PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Extension Par-tay for Ketel Marte

Episode Date: March 30, 2022

On this episode, Derek and Jesse are breaking down Ketel Marte's new extension and why it's such a good deal for the D-backs. Derek also makes a foolish challenge to any MLB mascot that we're sure he'll regret. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

And welcome to another edition of the PHNXDX podcast right here at PHNX. My name is Derek Montia. Of course, I am your mayor of PHNX. That's why I'm here. I'm checking up on people, making sure everybody's behavior. Shane isn't. We know that for sure. But of course, I'm joined by my vice mayor, my co-host, my friend, the one and only Thunderstick, Jesse Friedman.

Well, Derek, when your best player signs an extension, there's no limit to how many days you can talk about it. We can just go on. and on and on. And we get to do that again today. Even in more detail than we have so far. It's going to be fun. We may or may not have a lot of offseason activity to talk about with this team, Jesse. So we're going to take whatever we can get.

Most importantly, though, the best player on the Arizona Diamondbacks is going to be an Arizona diamond back for a very long time. Of course, this show is brought to you by the fine folks at the Draft King Sportsbook app. Go download the Draft King's Sportsbook app now. use our code of PHNX and get down, new customers can get down on a college hoops deal, where you'll bet just $5 on any college hoops team to win their tournament game, as this tournament is winding down, and you will get $200 in free bets if they do win their game. And shout out to Josh in our comments.

Thank you guys so much. We love you guys being here, and especially when we have good news to talk about. Cotell Marte has signed a five-year extension with the Arizona Diamondbacks. We have talked about it already on the show, but today we're going to get into it a little more. First, Jesse, before we do, before we break down the deal and look at some of the, I guess, details and finer points of what he's going to receive over the next five years, what was your initial reaction to this deal as far as whether or not the Arizona Diamondbacks

got a good deal with this extension? My first reaction, Derek, was, I don't know why I could tell Marte's camp took this. steal. I had a similar reaction. There's team friendly and then there's what Ketel Marte just signed with the Diamondbacks. And I mean, obviously this is still, you know, a great thing for, you know, him and his family moving forward.

It's still, you know, $76 million is still a lot of money. But, I mean, you know, Marcus Semyon and Corey Seeger based on what they just got over this last off season, you feel like Kattel left some money on the table here, at least potentially. So all in all, I guess that's. that's good for the Diamondbacks. I mean, like we said, he's their best player. I think it's pretty abundantly clear that that's the case. And he's here through 2027, possibly 2028, depending on if the Diamondbacks pick up a very team friendly $13 million club option,

which, I mean, that feels like a no-brainer even, you know, seven years away or six years away from that, whatever we are. So yeah, it's an incredible, incredible deal. And by the way, I agree with you 100%. That was my same reaction. That was my same feeling. It wasn't really, I mean, it's not really like, Cotel Marte got screwed on this deal or, wow, they really took advantage. Yeah, yeah.

You know, he's still getting paid a significant amount of money. I think at the end of the day, that's really what it comes down to for some baseball players. They are receiving tens of millions of dollars a year to play a sport they love. And he really does love being here in Arizona. You said that he is the best player on that team. Mike Hazen 100% would agree with you about him being the best player on the team. He said that today during the press conference to announce the extension.

Ctele-Marté just said that he really loves everybody there. The coaching staff, the team, the organization, he just loves the Arizona Diamondbacks and being part of this franchise. I think that factors in here, but I also think that, you know, he said a number of times that these details, the extension, the idea of extending his contract wasn't something really that was on his mind, right? These are things that he wasn't really focused on. You can't help but think, though, that there was a lot of talk about him being traded and such and that there was a lot of uncertainty about his future. There's got to be just kind of this sigh of relief of knowing that you're going to be with a team you want to be with for an extended period of time. He, in fact, said he wants

to retire as an Arizona Diamondback. Wow. Yeah. We'll see if that happens, of course, you know, but like you said, he, he is MLB.com. I'm sorry, we're losing you, Jesse.

But he is MLB.com's top second baseman for 2022. So as far as, you know, his value to this team goes, you're absolutely right what you said earlier. There's a very good chance that Cotel Marte could have gotten much more money than this on the open market or from another team or as a free agent. So, but let's take a look at that deal with a little, a few,

few details as far as what he's going to receive. This season, he's already under contract for $8.4 million. His club options were $10 and $12 million previously for 20203 and 24. So no, those have been bumped up to $11 million and $13 million per year. Then we have two seasons of him receiving $16 million, $2027, $14 million. And like you said, Jesse, that club option for $13 million in 2028 with a $3 million buyout. So he'll get that $3 million at least for $2028, which means the Diamondbacks would only be on hook on the hook for $10 million for him to be still a member of this team in 2028.

So I imagine that club option most likely will be a no-brainer. But we're not William Boar, so we can't tell the future, of course. but this is for John Heyman and Zach Buchanan and reporting on this financial details and I really do think that the Arizona Diamondbacks once again got a steal like they have in the past a couple of times including with Catelle Marte on the contract on a big contract like this.

It's just it's crazy to me that those middle years are only it tops out at 16 million. I mean you think about Cotel Marte, a player who finished fourth in MVP voting just a few years ago. I mean, for that guy to play potentially his entire major league career maxing out at $16 million off of extensions that, you know, he signed well in advance.

It's pretty crazy. But like you said, I mean, this is just, you know, I mean, there are a lot of guys similar to Cotel Marte who are approached with offers like this all the time, you know, teams who want to get these guys under team control way early on in the process. and most guys say no. These offers are made all the time. And usually we don't hear about them because a lot of the time,

players aren't interested, you know, when they feel like they have a chance to bounce back. They have a chance to prove themselves in their final years. And they could earn a lot more money. Kattel said yes. And that's not something that, you know, it's certainly not a bad thing.

I mean, this is the decision that he has decided to make. And the Diamondback stand to benefit from that. Obviously, there's some injury risk with Catelle. You know, I mean, he only played 90 games last year. And so I think that's a big part of why the numbers are lower than we'd expect. He has struggled to stay on the field consistently.

But, I mean, the biggest news on the Diamondback side here is that he's still a very tradable asset. And not that we want to go to, not that we want to go too crazy down that road, but. Yeah, you're a monster, by the way. I am. And so I don't like that talk out of the gate. But you're right, because it's a very team friendly contract, very team friendly. If he starts performing at a high level and the team decides that maybe they need to part ways for him or maybe they just receive an extremely generous offer, which could be the case, considering how team friendly this contract seems to be.

You're right. He could be a big tradable asset for this team. But let's not talk about that. That's awful. And you're awful. and I hate when you do that. Here's something interesting, though, when we talk about Cotel Marte

rebounding, when we talk about what we could see out of him, this is kind of an eye-opening stat. Since his 2019, right, All-Star bid, that was when he was a second baseman. He was an All-Star second baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has made 30 appearances at second base, eight starts. since being an all-star second baseman.

He has made three appearances, 10 and two-thirds innings at shortstop, and he has 46 appearances in center field. So is that like 2020 and 2021 put together? Like since the 19c? Okay. Wow, that's crazy. That's, I never would have.

I mean, I guess that makes sense, though, because he really hasn't been a second baseman recently. I mean, that's why we were laughing the other day that MLB Network had him is the best second baseman in the game. Not because it's wrong, but because he just hasn't really played there at all the last couple of years. He hasn't earned it yet, right? Like, if he would have, I mean, and he did.

He started getting back to second base for a handful of games at the end of last season, right? But that really wasn't a big enough sample size to determine if he was going to go on to be the best second baseman in Major League Baseball this year. It's a nice, it's a nice get. though really when you talk about that that little i i imagine that you know him being named something like that that was going to get him more attention more publicity uh was probably even more of a reason for the arizona diamondbacks to try to make this extension happen before he lives up to that top second basement in major league baseball moniker this season and then the bidding for him could go

out of control right i mean as much as you like a team as much as the money is totally enough for you it's hard when people start throwing absurd amounts of money at you. You know, it's hard to not want to, to maybe start listening to some of that, right? So, uh,

but it's, you know, there, there is something to be said about happiness, right? Or slappiness. I don't know. That's an old joke already and I can't.

I shouldn't be making that. But I am excited for, uh, for, for, for, for, for,

for, for, for CETL to be here. I think that's the biggest thing. Hazen seemed very determined today when he was talking about this, that, now they have their guy, right?

We've talked about their core. We've speculated on who could be a part of it. We've brought up Carson Kelly and Zach Gallen. We've talked about some of the younger pieces that could become part of that core, but aren't there yet. I'm still a believer in Pavin Smith, and I want to talk about him and some of his at Bats stay. But we'll do that a little bit later.

I just think that the Diamondbacks are now figuring that out. And at this point, have the opportunity to actually, like, they've saved some money now. He left some money on the table for them to go out and add the talent to this team that could take them to the next level. It's not going to happen this year. And I think that's okay, right? I think especially looking at that Dodgers lineup yesterday, it's pretty formidable. And I don't know if there's enough spending we're going to do in one off season to get on that level just yet.

You know, but who knows what can happen? Baseball is a crazy game. And the Giants didn't have a jaw-dropping lineup last year. and they outshined the Dodgers with Max Scherzer in their, in their, you know, rotations. So there is something to be said for scrappy underdogs like ourselves and other teams that you never know what could happen. I just think that this Cattel Marte extension is big.

It sends a, it sends the right message to the team. And I think to the fans, I really feel like the fans and everybody can kind of get around this deal and just be excited that this team is finally doing something to not only pay someone who deserves it, but keep them here for a considerable amount of time. One thing that stands out to me is the Diamondbacks don't have that much money on the books going forward. They really don't have that many guys, you know, beyond the initial rookie contracts that everyone comes along with when you bring them up from the minors or whatnot. It's Madison Bumgarner. They have him signed through 2024.

They've got Nick Ahmed through 2023. they've got David Peralta through the end of this season. Beyond those guys, there's not really any significant money on the books moving forward. And so the Diamondbacks are only a few years away from being in a position where they have a fair amount of flexibility. They're not going to go out and spend $200 million. I think we all know that at this point. But they've spent 130, 135 in the past when the team has been in contention. And with Catelle-Martee at $16 million a year,

even in those peak years, there's a lot of spending room there for the diamondbacks moving forward. There really is. There really is. And Josh Hunt has a great comment there. What kind of record do we need to get to get the owner to start going in all in financially? Do you think? I honestly think that if the diamond back somehow pull off some sort of playoff spot,

some sort of crazy jump from last year. I'm not saying it's likely. But if the diamondbacks, even if they miss a playoff spot, but let's say they end the season one game over 500, oh my God, I would spend all the money on this team, right?

Like, because what a turnaround from how shitty they were last season to now. So I don't know why you wouldn't go all in when a team that you didn't spend very much money on can be that good. And that's a tall order. That's a tall task. I'm not saying that they're going to do that.

But if you're asking me that, Like if they, I don't need, I don't need playoff success this year. I don't even need them in the playoffs. But if they made that big of a leap to being a 500 team or a few games over, then how would you, how could you not? How could you not supplement the talent that's here with as much, you know, spending as you can possibly figure out? It's just not about what you spend, though.

It's about how you spend it. Mike Hazen seems to be a very frugal negotiator. He seems to be the exact kind of. kind of GM you want making these deals and signing guys. I just feel like he hasn't been given the budget to do so. I don't know. That's me speculating. I do that a lot.

No, that's, I mean, that's a tough question to answer. I do think that Ken Kendrick for, you know, as much flack as he receives from fans, he has shown willingness in the past to spend when the team has shown signs,

that they're ready to take the next step. The Diamondbacks have spent in the past. And you could make an argument. Right. I mean, they've spent it after they were good. And then once they spent the money, you're like, all right, here comes Brad Boxburger and shit. Let's go. And no, that did not work out. And even the moves they made, you got to admit, we've had a lot.

They've had some embarrassing moves, right? But a lot of the moves they made that didn't work out weren't embarrassing at the time. They just turned out to not work out. in catastrophic ways at times. But it's not like they weren't out there trying to acquire top-tier talent from other teams who were performing when they went after them. And then somehow those guys shit the bed when they came here and became an Arizona Diamondback. Well, it's crazy.

I mean, we're only like two years away from the Diamondbacks trading for Starling Marte, who was one of the best center fielders on the market. I mean, they were going all in. And it wasn't just that. It was on the free agent side as well. Like you said, they were spending money at that point. So yeah, I think there's reason to be optimistic. I know people are, you know, frustrated right now.

We're talking about a payroll that's probably low, mid-90 million range right now. It's definitely a back-tend payroll and baseball. But moving forward, I really do think it could go up. And I would probably put the threshold somewhere around where you did. If the Diamondbacks are 500 this year are pretty close to 500, that's a sign that they're ready to take the next step moving forward with all these young guys. and I think they would respond to that. Yeah, and Charles Woodall Pike says that's the conflict in my mind. Team gets better, makes a big move, immediately backfires, back to the basement, rinse,

and lather, repeat. And yeah, like, not only that, but I mean, it kind of sucks because they've done it at times with the scrappy, like, not no-name guys, but guys, you know, we had the whole 2011 squad and things like that. And then things just go downhill very fast where, you know, they can't build on it. They kind of have to, you know, get rid of guys. In a lot of cases, those guys don't end up going elsewhere and working out tremendously. We've had a couple of those that obviously make us sad.

But overall, you know, the amount of guys Diamondbacks moved on from that were kind of in their big contract phase, didn't go on to make them look too bad as far as their performance elsewhere. But, I mean, I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen here with this team. I think, honestly, what I hope to see is. just not go crazy. Not, you know, like not go crazy in one way or another. You know, but when the time is right at this point, that's why the, to be honest,

the farm system thing with the younger players, that seems to make sense to me, right? Let's do it that way. Let's build quality players. And when the time is right, then they can go out and add that mega free agent that can be that thing that gets the rotation over the hump or really makes us look like an unstoppable monster. That sounds crazy now, but the Diamondbacks are just a few young guys playing at a high level, you know, away from that. Yeah, yeah. We get Alex Thomas coming in here and playing great defense and hitting over 300. That changes the complex of this team completely,

right? If you could tell Marte can be the best second baseman in baseball, that's going to be huge for this team. And they could have a, their focus seems to really be on defense at this point and trying to lock things up defensively that really fell apart for them last season. Yeah, yeah. I feel like with this Diamondbacks team, they have been, it's totally, it's totally accurate, this narrative that in past years they've pushed in the chips and somehow they've gotten smacked in the face for it. Like it hasn't really panned out the way that you would have expected it to.

But one thing I notice about the past years where they've done that is I think they were sort of backed against a wall in a sense in that. When the diamondbacks pushed their chips in, a lot of times I think it was driven by the fact that, you know, Paul Goldschmidt's years were coming to an end with the team. Or Robbie Ray was in his walk year. Or, you know, they were sort of on a clock in a sense. And they had to push their chips in quickly in order to capitalize on those assets. The diamondbacks aren't going to face that in a long time for a very long time. Ketel Marte is here for a long time.

And all of these young position players. are in the same situation. So hopefully they don't ever find themselves in a spot where they are backed into a corner like that. I feel like I'm the Leonardo DiCaprio meme a lot on this episode. But Josh Hunt said that's what the Sons did. They built a solid core in the draft, got to playoff contention, then added the pieces to get them to that elite level.

Love to see the debacks go that route. And it feels like that, right? Like, Cetzel Marte comparably could be the Arizona Diamondbacks, Devin Booker, you know, where at this point, they have a lot of young guys, and they just need to get to that point where they have that confidence in the young core to go out, add the Chris Paul and Jay Crowder essentially to this team and change the complex of it. So it's exciting to see.

And I think at the very least, things are looking a bit brighter for the Arizona Diamondbacks with this extension. It doesn't feel as bleak as it has in the past. And I know we make jokes about Zach Gallen, not sticking around. but again, that's just, that's just jokes. That's just speculation. We hope to see Zach Gallen sign a similar extension and stay with this team for a long time.

We hope to see him have success. But with him being a Scott Boris client, that seems a little less likely. And if they do, I'm not sure if they're going to get anywhere close to nearly as a team friendly deal as they got here with Catelle-Marté. So let's just be happy with it. Let's just take this one as a win for all of us,

including Marte and his family, because that's really the, it gives him the peace of mind that he wants and he really loves being here. So he doesn't have to worry about leaving. And I don't see any reason why the Arizona Diamondbacks even have to think about trading him now, then, or at any point. So we'll see how this progresses. And most importantly, we'll see how this translates over to, you know, his performance on the field. You never know where being happy like this can, especially in a mental game like baseball,

can really help you just play the game that much, that much better. that's true that's true yeah i mean i think kattel is is probably about his ease as um as he's ever been really i mean he has nothing to worry about moving forward and and i think you're right that the diamond backs like as much as i you know will still mention the possibility of trading him down down the line diamond backs aren't going to trade kutel martay you know two three months after they sign him to an extension so i really do think he's going to be here for a for a long period of time. Right. Like if they trade them, it could be down the line. It could be a few years from now. But like you said, it's not going to be this season. It's not going to be after this contract and

probably won't be anytime soon. So that's a very good thing for us and for Diamondbacks fans and for the Diamondbacks. So I think it's a win all around. And you can get more information on that over at go phtnx.com. You haven't signed up to become a member yet. Sign up to become an annual member. that way you get incredible journalism from us or from Jesse and then you get stuff from me also, but also all of our team. We have an amazing team over here. Sign up become a member. That way you don't not only get that,

but you get discounts over at the PHNX Locker.com as well as access to our members-only Discord where we chat about things like this. Most importantly, if you sign up for an annual membership, you'll get your free t-shirt over at the PHNX Locker.com. And while you're there, pick up one of these sweet. sweet as hats. Look at that thing. It's amazing. It's high quality. We have our logo all on the inside. Jesse's mad because he doesn't have one yet. I am pretty mad. Yes. And it's got the PHNX logo on the inside of the bill. That's fire right there. Wow. Wow. It's pretty great. I love this hat. I'm going to be wearing it a lot. And you can too by getting yours over at the pHNX Locker.com. It's amazing. It celebrates our city. It celebrates us. It shows you're a constituent of the mayor of pHNX. by the way. And more importantly, it's like the t-shirts. It's comfortable. It's well-fitting. It makes you a

better person by wearing it. Also, go over to, if you're not interested in the annual membership, sign up to become a month-to-month member and you'll get your first month for just 50 cents. No t-shirt, but we'll give you that first month as an appetizer for 50 cents. So join us. Yes, hats, hats, hats, hats, hats. This is the hat. It's got the P.H.N.X logo all over it. I hope you guys go get it right now. That's right. Yeah, we'll have a story up on Cotel Marte this evening on the extension, more on what was said by both Marte and Hazen, and really just kind of a love fest for Cotel. It was a great day. It was great to see him out at the yard. He signed in autographs. He looked to be in a great mood,

and he talked about being healthy a lot, and that's something that was exciting to see, is he's just feeling great, you know, and that's something that, Tori Lavallo also said about Zach Gallin, who will be making his first start of spring. LaBolo said Zach Gallen is throwing very hard. And I don't know what that means, but I don't know if it's just hyping it up. But he, you know, they just said they need to ramp him up still. They need to get him ready. But it doesn't sound like Zach Gallen is having any issues with the heat.

I'm really curious what that looks like. Like are we talking 96, 97? like yeah Jack Gallin throwing where are we talking here is an absolute this is an absolute nightmare for opposing hitters

so I am excited to what he looks like in his first outing well you asked me about Corbin Smith out at the Dodgers and he looked very strong he has a nice

of pitchers Corbin Martin what did I say you said Corvin Smith oh I guess that's like half like half Paveon Smith yeah sure Caleb Smith

no Corby Martin had a great, he had a great outing against the Dodgers and honestly was really hitting his spots. Yeah. Fastball working. I think upper 90, 96, 97, something like that. So really good outing for him against the tough Dodgers team, to be honest, even though, you know, sometimes the numbers don't show it, but for spring outing against the full actual Dodgers

starting lineup, he did pretty solid. Yeah. Yeah, you got to really feel, sorry. I was just going to say you got you got to feel really sorry for those guys who come in and make their first spring training. You know, their first Cactus league start. And of course, it's like this loaded Dodgers lineup. It's basically the best lineup of all time. It's not a single like minor leaguer in there.

Not anybody working on some stuff. Nobody's got a day off. It was just literally like I think, I forget, like it was stacked all the way top to bottom. It was crazy. But yeah, Zach Davies today. not so not not not so much not such a sharp outing but said he was working on stuff it's it's been kind of we got to talk to him in the clubhouse it's been kind of a uh uh like a crazy process for him you know like this not only his spring so fast but he got traded and he has to get ready uh he has

to acclimate to a new team there's just a lot of stuff going on for him right now i just wonder even though he has been brought on as a starter and will starter start, how long of a leash is he going to have? Because the Diamondbacks have a lot of guys that were vying for that fifth starter spot, including Corbin Martin. So I just have to wonder what the Diamondbacks, what their course of action is there if Zach Davies isn't the answer for that fifth starting rotation spot. And how long until they make that decision? That's a good question. I think there are some guys who, could use in the bullpen pretty easily.

And I'm not sure if Zach Davies is one of them. He's not the type of guy who would see, you know, a significant bump in stuff if he, if he moves to the bullpen. He's just not really that kind of pitcher. I think he's best used as a guy you can give you length in a starting rotation. So, you know, if it comes down to a Corbin Martin or Zach Davies, Corbyn's the type of guy who could be throwing 98, you know, in the bullpen. So, you know, maybe maybe he's a little bit more.

more of a better fit for that role. But yeah, I don't think anything is guaranteed for Zach Davies after a pretty rough year last season. And, you know, hopefully he's able to bounce back and be more like the guy he was in San Diego in 2020 when he was,

he didn't look like a back end starter. I mean, he looked a lot better than that. So, you know it's in there with Zach Davies. And again, I really think the Diamondbacks once again are leaning on the idea of Brent Strom

working with these guys. I talked to him today. again, everybody seems excited to work with Brent Strom. And I don't think anybody's going to give any different answer anyway, but there's a legitimate, like, lighting up that people do when you bring up Brent Strom, right? That's why I like to ask people about him, because pitchers love this guy. And, I mean, I'm not expecting anybody to really, like I said, give me any negative feedback. Yeah, no one's going to say they hate him no matter what.

But it's still, like, they're still, it's the worst. that kind of thing, right? But at the same time, he's, he's kind of a bit of a legend as far as pitching coaches go. And I feel like some guys have different perspectives on, you know, working with him. But I feel like the idea here is that he can essentially make everybody better.

We know that's not the case, right? Not everybody is going to be coached up. And that's the way, you know, because if that was so, then another team would have thrown like billions of dollars. at Brent Strom if guys could literally be coached up to being great. It just, there's, there's a couple of those guys in the rotation that we know have so much potential at greatness that that's the guys that, you know, you think Brent Strom can get to that level.

Guys like Zach Davies, no offense to him, but could, like you said, they could be a very, very good starting rotation pitcher with the benefit of pitching a pitching coach like this, you know, better possibly than that. they've been at any point in their career as a major leaguer. Just sometimes guys go through injuries and there's just, there's some things that they don't bounce back from. I'm surprised you, you're not talking about Pavin Smith and him going the other way today, Derek.

I know you're excited about it. Oh, I had it on my schedule. You kidding me? He beat the shift twice. Jesse, he beat the shift twice. I still get stuck on Pavin Smith because I know, like I said earlier, you're not a big guy that believes he's part of the core yet because he could be. He could be.

He could be, right? But not yet. And we still haven't found like a home for him permanently. If he really was that good, you know, he would probably have a home. But at the same time, it seems like LeVolo does everything he can to keep him on the field. Then you have veterans saying things like that kid knows the strike zone better than most umpires. Like that right, there is the one compliment that I've heard from Josh Reddick. I've heard from David Peralta.

There are people who legitimately believe that if Pavin Smith argues with the umpire over a call, that the umpire is wrong. Because there's no way, Payvon Smith, because he's honest, part of it is that he's really, he's really calm, right?

He's not, he's not going to argue all the time. Yeah. So when he does, it's usually because he feels like he's right. But the, the idea of his eye for the batters box and what he knows is, far as the strike zone goes is,

is something that like, I don't know, you hear a lot about guys and their power and they're hitting and whatever. With Pavin, it's more of like psychological and how good he is just at the plate, how good his eye is, things like that. I feel like that's just a matter of putting everything together soon enough for him.

Because if you're that good at controlling the strike zone or at least knowing the strike zone, not controlling it, but knowing it as a batter up there, eventually it's got to translate over once you can connect those, the power, the hitting, and that eye you have for success for him, at least more success than we've seen him have at the plate up to this point. I was digging into some Pavin Smith numbers yesterday.

I looked at his minor league numbers and the Diamondbacks organization. I look back at his college numbers. I believe it was at University of Virginia where he was a very highly touted prospect for a while there. And yeah, he's a fascinating case. Pavin Smith has never really hit for much power at any level. But he's always been like you're talking about, you know, his batting average has always been very high throughout basically his entire, his entire career, both professionally

and in college. This microphone's giving you problems. The mic, the mic absolutely hates me, Jesse. It's floating away. It's doing everything. There it goes. It's gone. Anyway, but anyway, anyway, no, you're good, you're good.

So, yeah, it's, Pavin Smith is the type of guy that I'm definitely not, I'm definitely not here to say that Pavin Smith is, is not part of the core moving forward. I think we just need to see more. And, and, you know, what you're talking about with him going the other way today, you know, obviously that's something that not that many hitters can do. I think the big question for him, Derek, moving forward is can he find a way to tap into his power? Can he find a way to start hitting gapers, to start hitting home runs? Because the one trend throughout his career professionally and even somewhat in college compared to some other numbers I've looked at is he's never really showcased that much in game power.

And for a guy who plays first base in right field, at some point, you kind of have to in order to stay in this league for a long time. So that's the question moving forward. That's where that guy lives. That guy lives in right field. He lives at first base. So if you're not mashing the ball, then, I mean, you have to, the only other option there is for you to just be hit for a very high batting average, right?

Which is possible, which is possible for him like your thing. And that's, I think more likely case. But if he can link, like you said, the power and all of that together, I just, I really, there's something about him that seems like he has it all and it's starting to come together. Right. So again, it's going to be great to see what this coaching staff can do for someone like him. you know, Joe Mather as a hitting coach and what Jeff Bannister and Tori Lavello can collectively get together and do for these guys. It's, it's exciting. And I know, again,

we're cautiously optimistic about this season, but it's a little bit more fun to be that way than to kind of be criticizing. Because it's easy, right? They haven't done enough to make themselves a better team. Right now, what they truly are banking on is how this coaching staff can squeeze the potential out of these players who they feel they, you know, acquired because are talented. They feel like they're scouting and everything that put this team together up to this point was done for a reason. It wasn't like this team was expected to lose 110 games last season.

So now they want to see, like, what can they do? What can they do healthy? What can they do with a good coaching staff? What can Cattel Marte do with a full season at second base instead of moving around at shortstop in center field and everywhere else, you know. He's just too agreeable. He's too nice that guy. It's one thing, again, that Hazen brought up was like,

we ask him to do anything and he'll do it. It's like, yeah, well, maybe that's part of the problem. Maybe we shouldn't be asking him to do anything. You could probably get Citell Marte to like convert to a pitcher if like, like, if you really try. If you needed like, yeah, in like a 20 to two, you know, beat down and they needed to throw someone out there as a relief pitcher just to save some some bullpen arm.

I'd see a one-two combination of David Peralta and Cotel Marte, and neither guy was bad and I about getting out there to do it. You guys, of course, know what season it is. It is college hoops season, and you can get down on the action over at the Draft King's Sportsbook app with R-Code of P-HNX by turning your team's victory into your own big win.

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New customers only minimum $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draft kings.com slash sportsbook for details. And Jesse, I had fun out at Sloan Park, which is a beautiful park, by the way. I've really been enjoying these day games are killing me. They're taking a lot out of me because the sun and everything. But the day was cloudy. It was beautiful.

It was kind of cloudy. Yeah. It was a little rainy. It was kind of nice. It was a beautiful day. These are the days we hold on to as Phoenicians, right? Because we know these days are limited. These days, these days are literally numbered, Jesse.

But today, I got a chance to hook up with Clark the Cub. And we had a little bit of a video film off, I guess you could say. Wow. Yeah. Clark. What's up, buddy? I'm filming you. No, I'm filming you.

No, I'm filming you. Oh. See, I like the AirPods, though. We're both rocking the AirPods, though. All right. My man. It was nice, right? It was a nice moment.

But then, like, I heard Clark was talking trash about me and saying he was a better cameraman, or, excuse me, camera bear than me. He had to correct me. I stole his baseball glove. We have a very contentious relationship now. I'm actually selling it to Fred Bird from the St. Louis Cardinals for some gooey cakes. Yeah. So that's great.

But I have a, this made me realize that I'm not going to let these mascots punk me anymore, Jesse. I'm not going to let them show me up. So I'm introducing something I like to call the mayor's mascot challenge. Oh gosh. I'm challenging any MLB mascot in existence. I don't care who it is to whatever they do well. Whatever they think they do well,

I know I can do better, right? He's a camera bear. come on I want to see his footage I didn't see a cord attached to that camera I'm not calling him out for being a fake or nothing but I want to see the footage is all I'm saying I didn't see it up on the board I don't see it on his Twitter account

you can see what I got and yes the base on those air pods are bumping I heard it from quite a distance away but I did enjoy Clark the Cubs company but I'm challenging anybody if Baxter wants to I don't know I don't was Baxter you're going to challenge you're going to challenge Baxter our own?

I'll challenge Baxter. I'll challenge anybody. I'll challenge orbit to like a prank off. I'll challenge any mascot. Because I know I'm better than them, Jesse. That's what I know. They're a mascot. They're made out of felt. Come on.

I'm a human being. All right. I'm just saying. But yeah, I'm excited for baseball season. And honestly, again, this is an open challenge to any mascot

that thinks that they want to take like the mayoral title for me. They're going to have to beat me in some sort of game or, I don't know, is the freeze still a thing in Atlanta? I don't want to race the freeze. That's something. I don't know if you qualify. Yeah, you want to be careful before you

go down that road. But I think you could beat a lot of mascots and a lot of things, Derek. Yeah, I just won't decalitate any of them. That's right, Josh. Thank you. We know better than that. Oh, man. But thank you guys so much for being here. Thank you for being in the comments.

We thank you for being a Diamondbacks fan. Thank you for supporting Ketel Marte's extension. Of course, you can follow us on Twitter. I'm at Cap underscore Caveman with a K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. Our show, the premier coverage in spring training coverage for the Arizona Diamondbacks is at PHNX underscore Dbacks, but of course, all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports. And that's on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If you're listening to us right now on your favorite audio podcasting app, please subscribe to us there. Leave us a five-star

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Baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you sign your star player to a long-term extension.