PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Is Harrison Bader the MISSING PIECE for D-backs Outfield in 2026?

Episode Date: January 20, 2026

We know Mike Hazen said the Diamondbacks might not add to the bullpen, but what about a move for free agent Harrison Bader? We break down whether the Gold Glove outfielder is the right fit for Arizona and what kind of impact he could have on the roster. We’ve got the latest updates on other top free agents and where they stand as the offseason continues to SLOWLY move along. We also dive into the Diamondbacks’ farm system after three of their players landed on the Top 10 second base prospects list, and why that kind of organizational depth matters more than ever. Plus, with the D-backs agreeing to terms with 18 international amateur signees, we explain why international scouting and development could be the key to the next era of success in the desert.JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4An 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/Phoenix Raceway: Get your tickets now for March 5-8! https://www.phoenixraceway.com/march-cup-weekend/?CID=PIR_DI_TP_BA_PHNX26Spring_251120ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/Branded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order!Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visithttps://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotesbet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets!Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

While the Diamondbacks might not add too many more names to their roster, we do take a look at perhaps Harrison Bader being a guy the Diamondbacks can add to their depth in their outfield. Jesse Friedman's joined the show and we have so much more to talk about, including why there are so many top names still available here on the free agent market. Don't you go anywhere? We're starting in 30 seconds. And welcome in to another edition of the PHNXVAC podcast, Lowe! Studio K! presented by our friends at Circle K, well, kind of live.

My name is Derek Monti, occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX, and I'm thrilled to be joined by some of my favorite people to talk baseball, including each and every one of you. But I got my guy, Damon Farrell, aka Damon Dog on the Ones and twos, of course, holding me down as always. And we are joined by the one, the only, the thunderstick, Jesse Friedman from Snake's territory. Jesse, we've pre-recorded a few of these episodes, not to pull the curtain back too much as I tend to do, but with you having the life that you live, our schedules don't exactly always link up to do live shows.

And for the most part, we've been able to get away with this ruse for as long as we've had, essentially, because no breaking news or no crazy things have happened. However, we finally got caught last week because the Diamondbacks made a big trade. right after you and I recorded an episode where I believe the theme was, what if the Diamondbacks don't do anything at all anymore for the rest of the off season? That quickly changed. But before, of course, we get into some of the other discussions for this week, including if Harrison Bader would be a great addition to this outfield.

I wanted to get your thoughts on the Nolan Aeronado trade. I know, of course, this is a guy that I think you and I have both been a fan of at some point. I mean, it was a guy that I know all Diamondbacks fans coveted at one point because he was rumored to come here on an occasion or two. But it's finally happened. It's finally real. He is an Arizona Diamondback. And again, what do you think about the move? Well, I guess I should start by commenting maybe on the Diamondback signing Cody Bellinger because it feels like that maybe has happened by the time this show airs.

I just want to try to get out in front of it as best I can. No, I don't, I don't think that will happen, but who knows, dear? Who knows? I mean, it's going to do. I mean, that would be actually very apropos for us to once again have this whole pre-recorded thing ruined by the Diamondbacks making a big signing. But man, Cody Bellinger, that would be exciting, much more exciting than Harrison Bader here. But Nolan Aeronado, he's a guy that, again, it was kind of a weird feeling about the trade. like he it's not like noan aranado is considered an elite player in baseball anymore however

when you look at his numbers especially his defense you can't hate the idea of him playing third base for this team no i i think it made total sense for the diamondbacks i mean look for two years and eleven million dollars which is effectively what the cost comes down to for the diamondbacks i know they also included a a pitching prospect in jack martinez who they just drafted in the eighth round, but it effectively comes down to paying two years and $11 million for Aronado, sort of as if you're just signing him as a free agent. And it's pretty easy to talk yourself into Aronado at that number. I mean, it's no secret. He is not the player that he once was. He's a far cry from, you know, the player he was for so many years in Colorado and

early on in his time with the St. Louis Cardinals. But he still, I think, has something. to offer. He's he's not an elite third baseman anymore, but he's still graded out well above average in that regard in 2025. The offense is is certainly diminished, but I think he has a chance to be totally fine for the diamond backs and to be able to hang around and provide a lot of value on defense and maybe just enough value on offense. And again, at this price point, it feels like the diamondbacks can't really go wrong here. That's really what it came down to. I still can't believe that they got the Cardinals to eat as much of this contract as they did. I cannot believe that the Cardinals have eaten as much of money this offseason as they

have had to do in order just to offload Nolan Aeronado, Sunny Gray and Wilson, Contreras, Jesse. But again, that's really what it comes down to is the amount of money the Diamondbacks have to pay him, right? Like, if it would have been a straight up trade and they would have just taken on that contract, we would have been screaming about it. There would have been a lot of, I think, pushback in regards to that. But Nolan Aronado just doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that an organization needed to get rid of. That's part of this. That's so strange to me. It also seemed like he was, you know, again, he kind of took it very personally. It felt like he wanted to be in St. Louis for the rest of his career and probably was getting into that range of accepting a

discount just to stay there maybe after this particular contract was up. But, you know, again, And bringing him here feels like a new, definitely a new life for him. I think working with Joe Mather is going to bring the best out of him offensively. And I think that, you know, again, this is such a fun team to be a part of that hopefully that rekindles, you know, maybe some of the joy that he lost playing for that organization and being stuck in a situation that's drug on for 15 months. It definitely feels like that could have impacted his offense in 2025, which we saw take a substantial step back

versus what the numbers that he put up in 2024 that you would be still not his elite numbers in his career, but you'd be perfectly happy with at this point for what the Diamondbacks are paying it. I think it's always felt just from watching a lot of Nolan Arnado over the years that he's an emotional

sort of player. The more that his team is in it, the more that he has to play for, the more engaged he's going to be and probably the better he's going to play. And his situation in 2025 with the Cardinals was not great. I mean, it was no secret last offseason. The Cardinals were trying to deal him. He wound up blocking a trade to the Houston Astros, which is kind of a weird situation. This offseason, we know he added some more teams to

his list that he would accept a deal to, the Diamondbacks being among them. And so, yeah, I think that there's a chance that Aronado just getting out of that situation in St. Louis and playing for a Diamondbacks team that is at least trying to win. I mean, this is not necessarily a team that is World Series bound on paper, but it's a team that at least is trying to make the playoffs, whereas the Cardinals are just clearly in a rebuild mode and selling off a lot of their more valuable pieces on their roster. The other aspect of Aaronado that stands out to me is,

I think him bouncing back offensively would sort of be the icing on the cake for the Diamondbacks, based on what Mike Hazen said about this move, it feels like they believe there's a chance that could happen, that he could see a bit of a resurgence here as he moves into his mid-30s. But even if it doesn't, Hayeson was clear, like the chief goal of this move for the debacks was to stabilize the defense, to try to get the defense back to a place where it been in years past. And I think there's a really good chance that Aronado can be an asset for them on that side of the ball.

Are you surprised at all that they added a third baseman? I don't think so. I mean, it felt like even with Blaze Alexander and Jordan Lawler and Tim Tawa, you know, there's a number of young guys here who are deserving of opportunity. It still felt like not adding at all would have left yourself a little bit vulnerable. Maybe there's maybe there's a little bit of middle ground there between wanting to have some opportunity. available while also not just like handing opportunities to guys who haven't really earned those opportunities. And I guess that's a big, a big storyline in the aftermath of this is like,

what does it mean for Jordan Lawler? What does it mean for Blaze Alexander? There's no getting around that there are fewer plate appearances on the table for those guys. But I still think there's there's going to be opportunity. I mean, there's still a bit of a gap at DH on this roster. left field is still pretty wide open. So, you know, if Jordan Lawler and or Blaze Alexander goes into spring training and looks awesome, I think they're still going to be able to find enough reps to go around for all these guys. When we know there are several marque players still available on the free agent market, Jesse, and you brought up Cody Bellinger.

By the time that people might be watching this, we might be preempting. He's a diamond back now there. I'm not as well to say. Yeah. Yeah. 100% right. According to reports, Bellinger has received an offer from the New York Yankees that is worth as much as $160 million over five years and has opt-outs after the second and third seasons or third years of that contract. But Bellinger is said to be seeking a seven-year contract.

Plus, you have like a whole new variable here, Jesse, that really hasn't, I mean, it's not like this has not existed in baseball, but you had all of these guys that were expected to, get big contracts and part of those big contracts were supposedly long-term deals, right? Instead, you get Kyle Tucker going to Los Angeles on a four-year deal. You get Bo Bichette going to the New York Mets on a short-term deal. And now the short-term deals with huge annual values almost seem to be the trend, right? So it feels like Bellinger looking for that same kind of long-term deal we're describing. However, might not be getting that.

still has offers out there. Still has interest from teams like the Mets and the Blue Jays and the Phillies and the Giants. But there was a Instagram post that he recently put up. I believe it was today. Him working out probably here in Arizona. And Austin Wells, Wildcat, Damon Dogg, went ahead and put a little like crying emoji as a response to it, little little, little, little, little, teared up guy down there, Jesse,

almost suggesting how much he misses him and almost insinuates, if you want to look at things way too deeply, like emoji responses, that he's not coming back to the Yankees. Meanwhile, Juan Soto like the post. Drama, Jesse, drama. Juan Soto's out here hitting the like button.

Austin Wells is leaving a little cryy faces. So we don't know what's going to happen with that. He would be obviously a fun addition to this Diamondbacks team, Not only is he a very good baseball player that kind of wants to beat the Dodgers as much as we do. He's also a guy, a hometown guy, that, you know, it would just be, it would feel good to bring him back, right? But good feelings aren't enough to make up for substantial contracts. And I still cannot imagine the Diamondbacks being in on Cody Bellinger, even though we have kicked the idea around ourselves. You also, we are going to talk about Harrison Bader being a much cheaper option.

however not going to put up nearly the numbers of bellinger would put up for you bellinger does make some sense on paper right i mean he he bats left-handed the diamondbacks have they have a gap against righties either at first base or dh depending on where pavin smith slots in like i think adrian del castillo right now on paper would get a lot of played appearances against righties when he hasn't at least up to this point really really shown consistently that he can hit right-handed pitching at the this level. And yeah, I mean, the fact that Bellinger can play a pretty decent center field for you and certainly play the corners as well, he has a lot of versatility at the positions where the debacks could could really use it. But I think that ship is probably sailed at this point. I mean, I guess you never say never with Ken Kendrick and some of the moves that he's made out of nowhere the last couple of off seasons. So I, yeah, we can't rule it out entirely. Again, maybe it's already happened by the time people are watching this. And I look like a total idiot. But I don't really see this being the type of gamble that Ken Kendrick would take, especially if, you know, if the Yankees

are willing to go to five years. And the only way to beat that offer presumably is to go, you know, six years. There's been rumors that Bellinger's camp wants seven years. Or on the other side of things, you know, maybe there's some shorter term, but crazy AAV situation. I don't really see either of those making a ton of sense for the Diamondbacks. If he's already got 5-160 on the table, I don't think Bellinger's market is falling to the point where Ken Kendrick maybe gets involved. So it seems pretty unlikely. There are so many rumors that the Diamondbacks have been inexplicably tied to, right,

throughout this off season, you know, covering this team over on Snake's territory. We had the Kyle Tucker rumor that briefly surfaced, right? We had Alex Bregman being a major thing, right? And I will say that of these three top players, Alex Bregman, you know, Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger, Bellinger makes the most sense by far. Like, he is the fit because of his versatility and essentially the fact that he can play all the positions that the Diamondbacks kind of need to fill, right? The problem is, is that for what it's going to take to get Bellinger, I joked about this,

but it's, I'm serious, Belanger would need to play all three at the same time. We would need him to VH play first and be out in the outfield. And if that was the case, then yes, he could be worth the money that the Diamondbacks would inevitably have to pay him. But again, still a free agent for the time being, at least at the recording of this podcast, as is that Gallen, which we talked about yesterday, Jesse. And I mean, this whole situation when Zach Allen is almost starting to feel a bit, sad to me. Though I know he's going to get his money and I know he's going to be fine.

It's just the report from the athletic, an anonymous GM calling Zach Allen, the least attractive free agent on the market probably doesn't feel great. I know it's not entirely based on how bad is 2025 season is, much like Framber Valdez, Dylan Sees and Ranger Suarez, right? All of those guys received qualifying offers. So all of those guys are kind of in that pool of, you know, you're going to lose a draft pick to the team. And it's all depending on how much you pay. I've said that the Diamondbacks lose that compensatory pick. If Zach Allen doesn't sign for 50 million,

that's actually incorrect. Shout out to Chris and Phoenix for always keeping us straight here. They don't lose the draft pick. They just don't get that draft pick that's between round one and round two. They would get one that falls after round two. And there's a huge difference there obviously between essentially, getting an end of the round, first round draft pick versus getting one later in the draft, like that would come, right?

So it's not like the Diamondbacks, again, don't get a draft pick at all if Zach Gallen signs for less than 50 million elsewhere. But there's a big difference between those two draft picks. And the Diamondbacks, too, in fact, gets screwed if Gallen doesn't sign for 58 million. They could sign for 48 million, and it would come in just underneath that threshold, which would just be such a Diamondbacks thing that have happened. But both these guys, I mean, Frambervaldez and Zach Gallen, again, guys on Mark Feinson's top 30 free agent list that are still out there still available. It just, it does.

I mean, I feel like we go through this every year where we're always like, why are these guys all still, you know, on the market? It just again, it's one of those things where, you know, teams are very cautious in how they're committing to free agents, how much money they're committing to them. And they're very cautious about losing draft picks as well. draft picks are very important to a lot of teams in baseball, even teams that have a ton of money like the Dodgers, right? So it's like nobody really wants to lose a top draft pick if they don't have to. The Gallant situation is really interesting to me. Ken Rosenthal on Fair Territory today was asked a question about him

and talked about going the shorter term route, trying to reestablish his value in 2026, and then maybe reenter free agency next off season when he wouldn't be tied to draft pick compensation anymore. I mean, theoretically, if he goes out and has a great season and then doesn't have to deal with the draft pick, and he could do way, way better in free agency a year from now. Granted, will there even be free agency a year from now?

That's a whole other question. But Ken mentioned he just sort of floating out possibilities. He said maybe Gallen goes with a two-year deal with an opt-out after the first year, maybe goes to like a three-year deal with an opt-out after the second one, something like that. And I think if you're the debacks, you probably feel pretty comfortable that the total guarantee would be 50 million plus if it's a three-year deal. It's hard for me to imagine it being three years for less than that.

But if it's a two-year deal, then you're in danger of, you know, that $49.5 million backbreaker where you just barely, you know, miss the cutoff. there for getting the better draft pick. So it'll be really interesting to see how that plays out. Clearly the compensatory pick. I mean, I had that in mind when thinking about Gallin going into the offseason, but I think I kind of underrated how much that would ultimately affect his market. We got to have a talk, by the way, Jesse, with Google.

We got, we need Google to get their act together. I want to say the S word. I'm not allowed to, especially in your presence. but when it comes to Google, lately I've noticed that there's this thing where you go to look up players, especially free agents, and Google already has their main image

that comes up of them as some BSAI image of them in a new uniform. So when you look up Framber Valdez on Google, prepare to find out he's already in New York Yankee, according to Google. So there's that out there. But for Amber Valdez, right, that's a guy who is one of the, he's one of the elite arms in baseball yet still not signed. Still not a lot of like rumblings about him either signing.

And it's weird because it just feels like one single act has ruined his reputation. The fact that so many people felt like he intentionally hit his catcher, Caesar Salazar, with a pitch in the chest after giving up a home run and after blaming the catcher, right? It feels like everybody that I've talked to about Frambervaldez, the general discourse online, is that like nobody wants anything to do with them. Now, I'm not saying that incident is a good look. It's awful. You're kind of a piece of crap for doing that to your teammate.

And let me add, Derek, Caesar Salazar, Tucson guy. So when you mess with him, you mess with all of us. Dude, he's ready to go after Framber right now, Jesse. But like, again, I mean, it's wild to think that there are so many other things, teams and and I'm just recklessly speculating here. I doubt that that really has an impact on organizations wanting to sign them. It's more of an impact the public feels about Framber Valdez. However, just speculating, it's, it's wild that that could be something that brings his character

into question for teams that are going to potentially pay him a lot of money. Like this is going to be a backing the truck up kind of moment for Franbr Valdez. And like all of that has been put into jeopardy by that incident, just like the way that Zach Gallen's wonderful seasons of performance have all been put into question now simply because he had a 4.83 ERA last year and people are like, this guy's washed. I think Valdez is just in an interesting place in the market where, I don't really think there are any other starting pitchers that are viewed the way that Valdez is.

And maybe that will prove to be wrong when we see where his contract lands. But, you know, Tatsuya Imi, at least from MLB trade rumors, he was ranked right after Framber Valdez on their top free agents list. And I wound up getting way less than a lot of people expected he would get. So and I guess Ranger Suarez just got five years and 130 million. So maybe their deals wind up being relatively similar. But Suarez does not have the durability track record that Framber has. I mean, Framber just threw 192 innings, whereas Ranger Swarres has never thrown 160

in a season. And Valdez has been in the 175 plus range for four consecutive years at this point. So I think he's, at least on paper, feels like he's kind of in a class of his own. And maybe that helps explain why his market. just has not really developed up to this point in the season. I guess maybe Rangers Juarez signing kind of paves the way for Fromber's market to materialize for teams who haven't added that bigger name starter. He's kind of one of few options available.

I guess there's some guys who could be had via trade. But yeah, I mean, another really fascinating case given where he stands in the market and also that incident that you were talking about earlier. I mean, again, look, I know that's. stuff really doesn't resonate that much with front offices and GMs. Like they're literally, they're literally willing to overlook legal troubles and people having arrests and stuff.

So they're going to like be fine. I'm sure with you getting mad at your teammate for getting crossed up or whatever and giving up a home run and then hitting them with the ball. It just seems like again, uh, his entire reputation, like I said earlier, kind of took a hit based on that and the conversation definitely changed about him and people wanting him, just based on that one thing happening.

But another guy that, well, by the way, we got to report this. Bruce Levine of 670 a.m., the score in Chicago reported on Monday, Jesse, the conversations between the Cubs and Zach Gallen are still ongoing. So that way too early reporting that was done might still come to fruition about Gallen going to the Cubs. But meanwhile, old friend Gino Suarez, he still remains unsigned. We talked a little bit yesterday about, you know, on Mailbag Monday, someone asked about bringing him back to the Diamondbacks. I couldn't think of anything being less likely just based on the fact that we just added

a third baseman to this team. The Diamondbacks aren't in a position to really go out and get a one-dimensional guy that, again, I mean, yeah, you could share time with Aeronado, but you got Aeronado for his defense at third, and you're not really going to bring a guy like Gino back just to be a D.H. Unless it's on some sort of massive discount that is not most likely going to happen. But Gino struggled with the Mariners, and he is 34 years old at this point.

So there is a good chance that, you know, teams might be hesitant to sign him after seeing what he did after the trade. Mariners GM, Justin Hollander said in December that they were open to bringing Suarez back. I'm sure that cooled a bit though because again he just wasn't he wasn't Josh Naler for them that's for sure I think Suarez probably makes the most sense for a team like the pirates I know Rosenthal mentioned the pirates in connection to him today like a team that doesn't absolutely need Suarez to produce but would be super happy if he did and went out and hit 40 homers or something but if like if you're a

a contending team and you're looking for someone to add to your lineup who you can really count on, I'm not sure Suarez is that guy. Given the second half that he put up with the Mariners, as you were talking about, there's considerable risk here. There's a world where he goes out and hits 50 homers again. I think there's also a world as sad as it is to imagine where Suarez is maybe just not going to be a real productive big leaguer anymore because he's not giving you much defensive value and he might not, you know, the strikeouts just might pile up a little bit too much for him

as they did in the second half of the season. So, you know, if you're a team that is kind of on the outside looking in and looking to take a shot on somebody who could go out and hit 50 homers, but also might not get anywhere close to that, I think I think Suarez could make a lot of sense. I mean, granted, maybe his market just continues to fall, and then we get back into the territory of, you know, the Mariners or the Red Sox. or a team that is really looking to contend is like,

sure, we'll take a risk on Suarez, given that his price has come down considerably from where we thought it would be. There were three more players from Mark Feinson's top 30, free agents list that are still on the market. Those three players are Luis Arise as the last position player, and then two pitchers in Chris Bassett and Lucas Gialito. I think we've talked about all three of these guys coming to the Diamondbacks,

potentially and if they would be a good fit. Luis Arise is a guy that is a three-time batting champion and still inexplicably doesn't seem to have very much interest on the open market. We know what he is. We know he's a contact guy. We know he gets on base. We also know he's kind of a terrible defender. The Padres might bring him back to play first base for them.

But, I mean, we discussed it plenty. I want to get your thoughts. Would you ever want to trust Luis Arise to be your first baseman on this team? It would be fascinating. I think we talked about it a little the last time I was on. I mean, another guy that is a bit of a gamble. I mean, I guess you feel good about the batting average.

Like the batting average is probably going to be at least 280 or something like that. Probably best batting average on the team. Yeah, I mean, probably. And yet at the same time, you don't know how much value you're going to get from him because he's not really drawing many walks. he's not hitting for power and he's not providing much value defensively. So I still don't think it's a terrible move, like a terrible move for the debacks on paper. Again, they have kind of a hole at the DH slot right now against Ritees.

And you could do a lot worse than a rise in that spot. But I think his given the batting titles and the name that he comes with, I think it's hard for me to imagine his market falling so much that the, that the Dbacks get seriously interested there. I agree. I think that these players and these agents, they're waiting because they know that they can wait. I think that's really what it comes down to.

I think they know that this isn't going in the direction of necessarily the market plummeting. But teams, you know, again, they have to figure out where they're at. They've got to try to make other moves. And if they don't, like so many of these big, these teams that want to spend big miss out on these guys, they end up, you know, turning and pivoting.

much like we've seen these teams do already, like the Mets with Boba Chet, right? Chris Bassett, Lucas G. Alito, diamondbacks are good, now on starting pitching. I would still like to see some depth. I still don't mind the idea of a guy like Chris Bassett that's also been a starter and a bullpen arm for a team like the Blue Jays last year.

Again, if that was something he'd be willing to do, then that's a guy that at one time at least, I was willing to see in that starting rotation until Corbin Burns returns. but again, you know, both of these guys, I think the ship has sailed on the Diamondbacks, adding any starting pitching, considering they don't really have a lot of money to spend and they still have a lot of other things to fix.

It would be hard to imagine. I think Chris Bassett too. I mean, I know he's 36 years old, but he has a pretty decent track record from a durability standpoint. I mean, he's gone 170 or more in eights in three straight seasons and has an ERA in the upper threes over the course of, the past three years. Like, I don't know if I don't think he's going to get Merrill Kelly money, but I don't think he's going to fall well below the two years and 40 million that the

debacks already gave to Merrill Kelly. So given that the rotation is is full, at least on paper, I mean, they have five guys that you can kind of slide in right now. It's hard for me to see them spending that kind of money on a on another starter. Well, we're going to take a quick break. And on the other side of this break, we are going to talk about if Harrison Bader makes sense for the Diamondbacks, even though his offensive numbers have kind of come down a little bit. He's still an elite defender out there in the outfield. So we're going to talk about that here in a couple of minutes. Don't you go anywhere?

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work for the Diamondbacks. Most of those names, and I know that our audience has kind of grown tired of this, but most of those names are guys that, of course, you have to find, you know, a little bit of a diamond in the rough. You have to do a little bit of bargain shopping. I don't feel

okay, like bargain shopping, bargain bin shopping probably isn't the right word. I would like to call it thrift shopping, thrifting. I was at Goodwell the other day. I saw some young teenage men doing something I've never seen young teenage men do, which was they were looking through clothes for items that were worth far more than Goodwill was selling them for.

And they were getting pumped about it, Jesse. They were finding stuff and screaming to each other. Bro, this is worth 50 bucks and all that, right? Like, this is what I'm talking. Your producer does that. I was going to say. They didn't find some incredible finds in the thrift shopping, right? And that's what it's kind of more about.

It's not shopping in the bargain bin. It's not shopping in the clearance section at Walmart. It's the chase. This is thrifting. This is, yes, you have to search through a lot of stuff. Mike's putting in a lot of work doing all of his due diligence and searching through all of these racks of clothes. But eventually you find something. You find something nice.

You find something maybe you can put on eBay and sell for 10 times the amount that you are buying it for. And I think that's what the Diamondbacks are looking for. The Nolan Aeronado trade, an example of that. The Michael Soroka Free Agent Edition, another example of that. You can't say that with Merrill Kelly or James McCann. Those are just like security blankets that you knew what you had in them. And it feels good bringing them back because both of those guys, you know, you, you know them so well. You know how consistent those guys can be.

Right. But these other guys, these are wild cards. These are reclamation projects. These are guys that we have no idea what we're going to get out of them in 2026. It could be more of the same, which wouldn't surprise too many people. But, you know, again, it could be a big, you know, a big bounce back. especially for a guy like Aeronado that we know is a multi-time all-star. Michael Soroka at one time was a Cy Young winner, right?

Or candidate, at least a candidate. I forget. Candidate, yeah. Candidate. I mean, one of the best in the league when he was with the Atlanta Braves, right? So again, there's a good chance that Mike Hazen may have found the exact type of thrift finds

that you get excited about and scream across the store to your friends. Another guy that could be that for the Diamondbacks is outfielder Harrison Bader. and that is a guy who as much as maybe his offensive numbers have maybe dropped off from what they once were, it's exciting to think of him roaming that big outfield in Chase Field across the street there, Jesse. He's a really good defender. I think that's the one thing that I can say for sure about Harrison Bader at this point is that you know he's going to give you really good defense in center field. And there's a lot of value to be had there. maybe a year or two ago, that's not something you felt the debacks needed.

But frankly, Alec Thomas has not graded out as a great center fielder for the past couple years. He's just been around average. So on that front, he does make some sense for the diamond backs. Offensively, I just have no idea what to expect from Bader going forward. He had a really bizarre 2025 season where he was awesome and had reversed. and had reverse splits. He had really good numbers against righties

and actually not very good numbers at all against lefties despite being a right-handed hitter. So it just leaves a lot of unknown about what to expect from him in 2025. Like are you signing Bader to be to platoon with Alec Thomas in center field? Like I don't think Bader would agree to do that for a team given the season he just had. but I also don't know where he would make sense as a like a full-time player.

You know, if Alec Thomas is still on this roster, like where, I know, how was Alex Thomas going to play if he's not starting in center field against right-handed pitching? I'm not sure what the role looks like for him at that point. So I don't know if I see a fit here with the debacks, but he's a, he's a fascinating player. And I'm really curious what he gets, like how much are teams going to buy in to the the season he just had. One thing I will say is Harrison Bader, right? Great defender. You're right. Like overall, you know, the kind of guy that could roam around those massive gaps in Chase Fields, outfield, and be a tremendous defender. The Diamondbacks are prioritizing defense.

They're prioritizing run prevention this year. So that is one of the reasons why it feels like Bader would be a great, great fit, right? Gold Glove winner, great range, great instincts. He has a strong arm, something the Diamondbacks need more of in the outfield for sure, but he rarely plays a full season, like, and that could be maybe a good thing or a bad thing. I'm not sure. Maybe he's looking to do that, but he's kind of like a 120 game guy. He's not going to give you a full 162 game season. He's had hamstring injuries. He's had oblique injuries. He's had foot injuries. And when he's cold offensively, he's much like other guys that we've had on this team, like Gino, like Lourdes. He's got a high strikeout rate when he's bad.

He's got streaky power. His on base percentage can get really bad. Like he just can't be relied on as a middle of the order bat. So if that's what the diamondbacks are looking to add, I mean, they can't keep just adding defenders. Right. We just talked about this with Aeronado. They're not adding Aeronado for his bat. They're adding it for his defense.

They can't add Harrison Bader also just for. for his defense, right? But he does make sense as a complimentary piece, and it all depends, like you said, on what he gets, what he's willing to accept. The Diamondbacks are serious about a lot of things that make him exactly the type of player that they would be targeting.

But, again, however, he's not necessarily a guy that is going to give you that much offensively, especially at this point in his career. We have his stats here though. Or his, excuse me, his baseball savon page. There's a lot of red when it comes to the fielding still has himself good speed, still has himself good smart base running. He's an extra base threat.

So these are all the things that feel make you feel like he's a fit for the Diamondbacks, at least made me feel like it. The speed, pressure offence, aggressive base running, you know. But again, when you look at this, you know, the hitting, statistics there's a lot of blue on there especially when it comes to his strikeout percentage is uh chase rate all of that kind of stuff is all pretty bad um you know is sweet spot percentage is not great and then all of his expected stats there are are pretty bad from last year it is i mean it's just such a big contrast to to what what we see now on the screen which are his actual stats i mean he

hit 277 right even though his expected batting average was 220 we were just looking at OPS? Yeah, yeah. I mean, a 796 OPS, 17 Omer's 54 RBI. He was worth almost four wins above replacement on baseball reference. So it's almost like he had too good of a season from the Diamondbacks perspective. Right. Statistically, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like it almost regardless of what the underlying numbers say, if you just had a four war season, like I don't know if you're signing for two and 18, you know, like the production was so good. That's exactly. Jesse, Jesse, I don't know how you and I still share a brain considering the distance

between the two of us. Like we once were in a room together all the time, that made far more sense to me. But that was the exact amount that I told Damon. I was like, eh, it's going to be too much. You tell me two and 18 and I'm in. And that's the exact amount you pull out of nowhere. But yeah, you're right. Like there are these, that's what all these plays.

players come down to. And the problem is, is that his numbers there aren't, like you said, they're not bad. They're pretty damn good. It's just, are you going to get that out of them? And can you rely on that next season? I don't know if you can. I still love the idea of anybody that's kind of like had some down, you know, numbers offensively to come in here and work with Joe Mather because I think the guy does wonders as a hitting coach for players. But, I don't know. I don't know. I can't wait to see what he gets. Passon Kim got $20 million and now he's out for four to five months, Jesse. So nothing makes sense to me anymore.

Poor Atlanta Braves, man. It's already happening to them again. All right. Well, we're going to take a quick break. On the other side of the break, we got more to talk about, including the Diamondbacks, having not one, not two, but three second baseman in the top 10 for all second. basement prospect. So that's kind of fun. We're going to talk about that on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere? You're watching the pH and X Diamondback show. You guys know that right now is the time of the year to go out and get yourself some Arizona lottery multiplier tickets. I need to multiply so many things in my life. I would like to multiply my car after, again, not having good car issues happened to me yesterday. So I would like to multiply that. I would also like to

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out on the Diamondback second baseman. That's because they have some very good second baseman in their minor league system. And those guys, of course, don't know when they're going to get a chance. to play second base, we could tell Marte being here and being as good as he is. But the Diamondbacks, in fact, have three potential top of the order catalysts here in second baseman Tommy Troy, Demetrio Chrysantes, and J.D. Dix, Jesse. This is fun. This is exciting. I know that at times we've not really been a team that would have appeared to have a lot of top prospects or guys, you know, like this. Second base, though, makes sense that they're kind of getting stacked up there a bit in the

minor league system. And I think it's especially interesting to me that you could probably put these three guys in any order. I mean, I don't, I don't think it's like it's Tommy Troy and then a big gap and then the other two guys. I mean, fan graphs, I believe has J.D. Dix higher on their list than Demetio Chrysantis. and we had Nick Bacoro on our show at Snake's Territory a couple months ago, and he said when he was making his prospect rankings,

he had some people telling him that Dmitio Cresontas could be the top prospect in the whole organization even higher than Ryan Waldschmidt. So there's a variety of perspectives on these three guys. They could go in any order, and all of them you could maybe make a case as being at least a top three prospect in the entire organization. So they have a lot of depth here. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Tommy Troy certainly much closer to the big leagues than the other two guys. And I think for him, I mean, Tommy Troy is maybe just an injury or two in spring training away from getting a big league opportunity early on. I mean, he's already played in AAA, spent 38 games just under 200 played appearances at the AAA level last year. So he's a guy that I'm fully expecting to see in the majors at some. point in in 2026. We have the stats on all three of those guys here. And yes, like you said, Tommy Troy, he's projected to make his major league debut in 26.

Meanwhile, Chrysantis expected around 27 and we got JD Dix who's expected in 28. However, you know, those, those estimates are based on, you know, them getting playing time. And we don't really know where those guys particularly would slot in. I agree with you, though, about Tommy Troy. I've heard lots of good things about Tommy Troy. And again, we have our stats for these three guys. Tommy Troy here, 289 average last season with an 833 OPS. I mean, even though he is not the Dback's top prospect,

I've heard so many people talk about Troy being major league ready. I think that's the thing that I hear the most about him, his defense, the way he carries himself, his approach at the plate. everything is in line with people in this organization being very, very happy with them. You know, obviously these numbers, you can't trust these offensive numbers because these numbers for Tommy Troy are in Reno and also, you know, that's just not a real place. It's not a real place. Consider the offense. But Chrysontes there hit 252.

J.D. Dix, meanwhile, he hit 297 with an 810 OPS and all these guys. These are all guys that are very exciting parts of the organization. Also, potentially trade pieces for this team, considering the depth that they have here. We've talked about what the Diamondbacks would do to trade for any one of these players that they need to get, you know, that they would need to get better. You got them moving Jack Martinez, part of that, you know, the Aeronado deal. And that's not even a guy that was on a lot of people's radars unless you're a huge ASU fan.

which, you know, I'm not. Damon knows I'm not, apparently. But you, you know, again, when you have that level of talent, when you have guys like this ending up on a top prospects list where you have three second baseman in the top 10, you know, you got to start wondering which one of these guys could potentially be targeted as part of a trade package or something like that.

It just feels like, you know, now might be that right time, considering that they're getting this very popular. positive publicity as far as being on a list like this and, you know, demonstrating to other organizations that the Diamondbacks do have a lot of second basement right now. I think it's totally possible that one of these guys is involved in a trade in the not too distant future. At the same time, I think Chrysontas and Dix, like those guys in particular still have

a ways to go. Krasontas has shown a lot in his brief stints in the miners. but he's also only played 126 games in the past two years. Injuries have really been an issue for him. He missed about four and a half months of the 2025 season with a pretty significant shoulder injury. It'd be interesting to see how he bounces back from that in 2026. So I think Chrysantis still has, you know, a ways to go,

just given all the time he's missed. And then J.D. Dix, I mean, he made a really strong first impression at the complex, finished the season in single A over in Vysalia, and totally held his own. I mean, he posted a 391 on base percentage once he got up to Vysalia. Didn't slug much. It was a 335 slugging percentage. But any time a prospect at his age just shows up in single A and can OBP almost 400, like you feel pretty good about that, even if the power hasn't come along yet.

So I think these guys all are in fairly different. places with their timelines. I don't think it's to the point yet of having, you know, just a pile up of second baseman and like we can't find enough playing time for them in the minors. They're all, they're all sort of in different places. I think those issues will work themselves out. But who knows? I mean, maybe in a couple years, all these guys are ready to go in the big leagues and the debacks don't have enough opportunity. Maybe, maybe one of them is involved in a trade at some point. The reason I bring the trade up now, Jesse, is, I feel like we kind of knew there were a few avenues for the debacks to go this offseason if they were going to make a trade.

We know that trading for prospects isn't as desirable as it once was, but we got the Ketel trade rumors shut down. We traded one of Jake or Alec. Like these are all things that we kind of knew. And then the other route was the Diamondbacks trading prospects. It feels like the trade. piece that's always part of it is Ryan Waldschmidt. I feel like it's always either Ryan Waltchmidt or it's one of the pictures that we got in the Merrill Kelly deal like a Coltrane, Mitch Bratt. These are the kind of names that I hear. And I see deals get made. I see mock trades

kind of get brought together. And I feel like it's just the same prospects, right? For me, Ryan Walshmidt does not make sense at all because the Diamondbacks are out here seeking out an outfielder. why would they get rid of one of the best ones in the minor leagues when they have him in their system? And he could be up here at a major league level as soon as this year. I know that's early. And I know I have my doubts about that. But with Mike Hazen's comment about the door being wide open to guys, you know, to get an opportunity here in spring training, it's not that out of the question to say that Ryan Walschmidt could find his way onto this team this year.

Like you said, one injury away from Tommy Troy also possibly being on this team. but Tommy Troy to me makes far more sense as a trade piece based on the fact that the Diamondbacks don't have as big of a need for him because not only do you have an MVP candidate over there playing second base for you, but if something happens to him, it might find, it might end up finding a place for Jordan Lawler to play, which might not be bad to get him back to like a position that he originally played, right? So overall, there's a lot of things that it makes me feel like it's going to be a while before Tommy Troy would be able to see Major League playing time. And that's why it feels like it just kind of makes sense. But regardless, it's just nice to have this kind of talent brewing for this team and this organization that needs it so desperately. Like, this is the only way the Diamondbacks can build by drafting quality players and having them come up and end up on these top 10 lists. and either making their debut for this organization and being a major league player or again, getting enough attention where the Diamondbacks can find a way to potentially put together a trade

and bring, you know, someone to this team to help improve the major league roster. Troy is an interesting one to me. I mean, he had just such a huge bounceback of a season in 25. I mean, it's not all that long ago that we were looking at Tommy Troy's minor league numbers and being like, oh, my, I mean, we, we. You might never see this guy in the league leagues. I mean, his 2024 season was pretty rough. But 2025, I mean, the swing decisions were way better.

His strikeout rates were pretty low in both AA and AAA. The walk rates were above the league average. So you're starting to see the kinds of swing decisions that you would want from a major league caliber player. I think there's still, you know, some things for him to prove. It was if you break it out, double A versus AAA. he had a 121 WRC plus in AA with 100 of course being league average. In AAA, it was 98.

So he was actually a tick below average as a hitter in AAA. But again, I mean, it was just such a big step forward from where he was in 2024 that it wouldn't shock me if he'd make some more adjustments in 2026 and takes that next step. And, you know, he's knocking on the door of the big leagues and the fact that he can play a variety of positions, I think also really helps him out. It's not just second base. We know they've tried him in the outfield as well. So I think we're probably going to see Tommy Troy in the big leagues at some point in

26. I think we're probably going to see Ryan Waldschmidt at some point too. And when we think about this team and how like what is the path for them to get to 90 wins to really turn some heads and get back to the playoffs, I think it involves one or two of these types of players breaking out and really showing what they can do on the big league stage in a way you didn't expect. I think it's totally possible that we see that from someone this year. I agree.

I agree. Well, appreciate all of you that have already signed up to become diehards for us here at PHNX. We appreciate that. If you have not signed up yet, you can do so right now. Get yourself a free t-shirt from our merch store. you can also get access to the PHNX Discord lounge, which is the best place to be in Arizona sports fans.

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And if you are curious, now is a great time to do so. head on over to go p hnx.com and prove your fanhood by becoming a phnx diehard today. Before we get out of here, Jesse, I just wanted to briefly cover the Diamondbacks agreeing to terms with 18 international signes this offseason. There is a huge potential, you know, new new group of talent that could impact this team at a major league level. Maybe not anytime soon, but definitely in the future. The Diamondbacks actually received the largest allotment of money, the highest base allotment, $8,034,900 in order to sign international signes. And they did so.

They, in fact, got one of the best, Jesse, and I'm thrilled about this because as much as we needed, you know, pitchers, as much as we needed an outfielder, as much as we needed, you know, like a right-handed bat, they went out and they got Ruben Gallego. So we got ourselves a senator, Jesse. So now we're going to get the government to help us against the Dodgers. I thought they should get some cops, sheriffs or something, somebody that could come arrest the Dodgers for everything they're doing. But getting a senator far more savvy.

Brilliant, in fact, because this man can enact law against the Dodgers. He can get things passed so that this never happens again. I think government intervention was the only way that the doctors were going to be It's the only way. No, but one of the top international prospects is named Ruben Gallego, no relation. The Diamondback signed him and he's reportedly landed a $1.8 million bonus. He is the headliner of this group. So again, the Diamondbacks who have found a tremendous amount of talent signing international amateurs go out and they do it again.

They bring themselves quite a bit. Damon would be thrilled. How many were from the Dominican Republic? We got four, five, five, seven from Damon's home island of the Dominican Republic. He's, he, you might have missed it, Jesse. He renounced the United States of America because they added Clayton Kershaw to team USA. So the Damon's completely out on America.

He's a Dominican Republic. I'm not into charity, Jesse. I'm into winning world baseball classics, and Geraldo Perdomo and Gatel Marte are into that as well. Yeah. But Ruben Gallego, 16 years old, shortstop, switch hitter, six foot tall, and a guy that, again, could be a difference maker in the future for this Diamondbacks team. There's been a lot of talk about him.

He was on the top 50 international amateur prospects list. Yeah, I think MLB Pipeline had him in there at number 42. there's reports of him having above average bat to ball skills from both sides as a switch hitter. He has the instincts to play to stay at shortstop potentially in the long term, which is something you always love to hear about these guys when they're super young. So, you know, all these guys, it's going to be years, frankly, but before we really start to see any of this materialized. They're all 16, 17 or 18 years old, Jesse.

like I can only imagine having this level of pressure at 16 years old being signed by a major league team having you know scouts look at me every day having people you know come like bring you scouting reports on Ruben Gallego like I don't even know what to think about a 16 year old and how good they are at playing baseball but that's why I'm not part of a front office anywhere. I don't I don't take this stuff nearly seriously enough as many. Fans don't, right? Because these aren't names that people would recognize. It's hard to really judge any young baseball player. That's the reason why we have these prospects lists, right? It's to try to do our best to let fans know where these guys rank amongst each other and how good they are, right? But the Diamondbacks have actually had some tremendous luck, I guess you could say,

or just a tremendous amount of players that they've added to this team that have been great diamondbacks players Miguel Montero was an international amateur Haraldo Perdomo an international amateur Harald Haradur Parra Ender Insiarte

Biongian Kim, Jose Valverdi and J. Martina, all guys that the Diamondbacks landed through this international draft or international amateur siney situation. So again And it's, you sign 18 guys, there's a good chance.

Most of them aren't going to work out. But if you can sift through that group and find yourself another Geraldo Pardomo, it's worth every time. I mean, it's just such a huge aspect of the plan of attack for a team like the VVACs. Like if you're not going to be able to outspend most other teams in the league, then yes, you want to draft well. We talk about that a lot. but you also want to do well with this very bizarre international signing process for international

amateurs that Major League Baseball still has in place. There's certainly a movement of people who would like to see this change and maybe become an international draft at some point in the future. So many things need to be fixed. So many things need to be fixed. We've talked about the Diamondbacks like camp in like the Dominican Republic, right? They have an amazing facility down there. but you know who else does?

Every team. Jesse and I Google the island and look to find the Diamondbacks, you know, the Diamondbacks can. And there's just Orioles is across the street, Angels is over here and Mets is over here. Like everybody has one there because scouting these young players and getting them to essentially agree to be a part of your organization before their brain is fully formed yet is somehow part of this whole process.

And I hate it. It's one of many things that needs to be fixed with me. baseball. However, like you said, Jesse, it does benefit the Diamondbacks here. Not only are they a club that have strong ties to Latin America and the Caribbean with all of their players that they've had. I mean, countless number of Dominican Republic players, Dominicans, Venezuelans, all of that, right? So there's that. But again, as I said earlier with the draft, you know, and the prospects, there's only limited avenues to the Diamondbacks getting better. And the biggest way that they can do that. kind of being a hybrid team is to find these players at a young age, draft them, get them from a situation like this, or whatever way they can, keep them in the organization, but also extend them like they have with Corbyn Carroll and J-Mart and Perdomo and Marte.

Like the Diamondbacks are one of the only teams that are actually keeping their players on this team when they are like a small market team and not letting them just be poached by these other clubs. And we need more teams like the Diamondbacks, reinvesting money back into their team, no matter, even if they don't make nearly as much as the big clubs and try to do everything they can to hold on to these young talented players

so that they stay in your organization and don't fly the coup to go be a dodger. Oh, fucker. Anyway, well, that's all we got. Jesse, I thank you as always for your expertise and for being here. You got to make sure to follow him at Jesse N. Friedman on Twitter and also check out Snake's territory wherever you get your podcast and follow them at Snake's Territory. You can follow Damon and I on social media. I am at Cap underscore Caveman with a K.

Damon is at Damon Dog with the DAWG. And as always, we're all Damon's dogs. Bark, bark. Our show is at PHNX underscore D-Bex, but all roads do lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We thank you guys again for your time. We appreciate you stop by.

We'll be back tomorrow with another 12 p.m. show. Until then, behave yourself, bees. And remember, kids, baseball's fun. But it's so much more fun when you figure out who else you can add to this roster before opening day.