PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - D-backs Lose ANOTHER Starting Pitcher to IL Ahead of HUGE Cubs Series

Episode Date: August 24, 2026

Even when the Arizona Diamondbacks win, they still somehow manage to lose. Before beating the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday to secure the series win, the D-backs announced that starting pitcher Michael Soroka is headed back to the 15-day injured list with right arm inflammation. We break down what Soroka’s latest injury means for an already-thin starting rotation and whether this is finally the setback that could sink the Snakes’ season. Plus, we preview the upcoming series with the Chicago Cubs, including why the D-backs absolutely cannot let PCA beat them. And, of course, it’s Mailbag Monday! We answer your questions about Jordan Lawlar potentially leading off, how many games the Snakes need to win to make the ‘Yoffs, and more. BECOME A DIEHARD: gophnx.com/join 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/collections/phnx-locker 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/ 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 BBPHNX15 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 visit https://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotes 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 40% 2+ pairs of 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.

Sure, the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Reds and won the series against them, but at what cost once again, the Diamondbacks have yet another starting pitcher now headed to the IL, and Damon and I are going to discuss if this team is in fact cooked. We're going to talk about all of it right now. Don't you go anywhere. PHNX Diamondbacks podcast live from Studio A. And you don't get the electric, Derek, and the electric live in here like you do over there. But regardless, I'm still here on a Monday morning, a day that,

In fact, I thought was a Sunday when I woke up. No, there's no worse way to start your week off than that. But welcome it, folks. This is the PHNX Diamondback show. My name is Derek Montia. Occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. I'm not alone. I got you wonderful people here in the live chat on a Monday morning.

And I also am joined by the one, the only, the incomparable Damon dog on the ones and twos. Bark, bark to you, Damon. I know this weekend was a weird series of events for the Diamondbacks overall. But we're going to get around all of it. This show, of course, is brought to you by the fine folks over at game time. Go use that code of PHNX when you sign up, get yourself $20 off your first purchase for creating an account. Terms do apply, but do make sure you do all of that. Oh, this team, it's a saga, isn't it?

Right? When you think things are going well, they aren't going well, at least so well for the Diamondbacks. And that was the case this weekend with finding out. that Michael Soroka is now headed back to the 15-day IL with right arm inflammation. This is pretty terrible considering that this isn't necessarily the injury that Soroka left for the first place. It was a glute injury that prevented Soroka from being in the starting rotation, and now the Diamondbacks are once again without one of their starting pitchers. But we'll get to that here shortly. The most important thing is the Diamondbacks have 69 wins.

and if you've been watching this show, you definitely know that I'm not mature enough to really make it through a whole episode without that becoming a problem. But we'll try our best. They do improve to 69 and 62 this season. And it was their 39th comeback win of the season, which is just one comeback win short of the Major League leading Cubs, who currently have 40 comeback wins after being down two to nothing. in yesterday's game and then winning that one, what, like,

what did they end up putting 20 runs up on the board before that one was over? I'm not looking forward to playing that baseball team at all. They also lost the series. They did lose the series. They are four and six in their last 10 games, and we are going to preview the series with the Cubs as well, and have answers to your mailbag Monday questions. But, of course, Jason says the vibes are meh after a win.

That's bonkers. Well, again, it's hard to be extremely excited about the future of this team right now with another loss to the starting pitching rotation, especially now at a time where losses, as far as the roster is concerned, are crucial and can be backbreaking for this team right now. But you're right. You're right. The Diamondbacks did win the series against the Reds. They did win yesterday. Like I said, their 39th comeback victory after falling behind three to nothing for the majority of the game. The offense finally broke through late and the bullpen completely shut down Cincinnati. The win moved the Diamondbacks to 69 and 62 and keeps them right there in the NL wildcard race.

But Mitch Bratt, again, struggled early and he is not a problem. I mean, it does feel like Brat is bending and not breaking, but he did allow three runs on five hits and just the first three innings. He had three walks and three strikeouts. Again, walks were a strength for Brat when he was in the mom. minors, so they continue to be a problem, you know, now for him in the majors. And the Red's got some early hits there from Sal Stewart getting an RBI single and then a two-run single from. We know it's Gino. But Corbyn Carroll did start the comeback for the Diamondbacks, and Carol tripled, once again, his 16th triple of the year.

As the boys over at talking Jake, talking John Boy put it, he's lapping the field here. It was his 16th triple of the year. The next closest player is a grouping of, I think, four guys that all have seven triples. That's how far ahead of the pack that Cotel or Corbyn currently is. Look at me. I can't stop thinking about Cotill Marte. That's how ahead of the pack Carol is. And again, it scored on a Gabriel Moreno sack fly to get the Diamondbacks on the board.

They eventually put up five runs to make a three nothing total with a big. seventh inning. Arizona erupted for four runs in the seventh. Tawa singled Jordan Lawler, single James McCann with a crazy walk to load the bases. And then Lars Neubar grounded out to bring in one run, El-Damaro Vargas, aka the fabulous Las Vargas, came through with a monster hit ripping a two-run triple down, right down Broadway to give Arizona its first lead of the afternoon. Legacy A.B. Derek. Not only was it a Legacy A.B. But it was a That saved my life. That's a show defensively from the Reds as well.

For sure, for sure. But that saved my, that saved my effing life. I was so scared about, I was like, well, the playoffs are gone with 30 games left. That was how I was feeling

watching from my couch. What a moment for the, for I was fired up. Especially like with him doing like the, getting the crowd going on third base after the triple. Archie Bradley vibes, bro. For sure. For sure.

And then of course, Carol brought in Vargy with a sack fly that made it five to three, which is how the game ended. And the bullpen again, nails. Arizona's relievers combined for six scoreless innings, allowing the debacks to get back into this game. And once again, you cannot say enough about what the bullpen has done for this team this year. Kevin Ginkel closed it out for his second save. It was not, wasn't exactly stress-free. But regardless, it was an important win.

And it was a resilient win. I mean, I know that they've shown that resiliency all season long, and especially given the news that they were given before the game, it's just more bad news that this team continues to receive. And the debacks, again, get a shaky start from Brat. Couldn't do much offensively against Abbott there for the Reds, and then the bottom of the lineup helped flip the game once again, as they've done so many times over the last two months.

Vargas is the absolute hero yesterday, and Corbyn Carroll, again, continues to find that consistency that he's been lacking over the last two months. So it's just great to see him involved in both the sixth and the seventh inning rallies there. And again, a big reason why this team won this game was because of Corbyn Carroll and the bullpen. But more importantly, let's get to the bad news. Moreno's hitting streak ended yesterday. Marino went 0 for one with two walks. And his 15 game hitting streak was the second longest by D-BAC's catcher.

franchise history, second to an 18-game hitting streak that Miguel Montero had back in 2011. But again, that's just a little bit of bad news. The real bad news, Damon, today, is the Michael Soroka news. Michael Soroka was placed on the 15-day IL with right arm inflammation. Again, a different injury than the one that he was originally put on the IL for, which was a glute injury. and at the very least, Harardo Carrillo was recalled. So that's a name that a lot of people

didn't want to see get sent down when he got sent down to the miners. And it's good to see him back because he is someone that absolutely pitched in a way where he did not deserve to get sent down. It was more of just, you know, options and factors. But it's hard for this Michael Soroka situation not to feel bad, Damon.

This feels bad. This feels, I don't want to say that this is like season ending, but I mean, it's a guy that hasn't pitched a lot of innings for a lot of years and he pitched a good amount this year. And like now you're starting to see the effects of that, it seems like. So yeah, it's it's pretty discouraging at the moment to see him go out with another injury here. As far as if you're looking at the playoffs and you're looking at how, you know, pitchers might match up in the postseason. I think this means that, and I don't want to say Michael Soroka is done for a potential postseason run because it is just the 15 day I help. But it's hard to know if he will in fact be back before the end of the season. And more importantly, it's hard to know if he would be back in time for a potential playoff run, postseason run.

But I think that what this means, and you guys are going to hate this so much, is that the dimebacks are going to need Zach Gallen. back. And as much as like, again, that... Or Corbyn Burns. Well, I'm saying right now they need, at the bare minimum, they need another starting pitcher, right? Because without Michael Soroka, they need a fifth guy. They could turn to Cole Drake, call him back up, recall him back up. But from everything that we heard, Zach Gallen was back to his throwing program. And it sounded like, you know, the way that things were trending was that Gallen was going

to be back and that you know Mike that that that we were going to get corbin burns back and when we were discussing that we didn't know how this was all going to play out obviously it felt like that gallon was the odd man out even though you know merrill kelly has had some poor performances as well recently and he's not free of blame as far as having a poor season as well i mean merrill kelly i think probably has close to if not the worst qualified era of starting pictures It's number one right now. It's number one right now. So that feels not good.

And then we'd get the other guy that was also number one, as far as worst ERA is in baseball back. I'm just saying that from the perspective of needing bodies. Like obviously, if Corbyn Burns comes back, there's your fifth man. But do you continue to put Mitch Bratt out there over a healthy Zach Gowan? Do you feel like Zach Gowan maybe gives you a better chance to win than what Mitch Bratt has been doing lately?

Mitch Brad has not been perfect. I mean, he has not been giving you very much length and he has been giving up runs. But it still feels like there is a, you know, he's able to keep it under control. He's able to at least give you a chance to win. But it doesn't seem like the Diamondbacks really leave him out there long enough for him to let things completely unravel either.

So there's that as well. I also agree with what some of you guys are saying. I mean, Ernesto wants El-Kaiman. We want Jose Cabrera back. And that's a possibility as well. I'm not saying it's not. But it does feel like the Diamondbacks might have to turn to Gallen. If Soroka doesn't return before the end of the year,

it doesn't return for the postseason, then we're looking at the Diamondbacks playoffs, postseason run, kind of hanging on a Corbyn's return, Eduardo Rodriguez, continuing to be as good as he's been all season long, and Brandon fought probably being our next guy in the starting rotation, right? I mean, is that, that's the three you would go with if, if Corbyn Burns was healthy. Yeah, I mean, Brandon, I think that we were having this conversation like not that long ago, Derek, where I was saying you almost have like a, if Sorok is healthy in pitching well,

Erod is undeniably in the three-man rotation. How on earth could you take Brandon Fought out of it? And Corbyn Burns is the highest paid player on the team. one of the best pitchers in baseball. I think that maybe that would be the three-man rotation, even with a healthy Soroka potentially. But if he's going to be hurt, I don't even think it's really a conversation.

Those are the three guys I'm rolling with in the playoffs. If Burns has enough ramp up time going into the postseason, obviously. That's what we really need to know. Cesar asks, so is Gallen not for sure not coming back? No, it sounded like Zach Gallen was actually getting close to being on, you know, being back, like making a rehab start. I mean, they were putting him around the same time frame as Corbyn Burns, essentially. And that would be, now that we're sitting here on Monday, August 24th, that would be probably in about two weeks.

You know, that's the time frame I imagine that we're looking at for Corbyn Burns return. However, that's me going on nothing. That's me just speculating and saying that based on what the original. show. I mean, and we're honest about it. But it is based on the original like time frame when Corbyn Burns had the setback. So as long as things still line up and there are no further setbacks, I imagine that we should be hearing about both Corbin Burns and Zach Gallin making some rehab starts here within that time period. But AZ Cardin Cards Nerd brings up Brat can't even last more than three to four innings.

And that's the concern. It's not just the fact that he can't give them length, but it is the. resulting butterfly effect on the on the bullpen and how not only do they get taxed because of usage in a game like that, but they get taxed every five days due to Brett going out there. And that's not necessarily a recipe for success for a lot of these guys that have pitched a lot of innings like Ginkle and Loisicaa and some others that have been healthy and in the bullpen all season long, right? But they do have some help because Dray Jameson is returning. He did get reinstated from the 15-day IL. He is back from that right hip inflammation.

And the corresponding move is the Diamondbacks have designated Zach Lattel for assignment. And again, I did see people happy about this. Obviously, Lattel has not had strong performances over his last two outings. And he gave up four earned runs in Saturday's loss and three and two-thirds innings pitched. His ERA is up to 5.21. And for the most part, I felt like the debacks gave him an opportunity. We saw based on his numbers that he had been better out of the bullpen, but was not that in his last two appearances for the debacks.

This does seem to clear the way for Ryan Nelson to possibly return to the bullpen as a long reliever. If that's the option, we had said that once again, we didn't know what the Diamondbacks were going to do with Gowan or Nelson, considering that Lattel seemed to kind of fit that role that they would have Ryan Nelson take on if he was to return to this team early as a reliever rather than coming back as a starting pitcher. But now with Lattel being DFAed, that definitely clears the way there for Ryan Nelson to be that, you know, long relief arm when he does come back from the IL. And again, we should have some updates about that this week.

here with, you know, September right around the corner. But overall, I think that the Diamondbacks are, they don't have a lot of time to hang around and wait for guys to figure things out. Dennis Santana seems to have been able to give them some pretty solid innings. And when you're, you know, in the position the Diamondbacks are in, you kind of have to sift through these guys and find, you know,

which guys are working and which guys aren't. They were good about that last year, but they, you know, they've had some good, good times and bad times this year. Katie asks, I thought Nellie was out for the season. We thought that too, at least initially, when we heard everything we heard about his injury. But it would appear that based on what the nine-and-back said, it sounds like he would only be out for the year if they decided not to bring him back as a bullpen arm because he wouldn't be able to be stretched out as a starter before, you know,

the end of the regular season. So it all depends. Depends on what they decide to do with Nellie. But for the most part, I think they could use some help out of the pen. And again, with someone like Ryan Nelson being able to come out, eat up three innings for you and do it with that fastball that he has, then maybe, you know, he could be a very dangerous weapon for Tori Lavello or, you know, a solution at times for this team.

They can't let these games get away from them. Every single game is important. Every single game is important. You know, Ryan Nelson, like, obviously I think good enough to be a starter at the major league level. And we don't always know how it translates. But like I would love to have him as a bullpen piece if we're going to make the playoffs. Like to me, he's like the, he'd be like the easy option for like, you know, a little bit of a long relief spot, especially with that fastball. Like you said, Derek, where you don't need as heavy of a pitch mix as you do as a starter.

Well, we'll see. Easy cards nerds ask when is Ryan Nelson coming back? We don't know that yet. But again, like I said that... He's progressing pretty fast, right? He is progressing pretty fast. He's right there with... Every time we've kind of heard about the progression of these guys,

it feels like Corbyn Burns at Gallen and Nellie are all around the same progression level. I think Nelson was a little behind those guys as far as when he started throwing off of a mound and throwing against live hitters. but I think that they're at that point now where they could expect him back before the end of the year. And it's, again, it could just be a big help there as guys start to get gassed out in the last 15 games of the season. Could also help just in general, you know, Nelly be ready once he gets into the postseason to actually be something that the Diamondbacks can rely on there for sure. But we're going to take a quick break on the other side of this break. are going to preview the upcoming series with the Chicago Cubs,

one game, which we will be taking over Chase Field. And another game, I'm really hoping that the guy that sings our Mailbag Monday song doesn't embarrass us all. So we're going to talk about that on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the P.HNX Diamondback show. Well, we are going on a road trip this week, baby. That's right.

Me, Damon, and Kevin are going to be hitting the road and going to Las Vegas. But you know where we're stopping. You know the true place that we're going is Circle K. multiple times on that road trip. Not only is it where we're going to go fill up for gas, but it is where we're going to get all of our snacks for the road trip. And honestly, we're already putting together a list. We're consolidating.

We're trying to figure out exactly what everybody is into, so we know exactly which circle K snacks to pick out. And I mean, as much as I want, yogurt covered pretzels, do I dare tempt that with how hot it's going to be driving through the middle of the desert? Stay tuned to find out. Of course, you can stop by a circle K right now. fill up get all the snacks i don't know how i feel about you you wanted to take my car now after

hearing that that whole situation we're going to run some experiments in damon's truck that's what we're going to do is it hot maybe we'll see though because it's not my car so i don't really give a crap see what doesn't spill whatever uh ruggdar's right though we're definitely getting trail mix trail mix is a must buy and of course you should stop by circle okay if you're just out and about or if you're going on a road trip to fill yourself up fill your car up and most importantly save right now by joining the Inner Circle Rewards program for absolutely free. Just got to download the app and get enrolled.

Then you use your phone number to save on all sorts of Circle K deals like those 79 cent polar pops and 99 cent frosters, which we will be purchasing on that road trip. So Damon, get out the Scotch card. But of course, make sure to join the Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today.

Terms and conditions apply and participating locations. Visit circlek.com for details. And you got to do your research if you're ever involved in an accident or serious injury because the lawyer you hire does matter. And of course, you want an attorney that's faced off, that that's more concerned with your best interest rather than how much money the firm is going to make. That is the husband and wife law team. That is Mark and Alexis Breyer. Their team brings hundreds of years of combined trial experience along with multiple certified specialists

in personal injury and wrongful death. Their practice is 100% dedicated to injury and wrongful death litigation. They are experienced and specialized and equipped with the expertise to handle every aspect of your case. And they do go to trial for their clients. They know what needs to be done in a courtroom to prevail in front of a jury and they will do so for you. Now they can't guarantee the outcome of any case, but they can't make promises to you as their client, including that you can cancel your fee agreement with them for any reason at any time, that you can speak to one of their lawyers as often as you choose about anything you wish to discuss, including what the Diamondbacks are going to do about their starting rotation. And you have

the right to trust that as your lawyers, they will tell you both the strengths and weaknesses of your claims so that you can make informed decisions. If you've had a serious injury, call the husband and wife law team first at 602-783-8841 or visit their website at the link in our show notes and tell them, PH and X sent you. All right. Jason in the chat says Nightingale reporting that the Marlins fired entire scouting staff. Astros have fired their manager, lots of accountability in the last 24 hours. This is not a dig at Hazen and Tori. I did I didn't think it was until you said it at the end that it wasn't a dig at Hazen and Torrey. Now I'm thinking it is.

I don't know. I don't know how to take that, Damon. But I will say this. Jason, we appreciate you not only for being a supporters club member, but for being a diehard. And for the rest of you, that might not be diehards, now might be your time. Because we have a brand new, I guess, die hard tiers. There are levels to this. There have always been levels to this, but now there are levels to the diehard membership.

You can now become a diehard starting at just $36 for the entire year and get premium written coverage, access to the diehard lounge, and more. Or you can go pro for $80 and get a free annual t-shirt every year, the NFL draft guide, partner perks, and more. Head on over to go phnx.com slash join and choose your level and just level up. Come on. Be a pro, be a level one, whatever you feel like is. There are levels to the levels, as Jason says, absolutely. But we got a big series coming up with the Chicago Cubs,

a series we've been talking about for a very long time because we have a takeover plan during game two of this series. And that takeover is now sold out. So thank you to all of you that have purchased ticket packages. We cannot wait to see all of you guys out there tomorrow. Damon and I will be doing a 12 p.m. show so that we can head over and enjoy the game without having to be held down by the constrictions of a postgame show tomorrow night.

But of course, that's going to be a whole lot of. of fun. Can't wait to see you guys there. It's not going to be easy though. The Chicago Cubs travel well here in Arizona, as many of you know. They're almost as bad as the Dodgers as far as their fans coming to our ballpark. And they are an incredibly good baseball team. If you talk about the Diamondbacks being the never say diebacks, I don't even know what you would say for the Cubs, except for the fact that this team is a juggernaut. They don't seem to lose. It seems like that Chicago White Sox fan that yelled it, PCA a long time ago gave him some sort of superpowers like Marvel style.

I don't know if it was radiation. I don't know exactly what it was, but he's been on a different level and this Cubs team has been on a different level. So this season, of course, they've been playing some good baseball. And the Diamondbacks have a lot to deal with when it comes to their particular roster. Like I said, they have 40 comeback victories this year, which is the most in Major League Baseball. So you can never count this team out. The Diamondbacks match up here with the Cubs who have a 75 and 56 record. They have a plus 115 run differential this season.

And they are 4 and 6 in their last 10 games. So, hey, they're beatable, right? Right? They have a team OPS of 762, which, of course, once again, is first in Major League Baseball. I believe we've played four different teams this year in series where those teams, when we played them, were the number one offense in baseball. baseball. The Dodgers, the Nationals, the Cubs, and there was one more that I'm forgetting right now at the top of my head, but I feel like we are very unlucky about catching these teams when they are hitting the ball extremely well. They have a 4.12 team ERA, which is tied for 15th, but they do have a starting ERA of 4.35, which is tied for 17th and a relief ERA of 3.80, which is 9th. Diamondbacks, meanwhile, have a 4.19. ERA as a staff.

Diamondbacks are third in MLB defensively with 32 outs above average, and the Cubs are first by a wide margin with 62 outs above average. PCA alone has 23 outs above average by himself. PCA alone would probably be the third team in baseball, as far as outs above average are concerned. Mikey Savage wants to know what is an out above average. That's a very good question, actually. Outs above average are where a, let's say, would it be a spectacular play, Damon? Is that how you would kind of? It's a defensive statistic that basically measured how many outs a player saves compared to your average fielder. Right? So it's almost like war, but it's for particular defensive plays made. Yeah, I think that it's like there's like a little bit more like science that goes into it than that. Right. Where it's like there's like actually, they know what like an average.

player type of play. It uses tracking data based on distance, time, direction, expected batting average, launch angle, all of that kind of stuff. Yeah, but essentially spectacular plays is what it boils down to, I guess. Yeah, that's, I mean, it's almost like what we've said about how stupid, you know, errors can be. Because sometimes in baseball, just because you have the athleticism to make a play or come close to making a play, but you don't make it, you could be charged with.

an error whereas a normal gibroni that wasn't even able to range anywhere close to that ball is somehow just, that's just a hit again in that situation because they weren't able to even even come close, if that makes sense. But anyway, I will agree. I will agree with Killer X in this instance. He says, don't worry about it. It's just some pointless nerd stat. That's fair. But it does, it is a defensive metric that does show you some, at least something about, you know, how good these players individually are, how good these teams are. And if they are able to make those spectacular plays that an average player doesn't make, that's one thing that has kept the Diamondbacks, you know, with a winning record all year long, has been their defense. And that's the

reason why when you see them this year, they've been pretty much at number two or number three, as far as outs above average in baseball all season long. But let's go ahead and take a look at the outs above average. Excuse me, out of outst above average. See what you guys are doing to me? Let's take a look at the probable pitchers for this series. This one's pretty important. This is going to be a difficult series. And on top of that, we also have to play Clay Holmes, who we recently found out that Diamondbacks were very much in on at the trade deadline.

But it would have cost us one Ryan Walschmidt. One Ryan Walshment? I don't know if I wanted to do that, even for Clay Holmes and his. Was it Ryan Walshman? I thought it was Cresontes. Oh, yeah, it was Cresontas for the. I was thinking in general about, what other teams wanted.

But yeah, one of the new trip is on pace. There was a lot of Walde or Troy having to be involved in like every starting pitcher trade essentially. But the one where we didn't, it was our top prospect. So it's not like it was that much better. But yeah.

Well, we got Merrill Kelly going in game one against another trade candidate that they received in Kevin Gousman, who is 6 and 11 this year with a 4.58 ERA and 143 strikeouts. Meanwhile, Merrill Kelly drags that 5.3. 3-7 ERA into this game.

And like Damon and I have said, time and time again, he is 8 and 11, and the Diamondbacks win or lose, based on Merrill Kelly's performance in any given start, it feels like. He heavily impacts that record versus, you know, what you could say about someone like Erod, who the Diamondbacks have won 20 out of 26 starts

that Erod has made. And he still, meanwhile, has a 13-4 record. Brandon Fott will be going up against Clay Holmes there in game two. Brandon Fott has his 3.39 ERA, 7 and 1 record this year going up against Clay Holmes, very good 2.49 ERA, 5 and 6 record for him. And then last but not least, in the finale, Eduardo Rodriguez taking on Matthew Boyd. Matthew Boyd somehow 4.15 IRA, but an 8 and 2 record. Erod continues to be extremely good with his 13 and 4 record and his 2.61 ERA.

And that fought, Erod back to back is the key. Fod has obviously been one of the DBAQ's most reliable starters lately. and Erod is just having an outstanding season. Meanwhile, Gausman has struggled since joining Chicago at the deadline. He posted a 4.58 ERA. And after a strong debut for the Cubs, he hasn't completed five innings in either of his last two starts. So Monday might actually be the game that Arizona needs to steal with Merrill Kelly out there. That needs to be the one that they shock.

I say Monday, but today is what I look, like I told you, I didn't even think today was Monday when I woke up this morning. But today's game is the one they need to steal because, of course, the pitching matchups do get stronger after today, and things are only going to get more difficult for this offense. Brandon Fott, you feel like, is going to give them a chance to go up against one of the Cubs' best starters. But the Diamondbacks bullpen might be the key here as well, because they have a 4.13 ERA this season,

and they are operating still with that closer by committee since Seawald exited Juan Morillo and Jonathan Lwizaga have been. among the more reliable options and, you know, Kevin Ginkle's gotten some options there or opportunities there in the ninth inning as well. But the reason I bring up the bullpen is because of the comeback victories. The Cubs have been able to put together. They do not say die. They do not relent.

And the Cubs lineup is exactly the type of offense that can expose a shaky bullpen or can prove that this bullpen is for real. This series is incredibly important to prove a lot of things. about the Diamondback season. And I think we've said that time and time again, but there are tests along the way. Some the Diamondbacks have passed. Some they've passed with flying colors.

Others, they've absolutely failed at times. That's what makes this team so difficult to still figure out. The loss of Soroka is a blow. It does suck and it does feel like this is going to make it that much harder for the debacks to keep up with the Phillies who never seem to lose a game ever since I ran my stupid mouth and the Padres who are also winning a bunch of baseball games. as well. So the Diamondbacks at this point, they just can't afford to let the Cubs get back into

these games. If they can somehow take an early lead, they can't be demoralized by a Cubs comeback victory. They have to find a way to hold on and hold the Cubs off for a series win here at home. And again, they need to win practically every series between now and the end of the season. There are 31 games left in the Diamondbacks' 2026 season. And if they want them to be more, they have to win a lot of those games. So the biggest keys here is that tonight's game, tonight's game really does feel like it, with Merrill Kelly being out there and being the big unknown, right?

Like, what are we going to get out of Merrill in this start? That seems to be the question every time Kelly's on the mound. But if we can beat Gousman with Kelly on the mound, it gives them, you know, it gives you hope. It gives you some very positive feelings. tonight's win is very big. They can't let PCA beat us in this series. He's got a bunch of home runs.

He's coming off a huge weekend. Just got to keep him off the basis. He's the MVP. He's the National League MVP by far. And again, I'm not going to do the disrespect thing because it's not the Dodgers. Can you imagine trading that guy and being a Mets fan? You traded PCA?

I cannot. I cannot imagine that. Didn't you trade PCA for Javi Baez for like half a year? Yeah. Yeah, they did. Oh my God. Anyway. And of course, they have to get to the starting pitching early.

You know, the starting pitching seems to be the weakness. Their bullpen is pretty good. And again, it feels like their starters have given up some runs. So it feels like they're susceptible to that, especially, you know, Gousman going here in the first game. So believe it or not, it's a winnable series for the Diamondbacks. And even though the Cubs might seem better on paper, the pitching really does seem to favor the Diamondbacks a bit here in this series. So again, just about trying to reverse some of this position in the wild card.

And by bringing the Cubs back down, you know, it opens up that first wildcard spot to being another option, which right now the Cubs have a pretty substantial lead on the pack. So it would definitely help to bring them back down by, by beating them and helping us all catch up to the Chicago Cubs. But anyway, that's what we got right now. We're going to take a quick break. On the other side of this break, we are going to do what we do every Monday on this show

and we'll do until the end of time. Don't you go anywhere. You are watching the P.HNX Diamondback show. I told you guys to root for Ryan Blaney the last time we spoke about Phoenix Raceway. You did. Did you listen to me? Because I hope you did.

And if you did, and if you became a fan, you got to watch this man win yesterday in New Hampshire, his second lobster in a row. And when I say lobster, it's a real lobster. Damon, they gave this man a real lobster. That's like when you win in like, what is it? Daytona, when they give you the milk or whatever.

It's their version of that. Oh, yeah. You get Lodontal lobster, baby. And that's what Ryan Blaney's taken home. He's going to put that lobster up on the wall next to the other lobster he got last year. What should they have in Phoenix when you win the Phoenix raceway, Derek? We got to come up with something good, Arizona-related. Electric for it.

that. Yeah, I mean like a winning wreath around your neck made of cacti. I don't know. Maybe the loser. That's what they get. That's what the loser gets. That's what last place gets for sure. That's what we put on Ryan Blaney's pit crew because they're awful. I said it. I don't care. He won in spite of you guys, not because of you. You literally forgot to put on four tires. You only put on two. And because of that he won. But it was a mistake. Let's be honest. You are lucky he won that race. This is how into NASCAR I am now. And if you want to be this into NASCAR, come on out. October 16th through the 18th, you'll witness some of the most electric racing you've ever seen because the chase returns to Phoenix Raceway this October. That's right. You're going to come out for the Freeway Insurance 500 and experience all of the thrilling smell, sounds, and excitement that you will get from NASCAR racing. And most importantly, this is it. This is playoff time. This is where everything is on the line. And the chase returns to Phoenix Raceway, October 16th through the 18th. Watch NASCAR's championship contenders battle at the Freeway Insurance 500.

and one of the most critical races on the road to the championship at this iconic track right here in Phoenix. And if you want the best access in motorsports, come on down, go inside the garage, walk the track, meet the drivers, and catch the pre-race concert with the Desert Diamond Casino in-field experience. Get down on all of this action. Secure your seats at phoenixraceway.com. That's phoenixraceway.com. Every lap counts. Every point matters.

The chase at Phoenix Raceway, October 16th through the 18th. You know I'll be there. And I'll be rocking a much bigger mustache than this one in honor of Ryan Blaney. But speaking of tickets and going to events, game time is your app to do that. Game time is the app that gives fans the advantage of constant innovation. It's how you will unlock amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps. The game time guarantee means you get 100% authentic tickets on time at the best price. No surprises.

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Because every year on this podcast is our year. Every year is the year of the snake. This little guy right here. Every month on this podcast is Hispanic Heritage Month. Every week on this podcast is Shark Week. And what's funny about that is sharks don't even celebrate Shark Week, but we do. And every day on the PHNX Diamondbacks podcast is Earth Day because Damon and I recycle. But on Mondays, we go to the mailbag and we do it in hopes that the guy singing the song

doesn't embarrass us when he throws out the first pitch on Wednesday. Damon, let's go to the mailbag. Shout out, of course, to my mailbox. Shout out, of course, to my guys. Guy McGaran who is going to be throwing out the first pitch on Wednesday and was getting that working yesterday. We were trying. I'll tell you, he's got himself a decent arm.

He's a lefty too. So I'm just throwing this out there. If we need another bullpen arm now that AJ Puck isn't going to come back, maybe let's sign him to a 10 day or something like that. So it's going to be a lot of fun seeing him do that. And again, there are a lot of people that he can't let down because we are going to roast him in multiple group chats. if he does let us down.

But Damon, let's go to the mailbag. What do we got here first? Our first question comes from Travis Moore, who says, I'm frustrated that this is shaping up like 2024 where the debacks did well but missed the playoffs ultimately because other teams wouldn't stop winning as well. Not going to lie, Travis. I'm starting to feel very, very similarly about that.

I can unfortunately see a world where Arizona has 89 wins and still misses again. Agree or disagree. I guess I just let my thoughts note on that. You did very much let your thoughts know. And if the Diamondbacks win every single game the rest of the season, they'll still find a way to miss playoffs. They'll win 100 games, right? And somehow like every other team would have 101 wins, it feels like.

That's exactly what would happen. So I don't know. I mean, again, maybe if dumb podcasters wouldn't run their mouths about the Phillies gassing out and not making the playoffs, maybe they wouldn't have won, oh, what is it? Nine? nine games in a row? And then there's the Padres. And we know what the Padres do to us every single year.

Just for them to go to the playoffs and lose like the losers that they are that have never won a championship. A bunch of ringless bums. But it's hard not to feel that way. I mean, we've been here too many times before. And it does feel like this season is playing out the way that we saw 2025 play out. though you could say the vibes in 2025 were much different. This team had given up by the trade deadline. We were a fire sale.

And then they just started performing well enough to make us believe on the other side of the trade deadline that this team was good enough to possibly make the postseason only for them to ultimately let us down. 24, as you said, was more of the, they won enough games, they should have been in, and they weren't. And, you know, you could even argue that for 23, that they had no business making it

and a Cubs collapse late was what allowed them to make it in. There's a lot of baseball to play. So as much as it feels that way, I do once again think that the Diamondbacks control somewhat of their own destiny considering that they still play the Phillies and they still play the Padres ahead of them. They have to win against those teams

or else it is over, especially by the time they get to the Padres there in the final series of the season. But you could argue, you know, a series loss to the Phillies or getting swept by the Phillies when they play them coming up here would be the nail in the coffin most likely. And even though I say that, and even though that's the way things would feel, mathematically they still wouldn't be eliminated and they could still surprise us and turn things around

and find a way to get in. They're close enough and scrappy enough that I do feel like this team is going to at least be there fighting for a postseason spot when the last week of the season comes around. But where they're at, how close they're at, that's a whole other discussion. Hopefully, we're talking about them, you know, getting a hold of one of those spots and holding on to that. And it starts here with this series with the Cups. What else we got, Damien? Our next question here is from Evil Michael, who says, should Jordan Lawler lead off?

Also, I have a wrestling analogy for this Cattel situation. Corbyn Carroll is going to make a hot tag to Cattel. He jumps off the apron and walks away with disgusts. cementing his heel turn. Yeah, okay. We'll dive into these one at a time. First, let's do, should Jordan Lawler lead off? No.

I don't think Jordan Lawler has shown us enough offensively or even on the base path to suggest that he should lead off. Am I off base with that? You know, I think that I like what I've seen out of Jordan Lawler this season. He's had a little bit of a slower start getting back. So I think it might be kind of, you know, maybe a bit much to toss him into that leadoff spot immediately. He's looked better the last couple games in particular.

But yeah, I mean, I guess I probably wouldn't move him up this fast unless it was like desperate times. I could talk myself into that being a future move. No, I mean, I don't dislike the idea of it. It's just more that like he just got back from injury. He's had like two good games since he got back. Maybe let's just let him ease into it a little bit more so, I guess. That's fair. That's fair. And then addressing the second part of that, Damon, just to.

heel turn. Yeah, I'll pull this out to you. So a hot tag in pro wrestling. Yeah, thank you. Explain it to me like I'm, like I'm like like you're five. No, explain it to the people who don't know what that is. Because it's not Damon. Damon's a day. I obviously know wrestling and know all the terminology and everything, but there's probably plenty of people who don't understand. So explain it to them. He doesn't even call it pro wrestling. He calls it pro grapes. That's how into it, Damon is. But really when it comes down to it, a hot tag is in a tag match. Usually one guy gets stuck in there, especially if it's the baby face. team like the Diamondbacks are and that would be Corbyn Carroll in this in this instance. Corbyn Carroll would be the guy working the other tag team, the heel tag team. This case, let's say it's the, I don't know, Boston Red Sox, right? They're out there working Carroll. He's trying to crawl. He's trying to crawl back to the corner, but they keep pulling him back. They grab his leg.

They come back. Eventually, Corbyn Carroll, bam, one super kick, two super kicks, freeze himself from the grasp of the evil Boston Red Sox comes over on his on his hands and knees coming over to Catell for the tag. is supposed to come in and get that hot tag, which means he's the guy that's ready. He's rested. He's prepped.

He's ready to come in the game and just take everyone out. And instead, in true bad guy fashion, Cotel reaches his hand out. And as Corbyn goes to touch it, he pulls it back. And he drops himself down off the side of the ring. Maybe gives Cotel a one-finger salute as he walks away and watches the Boston Red Sox Mall Corbyn, you know, and get the pin.

And then their tag teams broke up. Now they have to feud. Now it's going to be six months as single wrestlers going up against each other. And it's a whole thing. In this case, it might be a little bit much, but probably a fair metaphor for Cattel. He deserves that. He deserves it. What else we got?

Ed Holinsky asks, of the remaining 31 games, how many do you think the debacks must win to get into the playoffs? Somewhere between 20 and 25. 25 and 6 would be What a run. That would be like A's and Moneyball-Ball-esque Only for them to fall two games short of weighing the playoffs. Yeah, I mean, I tend to think if you win about two-thirds of your games, you have a pretty good shot.

But, you know, as it was highlighted by Travis' first question, it does feel like we could win, you know, 20 out of these 31 games and still be like one game short of making the playoffs here and that'd be pretty tough. It's felt like 90 wins was what was going to get you in all season long. I don't know if it's going to take that many. And I will say that if you do want hope, I know someone brought up the strength of schedule.

I don't know which strength of schedule that was. That wasn't necessarily what the strength of schedule looked like for the Diamondbacks at one point, who had one of the easiest strength of schedule in baseball. But you could say that, you know, the Phillies have a much tougher road ahead. And, you know, even, you could even suggest the Padres have tough. for matchups on their, you know, on their schedule left than the Diamondbacks.

So even though right now doesn't look great, I feel like, you know, if you win 20 more games and you reach 89 victories this year, it's hard to imagine this team not making it, right? So hopefully they can pull that off. Schedule's tough. And of those 20 games that they would have to win, four would probably have to come against the Phillies and the Padres for me to truly feel like this. team, you know, would have a chance.

But we won't know if that's the case until all is said and done. All right, Damon, let's get one more in and then we'll take a quick break. What else we got? We got Jason asking is, this is for our host and the chat. Why are the D-Backs, the team you follow? I move my family here and wanted something to connect us to the community. DeBacks team culture and fans are family-friendly, Chase is safe. And when the vibes are high, they're electric.

I mean, I think really what it came down to is like for me, and again, not bringing too much of my personal life into it, but my wife and I met in 2001. That's how long we've been together. We have been together now for 25 years. And if you could only keep one ring, which one you keep in. Why are you doing that to me? Why are you trying to get me divorced on a Monday? I'm sorry, it just, it was too good. I'm supposed to get back the only championship ring Arizona has ever worn. You know what? It was sitting right there. It was very low hanging fruit and I had to ask the question. Take it. But no, she doesn't watch this program, so that's fine.

And nor should she, because she needs her break from you. I'm a lot. I'm a lot. No, but really what it comes down to is like that that was a real year, right? I mean, that was a magical year. And I think that it wasn't immediate that the Diamondback started winning. So this was, you know, 2001 was two years after, you know, after the Diamondback's starting to get good.

Right, 98 was a colossal disaster, and then they won over 100 games in 1999. 1999 is the year that probably most of us got hooked with how good this team was. And the next thing you know, you got Randy Johnson on this team, striking guys out like it's nothing. And legitimately, he was a guy who,

when we acquired him, was supposed to be at the end of his career, was supposed to be an empty gas tank by the time he came to Arizona. And look at all the wonderful things that man did at the age of 40, right? So I think that, you know, when you were watching this team at that time, it was hard not to be hooked. And, you know, it's also, there's something to be said about this being the fastest franchise in sports, period, right?

To ever win a major championship? I think the Diamondbacks are still the fastest. I know the Golden Knights did it pretty quickly as well, so I'm not sure if they did it faster than the Diamondbacks. But man, I'll tell you, it's hard not to become a lifelong fan of a franchise that went from nothing, literally, not even existing, to being bad just for one year to then being one of the best teams in baseball for three consecutive years leading up to them winning a World Series over the New York Yankees. Like, if you look at the first five years of this team's history, I think I would ask, how could you not be? a fan of this team. If you love baseball, in general, not even if you were living Arizona. I don't know how you couldn't be a fan of what this team did and how much fun they were in that span. So, yeah,

I think that's it for me. But Damon has a different story because Damon's grown up, basically as a fan of this team, his entire life. Yeah. So my dad moved here when he was two to Arizona and my mom has lived in Tucson her whole life. So like, we're very Arizona people. And basically when the debacks were started was right when I was born, 99. Uh, you. you know, 98, inaugural season, 99, first year they make playoffs. I was like two months old in the stands at Bob at the first ever home playoff game as an infant small child. They literally injected it into your veins. I don't really feel like I had much of a choice in the matter, I guess.

It feels like it was kind of just bred into me, which I'm fine with too. It makes it special. There is something about liking the local team because I like some teams that are not local. And you don't have the same connection to them And you don't go to the ballpark for, you know, 200 games throughout your life and whatever. I think that's it. Yeah. You know, especially growing up where the only team we had when I was a little kid was the Phoenix Suns.

And that's why everyone loves the sons here in Phoenix is because that was the team everyone grew up watching. And so I just think that, you know, like for the younger generation of DeBax fans who, you know, they don't remember what Major League Baseball was like before the debacks were a thing. Yeah. It's easier for those people to lock in on the debacks versus like, a baseball fan who already like the Cubs or the Yankees or the Red Sox having to be like, well, I also kind of like the Diamondbacks. And then you're split a little bit.

Yeah. So, you know, I, not that those people aren't real fans either because they very much are. We need every single person we can get. But now you have my mom in here saying that I have no choice. You had no choice. Jane's right, 100%. And Jane, I still owe you a Snoopy bobblehead. Don't you worry.

I want to get that for you. Well, I'm still working on that. But yeah, I mean, again, it's, there's a lot of reasons why I think that, you know, people in this state are fans of this particular team. I think that when all is said and done, there is something to be said about rooting for a team that isn't a perennial winner, right? Like, I've had the chance to see my teams reach the mountaintop,

maybe not summit it, you know, but like struggling and watching the Phoenix Suns through the 2010s and then watching them make the NBA finals, even though they didn't win it was one of the most incredible moments of my life, again, even though we didn't win it. And so was 2023, again, even though we didn't win it. Sports sometimes is about, you know, making you believe anything is possible. And sometimes that making you believe anything is possible is believing that your team can

actually be the championship team when most of the time they have no business even being in that conversation, right? So, again, when you see a team like the Diamondbacks come together, and eventually win it like they did. It's just, it's hard. It's hard not to love them. And love them in a very family-like way where I'm mad at them sometimes.

Sometimes we're not speaking. And sometimes, you know, we're all getting together for dinner on a Sunday night over at Tori's house. That's the beauty of family. Yeah, that is the beauty of family. We're going to take a quick break because most of you are making me feel old in the chat talking about not being born yet.

at the same year that I met my wife. And then when we come back, we're going to do some more mailbag Monday stuff. So don't you go anywhere. You are watching the P.HNX Diamondback Show. Well, if you are looking for the perfect place to hold your fantasy football draft, I got the perfect place for you. It's the same place we're holding our fantasy football draft. And that is Heel of River Resorts and Casinos.

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Dude took him like eight rounds too early, ruined his team. Oh, love it. It's the best. Love it. You don't have the computer to help you with like the next best available player in that situation. You have to know stuff in order to do stickers and a board, right? And you also have to know stuff about your finances in order for you to have financial success. I know that goes without saying, but sometimes in life we don't have that financial guidance. And the perfect place for you to get that is Mountain America Credit Union. The perfect account for you to do that with is the one and only my style checking account,

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What do we got? We got our guy, Sean, here saying, Damon, if you and Kevin haven't set in a set in stone a date for that 24-hour stream, hear me out. You guys do it Saturday. Use the double header in San Francisco to your advantage. have a watch along for both games. Who knows, maybe some kind of mini post game thrown in there for one of them. I don't know, just spitballing here.

This would be an amazing idea if we weren't, in fact, traveling on that day back to Phoenix. Maybe we'd just cancel that and we do the couple letters. First of all, could your 24-hour stream not be about U of A Wildcats? Wouldn't it have to be about your stuff? You can't glom on to my baseball. The thing is, is we can't really do it during like a U-of-A game because we have to do pre-game post-game coverage for that kind of stuff.

So it makes it a lot. little bit difficult the math in that regard. I think that we what we have kind of maybe sat there and tried to like establish for people that are interested. I think we're going to try to do our 24 hour stream during the buy week for Arizona so that we can watch college football on that Saturday. It doesn't get in the way of the rest of our pods that we're doing the rest of that week. And then we kind of have that Sunday to recover afterwards. That was somewhat the plan. I don't think people understand how difficult a 24-hour stream is. No, it's going to be, it's going to be brutal.

Mentally, physically, it's a lot. Yeah, it's, that's going to be tough. I stayed up for like 21 hours, like not that long ago, and it was not a like fun experience. And I wasn't working with a camera and bright lights in my face the entire time. So, yeah. I'll tell you, even sometimes when we have to do a three-hour baseball game as a watch along and then we have to do a post game show afterwards that is a lot for me that is a lot for me

to recover from but yeah as we established several times during this episode and in previous episodes i'm old uh and i'm washed that's the way it is this is true you you are old and washed we'll see who's old and washed when we're in las vegas i don't think kevin or david are going to be able to keep up with me i mean we'll see if you guys have suits packed yeah that's the other thing i'm not putting up with kevin and his crutches this is kevin Kevin's gonna have to hang out at the pool or in his room while you and me go paint the town red damon because i am not waiting for him not waiting for him oh anyway we got one more what we got we got one more question killer x is such a dip shit katy may uh asks any updates on corbin burns and tommy troy this marty stuff is clogging the feed

and i haven't heard anything new on burns except for late august early september projections and i don't know the status of Troy at all. I mean, she's not wrong. We just did a D-backs after dark yesterday where even my guy, you know, Rock is, he didn't want to talk about Marte. He's done

with the whole situation. And I get it. It's a lot. It's a lot to you know, have, distract you from everything else that's going on right now, you know, with this team. But as far as Corbyn Burns is concerned, he threw 20

pitches in a live batting practice session about three days ago. He will throw an in-camp game tomorrow, and then he's expected to throw two innings and 35 pitches. That is the progression from an in-camp game to the next level, which would probably be an Arizona Complex League game, and then probably two rehab starts, and then we could have Corbyn Burns back on this team. As far as Tommy Troy is concerned, Tommy Troy, he has begun playing in camp games as well. That was last updated as of August 12th. So we should be hearing some more about Troy entering some rehab games here soon as well. But yeah, I mean, there's a lot of injuries, a lot of injuries to still deal with as far as guys that are coming back.

There's some guys that we could kind of write off. But Ryan Nelson did throw a 25 pitch bullpen on August 21st and he's scheduled for another one. tomorrow. So again, we'll have some more updates following tomorrow's game or Wednesday's game. And again, Damon and I are not, not doing a post game show tomorrow. So sorry to those of you, that one person that's complaining in the chat. But we will be at Chase Field with so many of our diehards hanging out, having a great time. And who knows? If it's anything like last time we did a takeover and there's a walkoff situation, although that player's not on our team right now. I will take my shirt off.

Derek, we'll take a shirt off, do tarps off, and we probably will come back and do an emergency podcast. So it's very possible we do a post game if things break right. If we feel like it, if we feel like it. That's not doing well for the killer wrecks. I know. I want him to know. I want him to know. All right.

What else we got? Our next question comes from Tusk, who says, do you feel that with Gurriel having some rehab games and struggling that the team will cut him like Santana in order to keep playing Loller and Walschman regularly. I mean, I've thought about this too, especially considering the argument that David and I got into about Carlos Santana, I think about this every single day. But yeah, no, I mean, I have had that thought. I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, Gurriel, like, they can only play Gurriel in so many rehab games before they actually have to do something with them.

So I wouldn't be surprised to see another setback, possibly what Lord is. Like a phony setback? I'm just saying I wouldn't be surprised to see it. I don't just, he's been so, so bad this year. So bad this year when he played for the devax. And I remember we were talking about like, man, this team just needs like decent players. Like thank God Lordus is back. And then he was just like the worst outfielder in baseball.

We got a, I don't know if we can like risk playing him. I genuinely don't. I mean, you're not wrong. And not, not especially not with how athletic this. outfield is right now. Yeah, the defense is awesome. You know, the Walschmidt-Lawler-Corbin combo is pretty good. Tommy Troy, his frozen waffles brings up also a guy that I feel far more comfortable about both production-wise offensively and what he was able to do in the outfield than Lourdes. So I don't know. I don't know what they're going to do in regards to. It's a difficult situation because we know this team loves their vets.

They love the guys that they've gone to war with before like Lourdes was on the World Series team. so it just, you know, they don't want, they want him to be good more than anything. I think we all want him to be good, but I think, you know, baseball fans, one, are fickle, and we have a very limited amount of, you know, of patience for guys not doing well. Let's not forget people wanted Loller like DFA'd

because he was bad for a week after returning from a long hiatus due to injury. It's just, it's like, I didn't think that the debacks would be in a spot where they would be paying Lordus $5 million. to walk away from the team, but I think that we might be there after the disastrous season that he just had this year. In the off season,

they're probably going to say, we're declining the club option. Here's $5 million for you to go play on a different baseball team, which is nuts. Bad contract by Mike Hazen. Yeah. And a little bit of,

feels a little bit emotional after that 2023 run in hindsight. Kind of felt like that at the time. It's a good point. It's a good point. All right. Well, got one more? Yeah, last question, I believe.

Let's get it in. It's from, Number one, Dback stand in Texas, who says with Soroka going down again with inflammation? Who do you think replaces him in the near term? Will Gowlin come back? And also, what will it take to get Derek to dye his hair again and start the rally push for the postseason? It's a great point. I don't.

I don't think it's a great point at all. I really don't. It's literally a great point. Didn't I offer up that I would get a tattoo if they made the playoffs? Is that not good enough for you people? I think we both said we would do. You did say tattoo, and I think we both said we do Catella. eyebrow, eyebrows slits, which that feels, that feels wrong now.

That feels wrong. But yeah, I mean, honestly, it does, it does feel like Gallin is probably going to be back in the starting rotation. And it feels like the Diamondbacks might trust him more than having any of the rookies in the starting rotation down the stretch. That's the only reason why I could say that. Mitch Bratt, as I said earlier, has not been awful. He hasn't been a catastrophe, but he has not. He has not been very good. And he hasn't given them very much length.

And he's really put some additional stress on this bullpen. If Mitch Bratt's outings were more of five innings and six innings with those numbers, rather than being three innings to four innings, I would feel completely different about it. Completely different. You know, but unfortunately it's not. And unfortunately, I do think the Diamondbacks might feel like a rehab, Zach Gowan might be better in the starting rotation more than one of their rookies.

I don't know if I agree with that. But it might be the case. For the most part, what they need Gallen back for is just depth at this point. With Michael Soroka's future uncertain, I feel like at the very least, they need Gallen back in case, you know, in case they can't trust, you know, to have two rookies in the starting rotation until Corbyn Burns is back or, you know, again, based on Corbyn Burns' progress where he's at might once again line up with the same kind of time frame as Gallen. So I don't know.

I'm with rifle. I do hope that Gowan can refine himself again. I'm doubtful of that. But I would love it as every Dylenback fan would love. Lando's calling his shot and saying Gowland's going to go nuts when he comes back. Like it's wild because even though there isn't enough time really for Gowlands make that good of an impression on anyone, it would be so incredibly beneficial to Gowan himself for him to come back and go crazy. serious.

Like at least a very small glimpse of Zach Gallen possibly being what he was at one point in his career would be enough for another team to take a chance on it. You know, but I don't know. We'll see. We'll see what happens with Galen. We'll see what happens with this team. We appreciate you guys obviously so much for sending your mailback Monday questions and joining us.

We will be back tomorrow with another 12 p.m. show, like I said, we'll recap. Basically, it's a post game show. Let's just call it that, but it's going to be at 12 p.m. Tomorrow. So come back here for that. And then we will also be discussing more about this roster and how things are going to shake up here for the last 30 games of the Diamondback season.

So come back at noon tomorrow. Until then, you can follow us on social. I am at Cap underscore Caveman with a K. Damon is at Damon Dog with a DAWG. I don't have a dog to bark with me, but as always, we're all Damon's dogs. Bark, bark. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Backs.

But as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore Sports. on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. What do you think about the Damon Dog tattoo that is being floated in the chat and that people, there's a lot of support around the Damon dog tattoo? And by that, I mean there's one person and also me. I would commit to getting a Damon dog tattoo in some way. I actually would, I would find that pretty, pretty odd if they got a Damon dog. It's not going to say your name.

It's not going to say your name, but it's going to be the dog from Coco. And he's going to be wearing a little Diamondbacks hat. And that's the tattoo that we just decided on me. And then when this podcast falls apart inevitably because of the power struggle between Damon and Derek, when you and I are mortal enemies, I will, I'll just get it all blacked out and get something weird over the top of it. Can't wait. Can't wait for that. The lore of this, the future lore of this podcast is already being written.

We'll see you back here tomorrow at 12 p.m. We love you guys. We thank you for sharing some of your time with us. As always, it's your most valuable commodity. Be careful who you share it with. Appreciate you guys. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your Monday. And remember kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun

when your starting pitchers stop dropping like flies.