PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - HEAT on Ketel? Report Points to Frustration Within Diamondbacks Over Marte Missing Time

Episode Date: August 15, 2025

According to a recent report, Diamondbacks All-Star Ketel Marte may be feeling some heat in the clubhouse over his missed time this season. And with the way he’s playing right now, this news couldn���t have come at a worse time. We have more on Marte’s absences, plus an entirely too early look at free agency. Will the D-backs once again chase the top arm on the market—and will it once again blow up in their face? We also head down to the Snake Farm for updates on Tommy Troy and the recently activated Jordan Lawlar as they get to work for Triple-A Reno.📬 Arizona sports in your inbox! https://gophnx.com/newsletterAn ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsportsMERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-lockerALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of PhoenixPHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/APS:  Find instant rebates, discounts and special offers on smart thermostats, energy-efficient appliances and more at https://marketplace.aps.com/default/heating-cooling/smart-thermostatsChicken N’ Pickle: Family friendly fun awaits! Visit chickennpickle.com to plan your visit today!Phoenix Raceway: Tickets, hospitality and upgrades are still available for the NASCAR Championship Series October 31st through November 2nd! Visit the link HERE to get yours now!Visit Mountain America Credit Union to learn more about their MyStyle Checking Accounts!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 BBPHNX 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.Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!Monarch Money: Use Monarch Money to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/phnxAll Pro Shade Concepts: Call 623-204-1476 or visit https://allproshadeconcepts.com/ now to schedule your free estimate!When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Are we not allowed to use PTO anymore? I thought that's what PTO was for. Ian, welcome in to another edition of the PHNX Diamondback podcast right here on PHNX, right here in my house. Today is the last show I'll be doing from home. I get to come back to our brand new studio on Monday, even though I've kind of gotten used to these digs and this stupid idiot behind me that just loves to have hope for this diamond back season.

Great to see you guys here. Of course, I got my guy, Damon Dog, on the one. and twos today. And we are not thrilled to talk about what we're going to talk about. But we do have some positive stuff, including what's been happening in the DeBacks farm system, as well as an entirely too early look at free agency and who the Diamondbacks might be able to target to help this team come 2026. But for now, we're still riding high on the fact the Diamondbacks have won three games in

a row. They beat the Colorado Rockies yesterday in game one by a score of eight to two. I believe we have the count present. and by our friends at Desert Financial Credit Union. But again, pretty, pretty thorough victory there from the Arizona Diamondbacks, eight to two victory here. Nine hits per team. Diamondbacks were three for 11.

Once again, the Rudder's in scoring position. Rockies were 0 for one. Diamondbacks had those five extra base hits to the Rockies, two extra base hits. And expected batting average, again, an imaginary stat. Diamondbacks had a 267 imaginary batting average to the Colorado Rockies, 212 imaginary batting. average. Tonight, the Diamondbacks do have Brandon fought on the mound going up against Tanner Gordon. As far as an update in the series is concerned for game four, neither team has listed a probable

pitcher for this particular game. We have a feeling it's going to be Bryce Jarvis, especially with Anthony Disclavani on the IL now. Doesn't appear like the debacks have any other options. They might turn to a bullpen game, but I don't know if we love that idea. Bryce Jarvis has been has been serviceable. I think he could be that guy. They can't make that announcement until they make the roster move to actually add Bryce Jarvis to the major league roster. So again, that's probably what we will see.

In the meantime, they have to hold on to all the relievers they need, especially for a series in Colorado. But that's pretty good news. Again, can't make that move for Bryce Jarvis until they actually or can't announce it until they bring him up from Reno. Speaking of Reno, Gabby Moreno. played in last night's game and a loss to El Paso. I believe that's the El Paso Chihuahua's.

Gabby Marina was 0 for three in last night's loss. Kyle Nelson absolutely got rocked in that game. He allowed four hits and three earned runs in one inning of work. And the Reno Aces in case you keep up with their record, it's not very good. And they did not win that game. Brandon Garcia had a nice outing, though, for the Reno Aces. He only allowed one hit with two walks in an inning and two-thirds of relief work. the Aces. So there is some guys right there that could be on their way back to help this team eventually,

including also Pavin Smith, who was in Reno and Ildemarro Vargas. But the big news today that we don't want to talk about. Nobody wants to talk about is Catelle Marte and what is going on with that whole situation. I know we discussed this briefly with Jesse yesterday. And Jesse, unfortunately put himself in a position of defending more of the article. I think that the article existing is fine. I will say that the timing of it sucks. I know that when you work on a piece like this, it takes a while to get all of this information.

And most likely this article started to be written when apparently, allegedly, according to this article from Nick Bacoro, the frustration started there with Catell-Martay missing time. Apparently, according to this article for the past month, teammates and others in the organization have been frustrated by Cotell Marte's propensity to ask for days off. The idea also floats the idea floats out there. Some have wondered if the debacks what they would look like if the team traded Catell

during the off season. I think that that is something that a lot of people had a problem with in this article is the fact that Nick went in a direction of floating the idea of, trading Catelle out there. Catele Marte is one of the best players in Major League Baseball. A team like the Diamondbacks don't often get somebody of his caliber as a part of their organization, let alone does a team like this find a way to hold on to Catell or a player of Cotell's caliber for as long as they currently have him under contract.

The trade part, speaking as someone that absolutely knows how this game works, is definitely, as some have alluded to, more about the click. I do not think that Cotel Marte is in danger of being traded at any point by the Arizona Diamondbacks, nor do I think that these days off that he has taken are enough for it to actually be a problem. But the phrase in the article that really bothered me, and I'm sure bothers a lot of, you know, a lot of fans out there, is that they said he is a great player when he wants to be. That's what the article said.

more importantly that exact sentiment was kind of backed up by derrick hall this past Wednesday on bickley and marada when derrick hall said this about kattel marty he said when this guy is focused and committed i mean there is no better second basement in the game holy crap does that first part of that sentence do a lot of heavy lifting and the fact is is that that part when this guy is focused and committed means that there are times when he is not. Now, that could probably be said about a lot of baseball players. It won't be said about Corbyn Carroll because he's playing with a broken hand and refuses to be stopped. He won't stop playing baseball no matter how much you hurt him.

If he's medically cleared, he's going to be out there on the field and he won't miss a day unless literally made to miss a day. Like I said on last night's episode, this is a man that committed crimes with his mother. in order for him just to get some practice in out there on the ball field, trespassing onto a high school baseball field during COVID. So I love the commitment to the game from someone like Corbyn Carroll, and it does sadden me that Cote apparently took time off

where, you know, even I defended him about, you know, having his home burglarized. I figured, hey, you know, my wife would be pretty upset. I was putting myself in his shoes. I'm like, I don't know my wife would be cool, especially with me immediately going on the road again after our house was burglarized. So maybe, you know, hey, maybe he did have to take care of some personal things and having nearly half a million dollars in items stolen from you isn't easy for anybody to swallow. However, this article and other reports that have come out, according to Dan Bickley, who was one of the first people to scream and wave his arms in the air about Cattel Marte missing time, is that he was in the Dominican Republic. during the end of the All-Star break and that when he took the extra time off,

it was not to come back here to Scottsdale to deal with his burglarized home, but it was to stay in the Dominican Republic. I'm not one to judge. I also went to the Caribbean during the All-Star break and had myself a lovely time sitting on the beach. But you know what I didn't do? I didn't call Damon and tell him, I'm going to stay here for an extra two days. Can you go ahead and handle the show for the rest of the week?

No, I came back and took care of my obligations. Now, I do think that it's overblown based on the results. of time missed by Catele-Marty. They did sweep the Cardinals in the aforementioned post-all-Star break absence. And quite frankly, based on these numbers,

which I couldn't believe, the debacks are 20 and 13 without Cotel Marte in the lineup this season. Missed a lot of time in April with injury and has missed other time due to obvious other reasons. And this article basically alleges that a lot of those reasons were just him

taking time off. I don't know, man. What I can say is that Ketel Marte this season is slashing 296, 398, 557. For a 955 OPS, he has 23 home runs and 56 RBI. I know teammates might have some problems with him missing time, and they might feel like that contributed to the particular losing stretch when the Diamondbacks ended up having to make the difficult decision to be sellers at the trade deadline.

we'll never know what this team was going to do if kept whole and added to at the trade deadline because we don't live in that timeline. We don't live in that universe. I would love to take a peek at it. I would love someone just to spoil it for me and let me know how things wit in that universe. But we live in this one where the Diamondbacks were sellers, yet they're finding a tremendous amount of success here after the trade deadline. And right now are in the thick of the wild card race, whether you want to admit that or not.

I know a lot of people don't. I know there are people that like, Derek, you're an idiot. They're four and a half games back. This is probably as close as they're going to get. You could be right about that. But what I think I don't like, what I think a lot of people don't like once again is, why the hell are we talking about trading Cattel Marte? Right?

I mean, I think that this situation isn't great. It's not a good look for him. I think he has, like, to make up some of this feelings towards his teammates, I don't think he can take this and just kind of let it fall on deaf ears and not respond to it. Nor do I think he has to make some sort of concerted effort to, you know, apologize for what's happening. I really just think he needs to go in there and show his teammates that he cares for the rest of this season and give it his all. The fact is the man's a game changer when he's in there. And this article couldn't have come at a worse time because right now, Kattel Marte is incredibly hot.

In 48 at-bats in the month of August, he is slashing 354, 446, 625 with a 1.071 OPS. You're going to trade that? I would let him speak disrespectfully to my face if he's going to put up those kind of numbers. He could talk about my mother before ever hit bat. That's probably not a good thing to say, but it's a whole other thing. I'm just saying when it comes to this, this is absolutely something that I know isn't great, right? Like, I know this isn't a good look for Ketel. And some have suggested it's not a good look for the organization. But what I can say is, is that this is something that for this whole situation is, is ridiculous.

And I don't think that it really I don't, I agree that a lot of with a lot of people here that this didn't need to come out now. you know, this didn't need to come out during a time where not only Catell is so needed, but, you know, he's having an incredible month. He just had two walk off, or not walk off, but basically two game winning hits in the ninth inning on back-to-back nights, right? So I, it just sucks. Now, Cotel has obviously had a lot of criticism just in general for missing time. And honestly, I apologize for the mother comment. I wasn't meaning this in connection to his mother.

I was just not thinking there for a moment. But he did have the moment with his mother. And that was something that very much was understandable and excused. And overall, Tori Lobello said that this was something that he almost kind of wanted him to take time to clear. But I don't know. I mean, there are times now where, again, Tori Lobello has received a lot of criticism. um especially for sitting kattel where you have to wonder if he was just kind of making um covering for his player uh we don't know that anymore and again i think troy takes a lot of flack because

he he has pre-planned days off for guys and that usually falls a day after they have a two home run seven rbi performance so it always feels like tory's toying with us when it comes to putting together his lineup and everything he has going on. But I don't know. I mean, again, this might just be a wake-up call. This is a weird situation where, like, when Jesse was on the show last night, he found himself in a position of defending Nick Picoro, which I still don't understand. I guess a lot of people are upset because, you know, the trading portion of this.

But overall, this information didn't come out. This isn't being made up. These are unnamed players and they're staying unnamed for a reason. None of that makes us any less of a legitimate feeling within the clubhouse. And I think that's the biggest problem is right now we need to be connected. If you don't remember, a connected team is a very dangerous team. It's an effing dangerous team, in fact. So we would love to see them stay connected and not have any kind of drama, any kind of rift,

anything that kind of makes this team not cohesive. I think that they will do a good job, hopefully, of moving past this. And I think a lot of people, you know, again, will overall forgive Catell. And, you know, again, make it more about the team for the rest of the season. Let the team find success. All will be forgotten. Don't forget is 955 OPS sits only right now behind Aaron Judge and Shohei Otani.

So we can put a rest all the trade talk because that's not something anybody should have to worry about when it comes to Cotel Marté being a part of this team. They've done an excellent job at making him feel welcomed here. And honestly, I think, you know, the part of this story that hits me the most is when they talk about the players that were traded away, being separated from their families. And how much this team,

seemed to care about winning during a stretch where they really struggled and didn't. Maybe it was why they struggled. Maybe it was why they couldn't find success because they were just, they wanted it too bad, they pressed too hard, there were too many emotions tied to it. But that's a very real feeling. And whether or not they won or lost during that Cardinals series, it doesn't help the fact that people feel like, you know, Marte wasn't there at a time when they needed him. you know, they needed him the most, right?

So also I said this yesterday too, but there is something to be said about staying in a groove during a baseball season. So quite frankly, the one thing that probably frustrates me is the idea that when you get injured in baseball, you have to take time off and then you have to get back to a baseball activity. You know, you have to run the bases and you have to do things like that. If you sprain an ankle or if you hurt yourself or hurt a foot, then you still have to go to the minor leagues and have rehab starts or go to a

you know a Arizona Complex League game or whatever the case may be baseball is such a weird sport when it comes to taking time to get back into the game so it is frustrating for him to take time off and miss time and get out of the groove when he is such an incredible baseball player right so you do you do have to wonder especially about the comment from Derek Hall there if if Cotel Marte can be that committed player for the rest of the season. I feel like he can be. And again,

there's a double-edged sword to the way that he plays this game so joyfully like a kid. You know, there is something to that. And that is that maybe at times he doesn't take it as seriously as his teammates do. Nick says it is what it is. I'm not worried about any of this.

The clubhouse Marté could deal with this internally. It'll solve itself. Great point. And I think that's, That's pretty much what it comes down to. But we're going to take a quick break. We're going to get away from this Catele-Marté stuff. Instead, what we're going to talk about is ways that the Diamondbacks could add to this team, this off-season.

You are absolutely right. We are doing an entirely too early look at free agency. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PHNX Diamondback show. And, of course, pure edibles can help us all through this situation. We can all relax a little bit. We can maybe improve our mood when thinking about allegations of wanting to trade one of our best players. And more importantly, Pure Edibles has us covered with all of those effects that we're looking for.

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Damon, are you there? Are you alive? People are asking me why I'm not in the office. And it's because of this show, right? You guys made me stay here at. the at my house you guys said don't come in until the manual labor part look it he's sitting in front of a wall that's torn apart there used to be stuff there can we get like can you give us a glimpse around what is what is the grounds look like out there is everything uh taken apart oh i can't

hear you you're muted we're here derrick we're inside the uh auxiliary studio that we have here at phnx and it's it's pretty it's pretty bare bones it's pretty bare we got a couple chairs we got a couple chairs behind me. That's a good scan of the room right there. We got it's it's pretty much just me in this room. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's also free ad Friday. So we got to give a shout out to the movers. They gave us a tremendous, they did a tremendous job for us because of two men in a truck. I don't have to be there right now doing manual labor. Like you know, you know what goes on, Damon. It's like suddenly no one knows how to lift a couch when I'm around for some reason. And no one knows. And no one knows. knows how to use a power tool. So I'm left being the dad. So again, uh,

Derek, I already, I have bad news for you. People are already designating you as the TV mounter in our office. So no. No. No. Uh, that's a lot of work. Isn't we're Saul. Get Saul in here. This is ridiculous. Some outside help. We need some outside help. Uh, maybe the, maybe we'll get another company. We'll do some free ads for them. Uh, by the way, speaking of free ad Friday, McDonald's has some amazing hello kitty, Age Muti Ninja Turtle toys for their Happy Meal. And all my grown adult male friends are sending me pictures of the ones that they got. So if you're wondering how that's going for McDonald's very successfully in the 34 to 47-year-old male hip-hop lover demographic.

But speaking of adding to the team, Damon, we got a way too early look at free agency here. I know this is crazy. I know we don't have the money or the time, really, to be. be looking at free agency right now, but quite frankly, with the holes the Diamondbacks have to start 2026, this is something that I definitely hope Mike Hazen is doing. I hope he has a giant board with pictures and names up of guys that they could potentially target because they are going to need some help. Yeah, absolutely. I just envisioned right now the Carol Giff that were, or meme that we send every time Corbyn Carroll does something good. But it's actually, that's just Mike Hazen's office.

That board is literally Mike Hazen's office, and he already has the game plan of exactly how he's going to approach free agency. But Derek, I think, you know, not to spoil what we're going to put here on the screen, but it's pretty clear what the Diamondbacks need this off season. It is. And it is. And it is pitching. It absolutely is, Damon.

And quite frankly, they don't have a lot of money to spend. So we kind of had to dig here to the available free agents. This is, this is me being a GM, trying my. my best to put together who I would target or who I think the Diamondbacks actually might target. Some are crazy. Some make sense. So let's get to it. The first target is a guy that's been struggling this year a bit. That Zach Eflin, he has had a pretty bad season for the Baltimore Orioles. He is a free agent after this year. He has a 5.93 ERA. So he is six and five and 14 starts. He has a 1.416 whip. So why pursue him, right? Which is going to be,

a lot of your first question there. Because he would be cheap, quite frankly. He would be cheap. And that is something that the Diamondbacks have to seek out here. There are two guys on this list that are not going to be cheap. They're at the bottom in Framber Valdez and Luke Weaver. And then there are two guys that quite frankly have had some pretty damn good seasons in their career. But right now are not pitching well and might just be willing to take a, you know,

a limited deal to help the Diamondbacks and themselves get back on. track. Zach Eflin will be 32 years old next season. And last season in 2024, he had a combined 3.59 ERA for both Tampa and Baltimore. So I don't hate what Zach Eflin could potentially be for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, Aaron Savali, another case of the similar situation. He's had a rough year. 4.91 ERA and 15 starts with this season. The interesting thing about this, He has a 4.91 ERA with both teams that he's pitched for. He literally has a true 4.91 ERA. He has a 1.336 whip this year.

Again, another guy that's going to be in his mid, you know, early 30s, 31 next season, has not had a very good season this year or last year, but he has been very good at times. He posted a 2.34 ERA and 13 starts with the Guardians in 2023. So these are guys that are similar to Zach Gallen that might not cost the Diamondbacks nearly as much. They are guys that have had good seasons in their past and quite frankly, maybe need to sign a short-term deal to try to kind of bounce back. Maybe just a one year or two-year deal for these guys. That's what the Diamondbacks need.

They just kind of need to band-aid themselves through the 2026 season. And then baseball may never be played again in 2027 and beyond. So who the hell knows what's going to happen? Framber of all deads, though. Let's get crazy. Why not? He's a free agent this offseason. He is one of, if not the best available free agent starting pitchers. So obviously the Arizona Diamondbacks have to go after him, right?

They have to. That's what they do. That's what they've done this past season. That's what they did the season before. And both were an absolute disaster for their own separate reasons. So why not? Why not go after the best pitcher available on the free agency market? There's no way that it can't work out again, right?

Right? Yeah, his numbers are insane. He has a 3.25 career ERA. He has a 2.97 ERA this season and 23 starts with a 1.126 whip. Obviously, he will cost entirely too much money, but it's fun to wish, right? And honestly, I don't really put anything past this team anymore. I really don't. John Freeman in the chat says,

mine Merrill. And obviously for me, that's probably at the top of this list above all of these things. Merrill Kelly is going to be better than Zach Eflin or Aaron Sabali. And he's probably not even going to cost you as much as those guys would cost you. Plus, hopefully Mike Hazen and him had a very productive conversation about that exact thing happening. As far as I'm concerned, I really do feel like bringing back Merrill Kelly is the best thing for this team this offseason. So especially after what he did to them in Texas, and he still didn't get the win, still winless for the Rangers. But would you even want to see the Diamondbacks do something as crazy as going after Framber Valdez

with the track record they have? Like, as a fan, if you saw the news, I'm sure your first reaction would be excitement and enthusiasm and then in trepidation and fear and terror and worry and anxiety in the pit of your stomach, right? because of what's happened to this team whenever they've gone out there and done that whole thing and bring in the best pitcher. Last but not least, there on that list, Luke Weaver, bring him home. Luke Weaver by far is one of the best relievers in all the baseball right now. He was incredible in the postseason for the Yankees.

He had a 2.89 ERA in 62 games in 2024. Even better this season, he has a 2.68 ERA and a 0.8.0.0. 8.09 whip and 45 appearances. 0.809. That man is going to get paid. So why can't we be the ones to pay him? Pay that man. Pay that man is money.

I would love to see Luke Weaver brought home. It's the only way that we could even consider that we won the Paul Goldschmidt trade. But the bigger problem there is that it is going to cost a ton of money for Framber Valdez. A ton of money for Luke Weaver. It might have, it might be more money than quite frankly, we want to spend even on a Merrill Kelly. I don't even know if want to spend is the word as much as have to spend, right?

But is there money in the banana stand as they say? No, probably not. The Diamondbacks payroll for 2026 isn't great. Contract escalators for guys like Eduardo Rodriguez and Corbyn Carroll and others eat into their payroll budget. Like payroll is going up. Contracts amounts of money owed to guys is going up. So unless they plan on going prospect heavy again in 2020.

the Diamondbacks right now have roughly $30 to $45 million to spend in free agency this offseason. And that's not going to get them very far, especially if they do consider going after any of these guys. And again, there's definitely a closer that's needed in there. I'm not sure if Luke Weaver, you're going to want to do that. But the Diamondbacks right now have, especially if they offer a qualifying offer, by the way, to Zach Gallen and he accepts it. We know that Zach Gallen does not have, Zach Gallen did not have a great year. And I know that Scott Boris clients typically don't accept a contract extension or, you know, in this case, a qualifying offer for just one season.

However, these two things are coming to a head, right? Or it's like they don't do that, but Zach Gallen had a bad year and there's a good chance that whatever, what the Diamondbacks would pay him in a qualifying offer is going to be more than he's going to make elsewhere. So why not stay here in Arizona and why not try to improve, bounce back? It could be the best case scenario for everybody, but should that happen, the Diamondbacks are going to have even substantially less and still have a lot of roles to fill in their payroll overall. So this just when it comes to this team, there isn't a lot of money to be spent. So, Damon, are you there?

Are you available, Damon? I don't know if you hear that. But there's a cat trying to rip down my door right now. It's the same cat that made me lose my voice. So if you don't mind, I need a moment because I need to take this cat and throw her in another room. Please tell me your thoughts on the Diamondbacks not having enough money for free agency this offseason. I will. I mean, you know, the Diamondbacks, there was an article that came out that they, you know,

in large part, like made those trades to save a good chunk of change to then reinvest in the team, kind of a nothing burger article. I think we all somewhat figured that. But I think that there's money to spend. I think Ken Kendrick wants to spend. I think that the Diamondbacks feel that they have the spine of a competitive baseball team, if that makes sense. Like I don't think that they've given up on this bill there.

So I think personally, I think that they will reinvest in the offseason. and I think that they will go after a couple big time pitching targets. And I don't necessarily think that they're like penny pinching per se. Like I think that Ken Kendrick is kind of turned a leaf in terms of what he's willing to do to try to win versus what he was doing in the, you know, 2010s, for example. Well, the one thing that has come up is the fact that they discussed the $17 million that they save this year. And no, we're not, no, I'm not reviewed. stealing the cat. It's going to it's going to do something like scratch me on this live program or, you know, whatever, something bad will happen. But the $17 million that they're talking about

that's going towards next year really doesn't go towards next year. Now, they save $17 million. So hypothetically, as far as whatever their budget was set for next year, it could allow them to just increase it by $17 million because at the end of the day, it comes down to Ken Kendrick and Mike Hazen, well, more Ken Kendrick, but depending on how much they're going to spend, right? So if they, which they've said they were going to cut back on payroll for 2026 a little bit, maybe they don't. Maybe the $17 million just kind of makes up for that gap as far as what they were going to cut back on versus what they end up spending now next year. But you have to factor in the Jordan, the Jordan Montgomery money that was just burning a hole

in this team's pocket as well for two seasons, though, because he's getting paid 20 million dollars the last two seasons and he gave you he was the worst pitcher in baseball last season and he gave you nothing this season so that hypothetically i mean i know that in in that circumstance ken kendrick brought in jordan montgomery because he thought that he had a championship caliber team and maybe that's not the case moving forward but i feel that at least that you know there's a there's a good chunk of change right there that you could play with and and you know potentially look at bringing in a framber valdez or bringing back a mero kelly with that kind of money Yeah, well, and they could keep their budget right now.

It's just a little under $180 million for 2025. I know that, again, that they could still spend in the same neighborhood, and I'm sure they would probably be fine. I mean, relatively speaking, we have no idea how much money they actually make. But, I mean, it's been reported quite a few times that the Diamondbacks are one of the teams that spend one of the higher percentages as far as what they make in revenue back into. the team. So Ken Kendrick has been honest when he has said that they don't profit from this team, that they try to just reinvest the money back into it. However, you know, the one thing that people have talked about quite a bit is, you know, how important it is for this team to

stay competitive, considering that now they're receiving that the tax revenue from Chase Field. And now it would be a horrible time for them to go into like any kind of rebuild, any kind of, you know, season where there's a bunch of prospects and such, you know, up here. So they, they have that to still have to live up to as well. I know winning is always a priority, but it's like, winning is a priority. Also putting a competitive team out there that people want to watch, definitely a priority for this team where fans can become disinterested in this particular market very quickly. But yeah, I mean, there's, I don't know. I don't know, Damon. I don't know. I'm I'm cautiously optimistic about what they can do.

However, I know a lot of these guys might be out of reach for them. However, a few might be the exact kind of starting pitcher that they can use on just a single year to get themselves kind of just back right until Corbyn's and reinforcements return. Nick said, I feel that Matt Ishbia also had an effect on Ken Kendrick to spend more money on this team. great point i mean also it kind of feels like the you know coyote situation was used in this negotiation for this tax revenue and such so like the way what what's happening here in the valley definitely impacts the diamond backs uh horay has a great question which we're going to address on the other side of this break but let's let's do that real fast let's get let's get from beyond free agents that are far away and let's talk about some guys that the diamond backs actually could add right now

and if you would want to see them add those players, don't you go anywhere. You're watching the PH&X Diamondback Show. Well, our friends at Mountain America Credit Union, they want to tailor make a checking account for you because everyone needs a checking account, right? Everyone needs a checking account, but a lot of us have a checking account

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But again, there's something to be said about somebody that has the track record in the past that Marcus Stroman has had. And he has been good in his career. You know, prior to this stint with the Yankees, he posted a 3.95 ERA in 23 for the country. Cubs 3.50 in 22 and then 3.02 in 21 for the Mets where he started the most games in Major League Baseball. So I think that there's there's a lot of problems there with Marcus Stroman. And again, we just talked earlier about clubhouse conflict and team not being connected. He does not seem like the kind of guy that's going to help connect your team further. However, the Diamondbacks are kind of in a desperate place right now. And not only are they in a

desperate place, but they're starting to win just enough that it's making you wonder if, you know, if they should start to get realistic about maybe adding some reinforcements, adding some depth to this team. I like the way that things are going for the players that are currently on this roster. They're young. They don't know any better. And they're just going out there and playing baseball. And the results are there.

I have to wait until they get into this. this tougher portion of the schedule before we can really start saying this might be a team to believe in for any reason. I still don't think that we're there. I just think that they've played good baseball against bad opponents. However, you know, there are guys like Stroman available on the, on the market now because they had a bad season and have been DFAed by their team. Nathaniel Lowe was DFAed by the Washington Nationals. He had a terrible season. In fact, he had the worst season of his career. He slash 216, 292, 373 this year, which are all career lows. He had an OPS plus of 88, which is well below league average, and just has not been a very

good baseball player offensively or defensively. So, Derek, why would you want to bring this man onto your team? I don't know. I'm just saying, like, the Diamondbacks so far have done a pretty good job at acquiring guys that didn't really jump off the page at you. but have somehow contributed to this team. Jalen Beaks is one of those names I can think of. Anthony Disclofani is another name.

And James McCann, who now people want to keep above Jose Herrera, which isn't, it's not a very, they're very, very, very big leap. But a piece of Yoshi asks, where would he even fit in? That's not my job. My job is not to determine whether he would fit in or not. My job is for him to be signed to a minor league deal and see if he ends up hitting 400 for the Reno Aces to be called up as a first basement for this team, should Tyler Locklear not work out.

Now, this is a man that hit 302 for the Rangers in 2022 and hit 27 home runs. So I am living on past glory here. But can he ever be that again? Probably not. But he could help with depth for the remainder of this season. And the bigger thing is that he might not cost very much, again, just for the season to play out. And yes, I know everyone hits 400 for the Reno Aces. So you know who isn't hitting 400 for the Reno Aces?

Recently acquired Cubs legend Matt Mervis, who the Diamondbacks added on a minor league contract. He was traded to the Miami Marlins before this season where he really struggled. But he's a 27-year-old prospect with Major League experience. It made sense to at least give him an opportunity. I think the big question here is, will Matt Mervis ever reach the major league roster. I'm a bit doubtful of that.

I just, again, the Diamondbacks right now, I think that they need to try to sift through some of these available players to see if any one of them could be that diamond in the rough. And also, I think competition only brings out the best in guys. I think when, you know, again, I think Jordan Lawler and Blaze Alexander could potentially bring the best out in each other competing for third base. And I think the same could be said about Tyler Locklear and quite frankly, anybody that could also be the future of first base for the Diamondback.

So Joey Millsap in the chat asked what the hell happened to Trey Mancini. Mancini opted out of his contract and signed elsewhere. So he was playing extremely good for the Reno Aces. Might have to do a spying on our exes about him and see how he's doing lately. But overall, my nips hurt is here, by the way. And I love saying that. I love saying my nips hurt is here. That's like you got me with your with your screen name.

So Derek, how do you handle the stress of being the most handsome Dbex fan? Oh, brother. It's a struggle every single day. But I am glad you're here because I would love to hear your thoughts on Nathaniel Lowe. I know he's been terrible this season. And I know that Dylan Cruz is returning, which made this decision easy.

But is Nathaniel Lowe washed at this point as a Nationals fan? Or does he still have something to offer? Love to always get actual feedback from people that watch him. But let's see. Michael Dixon is asking, when can we expect a lease agreement? Are we talking about on the new, what are we talking about? On the new place? I don't know what are we doing here.

And mine excerpt said he was a locker room guy. The Nats knew he was kind of on the downtrend. Yeah. And giving guys opportunities. they're on the downtrend might be exactly what they need to do. My apologies, Michael, Michael said, Chase Field lease extension. That's a great question. I think some details are still being worked out, but as far as the recently signed bill,

it does require the Diamondbacks to be there as part of it. So I feel like it's just a matter of getting a deal done. Excuse me. But I don't know. I don't know right now how long that's going to take. Chances are that that will probably be done during the off season. I think there's still a few years left on their current deal. So I don't know if it'll take time for that to kick in,

but I do know that the benefits from the tax, the catch-all for the taxes is going to start kicking in here for the Diamondbacks next season. So what we're going to do, take another quick break on the other side this break. We're going to talk about how the guys down in Reno are doing, including Jordan Lawler being back. So let's take a look going forward. Excuse me. Let's take a look at our break real fast. Excuse me. I am dying, Michael Dixon. Damn, he asked me if I'm okay. I promise I will survive this particular coughing fit. But let's take a break real fast. We'll be right back. You guys are watching the pH next time and back show. Well, it's no secret that it's very hot here in Arizona right now.

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If you are someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 18000 next step, text next step to 533442 or visit problemgambling.az.gov. Mark asked if a bug flu in my mouth. No, Mark, I just don't do a good job of taking care of myself when I'm at home alone. When there are people here that I have to care for, I make sure that they have water.

As you know, with Jesse for years, I always was worried about how hydrated he was. Now with Damon, I make sure that he eats because Damon does not eat enough. He's not, he's too skinny. He needs some more food in him. I'm furious that he doesn't take better care of himself. And I don't take good care of myself. Even as I sit here, I have the ability to have a bevy of drinks at my disposal because I am at home, including ice cold water, which we currently didn't have in our studio.

But do I have any of that in front of me as I have a coughing? attack. No, I don't. I have nothing in front of me. So I just sit here, you know what I do have in front of me. I have a Cattel Marte Bumblehead because again, Catell, he can't miss any more shows. So he's going to have to be here every single show for the rest of the season, and he will be here right next to me. But let's take a look at what some of those other young players are doing down in Reno with our look at the snake farm. There are some guys that have been killing it. Tommy Troy has been making some incredible defensive plays at second base. Let me tell you, that man is already ready to play defense at a major league level. So far with Reno in a very small sample size,

he's hitting 278 with an 816 OPS. He has a 500 slug. He has five RBA, RBI, and he has played in eight games for the Aces. But so far, he's adapted to AAA quickly, and you love to see him having success already both offensively and defensively. And I think his numbers are only going to improve because it is Reno and everybody hits 300 down there. Speaking of hitting 300, Jordan Lawler is back. He played in last night's loss going two for five with a double. So it's great to see him having a little bit of success in his first game back.

We do know based on what Tori Lovelo has said, Jordan Lawler will be called up soon to the major league roster. It'll be interesting to see how he shuffles in to the mix with the other guys right now that are playing so well, including Blaze Alexander. I think a lot of people right now don't want to see Blaze Alexander lose any playing time to Jordan Lawler if he continues to go 04 like he has so far this season. For the Reno Aces, he is hitting 321 with a 993 OPS this year. He has 10 home runs and 45 RBI. And lost but not least, the man who will just not quit baseball. and just is killing it right now for the aces.

Sergio Alcantra, who I just can't say enough about how every time we look at his numbers down there for Reno, he is continuing to put up some incredible numbers. And I mean, this is, this is in 76 plate appearances. He is hitting 387 with a 1.081 OPS. He has a 500 on base percentage, 14 walks. So, yeah, piece of Yoshi asks. What stint is this for Sergio Alcantra? I believe it's his seventh is what he said,

but I don't know if that's the case or not. But he's been here a lot. He's been a lot of places a lot. He always plays well at a AAA level, but he just can't seem to really put it together as a major leaguer. Again, another guy that is here for depth, quite frankly, and I'm not sure if we'll see him or not in a major league, you know, in a Diamondbacks uniform this year.

but he is a guy that is kind of, you know, he's been earning that time down there. So good stuff from Sergio. Overall, though, Damon, this is a rebuilding time for the farm system. And the one thing that the Diamondbacks added were a lot of arms. Like I said, I believe it was on Wednesday's show. We're going to be bringing back our Diamond Mine series where we are going to preview a few of those arms.

first couple that we're getting prepared for you here is Cole Drake and Mitch Brett. So make sure to absolutely check those out once we post those. But Diamondbacks at this point continue to roll. And tonight, they have, I don't want to say a big challenge, but they can't underestimate this Rockies team. They can seemingly put up runs at will. And we know that the bullpen loves to give up those runs. However, lately the Diamondback's bullpen has been playing well.

Everybody's been playing well. And, you know, one of the best guys on this team right now, Cattel Marte, right? He single-handedly, at least offensively, won two games for this team. And let's just hope that this scrutiny kind of dies down and that this team can just go back to play in baseball. Brandon Fott, by the way, has himself a great, great out. tonight, we could, we could really see this team role.

Damon, I do believe we had some super chats from last night that we failed to get to. So first, I want to apologize for being a terrible host. That goes for the coughing fit earlier. And for bringing up, I know a lot of people don't want to talk about this Cotel Marte crap, right? Like, I know a lot of people don't want to bring it up. I know a lot of people think that it's a, it's a non-story. That's the reason why there's kind of been the backlash towards the person that, that wrote it, but I mean, it, it is a story, is it not?

Derek, I am very frustrated this morning with the way that Diamondbacks fans have handled this story. I feel like, you know, this has been boiling for a while with a lot of this could tell stuff. I don't mean to say that like I think that he's like a distraction necessarily that's like ruined the season. He's not the reason the season is the way that gone the way that it has. No one is saying that. But when your best player tells the rest of his team, hey, you know, I'm going to take a vacation while you guys are fighting for your lives trying to stay here in Arizona.

That is a bad message to send, man. And that's there's, there's objectively no other way to to work around that. So it's just, it's frustrating to me to see people. It's, it's they, they, everybody these days, you know this is true, Derek. They love to jump on media. That's their favorite thing in the world and tell media personalities that they're the worst and that they're scumbags. This has nothing to do with Nick Pecoro. He is a good journalist who did his job.

This is everything to do with the Diamondbacks organization and the relationship that Ketalmarte has with a lot of his teammates and staff. Yeah. Well, and again, I know these players remain nameless, but for them to even bring this up to a journalist. asking to stay off the record or at least have their name, not attached to it has a lot. It means that it's a frustrating thing for them because usually they don't like us like that. They don't want to talk to us like that.

This isn't something that typically they would want to share with a journalist that they know is going to write an article about it. However, sometimes in life you've got to address something that needs to be done. I mean, look, I talked about it on my Twitter. daughter has been in band since the fourth grade. And suddenly this year, two weeks into high school, she has struggled with her band teacher and their relationship. And it's been enough to make her want to quit, right? And so, like, again, I didn't have any problem directly addressing this. I might be a little too confrontational at times in life, but I'm not going to not address it

immediately. And sometimes that's what you need to do. You need to go through whatever channel you need to address it so that the problem gets resolved rather than letting something like that just kind of fester and letting resentment grow towards a guy that you know is one of the most important keys to your team winning baseball games in that in that clubhouse. So anyway, so we do have this. He says, my thing is, if you can't get any, on record about it. Why even post it? Well, information is still information, quite frankly.

And again, you're not going to get necessarily players a lot of times to attach their name to criticism of one of their teammates due to the actual problems it's going to cause in the clubhouse. Not to mention, like I said, they, then that becomes the story. You know, if Damon is like, yeah, I got problems with Derek, now the story isn't, Derek's problems. It's the fact that me and him are beefing. You know, and like that's, that's kind of not the point of doing this. The point isn't to start a fight with them. The point is to fix a problem that they perceive is going on. So, but piece of Yoshi said this is an article

you publish in the offseason. And maybe that's how I don't know if I agree with that. I understand the timing looks bad because of him carrying this team in recent games. But I don't know that I necessarily think it's an offseason article either it boiled this all boiled over you can't wait all star break yeah if you want it to be corrected you can't wait until the off season it needs to be as far as the players who told nick this information or the coaches staff whoever it needs to be addressed immediately it needs to be addressed as soon as possible to hopefully stop it from happening um especially you know again there's there's the part in there about how, you know, like that if, if Tori tries to address it with him, he kind of shuts down, right?

So I don't know. I don't know if this article is going to have the impact that it's meant to. But I do know that we have those two super chats from yesterday. One is from our guy, Benjamin Hunley. I want to give him a shout out. Of course, Benjamin, I don't know if I, do you have those super chats handy, Damien? Yeah, I do. The first super chat was from Benjamin Hunley.

And he said, could you imagine Geraldo Perdomo asking for a day off in a big game for any reason? No. No. Quite frankly. And that's, I think, and you could probably say the same about a lot of guys on that roster. Corbyn Carroll literally playing with a bone floating around in his hand. And then piece of Yoshi. Thank you for your super chat.

He said, blaming could tell when Larkin has cost more games. Shake my head. Yep. Well. And that's where, Derek, that's where I think that the article is being misconstrued. Everyone keeps saying that people are blaming Ketel for like the way that the season has unfolded. I don't think that that's true. I think it's more that players are frustrated with his lack of leadership and stuff in the locker room.

And like this is just the boiling point. Like as far as you're here fighting for our lives every day kind of thing. Yeah. You know, and and you're not. So. Yeah. And like B says. like, you know, why don't they put their name on it? Because that would be catastrophic to the locker room.

Yeah. Honestly. And, you know, like you said, then it makes the story about what did Geraldo Perdomo say about Catelle Marte, rather than what Cotel Marte is actually doing and what his behavior has been like. So that, like, I, Nick Picoro has worked well long enough in this business that we should trust when he says it's an anonymous player, that it is an anonymous player on the Arizona. I agree. I agree. I agree. Well, we thank you guys for your time. We appreciate you. We'll be back in studio on Monday. So make sure to join us in our brand new home. Until then, have a wonderful weekend. Follow us on Twitter. I'm at cap underscore caveman with a K. Damon's at Damon's at DaWG at the end. We're all Damon's dogs, bark, bark. Our show is at pH and X underscore sports, but as always, excuse me, Ph and X underscore Dbacks, but as always all roads lead to at pH and X underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Thank you guys again for your time. We love you. We appreciate you for stopping by. We'll be back with another mailbag Monday. But until then, enjoy your weekends. Have a fun time.

Don't worry about this could tell stuff. And remember, kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun. When everybody in the locker room loves each other, everybody love everybody.