PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - D-backs REUNITE With Reliever Paul Sewald on 1-Year Deal per Report

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

The Arizona Diamondbacks are reportedly lining up another reunion with a familiar pitcher…and no, it’s not Zac Gallen. According to a report from Steve Gilbert, the D-backs are bringing back reliever Paul Sewald on a one-year deal for the 2026 season. We break down Sewald’s return, why this isn’t quite the “Paul reunion” fans were hoping for, and how the fanbase is reacting. Plus, we have the latest injury update on Corbin Carroll, who was back at Salt River Fields on Thursday following surgery to repair a broken hamate bone. And around MLB, the Philadelphia Phillies have parted ways with Nick Castellanos, so we get ahead of things and explain why he would not be a good fit for Arizona. 0:00 - Intro3:00 - Paul Sewald is back20:00 - Corbin Carroll Injury Updates30:00 - Lourdes Gurriel return38:00 - Nick Castellanos LIMITED-TIME 60% off Diehard Offer: https://gophnx.com/intro-offer-youtube 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/ Phoenix Raceway: Get your tickets now for March 5-8! https://www.phoenixraceway.com/march-cup-weekend/?CID=PIR_DI_TP_BA_PHNX26Spring_251120 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/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotes bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets!Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/  Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.  Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.  Circle K:  Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you! When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. #dbacks #diamondbacks #arizonadiamondbacks #mlb #zacgallen #corbincarroll #ketelmarte #mlbtheshow #mlbtraderumors #tradedeadline #traderumors #allstargame Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ski and welcome in to another edition of the PHNX D-Backs podcast right here on PHNX. My name is Derek Montia, occasionally known as a guy who is having entirely too many internet issues today. But I am thrilled to have you guys here, thrilled to be joined by the entire crew. And, of course, thrilled to be discussing some interesting news today when it comes to the Arizona Diamondbacks. We have reports that, according to Steve, Gilbert. Of course, we got news here that bringing back Paul Seawald to this team on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. And this is kind of insane. Happy to have you guys here today, thrilled to be joined by all of you in the chat. And I hope I'm coming through clearly because we've

had a number of internet issues. I tried to bring you this show from Salt River Fields, but then I was told I was going to basically be locked in for the night, and I did not feel like sleeping there. I am joined by Shane Diefenbach on the ones into the mustache on the other side of the internet, but of course, thrilled to have you guys here. And Groundhog Mama might be right. I might not be wearing pants. That might be up overall for debate. But regardless, we have news that Paul Seawald is returning to the Arizona Diamondbacks. And again, I don't exactly know why, but that is the information coming out from Steve Gilbert here. The Arizona Diamondbacks have reportedly signed Paul Seawald to a $1.5 million major league contract.

This isn't a spring invite. This isn't a minor league. This is a veteran bullpen arm that we know entirely too well. So again, this is a situation where a lot of Arizona Diamondbacks fans are not thrilled with this move. However, at least is the Diamondbacks adding to the bullpen? We all have our memories of Paul Seawald. I will say that, of course, they're mostly negative when it comes to the DeBacks fan base. And understandably so, not just.

just for his struggles in 2024, but obviously for the way he pitched in 2025, or excuse me, 2023 in the World Series, right? But he did split that year between the Diamondbacks and the Mariners, if you remember, and him coming to this team did seem to change things and is the reason why, you know,

the Diamondbacks made the playoffs and went on to the world, series. I mean, he was attributed to it. He's not the sole reason why, obviously. He had a 3.57 ERA overall. But then he took on and obviously declined from his peak there in 23. He ended that season with a 4.31 ERA, 16 saves. He saw fewer strikeouts relative to opportunities. And the Diamondbacks shifted leverage there late in games. Obviously, things changed. We know how bad things got for Paul C. Walden. He was limited by injuries in his time with the Guardians and the Tigers. He pitched just 19 and two-thirds innings in 2025. I was going to pull his stats, but that just seemed like a futile task overall. But again, this is this is him posting a 4.58

ERA, 1.22 whip, 20 strikeout, six walks, whatever. I think that this is a move that goes far beyond what I've said about bringing back guys. You know, it's hard. when the team, it's hard when this team overall doesn't make changes. And it's definitely hard when they bring back guys from last year, like we said, bringing back Merrill Kelly, even though he was the best pitcher on this team, even bringing back Zach Gallen. None of that feels exciting. And it's hard to.

Even if you brought over new players with worse ERAs, you would feel a little bit better at least about the idea of new, energy, new players, maybe a change of scenery. This is probably the bleakest outcome the Diamondbacks could have gone after here when it comes to a free agent pitcher. It truly is the guy that no Diamondbacks fans really wanted to see. And it's just unfortunate overall that, you know, again, despite the fact that he was such a big part of this team and a big part of what they were able to do in 2023,

the memories aren't great when it comes to Paul Seawald and the Diamondbacks. So many players on this team attributed what he did for this team and said that he brought obviously a sense of everybody knowing what their job was once he was added to this roster in the trade, with the Seattle Mariners. Paul Seawald just brought that, I guess, that closing experience and that guy that Tori felt comfortable naming. And then from there, everybody knew what their job was. So everybody kind of settled in, and it's one of the reasons why this team, again, was able to get across that finish line and then, you know, do what they did in the playoffs. But Seawald obviously had his struggles in the playoffs. I'm with nine. and backs, despite, I guess, early on, really being a guy that brought, you know, a sense of

normalcy to this team overall. But Tori was asked today about Paul Seawald. Now, the signing is not official yet. So Tori Lavello, nor Mike Hazen, can comment on the, on the signing until it's official. But it did sound like Tori was unaware Paul Seawald was part of the team. Like he usually does, he usually does play a little coy with us or kind of tells us that he can't talk about it or whatever. In this case, Tori was asked today about Paul Seawald, and he sounded very speculative about Seawall joining this team. When you're looking at late inning options, do you foresee the guys who've been here before or a younger guy have stepped into a role like this?

Yeah, I'm looking for anybody to emerge, right? I know you're probably targeting some newer names, one that probably got here about a week ago, right? I don't know what that looks like, but I'm going to act accordingly based on what I see and what I'm getting from these players. I do like the stability of Ryan Thompson. He's throwing strikes. He doesn't beat himself. But we're going to find eight guys down there that are going to come on one another. And right now, we've got to figure out roles.

Maybe find a closer. I don't know what's going to happen. It's all very gray. And I don't mind that. We got to figure some things out, but we got to watch and observe. No surprise there, though. That was kind of something that came out throughout the day, came out kind of quickly, and then expectations are low.

It's hard to say that they're not. But again, there is the idea here that he could definitely bring something to this team. He could be a guy that actually could surprise us. I think overall he probably isn't going to be that close. that he was for this team. But who knows? There's so much uncertainty right now about what the Diamondbacks have going on

that it's hard to say that, you know, anybody is out of any role or in for any role or anything. Tori again did say that there was eight spots open in the bullpen. We're going to talk about that here shortly. But for all intents and purposes, your Arizona Diamondbacks trying to recapture that 2023 magic with Paul C. Wald back on this team. I don't know.

Yeah, see, Sean says this signing is ruining PHNX DBAX production. He's not wrong about that. He's not wrong about that. We've stopped caring around here, obviously. My cat's joining us as a guest. Audio is all over the place. I mean, it's, it's obvious that we don't, we don't care. I mean, if they don't care, we don't care, right?

All jokes aside, you've got to hope that anybody that is a member of the Arizona the Diamondbacks does well. And it's it's hard to get behind a Paul Seawald signing, but at the same time, hopefully he surprises us all. This is another case where please, for the love of God, prove us wrong, right? Prove us wrong. Come out here. Add some, you know, consistency, perhaps, to the bullpen, at least add some experience here. The Diamondbacks love, a lot of young guys. So it definitely feels like the experience Paul Seawald was attractive to this team. But I don't know. I don't know.

Yeah. By the way, Brandon says, you didn't tear your pants in half today, too, did you? No, I did not. But you would argue, I mean, I would argue that I did say that I got hit by baseball on Tuesday, tore my pants yesterday. Thursday, Paul Seawald joins this team. So, I mean, I don't want to put those all on the same level. And again, I don't want to be smirch this. good man's name because again, he's still a baseball player that hopefully, you know, has recovered

from that injury and can still add something to this roster. We do also know that rumors are out there still for Zach Gallen to possibly be joining this team. The Diamondbacks still feel like a little bit of a long shot there. Tori was asked about the starting rotation today, and he did say that it was all set kind of for the most part. He didn't go into specifically who was in the rotation, nor did he name, you know, where the guys fit in. But, you know, he basically said the same names you're thinking are the same names I'm thinking. So again, there is, uh, the starting pitchers, the Diamondbacks have at a major league level. That's it. That's the guys that are in the five-man rotation for now. Uh, Zach Gallen remains unsigned. Uh, as you know, nobody seems to want to sign him

due to the fact that he rejected the qualifying offer from the debacks. And now whatever team that does sign him would have to give up either a high draft pick or a lower round draft pick, competitive round balance B, if he signs for under 50 million, competitive round balance A, or competitive balance round A, if he signs for over 50 million. But right now it's looking like he might not sign at all. That's doubtful. Might be just that teams are waiting and to see how the rest of the season falls and to see if maybe Zach's requirements come down as far as how much money he's asked.

for or how much money Scott Boris is asking for. But the Diamondback still remain one of three teams in on Zach Gallen. In fact, they're one of four teams because even though the Baltimore Orioles just got Chris Bassett, apparently that is not impacting their pursuit here of Zach Gallin. So it is being reported that the Baltimore Orioles are still interested in Gallin. You also have the San Diego Padres who have kind of emerged lately due to one kind of a rumor that that went crazy from an account that is not to be trusted, apparently, but also you have the fact that he, he, there does seem to be interest there from the Padres, Padres who need starting pitching. Chicago Cubs also still interested. They have been long rumored and long tied to

Zach Gallen this offseason. So no surprise there that the Chicago Cubs are still interested on Gallin overall, but talks seem to be going on. A shorter term, prove it contract has been floated as a likely scenario for the Cubs and probably for any team that's interested in Zach Gallon at this point. But a return to Arizona has been discussed as a wildcard possibility. And even though the Diamondbacks do have five pitchers currently in their starting rotation, it does not mean that they would not go out and pursue Zach Gallen on a cheap deal, nor would it be the worst idea. But man, talk about running it back with everyone. Talk about reunions galore. when I heard we had a reunion today with a guy named Paul, you know I got excited and was the wrong Paul, right?

Zach, again, is a guy that I still feel like showed some of his best stuff after the trade deadline last year. And there's also a guy named James McCann walking around with huge guns in the clubhouse that I think can still continue to get the best out of Zach Gallen when he's behind the plate. So I do not hate a gallon return and I think he could have a resurgence in 2026 still. Again, teams that are out apparently are Mets and Yankees. They apparently have no interest in Zach Gallen any longer. And bottom line, you know, it looks like the Padres would be the best fit for Zach, which would be terrible because I do not want to see Zach Galen in a Padres uniform. I don't want to play him 14 times a year.

I don't want to be a division rival with Zach Gallen. Cubs, that's still not great either because, again, if the Diamondbacks are looking at making the playoffs, which hopefully they are. There are a lot of teams in the National League that could stand between them and a wildcard birth. And that Chicago Cubs team has gotten better this offseason. And they, again, they could get even better by adding Zach Gallen. But if nothing breaks here soon in spring training for Gallen,

we might see a really short-term deal with a like mutual opt-out, not mutual option, but, you know, an opt-out for one year, you know, maybe a two-year deal overall, uh, 2027, a lot of uncertainty. I know I'll be looking for a job most likely thanks to Major League Baseball. So you know what? Might as well, uh, you know, make yourself available to if you're Zach Gallen, considering no one really knows what's going to happen once this collective bargaining agreement expires.

And we are, you know, kind of without baseball. They need to figure that out. Let me tell you that. Uh, I saw Jeff Passon, I think write a story today about how baseball. has a lot going against it right now. And really, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're in a bad position to be, uh, possibly without baseball for an entire season. Right.

So, uh, also a shout out, believe it or not to Scott Boris, because Scott Boris actually did say something on foul territory as well the other day when he discussed, uh, how the media rights for MLB should be far more valuable than they are. And for some reason, this whole thing that's a mess, uh, with media rights being. spread out the way they are and MLB having to take them over. It's all bad. It's all bad. MLB has a lot of work to do and I think perhaps maybe a new commissioner would help with that. But again, we'll see what happens in the future. We're going to take a quick break on the other side of this break. We are going to talk about Corbyn Carroll returning from injury already. Not really,

but he was out there at spring training, working hard and doing everything he could without the use of his right hand. We're going to talk about that on the other side of this break. You're watching the PHNX Diamondback Show. I'm here in my home, which means I have access to an entire box of Pure Edibles here next to me. That is because Pure Edibles is perfect for any scenario, especially ones where you are looking at the injured list for the Diamondbacks already for 2026. Pure Edibles is a delightful brand that not only has a wide array of candies with some delicious flavors, they have more than just gummies. They have chews, hard candies, soft candies, They have their version of Starbursts that they call kicks.

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He's a monster. Whatever you want to do, whatever adjectives, whatever word you want to use to describe them is all accurate. He is just one day removed from having surgery on his right hand, and we all turn around for a moment, and we see him out there training, training. I think we have video here of it, Corbyn out there doing his thing. No, we don't. Okay, I guess we don't. But we do have video from Tori talking about Corbyn rehabbing, and this is what Tori had to say about Corbyn's rehab process. Yeah, I'm not surprised. That's how he's why. and that's what makes him so special.

He had surgery yesterday morning, and 24 hours later, he's out there working. It's just who he is and why we all love him so much. And there's a process and there's a plan for him. Our medical team is fantastic. They're going to put it together. So when he's able to get a bat back in his hands, the other parts of his body, such as his legs, that's very important as well. And his shoulder where you can throw the baseball,

they're not going to play catch up. We want to make this the shortest time possible to get him back on a big league field and a hot game during a regular season. So I don't know the timeline, but not surprised. And I know he's frustrated. I know he wants to play every any of every game. When I take him out of games, when I get him days off,

he doesn't like it. This is something out of his control. He's just going to have to sit down for a little while and heal up. Well, again, we know how frustrating it is for Corbyn overall. And again, go check out our Twitter, our Instagram. We have an Instagram that's active for those of you that might not know, by the way. We have video out there of Corbyn rehabbing and just, again, try not to miss a day here.

It's frustrating because Corbyn not only is a guy that strives to get better every single day, but it's also just incredibly frustrating because you could tell Corbyn was, was, that guy that was out there. The first day that they were allowing the guys to be out at Salt River Fields, Corbyn was out there, training, getting better for the 2026 season, doing everything he could to be the best version of himself. So any kind of setback here, any kind of missed time is frustrating. And we discussed it a little bit when it came to the injury yesterday.

But having this setback does affect power. and it's going to be, you know, a little while before Corbyn's going to be able to have that power back. But we do have Corbyn here talking about the injury and how soon he knew that bone in his hand, that haymate bone was broken. Yeah, I mean, it's just, like, it's the physics of it. You've got a lot of force going in your hand and the way that handmaids, that hook is shaped. Just that knob can dig in there and pop the fingers sometimes. Yeah, again, not the first person that's going to have to, not the last. And just, yeah, definitely unfortunate, but part of the game.

Again, the stupid heymate bone, I'm so sick of hearing this word already. But I know the one thing everybody wants to know is a timetable for Corbyn. We wanted to know a timetable for Corbyn. As far as he's concerned, he's ready to come back tomorrow. But here's what Corbyn, or excuse me, let's first have Corbyn here on his timetable and not really knowing what, if he's going to be able to make it back by opening day. Yeah, I think we're like 40-ish days away. So I think just taking a day of time, hopefully get out of this thing. Yeah, I mean, I think it's a common enough painful injury where you have.

somewhat of an idea, but I think also a little bit more flexible how this thing heals. All right. Well, we also have Tori here discussing if Corbin's going to be ready for opening day. And again, Tori was very hesitant to put a timetable on anybody's return. This is what he had to say. It's hard to say. I don't know. I mean, he had the procedure yesterday.

I know the timelines. And I don't know when Linder or holiday procedure happened. There's a timeline now. The three of them is going to be a race. And you might see A ahead of B. I don't know. We do what we do here. And we're going to stick with our plan.

I don't know what that looks like yet. A race, apparently, going to be, or at least a comparison that's going to be between these three superstars for who returns first. And anybody that lags behind is most likely going to be, seen as the weaker, you know, the beta here. I don't know. Overall, though, it's hard to deny that there's going to be some sort of comparison here with these guys all having basically the same injury, the same surgery, all in the same

few days, and all being very, very, you know, big stars for their teams. Folding chair in the chat says, we know Corbyn can stretch singles into doubles and doubles in the triples, so not worried about his power. You know what? You're not wrong about that. I have said that at times I would almost have liked to see Corbyn get on base a little more than constantly showing off the power. I mean, it did feel like there was a brief period of time that was kind of like feast or famine for him where, yeah, it was great that he was hitting dingers. But, you know, again, some of his value can be the way he exhausts an opposing team on the base path, right?

So as much as I love to see that, and again, you're not wrong about that. he can stretch a single into a home run is what he can do. But I think that he is, again, he's probably going to be fine. This injury overall is really weird. Corbyn talked about how this injury happened. Now, again, if you didn't watch yesterday's episode or didn't get a chance to see this, he didn't get hit. He actually had hit a home run the pitch before,

and then he fouled this pitch off, and experienced what Tori described like a beasting in his hand, and that was him kind of being informed by his body that he had broken a bone in his hand, a very stupid tiny bone that we hate, and we're sick of this bone. But here's Corbyn talking about how this injury happens to baseball players. Yeah, I mean, it's just the physics of it.

You've got a lot of force going in your hand and the way that hand makes, that hook is shaped. just that knob can dig in there and pop the fingers sometimes. Now, Tori was a little bit more doubtful about Corbyn returning for opening day. I think this is the other video we have of Corey, Tori talking about. Tori said this about Corbyn returning by opening day. Nobody knows how hard that was on this team last year. You guys do.

I'm sure the baseball fans in Arizona know that we, Oh, that was a different. Sorry, wrong one with that. But we do, we do have Tori talking here about who's going to fill in for Corby and Carroll in the outfield. Of course, Alec Thomas kind of came up as an option. But Tori has a little bit more. Here's what he had to say about that. Yeah. I shared a little bit about that yesterday with a team moving potentially to write a little bit through the early part of the season. I don't know. I haven't yet had conversation with any of the other position players. but we're not going to go out and get players. We're going to stay internal. That's what we do here. And these guys in player development have been preparing and probably dreaming about this opportunity. You know, guys like Barroso are going to get more innings.

He's getting more time out there. I mentioned Lawler. So, you know, we're two down. We have our starting right field and our starting left fielder that are hurt. So it's time for somebody to step up. Yeah. Sorry, that clip kind of cut off.

there but yeah no I mean there there are a lot of options for Tori we saw a lot of guys out there in the outfield taking reps and and getting their work in don't know who is going to fill in but there's a lot of discussion obviously about Jordan Lawler being in center field and Alec Thomas being in right but they're missing guys all over the place right so we got you know a lot of question marks now one thing we did see today Lordus Gurriel Jr. coming into Salt River fields that was a sight for sore eyes. And we have talked about Lordus and his superhuman rehabbing, right? Like, it's kind of been incredible. In fact, Lordus, I remember I was there the day that his injury happened. And Tori made a comment almost jokingly that Lordus said he was going to be back

for opening day then. Well, this man is trying to keep his word. And again, if you want to go see what an X-Men looks like when he's rehabbing, go check out Lordus Garrier. El's Instagram page. But we did have Tori here talking about Lourdes wanting to come back by opening day and him not thinking that that's going to happen. Yeah, he said opening day to me yesterday when I saw him. That's how good he's feeling. So credit to him and the plan that he's been on with our trainers,

with his personal trainer back home in Florida. But he's here now and we're going to get our hands on him and see where he's at. It is not going to be able to do that. I can assure you that. That's how good he feels. Where that is, we don't know yet. I talked to Tori about, you know, or I asked Tori about the injuries. And basically he said the one thing he's learned over the years is that he has to trust his

medical staff. He has no choice but to do so. These players, when you are out there right now at Salt River Fields, they all look ready to go. They all look healthy. And you don't really know how much to trust them because players want to play. They want to be out there. They do not want to miss spring training. They don't want to miss time on the team.

They do not want to miss their season. Right. So when you talk to guys like AJ Puck, who says he's ready to go by May, even though he doesn't think the team will let him. When you talk to Corvin Burns, who says he wants to go. throw bullpens right now because he's ready, then, you know, you find yourself getting excited, you know, and it's hard as a manager who wants these guys back on his roster as much as they want to be on the roster. It's hard to pump your brakes and to not get excited to. But overall, Tori just discussed you have to trust your medical staff. You have to. You have no choice. You can't

even have a decision in it as a manager. And he learned that a long time ago, long before he was a manager of this team. We know what this team went through last year. They went through injury hell. And that's how it was described today. Tori was asked about that injury hell and he discussed what he learned from it. Here's what he had to say. Nobody knows how hard that was on this team last year. You guys do. I'm sure the baseball fans in Arizona know that we did walk through hell. We, you know, the bullpen, it seemed like there for about a two-week period of time. There was one guy going down after another. We had different guys step into roles. I think we set a major

league record with different pitchers with saves, whatever that number was. It's ridiculous, right? You can never predict that. But they did it. So, yeah, it was a very, very tough walk. But as I said after talking about

Andrew and then Corbyn after his injury, I just I'm not going to allow myself to feel sorry for myself. I'm not going to allow anybody in this building give them time. to feel sorry for himself. We got a job due, and let's go out and develop players and win baseball games. I like the learning from it, because, again, injuries aren't going to stop,

and it would appear that this season is already off to the banner start that was 2025, right? So we already have entirely too many injuries, and it's already kind of gross. It's just something that Tori and his staff has to adjust to. They do have a fairly talented farm system. even though it wasn't ranked very highly by certain publications. And they have an opportunity for some of these young guys to come up and step up. I mean, especially when it comes to the bullpen. Tori was asked today about that bullpen.

We know they've now added seawall to it, even though Tori might have not known yet. But he was asked about how many spots were actually available for the relievers. We know each team carries seven to eight relievers. This is what Tori said about how many spots were open. I don't know. Eight? All eight of them. And that's my been my theme.

Okay. Yes, I do know that Ryan Thompson is here. But I want, and I'm going to get done here talking to him in a couple of minutes, my message is going to be to him. Go out and earn it. Don't take anything for granted. That's been my theme. Earn it.

And nothing is going to be handed to you. There is nothing for free in this game. And we've got to get back to that concept. Well, I will say we know the Diamondbacks do have talented young pitchers. that got experienced last year in a kind of trial by fire situation. But one guy that we liked, as many of you are talking about in the chat, is no longer available. That was Anthony Banda.

We talked about him on yesterday's episode after he was DFAed by the Dodgers, and he has now been picked up by the Minnesota Twins. And I kind of agree with the sentiment in the chat. Folding chair, R.A. says, come on, snakes. Twins got Banda for basically half a mill. I mean, if you needed value arms, there's a value arm. There's an experienced value arm that, quite frankly, was part of our organization at one time

and also went off and got himself some major experience by appearing in very high leverage games. You would argue the most high leverage games, the playoff games, world series, all that kind of stuff. Seems like he would have been a better fit than Paul Seawald if you're going to bring someone back. If you're going to bring someone back named Paul, I have another guy that you. you could have brought back, but it's not great. Also, we still don't know what they're going to do for a closer. Hopefully, they do have a better option than Paul Seawald. Hopefully, Cewald can be more of a middle relief setup guy at the best, but hopefully

they find another closer. And Tori seems to be interested in that, hopefully more interested than he has been in the past. Here's what he's had to say about finding a closer. That said, when you're looking at late-in options, do you foresee a B? Guys who've been here before or a younger guy have stepped into a role like this? Yeah, I'm looking for anybody to emerge, right? I know you're probably targeting some newer names, one that probably got here about a week ago, right?

I don't know what that looks like, but I'm going to act accordingly based on what I see and what I'm getting from these players. I do like the stability of Ryan Thompson. He's throwing strikes. He doesn't beat himself. but, you know, we're going to find eight guys down there that are going to come on one another. And right now, we've got to figure out roles, but maybe find a closer.

I don't know what's going to happen. It's all very, very gray. And I don't mind that. We've got to figure some things out, but we've got to watch and observe. I do think Tori does a good job at times of making the most out of very little, right? But again, this goes back to how I feel like this team performs when they're an underdog. and how he manages when he's an underdog.

I don't really feel like this team has high expectations. They might internally, but they don't externally, not from fans, not from people, experts in Major League Baseball. So I don't really feel like they have that same level of pressure they've had the last two years. I hope that works in their favor. And I hope that with all of this opportunity and all of these positions they still need to fill,

that guys are able to step up. I mean, and that's something that we haven't seen a tremendous amount of. Though I will argue that some of the young guys that were kind of thrown into this organization based on trades and other factors last year did become kind of guys you felt like you could rely on like a Philip Abner or Brandon Garcia. So I do think that there's there's talent here. And it's just about if they can develop that talent. They do have a new assistant GM who specializes in that. So hopefully Jeremy Blyche there can have an impact on this team, a similar impact that he had on the pirates.

But again, another topic that you guys are all discussing in the chat here, Nick Castiano out in Philadelphia was told by the Phillies. Like this is borderline disrespectful? I don't even know if it's borderline. It might be full-blown disrespect. But the Phillies have told they told Nick Castiano's to not report to spring training as a trade or release loomed and he was in fact released today and apparently it was all over having a beer if that was the case i would have been fired i think three episodes into doing this podcast though i do

believe Shane made me drink a beer so i'm going to i'm going to bring Shane into that but uh philadelphia obviously made some attempts to move them no one was interested for obvious reasons his locker had been removed before a decision had been made and again he has been outright released it's a pretty clear organizational shift for the Phillies and when you talk about the Diamondbacks and their playoff chances not that I want to wish bad things on other organizations because we would never do that on this show I hope all the bad things in the world happen to the Philadelphia Phillies and I hope they're trash next year that's what I hope but overall again it would be feel like the Phillies spend a lot of money without really getting a ton better without adding much to

their team. And now, you know, they lose a guy who quite frankly had kind of dropped off in 2025. This situation, though, did not blow up over night. It's not over just beers, though the beers did have a play in it. But it's the result of performance. Nick Castiano seems to be a very difficult guy to be around. And also tragedy follows him wherever he goes, right? Like nothing good is going to happen when Nick Castiano's is hot. Only bad things are going to happen when Nick Castiano's hot. Do you want that?

Do you want that pressure on your team? I don't think so. But he did have a below average season in 2025. He had hit 250 with a 694 OPS. He had 17 home runs. The 22.6% strikeout rate is almost least. league average exactly. I believe league average is like 21 to 22%. So just just a little worse than league average. And he didn't play the outfield. He was basically a designated hitter for the

majority of the season, if not all the season. So this minus 0.8B war, baseball reference war, comes directly from his performance offensively. And that's because he's a defensive liability out there. You have his production, which obviously, as you look at this, does not justify a $20 million salary in the final year of his contract with limited defensive value. And advanced defensive metrics put him near the bottom of all Major League outfielders and outs above average and defensive runs saved last season. Also, Philly's manager, Rob Thompson, began limiting Castiano's everyday role and using him in platoon or defensive replacement situations, which Castiano's made public remarks about not

accepting he struggled to accept it and a notable moment happened again when he was benched after making comment the manager deemed inappropriate that ended his consecutive start streak overall so it was just friction and it was going to come to this resolution at some point i'm sure the Phillies would have loved to get something for him but in the end they're going to eat that contract and they're going to get a guy off of their team that they deem is more detrimental to their success than adding to it. And that is the reason why I implore you in the chat to not want this man on your team. All right, we don't need this kind of energy. We have the power of friendship over here. We don't need the power of friction. I saw Nolan Aeronado out there today

being the best teammate out at Salt River Fields. He was getting along with guys. As a matter of fact, me and Alex Weiner from 98.7 were right there when he basically came up to pavement and was like, want to have a catch, it was sweet. It was adorable. Nolan Aronado is already fitting in wonderfully with this team, as is Carlos Santano, who really seems to be jelling with the rest of his infield as well with Catella and Geraldo. You don't want to bring a guy like this into this team.

If Arizona was to consider adding Castiano's, I can give you a list of reasons why he doesn't fit. His offense doesn't solve the right problems for the Diamondbacks. There was in recent seasons aren't about finding a another bat. It was about getting consistent slash line production. It was about getting consistent on base percentage, on base production. Castiano's is neither of those things. His offense has regressed and he doesn't provide an elite, doesn't provide elite plate skills, doesn't give you good at bats, does not create runs. And I mean, this is for a guy that's a 33 year old star. He's a star.

I mean, I like Nick Castiano's. You know me. I am a known troublemaker. And I would love, I would love the idea of covering Nick Castiano as a member of this team. It was like when we brought on Jack Peterson. And then Jack Peterson was this just well-behaved, good teammate who had an amazing fat collection and never gave me the kind of energy that I was expecting, you know. But Nick Castiano's, he might. He might give me the kind of energy that I was looking.

looking for from somebody who's a troublemaker. But you just don't want that in your clubhouse, right? You don't want that messing up the power of friendship here. And overall, Chase Field is not a tiny park. Okay, so his poor defensive metrics does not make him an outfielder. That's going to have, that's going to play well with this team. It's just not. He has a lack of range.

He has, I mean, I guess you could plug him into one of the corner spots, but it's still going to be a downgrade from the defense that you could potentially get. from somebody else that's already on this team, right? Why do we need Jorge, why do we need another Jorge Brosa when we have Jorge Brosa at home? Like, again, Nick Castiano isn't giving you much more production than some of the players that many fans have already written off and haven't given a chance to because, you know, the lack of success.

And I will say, I completely understand. I understand when fans are impatient with players, you know. But again, with baseball, it's so absurd. And it's so ridiculous. And never forget, the Cattel Marte was not viewed as a very good player. He was viewed as a throw-in for a trade between the Mariners and the Diamondbacks. And look what he became. You never know when a guy is going to be able to put it all together and have a breakout season.

And again, it doesn't feel like a 33-old Nick Castiano is the kind of guy that's suddenly going to do that. I don't know. But again, maybe the change of scenery for someone like him that has had the friction with the organization he was with could help out. but at $20 million owed in 2026, you're not taking on that salary. So the Phillies are probably going to have to eat a considerable amount of it. And again, I don't know if any team wants to take on any amount of that. You know, look at the caliber player that puts up this level of production that you're able to get in free agency or probably in your farm system somewhere.

So I don't know. I mean, again, I think Castiano's did a lot of damage to his own rip. mutation by having the kind of attitude that he does at the time. I do think that there are some fan bases that would embrace it. And I do think that there are some places he could go that he would probably fit in and find a tremendous amount of like support. I don't know if he would find a tremendous amount of success, but support is something he would find.

But Arizona's in field, they're outfield. It includes players whose value lies in defensive versatility. Mike Hazen and Tori Lavello both said that defense is a priority for them this year. excuse me. And that is the big reason why he just doesn't fit. The Diamondbacks really don't have the money to add any player, I think, that plays exclusively DH. It's the reason why you really haven't heard of them being in on too many DH candidates.

I know at one point they were kind of linked to Marcelo Zuna. But again, when you take a look at the options that were available in free agency, that could be a DH, it felt like they were. would have to play first base at the very least in order for them to be an option for this diamondbacks. Platoon and D.H or something like that. Castianos is not fit for the chase field outfield. And again, his offense isn't really good enough to take on whatever of his contract. A team would have to take on in order to bring him here and have him be a, you know, solely a DH.

Groundhog mama says drink more water. I try to. I try to. It's been, look, three days in, and I am. I'm spent from spring training already. I have to be honest with you guys. I want to sit here and say like, oh, I've been enjoying all my time. No, I am exhausted.

And I've walked more steps recently, including the waste management open, a few things open. Then I did the entire time at Universal Studios, which is still bothering me a lot. But I will, I promise you, I will get some more water in me for sure. And by the way, someone had asked if I actually do play these video games. behind me I promise you I think it was Michael Dixon I promise you I do I love these video games especially the arcade game play that all the time but again Castiano's I mean I want to hear from you guys obviously in the live chat or in the chat after the show has been posted let us know what you think because I just don't think he's a good fit especially

considering his exit there with the Phillies and again if like I'd probably put the Phillies up there's one of those fan bases that would love a guy like this and embrace a guy like this. So it's not even that he's a bad fit for the Phillies. It's just like, seems like he's a bad fit for a major league team. You can't have a crappy attitude and be terrible, right?

I mean, that's how it feels like overall. It can't be both things. So, and Brandon Chip says, no, thank you even for free. Well, he won't be free, but if he was, then maybe I would consider it, right? Like, we have the kind of budget here that we might need to take

it on a free player, but maybe not maybe not a guy like this. I don't know. But the fit with the Diamondbacks, still questionable. It doesn't address any of the Diamondbacks weaknesses right now in a cost-effective way. And it could honestly crowd out the playing time in the outfield for younger, more versatile pieces if they added Nick Castiano's. And just overall, it's declining performance profile doesn't seem great.

You know, it doesn't seem like a great ad. There's just not a lot here that I, can see being a positive. He's neither a defensive asset nor core long-term bat. And again, he's a one or two-year rental with declining metrics. The Diamondbacks aren't in need of this. They need more than this. They also need leadership. They're going to bring in guys, veteran guys with MLB experience. They have to be leaders. They can't be guys that are going to set a bad example and perhaps, you know, just cause this locker room to have a rift. I imagine, you know, this might be a wake-up call for him.

This might be the kind of thing that where he goes next might be where we see him behave better and, you know, come around and be a better teammate and perhaps even have that leak onto the field and see better performance. There's also the Anthony Rendon case, the case to be made for that with any baseball player who has received an ungodly amount of money. and perhaps their love of the game has dwindled and they are now in this kind of toxic place, at least as far as the Phillies were concerned, because that definitely seems toxic at this point. But anyway, that's all we got for that. But I did want to thank you guys for being supporters club members. You guys are the best. We love you guys so much.

If you've not signed up yet, of course, I promise you, supporters club members actually get a better level of production than what some of you are actually seeing right. now all of these audio issues all of these problems with my internet and and me using my phone to do this show uh you you guys are getting that because you're not a supporters club member the supporters club members uh have crystal clear audio and 4k none of those things are true but if it's anything i can do to get you guys on board i'll get you on board you guys have already been amazing about it if you do send us uh super chats of course this is a great way just to have that money go a little bit further and give you something back you'll get some exclusive content from us here

on our YouTube channel, you also get that wonderful badge that updates with time, telling everyone how long you've been a member, and access to the emojis. Also, not just the emojis, but you have access to request emojis. That's another wonderful part about the supporters club. So you can pitch us ideas based on show bits, phrases, inside jokes, anything you want, and we'll probably do it. But again, we thank you guys so much for being supporters club members. You guys are the people who support us and keep us going.

So we thank you so much. We're also kicking the asses of the other all city cities when it comes to this. So that's kind of cool as well. But before we get out of here, I did want to just let you guys know that I know there's been a lot of questions about debacks.tv and where we that are in market can watch games. And we do have an update. Many of you that are debacks.tv subscribers got this notification already. But for those of you that are interested, It's back and it's here, and you can sign up over at dbax.tv. The dbacks.tv seasonal package allows fans to stream debaq's regular season games in the Arizona area with no blackouts, and that is available for $100 American dollars. So go subscribe now. You can buy it on your mobile device. You can get it anywhere and then watch your beloved debacks. This offer is only for fans in the club's home television territory, which I believe stretches far beyond. Just Arizona. So I think if you're in like Las Vegas or any of the surrounding areas, you people in Utah, you get nothing. You get nothing and you'll like it. But again, this will be that information on cable satellite providers. That's going to be provided at a later time. But for now, you can get debacks.tv on mobile app. And to give fans a little taste of this when you subscribe to debacks.tv, all of the spring training games will be available for free as the debacks prep for this season.

out there at Salt River Field. So it's your chance to get that app. And then you can find me like where's Waldo running around the Salt River Fields, probably, again, causing trouble. Not the kind of trouble Nick Castiano's cause. I'm more precocious with my trouble. Sean is suggesting a ripped pants Derek emoji. I don't love that.

I got to admit, I don't love that. I'm usually on board with things. That's not great. But again, John in the chat says we are becoming the Arizona Cardinals of baseball. Please, John, don't do that to me. We are, we are not. At least we have ourselves a championship. So we're always going to be better than them.

We're always going to be better than them. Don't tell Johnny and Bo I said that. That hurt to say. That hurt me. I'm a die hard Cardinals fan myself. But to all of you die hard fans, we appreciate you guys sticking around. We'll apologize again for our little miscue's here. We'll make sure to have our act together tomorrow for another 4 p.m. show.

Make sure to join us for that. In the meantime, of course, you can follow us on Twitter. I am at Cap underscore Caveman with a K. You could follow our guys Shane Dief in Bachett Shane Deef on social media. But of course, our show is at PHNX underscore Dbacks. And as always, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Appreciate you guys so much. We'll see you guys tomorrow with more updates from SpringT,

training camp. And then as of tomorrow, we are one week away from spring training games starting with the Diamondbacks taking on the Colorado Rockies. So again, it's the most wonderful time of the year. Appreciate you guys again for your time. Thank you so much for stopping by. I love you guys. I hope you all have a wonderful evening. Behave yourselves, Rex, wherever he is. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you're back out there training one day after having hand surgery.