame for that. And guess what? We're also going to fix the bullpen by adding two relievers. We're doing all that right now. Don't you go anywhere. And welcome in to another edition of the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast. Love from Studio Kemp.

presented by our friends at Circle K. It is I, your mayor of PHNX, occasionally known as Derek Montaia. Happy Friday to you all. Thrilled to have you guys here to talk about the Diamondback of Bullpen and their offseason not doing much to help it out. Of course, I'm joined on the ones and twos by my guy and your dog, the one and only Damon Farrell.

Great to have you guys here. Damon, happy Friday to you, sir. Happy Friday. Love it, Derek. for the weekend. I know you, I know you can't. I don't know,

like, like as if Damon gets a weekend. This man asked to work seven days a week around here. Arizona State Arizona tomorrow. A little bit of another basketball matchup on the horizon. Can't wait. Meanwhile, I don't know if I've told anybody about this,

but I'm going to the Grammys this weekend. And in fact, won't be back in time to host this show next week. So Damon, of course, is going to take over while I go be Grammy guy in L.A. thrilled to have you guys here. Happy Friday to you all.

And yes, I know, Damon, you haven't heard me talk about it yet. We have to discuss after the show, the fact I'm going to the Grammys. But, of course, we got a lot to discuss today, despite there not being much news for the Errors on the Diamondbacks. We do have some news, though. And we're also going to take a shot at just casually fixing the bullpen before we get out of here today. But first, we got to talk about Zach Gallen, still drawing interest from teams.

but it would appear it's less teams than we've been discussing. As mentioned here, overall, Zach Gallin has been tied to the Ares on the Diamondbacks. We know that is nothing new. We also know he's one of the top remaining unsigned pitchers out there. There's not a lot of unsigned starters. Some of the ones that are available have, I guess, issues tied to them, Damon. Would that be safe to say? It's either behavioral issues like what happened with Framber Valdez.

it's also Baldess being tied to a draft pick. Zach Gallen here having a down season, also being tied to a draft pick, or some of the other names that are available on the market just kind of being older guys, right? Like Chris Bassett and some of the other names being closer to 40 or 40 than you would like as far as adding a starting pitcher to your lineup.

But that does not mean Zach Gallen is without suitors. And of course, we have some news here from the New York Post from Wednesday that there are three teams still in the race for Zach Gallin's services as far as checking in and still trying to see what Gallin would sign for. Those three teams are the Diamondbacks, the Cubs, and the Orioles. So it would appear the D-backs are still in on a Zach Gallen reunion. The Angels and Padres were both interested. I kind of had the Angels pegged as a potential landing spot for him. It seemed to make

since. I know he was also tied to the Cubs, Damon, in a way too early report on social media where he was in fact signed by the Cubs and then later it was revealed that he was not signed by the Cubs. But again, I still feel like adding Gowan doesn't make this team worse. I still think, though, if you're talking about paying Zach Allen, $20 million plus for the 2026 season, and there are better ways to spend that money that will make this team far more complete than adding a sixth starting pitcher. I'm conflicted, though, because the doomsday words of Corbin Burns before his 20, 25 season started was that no team ever gets through a season with just five starting pitchers.

And it's hard not to think about that every single time. You know, you look at this roster, you look at the way it's constructed, you look at the starting rotation and you think about what we went through just one season ago, right? I also say that in regards to the depth in the minor league system. We had Cole Drake on yesterday, who is an amazing, talented pitcher, who very well could be in the mix for a depth starter role to make his debut in Major League Baseball this very season if the Diamondbacks don't go out there and add another starting pitcher to this rotation because things get you know kind of light there after that first you know that that starting

rotation so again there's there there could definitely be moves still made and zach gallon could be one of those moves we meanwhile are going to discuss how we would rather spend the money on one free agent reliever and trading for another one guy though that will definitely be good in 2026 is our guy Jerry P. And according to their most recent MLB now, ranking the top 10 shortstops in all of baseball, Geraldo Perdomo was ranked number sixth overall among MLB short stops for the 2026 season. Before we go any further, Damon, what are your thoughts on Bobby Witt Jr., Corey Seeger, Francisco Lindor, Gunner Henderson, and Mookie Betts all being considered better short stops than Heraldo perdomo.

my thoughts are bobby whit sure francisco lindore sure anyone else literally get the bleep out of my face like i i derrick i was this close to actually just throwing an f-bomb in the in the sixth minute of this show right now we can't do that until the like 66 yeah we got to go wait a little bit longer just so it doesn't you know because it's supposed to be a non-explicit podcast but I mean, I'm sorry, does that say Corey Seeger in the year of our Lord, 2026? Second, second best shortstop in all the baseball. Brother, 2023 was a long time ago, long time ago. What's he done since?

Gunner Henderson was trash last year. What are we talking about? Behind Geraldo Pardomo, we have Trey Turner, Jeremy Pena, Ellie Dela Cruz, and Zach Nito. Like, who even are those people behind him? I've never even heard of. Trey Turner, L.E. D. Like, I don't know who those people are. That's the class they want to put in Heraldo Pardomo with.

Mookie Betts, Derek? Did I watch a different sport than everybody last year? Like, I, I'm curious. I don't even feel like I need to be on the show for this portion. I just feel like this entire thing should just be a Damon meltdown. I mean, I just, I have remember kids up there because I'm ready to end the freaking podcast. Are you serious?

Sixth? You're going to tell me my guy. is not a top five shortstop. When he literally last year was number one, like undeniably, he was number one last season in terms of all short stops. 290 batting average, 20 home runs, 100 RBI, 851 OPS,

all while playing solid defense at shortstop. Being the greatest leader that's ever walked onto a baseball diamond. How about just the way... The power of friendship. Like, you could say great things about all of these guys, sure, but what about the, the huge step forward that Geraldo Perdomo took from 2023 to 2025,

from essentially being a guy that was considered to be out there primarily for his defense and his vibes to being one of the best offensive players on this team, a team that also has Corbyn Carroll and Cote as a part of it. Well, and I'll say that, like, to me and I always said this, and me and Jesse would argue about it all the time. It was my, that's how this, how this, this Perdomo take became a thing, is because, you know, we'd be talking about it, and Jesse'd be like, you know, Jordan Lawler's the shortstop of the future. And I'd go, I'm sorry, is the guy who was an all-star at 22?

Is that we're throwing him in the garbage, man? We don't want that guy. And it's like, well, he just doesn't project to be better. And I'm like, why is that? Because he's the only low 20-year-old player in the history of the sport who apparently can't improve upon his game despite, you know, getting a call up to the majors at 20 when he was nowhere near. and having to play for an injured Nick Ahmed. Like, yeah, his early flashes weren't his best baseball. He should have been in like double A.

And he was playing Major League Baseball. And he still was hitting like 200, which is like, okay when you consider how horrible the circumstances were for him to be playing there. And then now you see, you know, like I think the flashes you saw in 2023, Derek, even when he wasn't the guy that he's been the last two years was he's, situationally, he's as good as it get. You got a runner in scoring position. He's the risk king. We started that in 2023 for a reason. You know, he's walking at an extremely high rate, even in 2023 when he wasn't that great of a hitter.

He's still bringing a lot of positive outlooks to the table and contribution to the table. And then he became an actual star hitter. And you're now all of that intangible stuff that just led to winning and that we all know was like very much contributing to that 2020. run of just him hitting 9th and getting on base for Corbyn and Cattell constantly and all of this over and over and over again consistently and now he's added some power production. Now he's added a little bit better of a bat and I just I find that shocking. I think he's not the big sexy name that people want to talk about because he plays to

the diamond backs because he wasn't that hyped up of a prospect. But man, I mean, there's no world where he should be lower than Corey Seeger or Mookie bets in particular. I'll tell you why. I'll tell you the methodology behind, because they have explained it when you watch the broadcast and they do it. They don't dwell on it too much, but they do kind of dive into what they look at to determine this list.

And Cesar in Arizona says there's only one per domo, but that's not even true anymore because there's another. There's a Uraldo for domo. So as much as we love to say, there's one. And we're aiming for, we're aiming for this man, Eric. David wants a Uraldo, a Duraldo starting pitcher that goes out though, it throws a 105 on the mound. But what I will say is that the big thing holding him back on this list is the track record.

That's it. Because, again, this doesn't just look at one season. It looks at their career. It looks at the overall track record. While you might be correct in your assessment of his early career, it's just that he's really only had one season where he has been a breakout star like this. I mean, one, like, what, seven war season? Oh, for sure.

Because that's a ridiculous amount of war to compile in a single season. But that's what I'm saying, though, is like, if you're just looking at 20, 25, it's hard not to have him as a top three shortstop in baseball. But he sits at six because analysts have to interject past season performances and just a track record overall, right? He doesn't have the same track record compared to guys like Corey Seeger or Francisco Lindor. it doesn't change the fact that he is one of the most complete short stops in baseball right now.

He is a player that's contributing both offensively and defensively. He is a leader on the diamond. And on top of being a leader, he is a guy that legitimately is a joy to be around. I feel like he is a guy who just is infectious with his attitude and his love for his teammates. Yeah. You know what I mean? He might be the. the heart and soul of this team.

And it would be hard to say anything otherwise. I want to say Corbyn Carroll is, right? But Corbyn Carol just goes out there. And the way I see Corby is he's a great teammate. And he loves his guys, right? That's why you see all these pictures on IG with Gabby and with all his friends. But Corbyn just does it quietly.

He leads by, like, example. He's definitely not the vocal leader that Geraldo Perdomo is. But again, when you factor in the way he had Marte's back during all that he went through, when you factor in the way he himself led by example, you factor in how we've always discussed he's the first guy out there to cheer on and give his starting pitcher, a relief pitcher, a pep talk on the mound. I mean, he is him. He is everything to this team.

And I think that's the reason why it's hard for us to look at this list and see Perdomo as anything less than three, you know? I mean, well, and that's the kind of stuff, Derek, I think that, like, why I've personally always valued Prudomo and I think others in this fan base have two is like, even when he was 23 in 20203, he's, he's, you know, he's not an established player. At that point in his career, he has 0.9 war in two seasons. And he's, yet he's the defensive captain out there on the field in the pitcher's ear every single play because that's just who he is.

That's what makes him the player that he is is because he does bring this type of like intensity to the game in every single pitch, every single moment, right? And that's why he's the player that he is. Like, he's not probably the most uber talented baseball player you've ever seen in your entire life. But the dude just wins games and all he does is, you know, show up for you and in the moments that you need him to. I mean, he had three and a half war in 2024. I would venture to guess that that's more than Buckey Betts had last season. Yeah. I mean, I don't know how far back of a body of work. It's not.

It's not actually better than what Mickey did last season. But I just don't know, I guess, like what they want out of Geraldo Bredomo is, I guess, to play for an organization that they like a little bit better, maybe. No, no, do something close to what he did last year again next year. And this will change. I think that's it. I think it's just a matter of seeing him replicate it in more than one season. Even if he doesn't have a season as historic and as good as this one, he still should, you know, again, we know what he is.

And we know that this version of Raldo Perdomo is only going to get better. So again, he'll be higher on this list next year. Well, I mean, he was higher on the NL MVP voting than he was on this list there. That's true. Well, like I said, that's the reason why I wanted to bring at least a little bit of clarity here that as much as we want to scream about all of this and say that these guys are idiots for not having him ranked higher, it is because they factor in guys with longer track records, even if they had worse seasons than Perdomo in 2025.

You know who else we could throw on there, Derek? I'm trying to maybe like Carlos Correa. Oh, here it comes. See, I was trying to get you to put the pitchfork down. He used to be really good. That guy was like a star at one point. I'm trying to think because there's some really solid ballplayers out there

Look at you, just keep lighting that torch up, don't you? You just can't wait? Do you still think like Jimmy Rollins maybe, Jose Reyes? We could throw them on the list. We're going to go to a break. They were great. So that Damon can chill out and relax and maybe not crash out so hard about this.

Jeets! We're going to talk on the other side of this break why it's not Geraldo Perdomo's fault the Diamondbacks got a C-minus on their off-season by Bob Nottingale. but we are going to talk about definite reasons why they did get a C-minus and why that grade definitely feels fair based on what they did. We're going to do all that on the other side of this break.

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I'm not sure who does get to decide that, or if they even have one. But I'll tell you this much. I don't think that there would be any debate about who would be the captain on this time. squad that's for sure there might be a little debate about the grade that USA today's bob nightingale and Gabe lax offered for the diamondbacks they offered a letter grade for MLB teams off season and their grade for the diamondbacks was a C minus not exactly a good grade not exactly a bad grade damon C's get degrees am I right right I guess it's I think I got one C in my entire life there. Oh yeah, I remember mine was in English one time and I was furious and

I was in high school and my mother was also furious with me. But again, that's because the Diamondbacks did not really address all of their needs this off season. One thing when it comes to what they had to do, I mean, you got to give them credit for the fact that they were able to go out and get two starting pitchers for their rotation that only had three starting pitchers as a part of it. And they were able to acquire both of those guys for less than $30 million. Ballin on a budget, for sure, with the, again, the concept, I guess that's the best way you can phrase it, of the Diamondbacks only having $35 to $40 million to spend this off season. We knew it was going to be difficult for them to address all of their needs,

and you could argue that one of their bigger moves didn't necessarily address a need they needed to address, right? They did re-sign Merrill Kelly, and they bring in Michael Soroka. So those are, they're starting pitchers moves, but then they acquired Nolan Aeronado. I'm not saying it's a bad deal at all. I love the move to get Aeronado, and I do believe it makes this team better. I think it's also on an incredibly savvy deal where the Diamondbacks only have to pay Aeronado $11 million for the next two seasons. But, again, it was addressing third base that I really didn't feel like needed addressing. It does bring versatility, though, overall to the Diamondbacks, and it's hard to argue.

that, you know, seeing Nolan Aeronado playing first base, you know, while he's, or at least taking grounders at first base and talking about a willingness to play over there, it feels like the Diamondbacks have options as the season progresses if things don't go their way, and it does feel like a solid addition of this lineup. It also allows them to perhaps, again, address an outfield need by moving Blaze out there. And, you know, again, they bring back James McCann. But that's what they did. They took a flyer on a starting pitcher in Michael Soroka.

a chance to improve their starting staff, but again, a chance. That's really what it comes down to. A chance to improve, and there's a lot of unknown there when it comes to Michael Soroka. There's also a lot of unknown when it comes to the rest of the starting lineup, and entirely too much unknown when you talk about the bullpen editions, right? They did bring back, of course, Taylor Clark, and we know that he had himself a good season last year with the Royals, but that still seems also like it could be an outlier. There's not a proven track record of success that makes you feel like the Diamondbacks

got a solid reliever in Clark, right? Most likely, though, he is going to be in the pen. Most likely, we're going to have, you know, some of the familiar faces from last year in the pen. We're going to have Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkle in the pen. We won't have A.J. Puck and Justin Martinez, we know that. but the Diamondbacks did add as I believe you guys were talking about in the chat Derek Law right that is a guy we talked about yesterday who has been added on a minor

league deal and very much very well could be the a part of the bullpen considering his track record he missed all of 2025 due to an injury and there's a lot of uncertainty there but the diamondbacks do get him on a minor league deal they also get Jonathan Lois Sega on a minor league deal as well so those are two sneaky good additions that could find their way into the bullpen. But outside of the addition of Taylor Clark and two minor league signings with major league experience, the lack of reliable late inning pitching is the reason why this team got a C minus and absolutely should be. I feel like a C minus Damon is a pretty fair grade for what they did this offseason or the lack of what they did. They still have first base to address. They still

have outfield depth to address. In fact, their outfield depth only decreased by trading away Jake McCarthy. So overall, it doesn't really feel like they did enough to get more than a C here. You might be able to argue a C or a C plus, but I can't imagine you arguing me or getting me to agree to this team having a B or higher. Yeah, I mean, it's hard to feel like that we're just like checking boxes. You know what I mean? We're, we're, we're, conceding a lot, Derek. We're conceding, you know, oh, we don't have a DH. Well, I guess it's Adrian Del Castillo.

Oh, we don't have a first basement. I guess it's Pavin Smith. Oh, we didn't bring in another starter to, you know, replace Zach Gowan, a top line guy. I guess it's Michael Soroka. I mean, those guys, those options aren't necessarily ones that are going to fire you up and make you think that the roster is in a place that is like undeniable. Last season, I think we were looking at our team. around the diamond going

Gabby, Naylor, Cattel, Jerry, Gino, Gerell, Alec, Corbin, like that, on paper, you're sitting there and you're like, unbelievable, we're the best. This team is so complete. And then you look at the rotation, it felt very similar. It's just, it feels like we've cut some corners here. Obviously, there was going to,

payroll was going to have to, you know, probably be lowered or be about what it was last season. And it feels like there's still a long ways away. from on paper feeling super comfortable with the roster that you have in place right now. So I think, you know, you've done enough to bring back Merrill Kelly and get Soroka and you have a full rotation and you got James McCann for backup catcher and that's pretty nice. And, you know, there's some decent moves here and there. I like the Aeronado trade except, you know, it's like, I guess, you know, for 11 million over

the next two years, that's a solid deal. But outside of that, it's, you still have a lot of holes that you haven't filled and, you know, a lot of internal development that you're banking on from players that have not shown that before. Right. There's some comparisons being made here like by Ernesto when it comes to the bullpen that, much like the Sun's team, right, that nobody thought very much of. I'm rocking there. Book Jersey today.

These are young guys. And maybe sometimes when you let the young guys play, those young guys will become the future of this team and could be very good, very fast. I don't doubt that the Diamondbacks don't have some very capable arms in the bullpen. But again, this assessment is an assessment of what they did to improve this team. And as you said, Damon, as much as we want to sit here and harp on the bullpen and the lack of additions there, they also didn't add a first basement. They also didn't add a DH. They also didn't add an outfielder. And they still only have five starting pitchers, which still feels like after what occurred last season, not enough starting pitching, right?

Nightingale and Locke said here in the piece, Arizona did enough to stay in the conversation. and you could argue that they did far more than some of the other teams in the NL West, but didn't make that sort of impactful addition, especially in the bullpen, that would meaningfully improve its chances of contending in 2026. So the C-minus grade reflects a mix of moderate roster improvement, but still some gaps in their roster, especially in late-inning pitching, that could keep the debacks from taking any kind of step forward to contention. And yeah, I kind of agree with that.

It's hard not to. But we do have two guys. And all we need to do, Damon, is add two relievers. That's it. I'm not sure how we free up the roster spots to do that. One guy is a free agent. One guy we would have to trade for. But we are going to talk on the other side of this break about how we can fix the bullpen

simply by adding Jojo Ramera and Danny Kalum. And we're going to do that after we talk about Smads. We're going to do that on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere? You're watching the PHA next Diamondback show. Well, I'm not going to stop talking about going to the Grammy's One of the things I would love to multiply is my trips to the Grammys. I would love to make this an annual thing, but unfortunately, you kind of got to know somebody that's nominated to do that.

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Give me some air horns. Give me that for Alec. Cool. Cool for Alec. And again, it's another chance for meaningful at bats for one of our players during, you know, essentially spring, a little bit more meaningful than playing in spring training games.

but we got some bullpen issues to address, and there are not a lot of options left on the market. There's not a lot of free agent options left, nor are there really very many options to trade for. However, the Diamondbacks did just pull off a pretty one-sided trade, if you want to argue that, where they got Nolan Aeronado from the St. Louis Cardinals. That appears to be an organization that is rebuilding towards the future

in a massive way with the amount of money that they have spent simply to get some of their older veteran stars off of their team, including Sunny Gray, Wilson Contreras, and Aeronado. And so while they're currently having a fire sale, we figure, why not get us a reliever from the St. Louis Cardinals? And that reliever could be the savior of the Diamondbacks bullpen. That would be Jojo Romero. I know a lot of people have been talking about him. And again, this is something that the Diamondbacks absolutely could use another left-handed pitcher for the bullpen, a good lefty. And right now the Diamondbacks bullpen probably one of the biggest problems is how how heavily they lean to the right-handed side of things. Romero would just give Tori Loello

a trusted left-handed option who isn't just a lugie. He can handle full innings. He can go out there and get you late inning high relief, or excuse me, high leverage situations, and he's huge in those postseason style games. He's a ground ball machine, so he would absolutely be a perfect fit for Chase Field. He's not quite a strikeout artist. He keeps the ball on the ground,

limits hard contact overall, and that just pairs very well with Nolan Aronado over there at the corner, and Cotel Marte, obviously, at second base. He has pitched in high traffic situations, playoff adjacent pressure games, late-inning high-leverage situations. He does not get rattled. He could be the Diamondbacks bridge closer going forward or at least a setup guy that gets them through those late-inning high-leverage roles. But if you take a look at his stats here from 2025, he's one of the best relievers in the game.

Posted a 2.07 ERA. He had a 3.28 FIP, which would suggest that that ERA, definitely a little, there's a little luck that goes into that ERA. Meanwhile, his whip actually pretty high there, 1.246 when you compare it once again to that ERA. The reason for that is because he did have a high walk rate last year, so he walked a lot of guys, but it just did not translate into runners crossing home plate. So again, it's a guy that that knows how to get out and knows how to stay away from trouble because he doesn't allow a lot of runs to score. But like I said, he did, did have himself a pretty high walk rate. He was good for 1.7 baseball reference war.

And these numbers are actually impacted a lot by the fact that, you know, again, he was on a pretty bad St. Louis Cardinals team and he was still able to put this up, right? Like, I'm not going to say that everybody on a bad team is going to put up bad stats or have a bad season. But again, this is on a year where the Cardinals weren't a very good baseball team that he was going out there and doing that. And just overall, there's not long-term payroll commitment. He has one year of control. And that's the reason why the St. Louis Cardinals would probably want to move him and it wouldn't cost a lot because it doesn't feel like the Cardinals want very much. it would probably involve a mid-tier pitching prospect or, you know, perhaps a lottery ticket-style bat or an organizational depth arm. But it's not going to cost a lot from the St. Louis Cardinals.

They just want to add controllable young pitching to their minor league system, something the Diamondbacks do have more of now after the trade deadline of 2025. And then Arizona can easily upgrade their bullpen and not only upgrade their bullpen, but I mean, make their bullpen formidable. when you talk about the return, eventually of Justin Martinez and AJ Puck with Jojo Ramiro as a part of it. If Andrew Salfran can find a way to keep his consistency from last year going into 2026, it feels like the Diamondbacks now have a bevy of arms that you can trust in the bullpen with simply the addition of Romero, right? And again, the cost is low. I mean, you're talking about a prospect from the Diamondbacks in the teens. and meanwhile, again, Romero for the St. Louis Cardinals is not going to be a long-term part of their plan.

So that one year of control is really what the Diamondbacks are seeking as far as getting through the 2026 season. As far as this goes, they really need to find a way to just add one more piece at least to this bullpen. If they could find a way to add Jojo Romero, then again, it's not going to cost them a lot. And this is a guy that just doesn't get rattled. Doesn't get rattled out there on the mound. But again, he cannot be the name that fills the need for the Diamondbacks, perhaps a little bit older of a guy. Oh, and one thing I did want to say is both of these relievers were talking about

had an incredible ERA plus. Jojo Ramiro's ERA Plus was 200 in 2025. And Danny Kloombs, who we're going to talk about now, was 176. And this is a guy who's a veteran reliever. And he also had himself a great season. He is another late inning lefty option, someone who can help neutralize the NL West left-handers that we have to deal with. And again, like Romero, he's a guy that does not panic in high-leverage situations or when asked to face more than one batterer. He's not going to go out there and just do the, you know, we have you out here to face essentially one guy, even though it's three guys worth of work.

Put up some incredible stats there in 2025, including a 2.30 ERA, a 1.1.6. 63 whip, a 3.30 FIP, and a 1.4 baseball reference war. Again, this is a guy that actually had a pretty bad stretch with the Texas Rangers after he was traded from the twins to the Rangers, much like Merrill Kelly. Apparently guys go to the Rangers and suddenly become bad. That's no, you know, after 2023, of course. After 2023. son of a bitch. Not before. Yeah. But again, a local guy went to Chaparral High School in Scottsdale. Might know Kenny. Might know Kenny. Come on home, Danny. You can come on home. Also, he's probably in the age that would know Kenny, right? Yeah, I feel like that would be the case. Also, his nickname is Frenchie. And if you don't know this, my dog, Cosmo, he is a Frenchie. So Frenchies mean everything to me. And I already love Danny more than I could any free agent.

pitcher that I've ever met. I mean, he's, he's just another. What if there was a pitcher named Cosmo? Oh, God. I would throw, I would, I would, I would throw all the money in the world in him. But, um, this is a guy, again, there's this weird chase field effect for both of these guys being lefties. Both of these guys are ground ball pitchers. Colum isn't a fly ball, adrenaline junkie. He gets weak contact. He makes, he makes batters take batts, swings. He makes hitters feel uncomfortable. And again, each just feels like overall playing in a ballpark like Chase Field for either him or Romero would result in less damages on mistakes, fewer cheap home runs than he experienced, especially there with the Rangers. And it just might be a better environment

than people realize for Kulum. And you look at those stats and those stats could perhaps only get better. This isn't just about stuff. It's about stability for the bullpen. And that's what he and Ramiro brings. In Colum's case, he brings years of Major League experience. He brings postseason experience. Again, a calm presence in high leverage situations and someone that some of the younger relievers can, you know, kind of lean on again, without him being as big of a name

as some of the other pitchers that were available on the free agent market. He kind of slipped through the cracks here. And now that the relief market seems to kind of be at a standstill, as well as every, like free agency has come to us. standstill. I feel like Damon, we have done an entire week's worth of shows now where we didn't have one free agent move to truly talk about around baseball. It's crazy. No, we haven't. It's been a disaster. This is getting to the point where we are, what, 10 days now, 11 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting. And most, when it comes to that, pitchers specifically want to be in camp

by the time pitchers and catchers report. We saw how much Jordan Montgomery, when he was a late addition to this team, discussed how that late start impacted his season. And we'll never really know what he could have been for this team had he been given a normal offseason, a normal camp, a normal spring training, right? And when it comes to, again, Kaluam,

he's a one-year, low-risk kind of add. You could add incentives that improve his contract and give him more based on performance and overall would allow the Diamondbacks to protect their payroll flexibility and perhaps still add a first baseman like Paul Goldschmidt or even a Thai France, right? And again, this isn't going to cost you nearly as much. So it's not as high of risk as some of these other guys potentially were for the Diamondbacks. Could you imagine if they signed Devin Williams and he was as bad for the Diamondbacks as he was for the Yankees last year

and they pay him what the Mets are paying him. Like that's not something that this team can afford to do. This isn't going to be a flashy addition, but it's the kind of move that looks way smarter in August than it does right now in January. So I don't hate the idea of adding either one of these guys. But Damon, let's take a look before we move on at their baseball savant pages.

Because first we got Jojo Romero and his baseball savant. Isn't that hot? Not bad. Don't you feel the heat radiating off of that, Damon? Yeah, it's not bad at all. I mean, that's a lot of red, Derek. And again, he does not get high strikeout rate. He doesn't get a lot, as you can see there, like, what was that, ninth percentile for chase rate?

And again, like eighth percentile for walk rate. That extension is crazy. It's crazy. The worst extension in the league. I know. Like literally, no, like not even joking. He's the worst extension in the league. He's a little stubby guy.

And I love him for it. Right? But again, it's, I don't care when the results are the rest of this, right? Like, again, I don't care if you walk guys. You said it before we got on air. Mike Hazen doesn't typically like guys that walk guys. But this is, when you look at the rest of this, how do you not risk that walk percentage for a guy that's going to give you these results and an ERA of 2.07 and an ERA plus of 200, which is literally double league average, essentially, for an ERA plus. Yeah, I mean, you can tell here he's just not getting hit very hard, is he? Like his average exit VLO being that high is ground ball percentage being that high, hard hit percentage being that high barrel percentage.

Like he is really just, he's keeping it to soft, soft contact. Right. And I think that that is obviously what's making him successful as a pitcher. Is that dangerous though? Is that something that can just turn on a pitcher when you, because like it's not like he has stuff. When you start to lose it, I think I think it goes fast. But I don't know that, you know, he showed signs of cracking last season. But, yeah, I mean, this has got to make you encourage you a little bit and make you feel, you know, like this could be a move that really could, you know, settle some things in this bullpen a little bit more than what we currently have.

But, yeah, I mean, I'm Jojo Romero. Who knew he was him like this? Yeah. I mean, and again, right? And Danny Kulam, when you look at his, let's take a look at his baseball savabot page, too. Same kind of deal, like not quite the red that you see here on Jojo Romero. right but and yes it's not qualified uh so i'm i'm really just talking specifically about what it would have been but like damon i mean still a lot of red here and great numbers for a guy that

is still on the market right um and and similar similar here as far as their weaknesses go yeah they both walk guys they both don't have great extension but they get soft contact and they both get outs and again these are two guys who could possibly thrive playing 81 games at chase field yeah i mean this looks pretty solid as well obviously you know factoring in that he doesn't have the qualifying numbers here but let's just imagine that he did let's let's imagine it it's but you're right like it's a lot of it's a lot of barrel percentage a lot of hard hit percentage you know average exit velo both very good for both of these pictures looks like uh romero's a little bit more of a ground wall pitcher than than colum is uh one differentiator there so i don't know if

that scares you maybe a little bit more with colom that like when it goes it's probably going to lead to more hard hit balls in the air, which is specifically, obviously, bad in it of itself rather than ground balls particularly. But yeah, I mean, another pitcher that clearly would help this team. And, you know, I'm definitely interested. I would rather have Jojo Romero, but I guess that's why Jojo Romero is on a roster right now, right? Is because he's a really good, really good pitcher. He might be one of the best pitchers on the Cardinals team right now. Oh, on the Cardinals? Absolutely. That bum. ass team but Ernesto puts you in the chat what would be like a realistic trade for for a Jojo.

I don't think that I think that those are personally like way above way too high. Yeah way too high. Joe Grover and J.D. Dix. I don't think you have to trade either one of those guys. I'm going to give you a name. Tommy Troy and Drew Jones. I don't think you have to trade either one of those guys for him. I think it's like one arm.

Yeah. In the rotation. I'll give you I'll give you two arms. I'll give you David Hagamon, who was one of three starting pitchers we got back in exchange for Merrill Kelly from the Texas Rangers or Ashton Izzy, a right-handed pitcher. Now, Hagamon, last year was the 15th top prospect in the Diamondbacks organization. Ashton Izzy, a guy we like a lot. He was 18th.

I'm sticking with Izzy. Oh, I love Izzy. I love it. He follows our Twitter account. So, I mean, again, we will not be sparsely good name of Ashton Issy. Now I really like him. No, now we've never been bigger fans. We're tied to Ashton Izzy is what we are.

Right. I mean, I hear you, Ernesto. I just don't think that, first off, the DeBax farm system is pretty solid at this point. It's not like the best in baseball, but I think after retooling at the deadline, like, it doesn't look bad. And there are a lot of intriguing players on there. I don't think that a relief pitcher holds all that much of value when you're a team that is not contending and you're a team that is trying to sell. I mean, the Cardinals are getting rid of every good player on their roster this offseason, trying to be like, Red Sox, you'll take, you'll take Contreras.

Okay, we'll pay half his contract. DeBats, we'll pay 75% just for you to take Aeronado. Who wants Sunny Gray? Like, they're trying to fire sale the roster. And if they could get an arm that is intriguing, like a Haganman or like, you know, a Umin, Lynn or something like that for a pitcher like Jojo Romero, I think that would 100% take it. But I guess, you know, I'm not in the room there.

That's just a, that's just me just trying to kind of formulate what a player is value in you without having any actual idea. Robert asks, do we have anyone to teach guys to throw a splitter? His name's Justin Martinez. Now, I don't know how they're going to start throwing 100 when they throw these splitters, but man, is that splitter nasty? We'll have to figure it out. Also, when it comes to having someone to throw a splitter, we do know a guy that can

teach them how to throw a football slider. So there's that. We'll figure that out. That's a talk for another time. Damon, I did want to confirm for you. Yeah. Stiff wrist. throw it like a football. You got to, you were on point there by Danny, about Danny Kulom,

by the way, 36 years old. Kenny Dillingham, 35 years old. Dude, they totally knew each other. These guys had to have been best friends. That's all I can say. 100% they knew each other. Yeah. They were buddies. So get, get Dilley to help us out. Let's make a deal happen. Let's bring Danny back home to the valley and let's hope this bullpen can be better. You had either one of these guys and things look considerably better. Maybe people that don't know ball might not be excited about these additions. But if you now as an informed Diamondbacks fan see in the next week or so, the Diamondbacks add either of these players know that that C minus probably could be bumped up.

Maybe do a B minus. Maybe. I don't know. Do something about the bullpen and we'll give you a better grade. We're going to take, of course, a look here at where the Diamondbacks ranked on the Athletics Farm System ranking. But we also have some news here about the Reno Aces staying in Reno. Daman. I did first want to let you guys know that our diehards. That's not a conversation. I want to even be fun. I know. I know. We'll get there. And I'm sorry to my people in Reno because you know, because my Aces folks, they know I love the or. They know I love the or. There's a lot of Tucson history with that ACE's team. I'm not going to sit here and act like the decision to move a team from an hour and a half away from its AAA facility is a good one because it's not. It's not. Everyone knows that the Tucson sidewinder should still.

exist. Maybe even the Tucson Toros. That was even before the sidwinders, but I don't even get started. I would kill for the Toros back. The Torres had the sickest uniforms in the sport. Yeah, yeah. They had like the Tequila Sunrise Astros, but they said

Toros on them across. Yeah, because they were an Astros affiliate. Yeah, like Craig Vigio played for him. Yeah, that's right. That's right. That's when I as a child fell in love with the Astros because of that. Honestly, I was a huge Craig Bigio and Jeff Bagwell. fan. The Killer Bees, they were amazing.

Absolutely. You were a kid back then? I was a child. I was a child when that happened. I don't understand how that... No way. We were different ages, that's for sure. In Berkman, like, I mean, I remember the killer bees, brother. I was my early childhood. I mean, I'm sitting here and I'm wondering... I had a Bagwell jersey

stolen from me at work that I used to have on the back of my... Work. There we're I think we're getting there now. Were you... 22? Look, I started as a child at one point, and then I grew into an adult that was made to go out to the workforce, Damon. It doesn't change anyway.

You were my age right now and being like, dude, when I was growing up, those guys were nuts. It's not great. It's not great. I do want to acknowledge the group of fans that we call diehards. You guys are amazing. We love you and we thank you so much for your support. Whether you're a diehard member, supporters club member, subscriber to our YouTube channel, or you're just here to tell me how much you like or ate my mustache.

I appreciate you. I thank you for sharing your time with us. Of course, if you have not signed up for a diehard yet, membership yet, you can do so. You get great exclusive content, great stuff we're bringing you in 2026. We also have our PHNX lounge, which is the exclusive place to talk Arizona Sports on Discord with all of us, PHNX personalities and other fans. You also get a free t-shirt as well as 20% off merch and 20% off of events. So head on over to go phnx.com and prove your fanhood by becoming a PHNX diehard today.

D-backs appeared on the athletics farm system ranking of, I believe this was yesterday or perhaps it dropped today. But the D-backs were in what they considered to be Tier 4, Damon. They were ranked 14th overall in Major League Baseball. So right in the middle, right in the middle. What was that on? I'm sorry. 14th. 14th out of what, though?

I'm saying what's the... Out of 30, out of the entire... No, I understand that part. I'm saying what's the ranking? Oh, for farm systems Got you, got you This is, look, the people watching the show Don't pay attention to me

No, I don't miss that part I heard you say 14th and I was like, okay, 14th out of 30 for what? Yeah, you're like, bullpen starting pitching? I missed the farm system part. Yeah, that's what I was trying to say Like the farm system, I think before last trade deadline was in the 20s.

And now it's in more of that middle tier range where it's not the best farm system in the world then we definitely don't have like the top end talent that you think you would probably want in a farm system because we only have obviously one top 100 prospect. But I think that the the collective is pretty solid. Like there's a lot. There's like 20, 30 guys that are really intriguing in this farm system, I would say. I mean, and again, it was mostly Mike Hazen's focus on improving the pitching in the farm system. And you could argue that he definitely did that.

In fact, he did such a good job that a lot of the. pitching prospects he was picking up last year, just immediately got called up and added to the bullpen and the Major League roster because of the need of anybody with a pulse and an arm that worked to be in the bullpen for the Diamondbacks in 2025. But right now, their system is loaded with hitters, and there's no doubt about that, including a couple of catchers and rookie ball and their usual cornercopy of undersized guys who can really hit, according to the athletic. They also said that the Diamondbacks farmstores. system improved, as we said, with an infusion of three potential starters in the Merrill Kelly

trade. So the biggest problem with the farm system is being that the 2021 through 2023 draft classes really haven't panned out leaving a gap in their system that they have refilled through some trades and better drafts in the last two years. Mike Hazen, I've been saying this. I feel like Corby and Carroll is building a lot of goodwill for Mike Hazen's draft classes of like, of like, if that didn't, if we didn't have that. guy and that hit at like what did we get gordon at like 15 yeah he was right there which is which is

unbelievable i mean what a what a draft pick right but outside of that like we were like very much hanging our hat on well i'm 16th overall alec thomas is going to work out thomas is going to work that's a good and you're like he's on the team but i don't know we were pumped about drew jones drew jones was supposed to be a big hit yeah i mean i you're looking at slade caldwell like he's being thought of way less as a prospect than what he was when the Diamondbacks drafted him. I know that you can look at that draft class and say that there's not really any other better options, which is true, but Pavin Smith top 10, like, that's not a good pick. So it's like I'm, I'm looking at Mike Hazen's draft history in the light, Derek.

I'm holding it up and I'm going, I don't know if this is a real $100 Benji right here that I'm looking at. And we need, we need him to start doing a little bit better. on the draft side of things, in my opinion. It's like Ryan Nelson is probably, and you mentioned that to me the other day, like Ryan Nelson's second round, probably his second best high-level draft pick he's ever had. And we'll give him a hit on that because Ryan Nelson looks like a stud.

Yeah. Outside of that, I'm looking at the rest of them going, like, I'm not sure there's one player that's really like contributing to helping the team win regularly. You got Jordan Waller in the first round in 2021, followed by Ryan Bliss, who's no longer part of this team, Adrian Del Castillo, and the compensatory B-pick. Bliss was a part of the Seawald trade, right? That was the Seawald trade.

I mean, I'll give him a hit on that because that was a trade that helped us get to the World Series. And in 2023, I would argue, probably not as bad. We added Tommy Troy. We added Gino Groover. We added Cadence Grice. Kate and Grice. We've added Jack Curley.

College bats. Grace and hit. But then 2022 was Drew Jones and Landon Sims, and it's just hard. too. Hard to say any of this has been a success, but prospects are prospects. Drew Jones meant just so much to this organization,

he meant so much to this show, Damon. He meant so much to this show. I mean, it was the star power that it would bring to Arizona and just extra notoriety being the son of a Hall of Famer, like if he just went out there and made a couple cool defensive plays, everyone would be

like he's literally his dad. He's him. And you'd be like, he's nowhere as close. was good, but yeah. Yeah. We're at the point where it's like, is Drew Jones going to make the major league roster? That's where we are at.

Because he has the supposedly the defensive ability and the, you know, the arm and the speed and whatnot. But it's obviously what he does at the plate. And it feels like if you go look at his splits, you know, throughout his minor league career, every first half of the season, he's

the worst player in the entire farm system. And every second half of the season, you're like, okay, he hit like 300. and like his OPS is like 770 and like there might be something here you know what I mean but then it's just right back to the next year of him just being terrible for the first half of the season again so I think this year for Drew Jones like I need to see a start that is not just a horrific start to the season like I need him to start off in Hillsborough it's not like he's in the highest level of baseball yeah you're in you're in Hillsboro make of Franklin's in the big Jake Franklin's in the crowd screaming your name I mean he's going to support you. True. Yeah, he's going to go crazy for you. He's doing the Stephen Drew, Drew.

Yeah, and he's big. Oh, we had that. Yeah, well, I know. Don't. I know. I know. Well, here, since you're already upset, let me make it worse.

The Reno Aces signed a 20-year extension to stay in Reno. So, can you imagine what the Drew Jones, Stephen Drew throwback noise across the whole Chase field would have meant to this community, to this fan base, to these fans? Derek? Yeah. Yeah. To me?

Yeah. I knew this the whole segment. I knew this entire episode was going to upset you and I just, that's why I didn't warn you ahead of time because I didn't want you to come in here already sad. But again, moving on to the Reno Aces now staying in Reno for 20 years. They will remain there for the foreseeable future following a new agreement between the Aces Ownership Group

and the city of Reno. With this deal, the Aces are committed to staying in Reno until 2049 as well as a $40 million investment into the stadium and surrounding area in exchange for receiving full ownership of the ballpark from the city. So the Reno Aces now own Greater Nevada Field and they will pay $40 million apparently to invest into the stadium and into the surrounding area. So good news for baseball in Reno, bad news for baseball in Tucson. I don't think it was ever really in the cards, but it is ridiculous that it's just not a thing anymore because it just makes way too much sense to help grow your fan base and, you know,

have players that close to home. The Aces are just such a boring franchise. The, the, they, there's rarely things that come out of the Reno Aces that make me excited, whether it's jerseys or like, I like when they do their minor league stuff that's fun, but even their alternative identity of identity of being the Silver Sox or whatever is boring as hell. Like, there's just nothing exciting about the Reno Aces. Meanwhile, beforehand, before 2007, they were the Tucson Sidewinders from 98 to 2008.

And then before that, they were the Tucson Toros, both names of teams that I would like much more than the renalia. Two sick names with just absolutely sick branding. Like, they don't know how much money they're losing out from this guy right here buying minor league Tucson stuff. Like, I'm telling you, that might alone. It could have funded the team. up the entire operation because I'm buying it all. It would have covered a decent percentage of the 40 million that they need to pay for reinvestments into the ballpark in the surrounding area.

You think I'm kidding. I wouldn't buy a car. I would buy everything that they have in the Tucson Toro slash Sidewinder's gift shop. And yeah, I mean, the branding was obviously much cooler back then. As Katie says, I think that this is interesting just in terms of what it means for pitching development with the Diamondbacks organization just because like no one can pitch and No one can pitch in Amarillo. And it feels like the Diamondbacks are almost just like they're, not that like it's, they're fine with it,

but that almost like they're using that as part of their development process to be like, hey, it sucks pitching here. So it's going to be better when you get to the majors or something like that because it doesn't really make much sense for me other than that thought process, that line of thinking to continue to playing such high elevation ballparks where you know your pitchers are going to have ERAs of sixes. and you could potentially destroy some people's confidences if they don't have the mental wherewithal and makeup to get through that. I mean, we were talking about it with Cold Drake yesterday, right?

Like, you can't worry about it as a pitcher, but I feel like I might have scared him off when I told him that a 5-ERA is like basically you're a stud in Reno. It's the truth, though. Yeah, he heard that and he was like, oof, yeah, he was like, I do not want to go there. Books Journey brings up a great point, though, Damon, and it's the last hope for you to have a team back in Tucson.

that is that the relationship between the Diamondbacks and the Reno Aces is not guaranteed for the next 40 years. And as we've seen, minor league teams can switch, you know, organizations all the time. Perhaps the Reno Aces eventually become the minor league AAA affiliate of the Las Vegas athletics. Seems like that would make sense considering that they share the same state. That's honestly not a bad point. And we could be something that we're looking at down the road of like, yeah, the Aces, you know, they'll be around. but it's, you know, it might make more sense to them to be the A's minor league team rather than the Diamondbacks.

And then what does that leave us with the, I don't know where the A's stuff. Las Vegas Aviators, I believe, is the A's affiliate. And they can't play in the same city. So the aviators are going to have to get the hell out of there. Well, unless they do. Moving the aviators to Tucson and bringing back the Tucson Toro signwiders. We'll call them both names. That's what we'll do.

It would probably be the sidewinder's if we're being real. Sidewonders. Yeah, I mean, let's do it, dude. be electric. You got all this sidewinder stuff in the office because Espo used to work for him all the time so I get to see all these sweet sidewinders gear. Jersey in a frame and stuff, it's great.

It's great. So cool. Again, I don't know if I've mentioned this, Damon, but I'm going to be going to the Grammys this weekend. I may have said it once or twice around the office or potentially on the show but I will not be here next week on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

First I'm hearing of this. Yeah, the show is not being canceled. my guy Damon is going to hold things down for us so thank you for doing that and again there's no guarantee that after I fill my belly with butter beer and see me or ran hoist a Grammy trophy above his head that I'm going to come back from from California I thought you said you were going to call in no I might be a Hollywood guy from that point on for my understanding he's already had to sign a NDA without me being present for some conversation he had so and I don't get to know I don't get to know until I get out there so I'm pumped though man again if you're

You guys do not know who Megaran is. He is the guy that sings our Mailbag Monday song, even though that's just a song I stole from him that I like that I thought went well with our Mailbag Monday stuff. And he was like, fine, use it. But again, nominated for Best Children's album and I can't wait, cannot wait to go out there and see him. Buddy's Magic Toy Box, right? That was the first one. It's Buddy's Magic Treehouse. It's the second one.

Yeah, Treehouse is the second one for sure. Which one do you like better? Oh, that's hard. That's hard. box, I think, lives in my heart because it was just so, like, personal and it was so new, you know, like, this, Megaran and his wife, Rachel, they adopted my godson buddy. And again, I got to be, I get to be a part of his life as his godfather. And, like, it was all very moving and touching. But it was also, like, a cool idea, right? Absolutely. The idea that kids' music, children's music,

doesn't have to be awful. And it can be something that we, as parents, can enjoy and listen to with our kids. as much as they're enjoying and listening to it was great. But he made, he made fruit into a hype song. He made brushing your teeth into a hype song. He made waking up into the morning into a hype song. I will say that the reason I asked that is so that you can go out there and Derek, when he wins,

you can go ahead and be like, yeah, I mean, it's, it's great album, obviously, but I was, his,

more underground stuff is kind of, I'm a fan of his original stuff. See, I've been around since the beginning and, yeah. The first one was a little. bit better. For sure. You could start being a snob at the Grammys and be like, you guys just don't get it. You just guys don't get it. You haven't listened to his entire catalog. I guess I'm just a little bit more of a music guy. You know his, you don't know his Pedro's song about Pedro Pescal? I mean, I guess I'm just the one that's been around for a long time. It says no parent. I will say this that I'm throwing a party. No, Derek here. I'm down for. Rager. I'm kind of mad that we don't get to throw parties while I'm here. That upsets me more than anything. But I will also say that if I pay the amount of money, I'm

paying to go to the Grammys just to watch them lose. I've compared it to going to the Super Bowl to watching your team lose the Super Bowl. I might not be happy. I might be demanding my money back from the Grammys people. But again, we're thrilled that we had our guy, Damon. Kevin, who beat me up on the last time we did a podcast together, he's going to be on this show, back on this show as well, as well as some fun guests. Yeah, we got lined up. I'll let everybody know because I worked it all out yesterday.

We got Dalton Feely on Monday making his return after. you know, a long off season here. We'll get Dalton's thoughts on what the Diamondbacks have done and haven't done this offseason. And I think we'll probably make that one into a little bit of our own offseason grades, position by position. And then on Tuesday, I'll have Alex Dagestino of Sports Illustrated, Dback's on SI, as well as, you know, writes our newsletter. And Alex will hop on with me and we'll discuss whatever is prevalent in the news. And then on Wednesday, we got the man himself, big, Jake. Franklin

Hollywood Franklin And apparently Big Jake is He told me he's set to sit Courtside At the Blazers game that night And so he's he's sparing a little bit Of his time with us on a Wednesday afternoon

To talk some Debacks baseball And then he's gonna go put on his Hollywood shades and forget that we ever existed Must be nice to have that kind of money big Jake Seriously Horsight Seriously Daman and I are in the nosebleeds

Can use a car? I mean, yeah. Big Jake's got court side season tickets at the Blazers game and I got freaking no car no vehicle I'm going around and I'm going to ask him maybe if he could share some of that money with me

But we'll see For sure, for sure. Well, we thank you guys for your time. As always, you can follow us on Twitter and social media. I am at Kapp underscore Caveman with a K Everywhere. Damon is at Damon dog with a DAWG at the end

And we're all Damon's dogs. Bark Bark. Our show is at P.H.N.X. underscore debacks, but as always all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We love you guys. We appreciate your time. I will see you next week, a long time from now.

Again, maybe. We'll see. That's up in the air. But until then, guys have a wonderful weekend. I need everybody to cheer really hard for my guy Megarin. And of course, remember kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you can ride on your friend's coattails to fun events like the Grammys.