PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - D-backs Linked to Marcell Ozuna Rumors, Still Chasing Alex Bregman Despite Price Tag

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

The Diamondbacks have yet to make a move in 2026, and with pitchers and catchers just around the corner, the clock is ticking on which direction this team will take. We have the latest Arizona’s continued pursuit of All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman, despite the enormous contract he’s expected to command, and explore rumors connecting the Snakes to former Braves DH Marcell Ozuna after a tough 2025 season in Atlanta. Plus, Derek laments over the Astros signing Tatsuya Imai and tries his best to answer your Mailbag Monday questions JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4 An ALLCITY Network Production SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtube ALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/coll... ALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Phoenix PHNX 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-... ALLCITY — 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/?ut... bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-... 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.

It's absolute chaos in the valley, and we are talking about how the Arizona Diamondbacks compare to what is going on with both the Arizona Cardinals, who just fired their head coach, and the Phoenix Suns, who seem to be a surprise thanks to their coach. We're going to talk about all this in 30 seconds. Don't you go anywhere? And welcome in to another edition of the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast live from Studio K. Presented by our friends in Circle K, you're not supposed to see me do that part, but it is a chaotic day.

around here in Arizona sports. And I'm thrilled to have you guys joining us. Of course, my name is Derek Montia, occasionally as your mayor of PHNX. And no, I will not be taking the Arizona Cardinals head coaching vacancy. I politely declined that position. My starting pitcher today in the production world

is none other than Shane Diefenbach, who has been very busy today. Thank you, Shane. The mustache behind the Mac is steadily at work in all this breaking news that we have here in the Valley today. And I'm thrilled to be back. I had myself a nice little break thanks to the holidays,

and I am refreshed, rejuvenated. And I am like the Squidward meme of I'm up in the attic staring out of the great and all the fun everybody's having, if you could call it fun. We have a lot of activity here in the Valley, and things are crazy right now. Obviously, the news this morning that has nothing to do with us is that the Arizona Cardinals have fired their head coach and Jonathan Gannon. And I'm sure if Killer Rex was here right now, he would immediately be asking me about what the hell the diamondbacks are doing. There is a lot of similarities here, I guess, to the two situations in regards to the Cardinals firing their head coach and where the Diamondbacks are with Tori Lobello.

However, I will argue, once again, for people that want to make that comparison, that the Cardinals just had a historically bad season. As we experienced on our very first year of doing this show, we start. of doing this program in September of 2020, if you don't remember. And that was a very dark time in Diamondbacks history, the end of the second worst season in franchise history. So we can relate to covering a team when it's very, very bad. However, the Diamondbacks under Tori Lavallo as their coach has not, have never been that bad, right?

I mean, they were that season. But overall, you could argue that the team has progressively gotten better and that LaVolo had quite a bit to do with that. In fact, you know, they've had winning seasons under Tori LeBullo, something the Cardinals never had under Jonathan Gannon. And they also, if you don't remember, were at one time led by Tori LaVolo, if you want to say that to the World Series. So there is that.

But, I mean, you could also, like I said earlier, take a look at what's going on with the Phoenix Suns. They just had their exciting win last night. And then you could attribute all of this to coaching, right? Jordan Ott is a mastermind, and he probably should win. NBA coach of the year for what he's done with this Phoenix Sun's team. But much like the Diamondbacks hoped to do in 2026, that is a team that is playing together as a team, right? They are a team that did not have very high expectations. In fact, most people selected them to not even

win 25 plus games and they're approaching that total already, you know, right now. So coaching seems to be the big difference maker here. And I mean, that's the big feeling with people in the valley. There were a lot of people who were very much on board with the Cardinals moving on from Jonathan Gannon. Injuries were a big part of the reason that the Cardinals had a bad season, but I mean, look at what the Diamondbacks were able to still do in 2025 with the pile of injuries that they had. So again, there is something to be said about what Tori Lavallo has done for this team as a

manager. There's also something to be said about what Jordan Ott is doing with that son's team, right? sometimes a change of directions, sometimes that new younger head coach who kind of, you know, always was an assistant that gets that first head coach opportunity could turn out to be a huge reason why a team can turn things around. So again, there are a lot of people that wanted, you know, a change for that exact reason with this Diamondbacks team. A thing to remember, though, is that, again, Tori Lobello is on the final year of his contract at this point. It's not about firing Tori at the end. of the year. It's pretty much Tori has this season to prove himself and prove that he can do what he can as a manager to make this team a winner in 2026 if he wants to have any plans about sticking around. But again, there's some similarities here, but this Cardinals team was atrociously bad. And again, outside of that 2022 season, you really can't say that about the Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, just because the Suns guys won't let me come over there and talk about it, I do want to just say,

that Devin Booker is incredible. He was amazing. He made that clutch shot last night. And I can't help but think that Catelle Marte is our Devin Booker. Why would we ever want to even talk about trading this guy way? Is he not? Is he not? Is Cotel Marte not the clutch guy that's like walked off, you know, so many games for this team

and just been there in the ninth inning as a huge bat, especially last year. I just don't understand why we even brought up these trades. But I do expect the Diamondbacks to make. maybe perhaps be that type of team that the Sons are in 2026. Again, a team that plays together, a team that might not have the big superstars on it that you expect to see, a team that, again, it's more about the teamwork and the contributions from the guys that are already there. But, I mean, I still think that this team could surprise some people in 26.

But they still have some additions to make, and we are going to talk about those additions. one person that they're not adding is Tatsuya Amai, and I am distraught over that. We knew they weren't going to add Ami once they signed Merrill Kelly. They weren't going to go after another starting pitcher. However, I don't care. I'm still upset. Let me be upset. Let me be upset at the fact that Tetsuya Amai signed a three-year contract worth $54 million,

and that seems totally affordable for the Diamondbacks. It could be worth up to $63 million with performance incentives, but it includes player opt-outs for both 2026 and 2027? That's crazy. Shane, that's crazy. A player opt-out after 26 and 27? I mean, again, it's a good deal for a my, I guess, but also not nearly the amount of money we thought we were going to see him get in his contract for sure, right? I wonder why that was the biggest part of negotiation.

I wonder if that was the biggest part of the negotiation. Yeah, having the player. How to have that. Right, because you want to come here and you want to do what so many players do, which is prove yourself, prove that you're worth far more than that. And then hopefully, I mean, add, you know, get that contract. It's he's still a young man, but he is at that point where a baseball player would get that big contract. And I think based on what he's done as a three-time all-star in Japan,

he, you know, definitely knows what he's doing here with this deal. It just infuriates me because at less than 20%. $20 million a year. At less than $20 million a year, we could have had him. And no offense to Michael Soroka, but I would gladly pay $10 more million than we played for Soroka for Tatsuya Mai. Fun fact about the MPB, they don't give out an MVP if no one's good enough. Oh my God. That's incredible.

No, I did not know that. I don't think they named an MVP last year. Just because nobody stood out amongst their peers? That's amazing. Chad, you can fact trick me on that, but I'm pretty sure they didn't get out of the EP last year. I kind of love that. I also kind of love this. Damon, who's not here today, had himself, worked quite a bit, did a great job there with the PHNX Wildcats podcast out in San Diego covering their bowl game.

He texted me to tell me that maybe it's because of the Arizona Cardinals that we didn't get Tetsu Yamai. I mean, we could have had it all. We could have had this man, Shane, let's see this tweet from MLB where Tatsuya Mai was at a Houston Texan game throwing up the H. look at this man look at the electricity that he emits out of his core this is a man that's going to beat the Dodgers

and we could have had him and we don't I'm upset I'm bummed out it is what it is it's probably going to be the number two starter in their rotation too probably would have been our number one

can you imagine just Tatsuya Amai and Merrill Kelly as number one number two I'm going to do a whole D-backs after dark audio podcast about this just so I can curse a lot and just kind of be sad probably drink some tequila get over it so make sure you're subscribed to our audio feed for that I'm not I'm not over it and I'm not okay and I'm not going to be okay but and Katie says they gave him brisket oh Texas

brisket I don't know if we can compete with that maybe a sonoran dog maybe some I don't know what we can do to compete with that that's sad also we also lost out on Kazuma Akamoto to the Blue Jays. They signed him to a four-year contract worth $60 million. Now, we didn't have the money for any of these guys. We definitely, as we've said in the past, don't have the financial flexibility to take on the risk of a player who you could pay this much money and who might not work out in Major League Baseball.

However, this does mean that one less team is in on Alex Braggman. When it comes to third base, Akamoto will play third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. there are no opt-outs in his contract, and Toronto does plan to use him primarily at third base there. So there's that. But the debacks, they are still in on Alex Brighman. Yes, you heard that right. Dan Bickley is not wrong. Maybe he's wrong.

We'll see. But he was so sure, and I'm not so sure, because the Red Sox have offered Brigman a mountain of money. According to reports, Boston's pursuit of a reunion remains very strong here with reports highlighted. an aggressive offer somewhere in the $160, $70 million range for four years. So, again, CBS Sports does still project the Diamondbacks is one of the free agent landing spots for Breggman. They still land them as a suitor. I just, I feel like this is a case where, you know, Alex Breggman wants to come here.

The Diamondbacks want him to come here and there's still no money for this deal. And this deal is going to be huge. So I just don't understand. I mean, again, the Diamondbacks, yes, they are still being reported as a suitor. But there's no firm offer or deal being rumored on the Diamondbacks end. And again, Breggman's seeking a multi-year deal worth a, you know, truckload of money. So I don't know. I mean, Diamondbacks have so much spending still to do.

They have so many pieces still to add that I just cannot wrap my mind still around this. Alex Breggman situation. I've tried to be very transparent about that this whole time. None of it makes sense. I'm still thinking that this is real. I'm not thinking it's not, but I'm also just thinking like, again, if this ends up coming to fruition, there were so many better ways to spend this money. And if you talk about the risk of investing this much in one player, you're talking about 20 million to 25 million or even less in the Tetsuia my case, but you're going to invest 40 million a year in an Alex Bregman or maybe just slightly less? I don't know. I can't figure this one out myself, especially considering all the Diamondbacks needs that they still

have out there. But we got so much to talk about today, you guys. So we're going to go ahead and take a quick break. On the other side of this break, we are going to talk about one rumored edition that the Diamondbacks could make before the end. of this offseason, and that could be D.H. Marcel Azuna. Does this make sense? I don't know. We'll talk about it on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PHNX Diamondback Show. Well, shout out to Arizona Lottery. They made my holiday season so easy to go out there, get scratchers. I had Megaran hit me up. He was like, I got a white elephant party tonight. I was like, bro, you have a circle K on the corner. Go get yourself some scratchers. He was like,

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Text next step to 53344 or visit problemgambling.az.gov. Well, we have some rumors, as we tend to have around hot stove season. And an article from Bleacher's report, Joel Ruder, predicted the opening day lineup for every Major League Baseball club, including the Arizona Diamondbacks. our guy Alex Dagestino wrote about this as well. And the discussion has been brought up about the Diamondbacks adding former Atlanta Braves designated hitter, Marcel Ozuna. Ozuna did have himself a bit of a down year in 2023.

I believe we have his stats here. Or not 2023, she's 20, 2025. He did hit 232 with only 21 home runs. But he was worth a 114 WRC plus per fan graphs. He had himself a 756 OPS. He had a 1.6 war. And again, still 21 home runs. The down season could cause his numbers there to pretend perhaps, you know, be at a discount,

as well as what Jacob Franklin alludes to here. Ozone is good at baseball, but not good at being a human. Jacob is out on that. There is that as well, the sordid past that can. next to Ozuna. So we know that the Diamondbacks here overall are kind of a team of character. They tend to like to have guys on this team that are a certain, you know, a certain kind of quality player, right? And you could argue based on his past that Ozuna is definitely not that. But when you take a look at his 2024 numbers overall by comparison, it's 2024 numbers look incredible.

and this is a guy, I think a lot of people would still maybe put some of those off-field concerns aside for him to still be a part of their ball club. He had 39 home runs in 24. He had a 302 batting average, a 925 OPS,

he had a 359 bat-bip as well as a 4.3 baseball war. And again, the Diamondbacks have lacked a consistent right-handed run producer, especially at DH and Marcel OZuna, completely changes that for this team. He raises the floor in a lineup, especially if he can somehow find

a middle ground between the excellent numbers from 24 and what he did in 2025. And again, the Diamondbacks don't have a DH. It's something we've talked about. He's a veteran presence, and as a longtime Major League Baseball hitter, he brings experience to a clubhouse with some young hitters that could learn from him. However, again, like we said, there are a lot of things against him overall. and a lot of people here in the chat are out on Osuma, O'Dona for those exact reasons. Plus, he would not help in the field at all. So that limits roster flexibility.

Not only do I know Tori Lavolo in the past is always prioritized flexibility, especially position flexibility, the Diamondbacks just need it, right? So even though this is a rumor that's come up spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 to $12 million, even on a one-year deal for a guy that's just going to be your job. D.H does not seem like something to Diamondbacks can't afford to do at this point. I think that they cannot put all of their eggs in that basket as far as more Marcelo Zuna is concerned. There's also the fact that his production has declined, as one tends to do as they get older, and this could be a downward trend that's part of his career. I mean, he might not rebound

from 2025. There is a part of me that feels like he is going to produce for a new team and and probably put up better numbers than we saw last year. And, you know, as a fit, he wouldn't be a terrible one-year designated hitter signing to add, uh, just again, veteran power and run production to, you know, the, the core of this lineup that kind of needs that. They need a slugger and I don't know who exactly is going to be that for this team. Obviously, we know that Geraldo Cotel and Corbyn Carroll can all handle that duty. But you just feel like with the on-based,

percentage of this team and the fact that they are able to be on base as often as they are, someone like OZuna could really eat here. And again, it's a matter of if overall you are willing to bypass the, you know, past concerns about, you know, what, what he's done and what his character has. And also, it's just less ideal if Arizona needs to balance defense, mobility, long-term roster flexibility overall, just like Marcelo Zuna doesn't really fit that mold. Also, again, I think at this point, if the Diamondbacks do want to add a short-term offensive punch for their designated hitter role, it needs to be somebody that can also play first base. And as plausible as it is that they could add OZuna and as much as it might make for a good fit,

it still doesn't feel like the Diamondbacks can afford to do that at this point and add a play here like this. And then like everybody's saying in the chat, you know, no matter what he could bring to this team, there is a clubhouse factor. The way that people feel in the chat are going to feel there's going to be people that feel the same way inside of that locker room. So I don't know if you want to bring a guy like that into it. And I don't know if signing a guy like Marcelo Zuna is, you know, signals the right thing to the rest of the roster. So I don't really know overall as far as if he would be a good fit. I just think that, again, the Diamondbacks are in a position

where if they can find a player that is also valued less by other teams and is maybe commanding a smaller contract that you might be willing to overlook some of those things in order to add him, right? Overall, he's still an offensive threat. But with the projected amounts being in the neighborhood of $12 million, not at that amount for the Diamondbacks, at that amount. There are so many guys still available on the free agent market. Not relief pitchers,

but everybody else. It doesn't matter what you're looking for. There's a bevy of free agent players available on the market. And as we get closer to Valentine's Day, you know, love is in the air. And so is a certain critical feeling, a sense of urgency to sign with a team. Right. So when you look at how many guys are available out there, you could see some of the price tag shrinking for some of these guys that are, you know, farther down the list as far as desirable candidates for teams. So I wouldn't be surprised to see the Diamondbacks get Ozuna, but I feel like it would have to be on a much more significant deal than this. It would have to be on like a one year, maybe $7 million or less deal. So I don't know. I don't know if that's too little, but not cool.

I love to hear that I'm running a half marathon on Valentine's Day Oh Why are you doing that? I guess I'm in love with hating myself Have you ever ran a half marathon Before?

Uh-uh Have you ever ran any kind of race before? Pats run like a five Okay okay Pat's runs I have a tremendous amount of pride When I run Pats run It like I feel like it

It gives me a little bit of extra energy But not a lot I'm definitely getting in people's way by walking a tremendous amount. Are you preparing for this half marathon? Mm-hmm. Well, I'm proud of you. I'm attempting to.

All right. That's a weird way to spend Valentine's Day, but I get it. I get it for sure. And Leah's not coming with me. Sorry. All right. Well, again, I don't know here what the Diamondbacks are going to do here, but maybe OZeno would be a good fit. I do know one thing, though.

If anybody ever throws trash at Geraldo Pardomo ever again, I will come for you. and I will personally attack you. By the way, that's something that actually did happen. We have these pictures, according to reports. There was a game that Geraldo Perdomo is participating in right now. Hold on one second. He was participating in this game. It's the Aguillas.

This is a team that he has played for twice before during the Winter League. and this was a controversial finish to this winter league game. There was a play at the plate in which basically the runner on base kind of did a shoulder block on the catcher. There was a collision at home plate and initially the runner was ruled out. There were some arguments. There were some disagreements. There was a challenge on the field at which point the umpire reversed the decision. and said that the runner was safe because the catcher blocked the plate.

At that point, both teams cleared the benches, and the result was the fans being very unhappy about the call. It resulted in them throwing trash onto the field, which Geraldo Perdomo, who was playing, I believe he was playing left field at the time, went out and started picking up the trash. that people were throwing on the field. Now, I know this is a winterly game,

so it's not that this is going to, they're not exactly going to have the same resources. I'm sure if fans started throwing on the trash on a major league field, the players would also probably have to participate in picking up said trash, especially if you watch this video, the amount of trash that was being thrown onto the field.

But I will tell you, one, Geraldo Pardomo is far too wholesome for this world, and we already knew that. Two, Sean's right. He says, that's my captain right there. That is our captain right there. And three, if you ever throw trash at Geraldo Perdomo, I will not be responsible for what Damon Farrell will come do to you.

I'm just suggesting that it's a bad idea, and you don't ever do that ever again. I am upset about it myself. But also, Jacob Franklin says, wait, why is he playing left field? We have reacted entirely too much. to where our players are playing in Winter League. And it's just chaos down there.

I mean, it's just chaos. I don't know why he's playing left field. I don't know why he's playing the outfield at all. I guess for the most part, just because. And also, I think that when they do switch these positions, it's not like it's impacting their actual major league standing, even though we speculated heavily on that with Jordan Lawler. I still believe that we could see Jordan Lawler in the outfield for the Diamondbacks this spring.

So don't be surprised to see that. But what I do know is we will not be seeing Geraldo Perdomo in the outfield for this team. And I also know we will not be seeing anybody else throw trash at Geraldo Perdomo. So Sean points out, notice how Damon isn't here today. He's already en route. That's a great point. I mean, I don't know where he is. Do you know where he is?

So again, the whereabouts are definitely questionable at this. point. But I honestly, I don't like players playing winter ball at all if I want to give my honest opinion about it. But this is probably the reason here overall. And then Jacob is asking, is he the Lord is fill in? Are they trading for Francisco Lindor? Why not? Why not? They're trading Francisco Lindor to the Diamondbacks where could tell Marte. Let's just speculate recklessly while we're doing this. But all right, well, again, make sure you don't ever come

for Raldo for Dome wherever again. And make sure you guys keep it locked right here. We are going to take a quick break on the other side of this break. It's Monday, and you know what we do around here on Monday. We're going to hit the mailbag up. We're going to do that on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere?

You're watching the P.HNX Diamondback Show. Well, you already know that Phoenix is one of the best sports cities in America, and March is one of the best times to be here. It's spring. It's beautiful. There's all sorts of sporting events. happening. But this spring, Phoenix Raceway is about to raise the bar to a whole other level

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And you know what we do around here. Do it again. Nope. What? Well, Shane, it is Monday, really? That's all we get. Well, okay. Hold on.

I mean, it's the year of the snake is over. It's the year of the horse now, right? Nay, nay, MF her. Right. Every year is still our year. Every year on this podcast is still the year of the snake, regardless of what actual year it is. Every month on this podcast is Hispanic Heritage Month. Month?

I'll get words right. Every week on this podcast is Shark Week. Every day. Of course, Earth Day, because Shane and I recycle. But on Mondays, you know what we do. We go to the mailbag. Shane, can we go to the mailbag? My mailbox.

Always something interesting in my mailbox. I try to get to everything in my mailbox. And then once in a while there's a letter that makes me go out Fun fact, because he's nominated for a Grammy now, we have to pay Mega-Ran like six times of the amount that we were paying for that song. So we're in trouble when it comes to that financially. But when you multiply this by zero, it goes back to zero. Okay, that's a good point.

That's a good point. All right. Well, what have we got in the mailbag today? Here we go. Mailback time right now. Ready? Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go.

I'm locked in. I'm dialed in. What do we got in the right? What are we got? Derek, I need you promise me. Okay. Are you ready? I'm ready.

I'm sorry. There is a question. Oh, wait. Out of order. There we go. Travis, it snuck up on me that Drew Jones is Rule 5 eligible after this season. What are the odds that he isn't even protected from next year's draft? More than just moving up levels, I feel like we need to start hearing about drastic swing improvements this year.

Or am I too harsh here? No, you're not too harsh there. But you got to realize that when it comes to the Rule 5 draft, even though you are very correct about that. And he definitely is in danger of... of becoming one of those guys, you also have to be able to stick on a major league roster for an entire year. And not just the 40-man roster,

the 26-man active roster. That's very difficult for a guy that's still having the offensive issues that Drew Jones is having. I think that's the reason why you tend not to see higher draft picks protected in the Rule 5 draft when that time comes around if they really aren't at that level yet. If Drew Jones was in Reno hitting the cover off the ball,

that would be a different story. And it's not. So I guess the same reason why we have concerns about his development are the same reasons why, you know, again, there are reasons why he wouldn't be taken in the Rule 5 draft. I will say I wanted, I think, Elijah Green desperately in that draft. And that's a guy who's also struggling. And I kind of looked up some of those other guys from that draft. And there's not a lot of headway being made in production outside of Jackson Holiday who still seems to be destined.

to join the Baltimore Orioles team. But again, there are a lot of guys right now that are struggling and still in that high A ball range and still not, you know, proceeding. Tamar Johnson and a couple other names I looked at. So I don't know. I mean, again, you got to believe in his development and you got to hope that he comes around. But the Rule 5 thing does start to become, it starts to become a thought, the longer that guys stay in the system and the more they don't, you know, progress.

Again, I don't know who would want to risk a draft pick on that, though. All right, what else we got, Jane? Next one comes from Johnny E. If they don't trade Marte, what moves should be made to make this team a contender next year, considering with what money they have left to spend in free agency and without getting the farm system? Well, that's probably a problem there. So in regards to not trading Cotel Marte, let's just put that aside, right? the diamondbacks have a few players that are on their major league roster that they could consider they have guys that have major league experience and they still have some young bullpen arms that might be more i guess appealing to another team than then how we feel like they really stocked up on pitchers last you know trade deadline mike hayes did a tremendous job at that i don't think that the diamondbacks will be able to make trades and make moves without

you know, trading some pieces, right? We know that Jake McCarthy or Alec Thomas could be a part of that. We know it probably won't be both of them. It can't be both of them due to depth. But, you know, again, you feel like Alec Thomas has more value. Jake McCarthy still has a nice shot to rebound and I still believe in him. He needs to change that goddamn song, though. And then maybe, you know, whoever is left, you know, after that trade can flourish here.

but I don't think that they can really make too many trades without involving prospects. I don't think they necessarily need to gut the farm system, but, I mean, again, they will need to do something involving young players one way or another in order to make trades and make this team whole. At this point, they simply don't have enough money left to fill all of the positional needs that you would ideally like to see them feel. Again, our guy Alex, over at the newsletter, he wrote a great piece for SI about what the diamondbacks priorities are and their priorities right now the top three priorities

I don't think can be covered financially by what the diamondbacks have remaining in their budget budget being a very loose term like we have no idea how much the diamond backs are actually going to spend and again as as they said Ken got aggressive so perhaps we see them definitely outspend what we thought we were going to see them spend in 2026 but if they do that I still feel like it's going to be like on Alex Breggman and it's still not going to allow them to have a ton of money left over if any money to go out and fill some of these other positional needs that they still have. But yeah, that's where we stand. What else we got, Shane? Next one from Jay Army Strong or Jarming Strong with James McCann, assuming a veteran role in the locker room with Jerry coming off a breakout season with Corbyn collecting triples like their Pokemon with Blaz's arm.

Why don't we just sit back and watch the magic in 26? I don't hate this idea at all. I mean, again, if Damon was here, he would probably out me as being a detractor, as someone that's already said that this season is a wash and that, you know, 2026, they don't have a chance. But maybe he's right. I mean, this team does have stars and these stars are only getting better and older. And again, they're coming into their own. They're coming into their prime.

I really think that that could be the case. And I'm not really that worried about the starting lineup overall. I feel like the additions that I wanted to make help this team defensively on the field. I think they do add some offense. I do think that they need a first baseman or a DH. I think they need to add some power to this lineup. That could be difficult. I definitely think they still need a bullpen arm.

Right. So again, there are needs here. It's not to say, though, that those needs couldn't be fulfilled by guys that are already here on this roster. Right. You have guys like, again, a ton of a ton of players. on this team that, you know, their maturity, their next step and their progress could mean that they are the next big star on this team. I think the Diamondbacks needed to be pitching. I think specifically we need some of these young arms in the bullpen to step up and become studs and

start posting, you know, really good numbers and giving the Diamondbacks a bullpen that you can believe in. But I am not completely of the disbelief that the place. players of the future that can help this team win aren't here now, right? The suns are a perfect example of that. And I'm sorry to keep going back to that, but I just, I'm still in love with this team from last night and I have to keep gushing about them. But they are a team. Nobody expected anything of. And again, they didn't make these huge additions with flashy signings that make you feel like they were suddenly contenders for a championship in the NBA. And they still obviously aren't, right? Like, they're still probably a ways off. But

they are far closer than I think many of us thought they were going to be this season. I think the Diamondbacks could be that as well. Do you hear that, Derek? What's that? What's that? What is that? What is it? Oh my God, is that Leah's music?

Is that Leah's music? All right, Shane, we got to get out of here. We got to change it. We got to go the bullpen here. You gave it your best today, but I mean, five and two-thirds innings pitch. We need a little bit more out of you. Happy to be joined by the one that only Leah Merrill here. in a rare production experience here.

Great to have you here, Leah. Hello. Hello. By the way, if I blow this, sorry that the bullpen once again blows another thing. I mean, look, the expectations for the bullpen are not very high. So I think you're good as far as that is concerned. But again, when it comes to this team, I still feel like 2026 could be a surprising year. If they don't go out and make that flashy signing and they don't do that big thing,

I that's why I've been so adamant about keeping Catea here right Cotel Marte is the guy that you really feel like is the superstar every team wanted to add and we have him so again let's stop talking about trading him and let's start talking about maybe him being the the core of this 2026 team that could be very good much like one Devin Booker who a lot of people kind of said was washed after last year or after playing with Kevin Durant. So, no, we'll see. But Leah, what else we got in the mailbag? I think our next question is from Richard

Perry. Hey, there we go. We got, you got to read it, Leah. That's part of this whole game. Oh, sorry. Okay. It's cool. It's cool. I'm new to this whole production thing. It's been a while. All right. Richard asks, will Blaze Alexander be our starting third baseman, or

are they going to put him in the outfield? Either way, will he get opportunity to start in our lineup? Oh, Blaze is definitely getting an opportunity to start, Richard. And I completely, I have no idea where Blaze is going to end up playing. I think that his versatility obviously makes him someone you want to have at either position, right? I do think that we saw maybe a little bit of a correlation to the Diamondbacks moving him around last season to a drop off in offense that also could have just been Blaze in general just kind of, you know, having a little bit of a slump. But I would prefer still to see Blaze at third base.

and I still think that that opens up a lot of opportunities on this team for the outfield position and for somebody else to step up there. I still like Jordan Lawler as a third baseman, and I think that if you're picking those two and if the Diamondbacks don't make any moves to fill either of those positions, I don't hate the idea of Jordan being over there at third and Blaze being in the outfield. I think Blaze is a dynamic player that's going to make an impact no matter what position he's playing at. I just want him to have consistency.

So if he's going to be an outfielder, that's what he is now. I would prefer not to see Blaze turned into this super utility player, wherever they have a hole or wherever they want to give a guy a day off. Blaze kind of moves around. I think that a consistency can just kind of add or, you know, causes offense to struggle a little bit. Players are a creature of habit. And I think that if they know exactly what they're doing every single day and can be in a routine, that they are going to thrive and flourish.

And I think Blaze is one of those guys that if you give them a position, You stick him there and you don't move him around. He's going to thrive in that position. He's going to be a constant highlight reel, either a third base or in left field. And you just have to be thankful that you have a guy that not only has that versatility, but also the willingness to do whatever is asked of him, the way the plays is asked of, including participating in our hijinks with kidnapping our snake. Still mad at him for that.

Anyway, what else we got, Leah? Next question. All right. Next question comes from Crobin Carroll enthusiast. And they ask, how would you fix this team with the budget they have left to ensure they can compete next year? I don't know. That's a great question. This was like me kind of taking a look at Christmas as a whole with the money I had in my bank account and trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do to make everyone happy. not an easy task. I had a lot of white elephant gifts to purchase. But the Diamondbacks, I mean, again, don't have a lot of money left.

That's really where we stand. When we talk about them missing out on Pete Fairbanks, when we talk about them not being in at all probably on Tetsuya, no matter how much I wanted them to be in on him, it's because if the Diamondbacks are sticking to this actual decrease in budget that they discussed at the end of last season, they don't have a lot of money left. when we came into the offseason, the Diamondbacks had 35, we estimated around $35 million to spend.

It could be as much as 40, probably not that much. I mean, if you honestly want to talk about cutting payroll and having you be less, it's probably more in the vicinity of 37 million, right? So you're talking about about 35 to 37 million. They spent 2.75 million on James McCann. They spent 7.5 on Michael Soroka, and they spent 20 million a year on Merrill Kelly. So that's for 2026. You have a total of five, less than $5 million left based on a $35 million budget estimate.

Overall, maybe you could go up to having $5 to $10 million left. But that's all you got. And Groundhog Mama's right. Defer, defer, defer. That's the only way that we can do this, right? I would try, obviously, to extend the budget with Ken Kendrick. And I would try to do it in a far more fiscally responsible way than going out there and adding Alex Brigman at four years, $160 million.

or even five years, $160 million. Get that crap out of my face. It does not make sense. And we have so much more to do. I make a lot of metaphors. And sometimes they're stupid. I know that. I know that when they're coming out of my mouth.

There is no metaphor. I think I've enjoyed more than the idea of me and my wife, who actually are trying to fix that Godforsaken house I live in and improve it in 2026, have so many things to do. And again, we have a limited budget to do it. This would be like spending 75% of my budget on a front door because I thought it was nice and had a front little window and was like fancy looking, right? I can't spend $5,000 on a front door with all the things I need to do in my house. And again, the Diamondbacks can't spend $160 million on a third basement when that's not even a priority for this team.

They kind of have two of those already. Maybe you don't trust Jordan Lawler. Maybe you don't trust Blaze Alexander over there. Or maybe overall you just want to upgrade to an All-Star, a legendary player over there with Alex Breggman. But again, you're not getting an incredible jump in production from what, you know, what Blaze was doing at one point to Alex Breggman's numbers from 2025, not worth $40 million per year, right? So, I mean, again, if I was, if I overall was trying to do this, I would try to extend the budget. but I would add Paul Goldschmidt for $8 million a year at one year if I could, and I would add Sir Anthony Dominguez, who would probably take you probably $15 million,

maybe more than that for a two year, maybe backload the deal, maybe defer, maybe $4 million this season and $11 million next year. I don't know how you can creatively structure it, but my two biggest priorities would be adding Paul Goldschmidt, which brings you a first baseman, which brings you a DH, and which allows you the flexibility of Pavin Smith to perhaps be a D.H. for you. Perhaps Tyler Locklear, when he returns from his injury, can sit under the learning tree of Paul Goldschmidt a bit and also be over there at first base while Paul Goldschmidt DHS. And then again, a bullpen arm is so important. And it's, again, not a lot of players left, not a lot of good players left.

I still believe in Sir Anthony Dominguez. And I think he is a guy that could at least be that bridge. closer that the diamondbacks are seeking until AJ Puck and, you know, Justin Martinez returned. So, I don't know. But overall, I don't know how they're going to do it. And I think that is the main reason why we haven't seen the Diamondbacks make many moves. They haven't made a move yet in 2026. And it doesn't really feel like too much is on the radar besides these continued connections to Alex Bregman, as well as, you know, the news that the Ketel-Marté trade rumors are dying down. So it feels like a very difficult task and one I'm thankful I am not actually in charge of here but again

appreciate your question great question overall and I appreciate you guys always participating in this love you guys for doing that also appreciate Alex Dagestino for everything he's doing over at the p.m. He continues to do an amazing job for us so again if you have not signed up yet you can get the biggest news in Arizona sports in your inbox daily at 6 a.m. Alex has a big day ahead of them writing tomorrow's newsletter. Let me tell you, after all the stuff we've had. I literally messaged him this morning and I said, well, we know what tomorrow's newsletter is going to be about. Great takes over there.

Johnny Venerable, by the way, wrote a great article as well on the Cardinal's season. Make sure to check that out. That was pre-Gannon being fired as well. But the newsletter, again, is completely free. Just sign up at go phtnx.com slash newsletter and get in on it today. Be the smartest sports fan you know. Alex does a great job over there. All right.

we got some questions from the discord as well Leah today what else we got all right next question comes from Karen assuming Catelle does not get traded what do you think is his mental state is going to be for the 2026 season will he be focused and engaged or angry and unfocused I mean can you blame him could you could you blame Cateau Marte for being a little angry and unfocused this season I don't think he will. But I think that after, you know, being essentially the biggest trade rumor all season, all offseason, it has to be hard to come back and, you know, I guess, you know, feel loved, feel wanted. I hope he does from the fan base because the fan base overall was so against this. It was so anti-trading could tell that I hope he can feel that love. I know that he's also kind of

joked about it a little bit on his Instagram there about not being a good teammate as well as some other things. So I personally think Marte is a professional at the end of the day. And I think that he is very good at kind of blocking out the noise.

This noise, I just think, was a lot. It was very loud. It's hard for any player to ignore. I think we discussed it a little bit, but Mike Hazen alluded to their needing to be a little bit of a repair here, perhaps being some, you know, perhaps there being some apologies needed and a discussion that needs to happen between him and Catele, Marte. But again, Catell is just an incredible

player and one that I think we should all be thankful for if he's still part of this team after all these trade rumors die down. I've said it before, though. I can understand Marte kind of having some resentment going forward. It's not easy to get passed. having trade rumors be this loud. I personally think he'll probably come out and have a career year. I think he's going to come out. And if he's angry, he might be a combination of the two. It might be angry, but also incredibly focused. And, you know, I don't know. I just feel like sometimes when Kattel is angry, he's also very dangerous. So we'll see what happens with his season and how that happens. But more importantly, I just can't wait for this trade rumor deadline to come.

and go. I can't wait for Mike Hazen to officially announce the end of Cattel Marte trade season so that we can all move on with our lives and not worry about this very, I think, dumb thing happening. But anyway, what else we got, Leah? We got one from Katie May. All right. Next question. Yes, from Katie May. Similar to Rich's question, Hazen and everyone preach the end of the season was an opportunity for the young guys to prove themselves and their place. I think Blaze worked hard and earned his place. Why are we supposedly looking to replace a guy who proved himself?

Does he not have a place or was that all just lip service? I personally think that this entire Alex Breggman situation has come from Ken Kendrick. And I know that there is a lot of times where we wonder, you know, exactly how the Diamondbacks get involved with some of the, these players, right? I think that in some cases, there might be phone calls happening directly to ownership. In other cases, I think it just might be a personal interest overall. I think that when Breggman made it known that he wanted to play in Arizona, I feel like it piqued the interest of Uncle Ken. And I think Ken Kendrick wants Breggman because you sometimes as a person covet a player, especially a player that's made it known publicly in the past that he wanted to be a diamondback,

a player that's made it known in the past that he wanted to be drafted by the diamondbacks and that he forever wears the number two like a scarlet letter to remind himself of the fact that he was drafted second and not by the diamondbacks after Dansby Swanson, right? So I don't know. I think that I don't know if the diamondbacks are looking to replace Blaze. But I do think that again, if you're talking about, about spending all this money on a third baseman, I agree completely with Katie that this is stupid because the Diamondbacks have that. That already feels like a guy that is developing and becoming better every time he's out on the field.

He is a guy that is very much the future of third base. And after Gino Svarez left, he made us not miss Gino too much, right? Like his production was strong. His defense was probably better than Gino's. and you just felt like the Diamondbacks had found themselves another one, right? But then things got complicated with Jordan Lawler playing third and, and, you know, Blaze being moved around and such. So I really don't think that they think less of Blaze,

and I don't think it was lip service. I truly think that he is becoming part of the core, and 26 is going to be a huge year for him to prove himself and to continue to be able to be the star we think he can be on an everyday basis. right but you know I I agree with you it's the reason why this Alex Bregman thing hasn't made sense this entire time and it's the reason why I continue to say you know this is this is not a smart move for this team so that's where I feel like we sit but I don't know I'm with you there

blaze blaze probably doesn't feel any ways about it because it is Alex Bregman and it is just rumors but again the like the Cattel Marte situation. I myself wouldn't feel great about being shopped around or have all these rumors about me being shopped around or traded or part of trade rumors. Wouldn't feel great about the rumors being about the Diamondbacks potentially replacing me at third base either.

So again, these are humans. They have feelings. They can be impacted by this stuff. Let's get one more in, Leah, and then let's get out of here. What do we got? All right. We got Stephen bananas.

The NFL had some surprise teams make the playoffs this year. Panthers, Patriots, Jagars, Bears, who are some surprise teams you could see in the postseason come this MLB season? I kind of love football for that reason, right? Like, it's boring for baseball to be dominated by the top teams as long as it seems like it's going to be dominated for. The Astros are one of those teams. You know, the Dodgers are obviously one of those teams. It feels like the Blue Jays are positioning themselves to be a powerhouse for years to come.

So I love the parody of the NFL. And I do think that there is some fun to be had in baseball as well. I feel like an upstart team. Well, probably not a surprise. The Orioles, right? The Orioles immediately strike me as a team that did a lot this offseason to change them. I don't know if they're going to be like a surprise team. I think a lot of people might feel like the Orioles are going to be much better next year than they were last year.

But I've seen some teams. kind of active. I don't know again, if you want to talk about the Braves, I think that the Braves are going to rebound and the Braves are going to be better. I also think that the Miami Marlins are an exciting young team. They do want to add more to this team as well. They did get Pete Fairbanks. And when you look at the Miami Marlins, they had their struggles with the bullpen as well last year. So that's a team that I'm actually worried about. You know, when you talk about the Braves getting better and you talk about, you know, the Marlins getting better in the National League. That's just two more teams that you feel like the Diamondbacks are going to have to contend with for a wildcard spot.

You have the Mets who are not relenting at all in their pursuit, and you feel like, you know, again, maybe two of the teams in the National League East that don't win that division are going to be a problem for this Diamondbacks team. Phillies, perhaps the Marlins, perhaps the Brewers or, excuse me, perhaps the Braves. you know, this is, uh, this is something that I, I am worried about. But again, that's, that's the wild card situation. The wild card seems to be kind of fun in baseball and it feels like whoever, uh, can kind of get into the playoffs there in those wild card spots that it can be, you know, a, a fun, you know, difference maker, especially the way that Diamondbacks got in, made it all the way to the World Series in 2023. Um, but again, NFL just has more parity.

NFL just has that ability. They have the shorter schedule and injuries have a much bigger impact on an NFL season than they do a baseball season, though. I mean, maybe you could also say that it's harder to overcome an injury over 162 games than it is over a 17 game schedule. But it's fun. It's fun. And I think I will say that the NFL is very stupid. They had three teams finish with the exact same record in the NFC South and somehow the Panthers won that division. I need someone to explain that to me like I'm five.

So I don't know. But overall, I think we had one more question, Leah. This one we didn't get in, but we have it on a background, I think, if I'm not mistaken. I think we have two. Oh, we do. All right. If I'm not mistaken, per my instructions from Shane. Oh, what else we got?

Let's see. Oh, no, nothing there. All right. Okay, wait, there is one more. There's more. All right. All right. Gary the cat said,

oh, let's go, Gary. In 2020, I'm resolving to be more positive. In a division where the abhorrent fiscal juggernaut that is the Dodgers keeps division title hopes out of reach for approximately the next five centuries, what are three things as Deepak's fans can be positive and excited about for this team going into the season? Well, oh, that's, I don't know. Okay, so first, very first thing, road trip to Mexico City. No matter what, we as a family are all taking a road trip to Mexico City. Gary, you're in. I don't know if cats need a passport, make sure get that figured out and get that handled before then.

But I do think that that is something that's fun. Also, I will say that the Diamondbacks just don't really have a lot of expectations. And I think that this team has not played well when those expectations are there. And they've actually been very good at times when they are the underdog and aren't expected to do anything good and bring us any happiness, bring us any joy. So with the expectations being fairly low for 2026, I think the pressure is kind of off. And this team can maybe get back to what their identity was as far as base running, defense, playing together as a team and winning baseball games. More importantly, I hope that, you know, again, this bullpen cannot be cursed any longer. And perhaps all of these young guys that are getting an opportunity realize how big this opportunity is for them.

And maybe we can see two or three of them take that step forward, grab that brass ring and become. you know, reliable parts of the, you know, of the relief pitching staff for this team. That's really what they need. They can't add enough relievers through free agency or trades to improve this bullpen enough. But you feel like there's opportunity and excitement. These young players definitely have an opportunity here to change their career, change their life. And it's, it's not going to be blocked by the Diamondbacks going out there and adding a bunch of big free agents. It's, it's wide open for them. That goes for Jordan Lawler. That goes. That goes for Blaze Alexander. It goes for lots of guys. It goes for guys that are in Reno right now.

It goes for Ryan Waldschmidt, who we hope to see by the end of this year. There's just so many opportunities. And again, I personally love pro wrestling and baseball for the same reasons. And that is seeing people kind of live that dream and go from being a virtually unknown, you know, nobody to the next big star on a team like the Diamondback. So that's fun as well. But if I was going to give you the real reason that next year it's going to be fun it's going to be because we're going back to the pool again and we're going to have ourselves another pH and X D-backs takeover of the pool so regardless of how they do in the first half we will eventually get to that pool where we're all be together we'll be having a great time in the pool suite and we won't really care about anything except whether

or not Shane brings that weird baby with him again which I don't know if it cursed the diamond backs or if it made them a completely different team. They did lose last year when we went to the pool, but it was still worth it for the baby. It really was worth it for the baby. And I mean, again, Josh Naylor did have a baby shortly after that. Not sure the baby impact there, but Shane's weird and he's also kind of magical.

So anyway, we appreciate you guys so much. Thank you to Leah for stepping in on a very busy day around here. You did an excellent job. You got the save today. So we thank you for not. Let's go. Thank you for not blowing this game very much. You can follow her at Leah and Merrill. You can follow me at Kp underscore Caveman with a K. Of course, our show is at PHNX underscore D-BACs,

but as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore Sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We appreciate you guys so much for stopping by. It's a big day around here. So, of course, we got lots of news happening. Make sure to not miss out on the Cardinals show, Sun Show, all this stuff we got going on. So, again, we appreciate your time. We thank you guys so much. Those of you that are supporters club members, thank you guys for your membership.

We appreciate you all. So again, we'll see you guys back here tomorrow with another 12 p.m. show. Until then, have yourselves a wonderful evening. And remember, kids, baseball is fun. But it's so much more fun when you appreciate your manager a little bit, Killer X.