PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Devin Williams Heads to Yankees: Which Relief Pitchers Remain for Diamondbacks?

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

Become a PHNX Diehard for just $4 a month! http://gophnx.com/intro-offer-youtube As the Diamondbacks continue their search for a closer, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Devin Williams is headed to the New York Yankees in exchange for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin. Could the Diamondbacks have matched the offer? We also tier rank every reliever available in both trade and free agency, from Tanner Scott to Carlos Estevez to Pete Fairbanks. Finally, we run through several coaching changes for the Diamondbacks heading into 2025. Join Derek, Jesse, and Kevin for the PHNX Diamondbacks Show LIVE! 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/ 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/ Branded Bills: Use code PHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 20% off your first order! Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. 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! Shady Rays: Exclusively for our listeners, Shady Rays is giving out their best deal of the season. 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. Check out FOCO merch and collectibles and use promo code “PHNX10” for 10% off your order on all non Pre Order items. Rugged Road: Gear up for your next adventure with Rugged Road Coolers - Your ultimate outdoor companion! Head to http://ruggedroadoutdoors.pxf.io/ALLCITY and use code PHNX for 10% off! Get 10 FREE meals at https://hellofresh.com/freedbacks. Applied across 7 boxes, new subscribers only, varies by plan. 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 https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The free agent frenzy continues and the Diamondbacks still aren't part of it. The Cubs get Kyle Tucker. We got Devin Williams going to the Yankees. Crazy things are happening. We're talking all about all these trades and all this free agency talk in 30 seconds. Please stick around and join us. Happy Friday. Welcome in to Studio K presented by our friends at Circle K.

And more importantly, welcome in to another edition of the PHNXDback show right here from PHNXHQ. is Derek Montia, occasionally known as your mayor of Fridays. This man is the one and only Thunder's Bolt, thunder stick. That was a funny joke from earlier. Thunder stick, Jesse Friedman, my vice mayor. Welcome into you all.

Great to see Hooch here two days in a row. Happy you could make it. And happy to see you guys here. Not really happy to see some of the deals that are going down, especially considering that the Arizona Diamondbacks are not part of these deals. Of course, we know that the big story that's developing right now is that the Cubs have apparently acquired Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros for a fairly decent hall in return. And Devin Williams was traded to the New York Yankees. Devin Williams, a closer that we were very much interested in the Diamondbacks pursuing.

The Brewers will receive second baseman Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortez for Devin, which, as John, Jesse pointed out to me earlier is kind of a funny exchange for two relief pitchers that really kind of had a meltdown there in the playoffs. Yeah, yeah. Most recently what people have seen from these two guys is not necessarily been great. Devin Williams was a little bit on the struggle bus during that series against the New York Mets. And of course, he's the one who gave up the three run Homer to Pete Alonzo that turned what very much looked like a series that the Brewers were going to win into a series that they tragically lost. And then, yeah, Nestor Cortez, a starting pitcher for the Yankees has been pretty good when healthy, but he also had a bit of a rough moment in the postseason in game one of that series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Nestor Cortez gave up a very memorable walkoff grand slam to Freddie Freeman. So, yeah, what we've seen from these guys on the national stage recently has not been great, but that does not take away from the fact that Nestor Cortez is a pretty soft. Solid starting pitcher, you know, mid-rotation guy who, again, is pretty darn good when healthy. And Devin Williams, despite what we've seen in a very small sample size in the postseason, is perhaps the best closer in all of baseball, certainly someone that we've talked about as a possible target for the diamond backs as well. Absolutely. Let's take a look at his stats from 2024. You can see here, Devin Williams had himself quite the season.

1.25 ERA, a 0.97 whip.22 in a third innings pitch. Was that it this season? Is that correct? Yep, that is correct. Devin Williams was, he was hurt. He had a back issue for much of the season and then came back toward the end of the year and looked exactly like himself. 43.2% strikeout rate, 12.5% walk rate, 17 out of 18 saves. One of the elite closers that were available, I guess you could say,

considering we knew the brewers were shopping him around. And I don't know. I don't know. What are your thoughts? What are you guys here in the chat? your thoughts on the return. I know that the feeling has to be that the diamondbacks could have made some sort of comparable offer to this to perhaps get Devin Williams. I just don't know if that was who they wanted to pursue. I don't know if we really, we thought it would be a good fit, but we

don't know if the Diamondbacks were actually interested in Devin Williams. It's, yeah, I mean, I think I'm, I think I'm with Riley in the chat. You said this is an insane return for one year of Evan Williams. I do agree with that. It could have been crazier, but this is still, this is still a pretty hefty return. I mean, Esther Cortez, again, is, I mean, he had a 3.74 ERA and over 170 innings in 2024. So he's a pretty darn good starting pitcher. It's only one year of him. So I think he was, I think he's expected to make $7.7 million in arbitration. So from a salary standpoint, Williams and Cortez basically match exactly. I know the Yankees are also reportedly kicking in four and a half million dollars into

this deal. So the brewers do come out on top, save a little bit of money in this deal. And then Caleb Durbin is a fascinating prospect. Very Diamondbacks-esque, actually, in some ways. He is five foot six, but plays basically every position. Is he a left-handed outfielder by chance? If so, let's get him. Let's get him.

He does. He can play the outfield. He can play in a variety of spots. But yeah, had a really nice season in the Yankees farm system. High on base percentage guy basically never strikes out. And a cool story as well. He went to Washington University out in St. Louis. I'm sure Kevin appreciates the St. Louis shout out.

And yeah, Caleb Durbin, I mean, pretty impressive story going from playing in Division 3 to now being, I wouldn't call him like a top top prospect necessarily. I don't think his ceiling is all that high. He doesn't have much power. But I think the floor is pretty high as someone who can play just about everywhere. And the bat to ball skills should translate to the majors. Kevin is wearing a Los Angeles Rams jersey today, which he discovered was a Los Angeles Rams, not a St. Louis Rams jersey.

He also has a Dodgers hat hanging in his office. It's really not a Dodgers hat, though. It's a Lakers hat. It's not. It's wild. The accusation, you guys. The accusations levied against me are there. There's more damning evidence against Kevin and there ever will be.

But I will say this. The Diamondbacks could have potentially made a similar trade, right? What would the equivalent have been? It would almost been like including, I guess, Ryan Nelson in a way. Is that too much? I think Ryan Nelson would probably, because Ryan Nelson has, what is it, five years, four years, five years of club control remaining at this. point. Nestor Cortez has just the one. So I do think Ryan Nelson is probably viewed

four years of control remaining with Ryan Nelson. So that would be too much too many years of yeah. I mean and not to say Ryan Nelson is necessarily like a lock to be a really good pitcher for the next four years. But yeah, I think Ryan Nelson is probably viewed a little bit more highly as a trade asset. But I do think that Merrill Kelly is a pretty good comp for Nestor Cortez. If let's say they we had one more year of Merrill Kelly. right right because yeah and that's i mean the diamond backs have merrill kelly under control for one more season just as the yankees had control of one season of nestor cortez and their salary figures are also very similar i think uh you know you're looking around seven eight million for for both of those guys

so i think the equivalent deal for the diamond backs is merrill kelly plus some prospect it's a little bit hard to identify which prospect because the diamondbacks don't really have anyone like Caleb Durbin right now. I don't think they have like that utility player that you feel really good about is going to go to play a bunch of positions and, you know, be able to hit on some level in the majors. So it's a little hard for me to figure out who to pair with Merrill Kelly. I think maybe Gino Groover is not an unreasonable comp here. Someone who should be able to help you in the majors fairly soon.

I mean, even Gino Groover, though, is a guy who, I'm not sure that his floor is quite as high as someone like Caleb Durbin, just given the positional flexibility and the base stealing ability that Durbin has. He killed it in the Arizona Fall League. He did. Yeah, he was on the Salt River Rafters. He was a teammate with Tommy Troy and Girover. 29 for 30 and stolen bases in the Arizona Fall League.

So he definitely got around the base path. I will say I don't love, in my opinion, the return. I mean, obviously what they had to give up in order to game. I don't think the Yankees care because at this point, the Yankees are changing direction with their starting pitching, and I think they're going to continue to pursue other starting pitchers. I think they're just going to try to upgrade their pitching. That feels like that's very much what they're focusing on right now.

The fact that they now missed out on Kyle Tucker is another swing and miss, because according to reports, Kyle Tucker is going to the Cubs in exchange for a few really, good looking players Jesse. Yeah, yeah, that's another huge story that just came out here in the last hour or so before we went live. Kyle Tucker is a really, really good baseball player. Like, I'm not

going to say that this is necessarily like the Cubs signing Juan Soto, but it's not that far away from the Cubs getting Juan Soto. Here's what I'll say. It's the Yankees missing out on both Juan Soto and Kyle Tucker probably number one and number two on their priority list as far as who they were going to go

after position players. wise at least this off season. I mean, they still got Max Fried and now Devin Williams. So the Yankees are still, they're still doing okay for themselves. But yeah, I mean, if the Cubs are able to extend Kyle Tucker, like that's kind of the big question running through my head right now. If it is just one season of Kyle Tucker, then it is a lot to give up just for just for that one season.

But look, I mean, what's happened around the league so far is not exactly great news for the Diamondbacks. You've got the Mets taking a huge step forward and landing an elite player in Juan Soto. And now you have the Cubs taking a big step forward landing an elite player in Kyle Tucker. Those teams, I think, are, you know, I'm not going to say that the Cubs and the Mets are both way ahead of the Diamondbacks with where things stand right now. But, yeah, the Diamondbacks, they certainly have some catching up to do given what some of these other teams have done. I'll say this. When it comes to what these other teams are doing,

And especially now with the Cubs, that's a big problem. We know the Cubs are going to be active. We know the Cubs are also very much in the Roki Sasaki race as well. They've been making quite a push for him. Like there is a lot of competition that is starting to brew. I guess you could say it's good that the like top teams aren't necessarily all the ones getting these guys. It's being spread around a little bit throughout Major League Baseball. A couple of franchises are trying to go for it.

Very much hoping based on reports that the Toronto Blue Jays come in and steal Corbyn Burns away from the San Francisco Giants because that would be a big win. This feels I've made look, I spent a lot of time thinking about the fact that I have to go to the Waffle House. So I'm making a lot of fantasy football metaphors. But it feels like right now for the Diamondbacks, instead of you being more worried about what your team is doing, you have to be more worried right now about what other teams are doing. almost have to hope, like, that these little battles that are taking place that do impact you go the other way. Like, if it's the Blue Jays and the Giants in on Corbyn Burns right now, let's go Toronto. I will, oh, Canada, like, I'm in because we need to do everything we can to make sure that the NLS doesn't get better. When it comes to this, you know, situation with

Kyle Tucker, you don't really want the Yankees to all of a sudden become, you know, this, this unbeatable force as well, but I would have almost rather that the Yankees got Kyle Tucker than the Cubs did. 100%. No offense, the HGO guys. I know you guys are having a big day over there, but not so great for us over here on the Diamondbacks podcast. If you're the Diamondbacks, you wanted the Yankees to get all of these guys. Everybody. Yeah, yeah. You wanted the Yankees to get Soto. The Blue Jays, the Yankees, Red Sox go off, all of you guys. In a sense, like the richer, get richer mindset kind of benefits the Diamondbacks. Even I think when it comes to the Dodgers, on some level, right?

Like you'd rather get the Dodgers get some big names than the Padres because I think the Diamondbacks have a more realistic chance to compete with the podgers and they do with the Dodgers. It just feels like sort of a lost cause to begin with, right? I'm curious for you though, if the comp and granted, this is not a perfect comp, but if the comp is Merrill Kelly and Gino Groover for Devin Williams, is that a trade you feel like the Diamondback should have made? Wow. Because I think probably not.

Right? Like, Devin Williams would be great to have, but not at the cost of Merrill Kelly. He's just too important to this diamond back certification in my mind. I think the difference there is if you told me that the diamond backs just also landed Corbyn Burns, then that's different, right? Sure. That feels a little unlikely. No, right. Right.

But I'm just saying with the Yankees, they got Max Fried, right? So it's like, you just landed that ace at the beginning of your staff. And that's not even the ace, right? Like you got Garrett Cole. You got an amazing pitching staff. you're putting together there. And you feel like Nestor Cortez is expendable. If there was a scenario where I felt like Merrill Kelly was the odd man out,

then yeah, I guess I would be a little bit more okay with that. It would have to be, though, and I mean, we are in a position where they have a six-man rotation. I just don't feel like Merrill Kelly is the number three, number four, number five, number six-man there. I feel like he's more, maybe three at worst, but more likely the second best pitcher in that starting rotation. So I don't feel as comfortable saying that the,

diamond back should have made that trade. It's also like you said, I think it's about if you were telling me that the Diamondbacks are going to be able to extend Devin Williams and keep them here for three to five more years, then yeah, I think I would be on board for that. But without it, with it just being a one-year rental, I don't know. I will say that the Diamondbacks are all in on this year. So that's the one thing is that they, you know, might make some moves like this that are centered around them going for it this season.

with the way these other teams are rearming, I don't know how much as a GM I would be willing to sacrifice with the way things are shaping up thinking that this is going to be our year. And I know that's a loser talk already here on December 13th, 2024, before we've even reached 2025.

It's just the reality of the situation. You can't sit there and go out there and start swinging your D around with these guys that have billions of dollars to spend during these off-season. literally the Mets are approaching a billion dollars they've committed to almost this offseason, right? And they probably will hit that mark before all is said and done. I wouldn't be surprised to see them do it.

I think they're $200,000 away or less than that. But I just, I don't know. I think that it's going to be hard. And as we covered yesterday when it came to this division, you do have to do crazy things in order to keep up with the Dodgers. Yeah, I mean, it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough for the Diamondbacks to acquire the talent you feel like they kind of need to to keep up with everyone within the budgetary constraints that they have. And I think yesterday we kind of drove home the point that it feels like you're going to have to make a trade, maybe multiple trades, in order to really bring in the kind of talent that you feel like you need. I think I think Nestor Cortez is a pretty good picture.

I know the point was made in the chat that, you know, he wasn't like, he wasn't. the game two starter for the Yankees necessarily. But, I mean, this is a guy at a 377 ERA last year in over 170 innings. You look at his numbers over the last several seasons put together. It's pretty similar to what Merrill Kelly has been for the Diamondback. So I think locally people probably view Merrill Kelly a little bit more highly than people around the industry do. And granted, like there's, I think there's some legitimacy behind that.

Like Merrill was awesome during the playoffs for sure. Like he showed that he could be a force for you in the postseason in a starting rotation pitching in those most important games. But yeah, I think if you're the debacks, there's no way that you're trading Merrill Kelly for Devin Williams. And it is a little disheartening looking at what some of these teams are paying to upgrade, both in terms of trade capital and in terms of just money. All of it, I think, has been higher than what you may be expected going into the offseason. Well, the Diamondbacks definitely have a lot of moves that they have to make. Ernesto in the chat says I think it's clear the debacks going all in was last year. That may be true.

But I don't think it was like all in in the same way this year is because they had this year to fall back on. These guys from last year with the exception of, you know, a few names, which to be honest, didn't know how the Jock Peterson Randall Gritchick platoon was going to work out didn't know how a lot of things would go. I think they figured, you know, Christian Walker was probably going to go and test for agency after the year.

But outside of that, you know, last year was kind of a gamble. You know, you can't really say that they went all in. But I will also say that the move to get Jordan Montgomery was very much an all-in move. And they did have, like I said, two years of control there with him that they knew was most likely going to happen

with that player, you know, deal, player, player option. Now we sit in a situation where they kind of have to be all in. Nicklin says budget constrate. We have a billionaire owner who's old, spend some money before you die, bro. Hey, I will say, I mean, it's budget constrate. It is, it's real. Like, I mean, it is. I know people think that there's just that money to be put into this team.

But unfortunately, the team has to make money in order for them, to put it in unless you're Steve Cohen, who has very deep pockets and is going to spend as much money as it takes to make the mats into a winner. Not everybody's going to have a Steve Cohen as an owner, unfortunately. I do think that the Diamondbacks will go out and actively try to improve this team, both in free agency and through trades. The trade portion, though, like with this Devin Williams trade, at least like how much is it going to cost them? How, how, you know, what, what are they're going to lose and then what are they going to need to you know like obviously we know they have a surplus in an outfielders surplus and starting pitching but uh might might take more than that in order

for them to get a deal done it might yeah i mean i know there are a few other a few other uh back end relievers in the trade market that we've talked about guys like ryan hellsley pete fairbanks uh i imagine the ask for those guys maybe isn't quite as high as the ask for devon Williams. I guess Helsley, you'd figure, would probably be pretty similar. But it was always going to be tough for the debacks to play at the top of the market when it came to a back end reliever, right? Whether it's via trade with someone like Ryan Helsley or via free agency with someone like Tanner Scott, like you have to outbid everyone else, right? I mean, that's what it ultimately comes down to. Even if it feels like that's an overpay, like you have to be willing to pay more than anyone else is

willing to pay. That's what this ultimately comes down to. And teams around the league, seem to be very aggressive in trying to, trying to make those upgrades going into 2025. I appreciate your comments. You guys being here with your wonderful words, help us get through what feels like a kind of a disheartening day. I think it's, it's once again,

it's not the fact that we don't think the Diamondbacks are going to do something. It's the fact that we continue to watch all these other teams be very active. And not only do we not have anything happening for the Diamondbacks, I don't like it's there's not nothing cooking. Yeah, right. At this point, we're used to having at least several, several rumors, right?

Like, like debacks are connected to Xander Bogartes or trading for Sean Murphy or, you know. But yeah, this year we've basically had nothing. We have to make up the rumors. We're the ones fabricating this stuff. But it's for stuff that makes sense. And I mean, obviously we know what the Diamondbacks need and there's only so many players available.

Like, they might get they might run out of time here you know that's the other thing here is there is a ticking clock on players that are available devon williams was one of our options for the diamondbacks to upgrade their bullpen at the back end so i think we can uh now take a look at who's left that's who's available either via trade or via free agency and how we can help make this diamond backs team whole once again we're going to do that on the other side of this break with another edition of our tier maker. It's not Tuesday. I guess it's Tiermaker Friday.

Yeah, we'll do cheer. Whatever. Tiermaker day of the week after that. Of course, we'll get to that on the other side of this break. You're watching the PHNX Dback show. Can't say enough about how much me and this guy love Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh absolutely helps save our lives when it comes to eating very nutritious meals and takes a lot of the work out of it, mostly going to the store and figuring out how to combine the things we see on the shelves.

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slash free debacks. Applied across seven boxes, new subscribers only varies by plan. That's 10 free hellofresh meals. Just go to hellofresh.com slash free debacks and start eating better today. It is the last call for our pH and X winter pickleball tournament on December 14th. It's this Saturday, tomorrow at Chicken and Pickle in Glendale. We have a big field this year. We have all skill levels welcome.

We got PHNX prizes, food and drink specials, and so much more. Of course, the proceeds go to Operation Santa Claus, which is an amazing local charity. And of course, it's an annual donation drive that collects food, toys, and children's clothing, as well as monetary donations for several Arizona charities. You can sign up today over at go phtonx.com slash events. But you can also go check out chicken and pickle anytime. It's a wonderful indoor, outdoor entertainment complex. Of course, you can go there to play pickleball or chicken ball, which is a game I'm still trying to get made up. But there's a restaurant, there's a sports bar, there's all sorts of fun, and there's plenty of space to do it.

And so make sure to check out their amazing complex over there in Glendale. Head to chicken and pickle.com to see all the fun you can have at their Glendale location. All right, Jesse. Well, we have a pool of players that we consider to be available to the Arizona Diamondbacks, potentially this offseason in order to upgrade their bullpen. and we do know that's a priority for this team. So we are going to do our best to rank those players with another addition of tier maker. All right, Jesse.

What do we got here? Yeah. So I guess we'll just go in order. And the first guy on the list, and we're specifically looking at relief pictures. We're looking at back end relievers because we know that's something the Diamondbacks want. They do want a closer. A lot of these guys have a recent closing experience,

but there's a few in here that are more just back-end relievers who would be more like set up guys certainly possible the diamondbacks ultimately land there instead so yeah the first guy on the list Derek is Chris Martin maybe not exactly a household name no but this is a guy who pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2024 and was quite good he had a 3.45 ERA he basically never walks anyone he had three walks in 44 in a third innings which is absolutely outrageous 50 strikeouts, which is a pretty good number in 44 and a third innings as well. Kind of surprising in some ways that he had a mid three ERA, given that he basically never walked anyone.

I guess the downside with him is that he is 38 years old, so certainly getting close to the end of his career. Not so much a closer, more of a setup type. He had just two saves in 2024, just 14 saves in his career. So what are we feeling here, Derek? The first thing I think about here is the fact that since he's not a closer, I don't know if I can put him based on the Diamondbacks needs in the S-tier or the A-tier. I agree with that.

He's a setup man, and I think as much as he can absolutely make this bullpen better, I don't know if he's exactly what the Diamondbacks are looking for. However, the walks are impressive. His ERA is very, very good. And he is one of the best arms available on the market. When you take a look at his war, 2.5 war, just good enough for what I think about the sixth or seventh best available relief pitcher as far as war is concerned. So I think he would be a good fit in like the B tier. But that even that feels like a little high.

Maybe C might be a little bit more appropriate. Yeah, I think I'm going with C on this one. The peripherals are pretty compelling. He had a 1.05 IRA in 2023, which is insane. But yeah, at this stage, I don't know if you're necessarily counting on Chris Martin is like, you know, a dominant dominant reliever. So he wouldn't be a bad get. He'd be an asset for the team. But he's probably not a closer.

And among the setup guys in this bullpen, like I still think Justin Martinez and AJ Puck would probably still be higher on the depth chart than Chris Martin. So I think I think C is reasonable. All right. Who do we have next? Well, I also want to bring up the fact that Chris Martin falls into the same category as Carlos Santana, who when you Google them, you know, a singer or a musical artist pops up. Good luck. Good luck.

Good luck. Good luck. Good luck. Yeah. That's difficult. Lead singer of cold. Good fan. All right.

What else we got? Carlos Estevez is next. This is a name people are probably more familiar with. I like Carlos. Traded from, traded to the Phillies at the trade deadline this past year was pretty good for the Phillies in the second half. His strikeout numbers dropped a little bit. But Carlos Estevez is.

for sure a closer. That's the role that he had in Philadelphia as part of a pretty stellar, pretty impressive bullpen group there. So I think he's higher than Chris Martin. I don't think he's S-tier because I just don't really think that Carlos Estevez misses the bats that you would want in like a truly elite back-end reliever. He had a total of 50 strikeouts and 55 innings in 2024, a strikeout rate of 23.6 percent, which really is not all that impressive for a back-end reliever. lever. So I'm feeling B here, Derek, but curious what you think. I think similar. I mean, I feel like he could also be in the C tier. Uh, there head of Chris Martin as well. I mean, I do think that he is a, uh, really good arm. And I think he, he was the one I picked yesterday to

add, uh, with my $30 million. So yeah, let's go B. I think that's fair. He has, he has, he has closing experience had 26 saves this past year at 245 ERA. Uh, he He'd be a solid get. He's not an elite, an elite closer, but he is, he is a bona fide closer for sure. All right. Next up. Next up, we have Pete Fairbanks from the Tampa Bay Rays. This is a trade target, of course.

He has two years of club control remaining. Has dealt with some injuries recently. He missed the latter month and a half or so of the season with a lat strain, which is sort of a recurring thing with him. Second time he's had that in the past few years. So there are some injury concerns here, Derek. I think that's maybe the biggest concern. Fairbanks has regressed a little bit from a result standpoint as well.

He was one of the best closers in the league not long ago. This season, he had a 3.57 ERA. His strikeout rate dipped pretty dramatically. It was 37% in 2023, just 23.8% this year. So another guy that I think, you know, you can you can plug him in in the ninth inning. He has closing experience. He knows what pitching in that spot is like. But I think, again, you're in kind of a similar spot to Estevez where you're not necessarily expecting elite results at this stage in his career.

And there's some injury risk here, as I mentioned earlier. I don't love it. I don't love it. I think that we would be looking at probably a D tier. I don't want to be mean enough to put them in the hell tier, but what are your thoughts? I think D or hell is probably a little bit harsh for Pete Fairfair. Banks, Derek. I mean, this is still like he had a three, five, 70 RA, right? That's, that's fine. That's not, that's not terrible. I view him. Remember's when we smacked him around twice. We did. Yes,

the Diamondbacks did do that. However, that was, I believe, the day that he got hurt. He left, I think he gave up a home run to Corbyn Carroll. And then he was removed from the game, like, immediately after that. And now it's when he had the shoulder injury that ended his season. So I think there because of the injury risk, you could, I think you could argue he's lower than Carlos Estevez. Estevez definitely had a better season in 2024, but. Is he under contract? Would he be a trade candidate? Yeah.

He's not free agent. Yeah. Fairbanks is a trade candidate. Two years of control left. Only making about three, I think it's $3.8 million, something around there for 2025. Would bump up a little bit the year after that. I'm good with C behind Chris Martin. I would probably put him ahead of Chris Martin, if I may make that, if I may make that case.

You absolutely can. I think, I just think that Fairbanks is a closer. Like, Fairbanks is someone who has a lot of experience in that role. And if he's healthy, his ceiling is very high. Like, he was a really, really good pitcher for the raise before some of these, some of these injuries have sort of been a deterrent for him. So, but I think C is reasonable given some of the injury history there. All right.

Next up, Jesse. Next up is someone that I think will belong near the top of this list, Eric. It's Ryan Housley of the St. Louis Cardinals, the guy that we've talked about multiple times as a potential target. I don't know if the Cardinals are going to trade him. Recent reports say that they're maybe thinking of holding onto him, maybe until the trade deadline. I don't really understand why they would do that. I think he's probably still available at, you know, whatever price they're looking to set here. I think he probably has to be S tier.

He has a 3.0 war in 2024, 2.04, 2.04 ERA, 49 saves. Yeah. And he's for a bad team. A bad team from a bad city where bad guys come from. Watch it. Watch it. Or else we won't give you, Heelsley. Keep talking like that.

I'll make sure it doesn't happen. Oh, the threats are coming in now. All right. Helsley throws 100 miles an hour. He had an ERA of 204 this past year. he got Cy Young votes like if any reliever in the National League is better than Devin Williams it's probably Ryan Helsley so if he's not S tier I don't know who is I think he has to belong completely next we have Jeff Hoffman of the Philadelphia Phillies

who we talked about him a little bit yesterday he was in my he was in my group of players that I would sign for 30 million even though that group was completely unrealistic because all of them were going to take more money than what we were going off with the fan graphs projections yesterday. But, yeah, Jeff Hoffman for me has to be A or S. He is one of the best relievers in all of baseball. He's going to get like a three or four year contract this offseason. There have been some reports about teams wanting to use him as a starting pitcher,

which is interesting. I ultimately feel like he probably lands as a reliever, but who knows? Didn't work out for AJ Puck, that's for sure. It did not. It did not. It did work out pretty well for Rinaldo Lopez, though, this last year. I'm feeling A with Jeff Hoffman. Yeah, and I think that part of it is Ryan Halsley's would be available via a trade that would cost the Diamondbacks a tremendous amount. Right. It's like both of these are going to cost a ridiculous amount. One is money. One is assets.

So I think that the Diamondbacks might have assets to trade, even though it would be an absolute haul. It would be gut-wrenching what they would have to give up to the St. Louis to the St. Louis Cardinals to get Ryan Halsley. That's the truth. But I don't know if they have the money to even approach a contract for Jeff Hoffman, but they might. They might. I mean, they could sign Jeff Hoffman. They just wouldn't have, you know, that would probably take $12 to $14 million per year, something like that. So if you've got $25 million a budget space, like that's half of the money that you have to spend. You still need to get a first basement. And you still have some other needs. I like it. I like him in A. He had 10 saves. He had 2.170 RA and a 2.0 war. He was a good pitcher. He was a good.

He was an all-star. Yeah, I don't think the D-Backs would want him as a starter. Maybe some other team does. Next up, we have Kenley Jansen, who is the name that D-Bax fans are probably familiar with on some level. He's still doing the thing, Derek. He's still throwing his 92-mile-hour cutter. He is not elite.

He has not been elite for a while. while, but he's been pretty good, pretty steady in that ninth inning in recent years, pitching with the Boston Red Sox most recently. Honestly, I, like, he surprised me because I did think when he left, for some reason, he had that brief stint with the Braves and then he went to Boston. And I just, in my mind, I wrote him off as being washed at that point. Yeah. You know?

Yeah. I was like, I'm just waiting for the end of Jansson's career. And I mean, man, it's been going strong for four. 14 seasons now 14 seasons of Kenley Jansen and a lot of them with the Dodgers but yeah last season of 3.29 ERA at 1.3 war he pitched 54 and two thirds innings pitched I mean he's a decent reliever yeah yeah I mean 20 27 saves yeah he continues to get the job done he throws like 85% cutters and it's only like 91 92 miles an hour at this point but somehow it still kind of works So I think you're probably just looking at a one-year contract with a Kenley Jansen.

He is 37 years old at this point. He feels like a B to me, B or C. I feel like C. Okay. I'm all right with that. I think there's a case to be made that he is, you'd rather have Carlos Estevez than Janssen. DeSavez is much younger and, yeah, throws 99 miles now. Put him in the middle.

I was about to ask where you guys wanted my guy Kenley. Yeah. All right. It's reasonable. What else we got? Jose LeClerc of the Texas Rangers. This guy probably not going to be near the top of the list. LeClerc was a pretty good reliever for the Texas Rangers in 2023 or in 2022 and

2023. DeBack saw a little bit of LeClerc in the postseason in the World Series last year. Leclerc got some saves for those Rangers teams. A little bit more of a setup type role for him. though. This season was not a great year for him. He had a 4.32 ERA, but the peripherals were still pretty good. 12 case per nine, a strikeout rate over 30%. So this is kind of like a by-low candidate in my mind who does have some closing experience. Yeah. But he's he's not going to be, he's not going to be near the top of the list. And I mean, honestly, he hasn't pitched a ton, but as a reliever,

he was pretty good in 2020 and 2022 and 23 at a 2.83 ERA right in 22 and a 2.68 ERA in 23. Maybe based on him having a down year, he would also be fairly cheap. Yes. I don't know, man. I think when it comes to what I'm looking at, I'm not excited about that. And I think that he kind of factors in if he, you know, like, yeah, it's a bounce back situation. but I don't know if you're the D-backs do you want like a high-low bounce-back type guy I don't know if they can afford to do that and then have it not work out right so I would say probably D

for me yeah I think that's reasonable no disrespect all right what else we got uh andrus munoz mounios hey of the Seattle Mariners Shane if Shane were here he'd be pouting that we're talking about andris munio we're going to talk about them I don't think the mariners are going to trade Munoz. I included him in a list of potential relievers the debacks could target and there were some very angry Mariners fans coming at me saying that they would never do this, which to that I basically said, yes, but Jerry Depoto is your GM and you can never really rule out anything definitively. And we're the Diamondbacks and there's just a weird connection between these two teams. We can't let an offseason go by without a Diamondbacks Mariners trade happening.

So I think this is quite unlikely, but Andres Munoz is one of the best closers in all of baseball. He had an ERA of 2.12 for the Mariners this past year, 22 saves. You know, he strikes out a lot of guys. Velo has dropped each of the last couple of seasons, which is maybe a little odd for someone who's only 25 years old, but the results are still really excellent and he's still throwing, you know, 97, 98 miles an hour. So I think you feel pretty good about Munoz. He probably belongs near the top of this list.

It would take an absolute haul to acquire him. He has four years of club control. control remaining. So in terms of like big prices to pay, Munoz might cost you more than just about anyone else here. But again, he is very, very good. Are we putting him in the S tier? Yeah, that's, that's tough. I think I, I think I probably would. I think I probably would put him in the S tier behind Helsley, but I would probably put him in the S tier. Yeah, I'm not going to argue with that. He's an incredible pitcher. He would be an incredible asset. And again, if the Diamondbacks could simply acquire one of one of those type of guys right like an s tier or an a tier guy it really does make this one of not only the best bullpens that this team has ever had in franchise history but puts it right up there with one of the best bullpens in baseball right so and i'm fairly confident about that that's the reason why again when we talk about the moves and the lack of moves i should say uh by the diamondbacks when it comes to what mike has done

done and what he's talked about and how he feels, you know, where this team is at right now, this, there's, there's not a lot of additions that are needed in order for you to suddenly say, all right, now, now the Diamondbacks are back. Now they're, they're back to competing with these teams like the Cubs and the Giants. As far as them standing still right now, though, that's the reason why it definitely feels like, at least in the moment right now, that they're kind of being passed up with these trades and some of the free agent moves that are being made. But we have more players to rank on the other side of this break at break, and we are going to do so.

So don't you guys go anywhere? You're watching this guy and this guy on the PHNXT back show. It is bowl season. And of course, if you want to have some fun this holiday season, downtown Phoenix at our second home, we'll be hopping across the street. Chase Field is going to be hosting the Rape Bowl. Get ready to huddle up at Chase Field for college football postseason action. The rate bowl kicks off on December 26th at 3.30 p.m.

If you have some family coming into town or if you're just taking some time off around the holidays, it's a great time to huddle up. Bring your fans. Bring your friends. Bring your family. Come on down to Chase Field and watch a football game in a major league baseball park, making it one of the most unique and fun atmosphere in all of sports. It's also the only bowl game featuring a matchup between the Big Ten and Big 12 teams,

two of the toughest conferences in the country. Game tickets, premium experiences, and reserve parking are all available. Get yours now at ratebowl.com. And of course, if you're heading to the Rape Bowl, make sure to stop by Circle K, wherever you are. It doesn't matter. Even if you're not going to the Rapeau, wherever you're going, stop by Circle K right now and get yourself something to drink, get yourself a snack. We just got some new snacks here in the office. And I'm very thrilled. I need more of everything Circle K has to offer because I know they have lots of snacks. They have national brands.

They have other things. But do not sleep on the Circle K branded snacks. They are amazing. If you sign up right now for the inner circle, you can get some snacks for free. They have punch cards in the inner circle. You can get a buy five, get a six one free on a selection of Circle K products. You'll also get your first five polar pops for free and you'll save 25 cents per gallon on your first five Phillips. Do so by joining the Inner Circle for absolutely free. All you got to do is download the CircleK app today. Terms and conditions apply at participating locations.

Visit CircleK.com for details, sir. Me and the iconic Eric Ruby went to Circle K last night before Page and X Puffs, Derek. They have some incredible deals. You can you can literally do like a polar pop, a bag of chips, and a hot dog for like $3. Yeah. Where are you getting that kind of deal anywhere? Circle K. Circle K.

That's it. That's where you got to go. Circle K. All right. Well, we got some more relief pitchers to rank here. So let's get back to our tier ranking. Who do we got next, Jesse? Ryan Presley of the Houston Astros.

I talked with some Astros reporters while I was at the winter meetings, Derek, and there was some talk about how Ryan Presley to the Diamondbacks could maybe make some sense for both sides. Presley is owed a decent amount of money in 2025. I believe it is $14 million. I will double check that real quick. And he's coming off a season where he had a 3.49 ERA, a 1.34 whip. He was the Astros closer in the pre-Josh Hater era. He was quite good in that role for a long time. His strikeout rate, however, has dropped pretty significantly in recent years.

It was up over 35% in 2022, 27% in 2023, and then it was 23.8% in 2024. So things are definitely moving in the wrong direction here as Presley is 35 years old. But he does have a lot of experience in a closing. role has over a hundred career saves. I think he's, I don't know, I don't know how I feel where I would put him, probably B or C, but I'm not sure exactly where. I think talent wise, he might still be a B.

I mean, like you said, you definitely see some, I mean, he's trending in the wrong direction as ERA has gone up over the last few years. You kind of had a sub three ERA, but then, you know, you see it kind of peek. And he's still at 3.49 in 2024. So that's not terrible at all. I would say probably I don't know I feel like the money he's owed puts him more

in the C category I think that's probably fair Yeah I mean it might be a trade where you don't have to give up all that much Because of the money and it's sort of like a salary dump from the Astros standpoint So Yeah I think I think he's probably in the C tier I would rather have Carlos Estevez for sure Front of the C tier where exactly in the C tier

Oh that's that's tricky Because talent-wise, I would say we'd be at the top of the C-tier, but the problem is the money that he's owed theoretically, right? And what it? What do you think? I think, oh, man, that is tough. Fairbanks, like healthy Pete Fairbanks, I like better than Ryan Presley at this point. Kenley-Janson versus Ryan Presley, man, that's tough.

I think I would probably put him, I think I'd put him between Jansen and Chris Martin right there. Yeah. Yeah. I did my yawning, by the way. I went to Festivist last night, and I had myself a very long night after enjoying a Korean balogi. You made a bad food choice. Too late.

I'm too old to do this anymore, Jesse. It's just, uh, I'm not going to. I don't know if I'm going to recover. I don't know if I'll ever recover from it. But who else we got? All right. Next is a Texas, another Texas ranger, uh, former Texas ranger.

Robertson who was not a closer for them this past year was not he was the set up guy we're going to get to the closer from that Rangers team who's also a free agent and could be an option for the diamond backs but David Robertson was their setup guy and he was really good Derek an ERA of three on the dot 99 strikeouts and 72 innings he was he was durable and he's kind of a he's kind of a legend like David Robertson is 39 years old and and just kind of keeps on doing the thing I'm fairly certain he's already 40. Is he not 40? He is 39 and 248 days.

He'll turn 40 like right when the season starts though. So yeah. I feel like I have to, you're making me attack my fellow old man here because he put up some incredible numbers this year. A 3.1 war. I mean, he is the third highest war of all available relief pitchers on the free agency market. I think 3.1 sounds high to me. Is that like the last, maybe the last two?

two seasons combined or something. No, that's, I mean, this is MLB.com's website, Jesse. So no. Maybe MLB.com is going crazy. Maybe I'm going crazy. You might be. Yeah, I think at this point, like you probably don't want David Robertson to be your closer. So that, yeah, I think even though his numbers were good this past year, he's, he's not an

S tier and A tier guy for sure. Probably be or C. we're really stacking that C category but I think I'd say B you'd say B I'd say 40 year old 40 year old David Robertson

I gotta defend him no like you said I mean yeah I like Pete Fairbanks better than David Robertson but unfortunately yeah yeah C I'd say C you okay with that

do you want him below Kenley Jansen um that's tough I would probably put him below Kenley Jansen, yeah. Yeah, I think that's reasonable. And having him above Ryan Presley, I think makes some sense

because even though Presley has more recent closing experience than David Robertson, like Robertson's strikeout rate was significantly higher than Brian Presley this past year. So, yeah, I think that's fair. I refuse to participate in this next pitcher. He's a free agent, Derek. He's available.

We couldn't have this conversation without bringing up former Diamondbacks closer, Paul Seawald. He is on our list. I have a feeling you don't want to put him all that high on this list. I couldn't imagine the vibes being lower than if the announcement was made. I think that's pretty reasonable. I think that's pretty reasonable. Paul Seawald was coming back to this team.

And it's not to say that like it. couldn't work out because I do think Seawald is like a decent by-low candidate. I think he was much worse in in the second half of the season than like what I think he actually is as a pitcher at this point. He just had one month that was obviously horrendous. But yeah, at this point, if you're the Diamondbacks, like, you know, some team should probably make a buy-low bet on Paul Seawald. I don't think the Diamondbacks are that team, right?

So probably somewhere near the bottom, I don't know. What do you think, Derek? Hell tier. We're putting Paul Seawald in hellier. Put him in the hellier right now, right now. And I'm not, this is nothing against Paul Seawald. I think I've even defended Paul Seawald this very season for some reason. But that's mostly because he's a human being.

And I still think Paul Seawald is a great person. He's an awesome human being. And an asset to this team as far as like a leader and the vibe. that he brought, the jump around, all of that. I am doing this purely from a fan perspective if you were to tell me that the Diamondbacks move to lock down the back end of their bullpen was to bring back Paul Seawoke. Yeah, yeah, it just wouldn't, it wouldn't quite pass the smell test. I would, I would lose it.

I would literally lose it. And I think that's the only reason why it probably belongs more in the D tier, but based on our relationship. We're putting him in hell tier. I think that's fair. What else do we got? Well, we go straight from Paul Seawall to Tanner Scott.

So there's not really a great way to make this. All the way up to the top. It's not a great way to make this transition. From outhouse to penthouse. Let's go to the top. Tanner Scott definitely belongs in the S here. The only question of year is whether we should put him between Munoz and Helsley at the top behind those guys.

Let me double check Tanner Scott's stats here. I will say this. I think that. Tanner Scott is at least available. He's the top, essentially the top free agent reliever available on the market. Yeah. So he had a 1.75 ERA this past year, which is pretty, pretty bonkers. Does does him being available as a free agent versus both of the other guys only available

via trade make him rank, rank him higher for you? It's tough to say because, first, Frankly, I think all of these guys are going to cost too much for the Diamondbacks, whether in trade or free agency. So I don't know if that's a distinguishing factor for me. I think I would maybe put, I think I would probably put Halsley above Tanner Scott. So right where we have him right now. Just because Tanner Scott does walk a lot of guys, he was at 4.5 walks per nine this last year,

whereas Ryan Helsley was at 3.1. So there's maybe a little bit less risk when it comes to that. But, yeah, I mean, all those guys at the top are pretty awesome. So I think right in between Helsley and Munoz is fair. All right. We got two more guys left. Who do we got, Jesse? Well, let's hold off on this.

Let's do a quick commercial break. And then we will finish up with the final two relief pictures that we have available on our list and where they rank. Don't you guys go anywhere. We'll be right back. He'll of every resorts and casinos is the place where you should be spending your holidays for fun and excitement because no one does it better. You can visit any one of their four locations here in town to experience the best the Valley has to offer.

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the VRBO Fiesta Bowl will host the first playoff quarter final in history. And this is a very exciting time of the year to be a Sun Devils fan. This has implications on who they might end up playing at some point. Who knows? I'm not getting too ahead of myself with that. But this does mean the road to college football national championship goes through us here with the Fiesta Bowl on December 31st at 5.30 p.m. Number three seed, C, Boise State takes on the winner of SMU and Penn State. Don't miss the epic pregame fan fest block party featuring live entertainment, fun games, food, beverages, and more than witness college football history, all while securing priority for future college football playoff games.

Join us for the first ever college football playoff quarterfinal at the BRBO Fiesta Bowl. Buy your tickets, reserve parking, and premium experiences at fiesta.org slash tickets and Viva Fiesta. Fiesta forever is what we say with me and my friends. Let Jesse, we got two more to finish up. And then we do have some Diamondbacks news actually to get to because the Diamondbacks did announce their official coaching staff for the 2025 season. But before we get to that, we got to figure out where we're going to rank our last two pitchers here, Jesse. And of course, we have here Mr. Kirby Yates, Texas Rangers. Yes, yeah.

I guess he was David Robertson's counterpart at the back end of that Rangers bullpen. And both guys are kind of old. and both guys like totally shoved. And Kirby Yates, even more so than David Roberts and Yates had just an absolutely bonker season for the Texas Rangers this last year. Yeah. His opponent batting average started with a one and was like low ones. I believe it was 11, if you can believe that. He had a 1.17 ERA also, which is unbelievable.

He blew one save all season. And it was a game that the Rangers still won. So I think he has to, like I can't really. really put him in the S tier because I think at this stage in Yates career, there's a little bit of volatility here, but I think he probably belongs in the eight tier. Yeah? Yeah. Yep. You're not going to get any argument over that. I don't, uh, the Rangers are another team that I don't really know what they're doing. Um, but maybe, maybe they'd be willing. They're doing a lot. We, we don't exactly know how all the pieces fit together, but the Rangers have been one of the most

active teams in the league so far. Uh, our last name here is Kyle Finnegan. again of the Washington Nationals, who of course was non-tendered by the Nationals recently, but remains a fairly interesting back-end candidate has quite a bit of closing experience, filled that role for the Nats in 2024. Not great numbers, a 368 ERA, a 134 whip. His FIP was up over four at 4.25. So he is by no means an elite reliever, but he's someone who has held down this closing job for a while in in DC

and it's done a fairly good job I'm well I think B tier feels fairly accurate with him is that too high that might be a little too high I think that's probably a little too high for me we're just we're just throwing it we're harsh graders there we put every I mean

one of us is a harsh grader I like how you want to lump me into this to you want to put me in the C tier with all these guys as well no I'm not doing it do you want to put we could move we can move Pete Fairbanks up to B. I wouldn't be opposed to that if you want to just kind of spread the love a little bit. I think that's fair.

Having just Carlos Estab is by himself in the B tier, he's going to get a little bit lonely there. He's got to have a friend. Yeah. But if you're in the detail tier or the hell tier, you deserve to be lonely. I think I would put, that's tough. I don't know if I would have, I don't know if I would have Finnegan at the top of that C tier. I think, I think Jansson is higher than him. I think Robertson is higher.

And I think Presley's higher too. for me. So I think I would just have him above Chris Martin maybe. There you go. Well, there is our ranking of the available free agent pitchers. So let's get this over to Elise so that she can make some moves happen for the Diamondbacks. Yeah, yeah, what we're needing to happen. Get moving Elise. Well, speaking of Elise and her decisions with the coaching staff, the Arizona Diamondbacks have

finalized their coaching staff for 2025. I think we have a screenshot here of them, like they're posed in front of UFN. loving mitts. But yeah, there's Tori Lovelo and his staff, Jeff Bannister, who's coming back as his bench coach. I don't know why, but that is like the most surprising part to me. It just felt like Bannie kind of still has such a great reputation. And, you know, kind of with the success of this team,

I thought maybe someone was going to poach him away. We got Ron Washington, right? Yeah, yeah. There are some more traditionalist managers that have found jobs in recent years. But, yeah, Jeff Bannister expected to come back this year as the bench. coach of course Sean Larkin we've discussed recently moving from farm director to third base coach which is not a transition we see often but excited for Sean to have that opportunity and then if we could pull it up one more time real quick Kevin there are a couple of new names here Owen do

has been hired as an assistant pitching coach alongside Wellington Sepeda who is going to be the bullpen coach for the diamondbacks and then Travis Dinker who's been working in the farm system for the past few years is being elevated up to the big league staff and will be the third hitting coach behind Joe Mather and Damien Easley. Well, it's a good staff, great, great people there. And the Diamondbacks at least have the coaching figured out. It's going to be interesting to see the impact having a new pitching coach has on the staff. I think that's the biggest question mark.

And I think when you talk about why the Arizona Diamondbacks might not feel like they need to go out and and I guess make a move immediately. It might be because they they don't even know what this pitching staff is going to look like under, you know, a new coach. So we do appreciate you guys. Of course, stopping by. We will see you guys on Monday. Hopefully we'll see that the Diamondbacks do something.

We'll have some news. We'll surely have some news for you. But follow us on social in the meantime. I'm at cap underscore Kate Man with the K. He's at Jesse N. Friedman. Our guy, large intimate, Kevin Thomas, is at Kev. posts. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-backs, but all roads do lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We love you guys. We appreciate you guys. We hope you have a

wonderful weekend. We'll see you back here on Monday. We thank you again for your time. And until then, remember kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when I actually get some sleep and the Diamondbacks stay awake, making moves happen to keep up with these other teams.