PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Should the Diamondbacks have pursued a trade for one year of Corbin Burnes?

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

The Baltimore Orioles have pulled off one of the biggest moves of the offseason in their trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for pitching ace Corbin Burnes. While we are happy Burnes is leaving the National League, we do have to wonder if the Diamondbacks could have and should have gone all-in on a trade to make their starting rotation one of the best in baseball. We also discuss the D-backs bringing some heat in the winter with their new spring training hats and more!An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports PHNX Events: Get your tickets to Suns Takeovers, Coyotes & Suns Watch Parties at BetMGM, and MORE here: https://gophnx.com/events/NASCAR Weekend at Phoenix Raceway: March 8-10! Find more information at https://www.phoenixraceway.com/spring/ on the Shriners Children's 500, and be on the lookout for racing content from PHNX!Desert Financial Credit Union: Open a free checking account online with Desert Financial Credit Union and get $200 in bonuses https://www.desertfinancial.com/200Empire: Schedule a free in-home estimate with Empire Today! Receive a $350 OFF discount when you use the promo code PHNX. Restrictions apply. See https://empiretoday.com/phnx for details.Sign up for Gila River Resorts & Casinos $1,000,000 Big Red’s Showdown! Stay in the game and get rewards; it’s that easy! https://www.gilamilliondollarshowdown.com/Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase.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!OGeez!: OGeez! is not your average cannabis-infused gummy. Head over to https://www.ogeezbrands.com to find where you can purchase. Must be 21+. Enjoy responsibly. Four Peaks: Follow on social @fourpeaksbrew & @fourpeakspub! Must be 21+. Enjoy responsibly. Let Someburros cater your next meal big or small! Order online or find one near you by visiting someburros.comWhen 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties because it's cold out there. Welcome in to the PHNX Dback show right here on PHNX. Shout out to OG's Brands, of course, the official sponsor of Flavoring Fridays. Head on over to OGsbrands.com to see their full lineup, including their newest gullies, which, you know, I'm a huge fan of one of those. and find out where you can purchase them. Of course, Jesse is here. I am here.

I am your mayor, P.HNX, occasionally known as Derek Montia, ski to you all. This is your vice mayor, occasionally known as Thundersick Jesse Friedman. And I know he doesn't know what that opening bit was a reference to. I know he's never, you've never seen Groundhogs Day, the movie, I imagine.

No, of course not. I knew it. I knew it. Damon confessed to me he's never seen a Bill Murray movie. And so that was as equally as distressing as anything you've ever told me before in the entire time we've known. other but i'm wearing that one i know you should wear that one you should wear that one even i have seen a bill murray movie see that's crazy um i don't remember i don't remember what it was called

no oh god if you don't remember what it's called have you really seen a bill murray movie i know yeah i don't think i did see it yeah i mean yeah it wasn't memorable but i did no wait yeah more importantly, do you care about what a groundhog says about the weather, Jesse? Do you care what a rodent says about the weather? Uh, I probably not. Okay. Punksitani Phil predicted the weather again today. That's that whole thing for Groundhog's Day. That's what Groundhog's Day is all about, whether you saw a shadow or not. And this son of a bitch, this fraud, has been getting away with this entirely too long. This image was put out on Twitter today showing Punksitonis Phil's predictions since 1887. We're going back like 150 years here and the groundhog has only been

correct 30% of the time, Jesse. 30% of the time. Why do we still give a damn about what this groundhog has to say on the second of February? I still don't understand it. I mean, as we're going to discuss in our audio only podcast on Saturday, even umpires Derek are accurate far more than 30% at the time. But as Damon and I were discussing, if you do that as a batter, you'll get into the Hall of Fame. So somehow, that's once again,

how baseball is so skewed. Shout out to Mike Ferry and I'm stealing his joke on that one. But shout out to the Baltimore Orioles who may have made the second biggest move of this MLB offseason. A few days later, after it was announced that they were selling the team,

the O's make a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for pitching ace. Corbyn Burns. Jesse, what was your thoughts on the O's being the team that comes out with one year of Corbyn Burns? I'm just so happy that the Orioles front office finally listened to all of us. I know they were, I know they were resisting, and eventually they succumbed to the pressure, and they did what basically the entire baseball world wanted them to do. And they did it in about the most dramatic fashion that they could. Corbyn Burr. I think Corbin Burns is probably the most talented pitcher, the most impactful pitcher that will be acquired by any team this offseason. That includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, although I acknowledge those two could be close. He's that good. And, you know, of course, it sounds like the Orioles have been working on this for a long time. The other reminder here for me is that, you know, just because you're not, you're not exactly winning the off season as of, you know, November 15th. They're just. December 15th doesn't mean that you can't win the offseason or have a very good off season when all a sudden done, especially this year when so many marquee names are still on the board. And it's a reminder for, you know, for other fan bases too.

Like if you're a Cubs fan or whatever, like, you know, there's still time for you to make multiple very impactful acquisitions with how many, how many names are out there on the market. But yeah, for this, for the Orioles, honestly, couldn't really have thought of anything better for them to do. Corbin Burns is an extremely good pitcher. And, you know, from the Diamondbacks perspective, I guess, I guess you're, you're not too sad to see, to see Corbyn Burns leaving the National League. Yeah, that's, that's a big thing is definitely not, not upset about him being out of the National League one bit. He was traded to Baltimore for shortstop Joey Ortiz, left-handed pitcher, D.L. Hall, and a 2024 draft pick. Overall, we know that right now, prospect

the value of prospects are higher than they've ever been. Teams are just so much more reluctant to currently trade prospects that, but in looking at this, this doesn't feel like this was a huge amount to give up for Corbyn Burns. But it might be a lot to give up for just one year of Corbyn Burns should the Orioles not be able to potentially sign him to a contract extension. Yeah, and I don't think the Orioles will sign him to a contract extension. I mean, it seems pretty clear.

Corbin Burns basically already said that he, you know, is going to test the open market next offseason. So, yeah, that's a definite downside here from Baltimore's side of things. Corbyn Burns is not a long-term solution for them. But, yeah, I mean, in terms of in terms of the costs here, Joey Ortiz and D.L. Hall, you know, two solid prospects. D.L. Hall was at one point, one of the best pitching prospects in the game. Jory O.T.'s, you know, still showing up on some top 100 lists. It's, you know, it's a decent, it's a solid get for Milwaukee, I think. But from the Orioles side of things, I mean, you know, these prospects are basically a dime a dozen to them.

They have such an outrageously good farm system. It's ridiculous. Yeah. In some ways, these guys were kind of expendable. And, and I mean, even after this trade, the Baltimore Orioles still have one of the best farm systems in baseball. But does this mean that the Orioles are kind of all in on? making a run in the motherfucking yoffs this next year. Like, I mean, it feels like it's all like, again, like we said,

their farm system is still stacked, but it really doesn't, it does feel like bringing on a guy like Corbyn Burns that you know is just going to be here for one year is like you're ready to make that run. I've kind of talked at times about how there's those phases that a team kind of has to go through and how they have to view their team. First, I have to figure out what your core is. That's checkmate on that for those Baltimore Orioles.

They know exactly who their young core is. And that advances them to the next stage of like, can you win with that young core and then address the needs and add to that young core? And that's like that's where they're at now is kind of a final phase of they've added one of the best starting pitchers in baseball to that young core. And now they're kind of set. They have a really good starting rotation, really good bullpen, great, you know, positional players. the Baltimore Orioles already won over 100 games last year, and they just added, you know, one of the best pitchers to bring that experience,

you know, and bring, you know, that, especially that playoff experience, uh, to a team that doesn't have much of that. I mean, what are like 72 hours this has been if you're a Baltimore Orioles fan. Oh, man. I mean, the team, the team gets purchased, of course, uh, you know, just a few days ago. I know that's lost to be finalized and, you know, I don't know if that new ownership group is exactly calling the shots at this point. But it did seem like, you know, maybe a little bit of an odd coincidence at the very least that, you know, they have this new ownership group come in.

And, you know, about 48 hours later, the Orioles are making a very significant move that a lot of people have been kind of begging them to make. So, yeah, just an enormous, an enormous week for the Baltimore Orioles. From the Brewer's side, this is interesting. Again, I think the package here that Milwaukee is getting is not a bad one. getting the 34th overall pick in the 2024 draft, which basically replaces the pick that they would have gotten if they had just held on to Corbyn Burns and given him the qualifying offer

and then lost him in free agency. And yeah, D.L. Hall and Joey Ortiz are two, you know, solid players. I guess in my mind, I might have seen the package being a little bit bigger here, you know, from Baltimore. It sounds like the Orioles have been, from what Ken Rosenthal said on foul territory earlier today, It sounds like the Orioles have been in on doing this trade for a very long time. It's just a matter of the Milwaukee Brewers kind of eventually saying that they would do this.

Yeah, I wonder if maybe Milwaukee could have gotten more here. But there's also a world in which like six years of D.L. Hall and six years of Joey Ortiz. And, you know, the brewers are a team that drafts well. They have the 34th overall pick and they could use that pick very well. There's a world in which they wind up getting a ton of value here. and, you know, we look back at this, you know, five, ten years down the road. It's like, wow, that was a, you know, that was a big move for the Milwaukee Brewers. It's too early to really say at this point how it's going to pan out.

But for the moment, you know, the initial reaction is that, you know, maybe the brewers could have gotten a little bit more. And you're right. I think that there is the idea here that they probably shopped around. They got some offers. You know, this isn't the only offer they received. So they had to consider it to be one of the best. better offers based on the return that they were getting. You have to factor in Burns was fairly unhappy with the organization.

I mean, I don't know how much resentment there still is there, but we know at one point after going through that terrible process known as arbitration that he wasn't very happy with some of the things that were said about him. But it was, you know, overall, it's one of those situations where it does feel like it's a great move for the Baltimore Orioles. and like you said, the return could end up making this a better deal in the long term, especially if Corbyn Burns does test those free agent waters and goes elsewhere other than Baltimore. Speaking of Baltimore, the Orioles needed to do this.

The city needed this after what happened with the Ravens. So this was a great chance for another sports franchise to pick up the slack left by one that everybody thought was going to go to the, you know, obviously to the Super Bowl. but it really does feel like the Orioles are instantly, you know, a favorite on the AL side now for the World Series, considering how good they were last year, how many games they won, and this addition of one of the main things that they were missing, which was kind of a solidified ace that brings over that experience. Now, I will go ahead and play devil's advocate and say,

I know the Diamondbacks probably didn't have the assets to make pull off this trade. And if they did, it probably was a little too steep of a price. You know, maybe a U.N. Lin or some of those kind of guys would have been involved. And perhaps for one year of Corbin Burns, that wasn't good enough for Mike Hazen. But what are your thoughts on the Diamondbacks making that big sacrifice for one year of Burns? And having that starting rotation of Galin, Burns, Kelly, Erod fought, like that rotation? It's a pretty good starting rotation. I mean, I imagine from the Diamondbacks perspective, if they had opted to trade for Corbin Burns, they probably don't get Eduardo Rodriguez.

You do have to pay Corbin Burns. It's not a ton of money. But there is some money there. I think it's like $15 million. So yeah, if you, you know, if you bring in Corbin Burns and trade the prospect capital necessary to do that, you're probably not still having, you know, the $14 million that E. Rod will make with the Deepak's in 2020. But yes, I think we can all agree that Corbin Burns is a better pitcher than Eduardo Rodriguez. And, you know, even if you take Eduardo Rodriguez out of that rotation, the front three of Zach Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Corbin Burns in whatever order you want to put those guys would be among the best in the game and would be, you know, a weapon for the Diamondbacks that their rotation now, don't get me wrong, I think still stacks up pretty well.

But, I mean, that's another level of starting rotation for sure. The tricky thing, as you alluded to, is like, you know, what is the Diamondbacks equivalent of this move? You know, we don't know exactly how the Brewers feel about the Diamondbacks prospects. You know, maybe they are higher on Joey Ortiz and D.L. Hall than a lot of other evaluators out there. I think that is likely. I'm not sure if the Diamondbacks are able to do this without giving up. You know, I'm sure Brandon Fott would be a guy that the Orioles or that the Brewers would want. in an exchange like this.

I'm sure that Diamondbacks would not want to do that. Don't you hear, Jesse. How dare you? I'm just fine. I'm trying to figure out what it would look like. And that's why. You know,

like again, if you know that Burns is going to test the free agent, you know, the free agent market next year, is it worth, you know, you don't, I'm not saying that Brandon Fought is better than Corbyn Burns,

but I want to say the years of control of Brandon Fought is better than just one year of Corbyn Burns. You don't want to make a mistake like that when this team wasn't built to compete for last year. This team, right now is built to compete for the future and to be competitive in 2025

and 2026. So like, you can't just be pushing all of your chips in for Corbyn Burns for the 2024 season to say, this is, we need to win now. And I'm not saying the Orioles are saying that either. But I feel like the Orioles, maybe, maybe they looked over at what

the Diamondbacks did last off season and the Diamondback, or last postseason I should say, and saw what the Diamondbacks accomplished. These are two teams that at one point were almost here at the bottom of MLB. They were neck and neck and AL and NL for like the worst teams in baseball. And now you could arguably say that they're both contenders for the World Series title.

It's hard not to consider the Diamondbacks that since they made it to the World Series last year. And they vastly improved their team this offseason. And you can definitely not say that about the Orioles, considering where they were at at 100 plus wins last year, winning that AL East Division and coming out with the opportunity this year to improve and have that now that veteran ace at the top of their rotation. Like these two teams are kind of now ready to win and be competitive now and not build any more towards the future.

And that's the important part about this. But I just don't think the Diamondbacks are ready to push their chips all in for one year that much considering that this could be a team that does stay competitive for the next four to five seasons. Yeah, I think if it was two years of Corbyn Burns, that makes more sense for the debacks. I mean, it would be a little risky. You'd have not only two years of control of Zach Allen and Merrill Kelly, but you also have two years of control of Corbyn Burns.

And then after 2025, I don't know what the heck you're doing at starting rotation at that point. That's a great point. Yeah. But, yeah, I mean, I would have been very curious to know if the Diamondbacks had any conversations about Corbyn Burns with the Brewers, you know, whether it be at the trade deadline from last year or this offseason, you know, what names were discussed, what would that have looked like? My suspicion is that Diamondbacks fans would take one look at what the Brewers

Ask was and be kind of okay, not having Corbin Burns for 2024. But I don't know. I mean, given the package that the Orioles are sending here, you at least have to ask the question of like, oh, what would it have taken for my team to go get Corbyn Burns? Maybe it's not exactly what I thought it would be. And Mike Hazen's never going to tell you. So you're never going to know if they were in on him and how much,

because he'll never tell you on a mistrade if he was actually pursuing that guy or not. But obviously this means another thing as well. And that means that the Orioles and the Diamondbacks are obviously on a collision course to meet in the World Series. That's what all of this chatter that we just went over meant. But speaking of Mike Hazen, Jesse, hopefully we don't have to worry. about the Red Sox coming for him anymore because the Boston Red Sox are bringing back Theo Epstein after failing to still haze it away from us.

He won't be returning as a GM though. He's returning to the organization taking part ownership of Fenway Sports Group and joining in the role of a senior advisor. But considering the magic that that man brings to any organization he's a part of, I can understand why the Red Sox would want him back in any capacity. He's also there waiting in the wing should they all of a sudden, decide to pivot and be like, hey, you want to also be GM again too? Because we'd be happy to have you. Yeah, I doubt, I doubt that is, that is coming anytime. But yeah, Theo Epstein had been serving

a role with Major League Baseball as an advisor of some sort there, I believe, you know, working on rule changes and whatnot. He did an interview on Starkville over on the athletic baseball show about his role and he and Jason Stark talked about MLB rule changes and whatnot for like an hour and a half and it was one of my favorite things I've ever listened to. Theo Epstein just knows the game really well and I think he's you know I mean like if you're running a major league organization you want his voice at the table like he's someone who has a lot of insight about basically everything when it comes to major league baseball so yeah I don't I don't know if you're going to see him where the where the GM hat again, maybe ever, but I'm sure he's going to continue to add value to

this sport in some way. When people like Mike Hazen talk about being a GM, it sounds like a terrible job. It just does. It sounds like a terrible job that's going to give you lots of ulcers and sleepless nights and you're never going to get to go on vacation and you're never going to get to relax and you always have to worry and nothing's ever good even when you win. And so I can understand wanting to avoid that job and that heartburn very, very much. But we do appreciate you guys being here for Jesse's wonderful insight and my nonsense on the PHNXports YouTube channel, of course. People are really, they really want the piano.

They really want the people. I am people. Yeah, the bitches want it and I'm bitches, Jesse. Well, you know, what is going on? Maybe for the for the die-hards one of these days, we'll do a little. Oh, what a fucking. tease this guy is. Me and Jacob Franklin tickling the ivories a little bit. That would be for that. I'm so in. If you learn the if you learn postcards from the edge, I'll get

Megaran to come wrap over the top of it. And that'll just be the most incredible diehard content ever. But of course, we thank you guys for being here in the pH and Exports YouTube channel. Make sure you're subscribed if you're not. Sign up for notifications. If you haven't done that, leave us a thumbs up, a like. We need those. We love those. It makes us feel good about ourselves. Is it counted? Is there any kind of actual numbers that populate about how many likes we got per episode? I don't think so, but I mean, it still makes us feel good about ourselves. If you're listening on the audio podcasting side, make sure you're subscribed over there.

Of course, if you haven't done so yet, make sure to do that on your very favorite audio podcasting app. Leave us a review. We always appreciate that feedback as well. Five-star reviews help us out tremendously. If you are looking for some way to improve your home in 2024, make sure to go out and grab yourself that Empire Today action. Empire Today, of course, has been a staple in the valley for years, and they will get you fitted with your new flooring with shopping at home convenience, the right product for your needs, quick and professional installation, and a price match guarantee. They also

service their own warranties so you don't have to chase anyone around should there be any problems with your new flooring, but there won't be because Empire Today does a quality job with both their product and the installation. They also keep shopping for floors simple with curated product selection and a virtual home designer that will let you see how those new flooring will look in any space in your home. Check them out today. Schedule a free in-home estimate. All listeners can receive a $350 discount when they use promo code PHNX. Restrictions do apply. See Empire Today.com slash PHNX for details. Also, I forgot to tell you guys, Damon's back. I mean, we missed him so much.

And Damon, I know, I know Damon missed. doing bets while he was in Alabama. Uh, but any, any juicy bets you got for us over at the bet MGM sports book gap. I literally have not been betting at all. Oh no. Oh no.

We work gaming really hard, especially, especially when he's on the road helping with something. Yeah. It's bad. He, uh, had a lot of weather issues that he doesn't typically have to deal with. No,

no player props in in in Alabama and I was out. Yeah. So now I'm back in. Oh, no player. Robbs. Oh yeah. You can,

get restricted geographically and that's not always the best but if you live here in Arizona you can get down on the bet mGM sportsbook app you don't get restricted in any way here but of course make sure to check out all those fun Super Bowl bets if you haven't done so yet because even if you don't feel like betting on players or athletic competition you can bet on what song usher is going to open up his set with at halftime you can bet on what color gatorade the winner is going to pour on their coach so make sure to check all of those fun bets out over at the bet mGM sportsbook sign up for bet mGM right now and use our bonus code of p hnx you place your first bet mjm sports book wager through the sportsbook mobile application for at least five dollars you will receive

158 dollars instantly in additional winnings regardless of your wager's outcome check out the show notes for full details and now listen to dammit talk about the disclaimer gambling problem call one 800 gambler available in the u.s call eight seven eight seven eight seven eight eight eight eight eight seven eight eight eight eight eight eight eight seven eight eight eight eight seven eight eight in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Visit BenMGM.com for terms. His promotional offer is not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico.

See, we got to get the band. We got to get the harmonizing back together. I am glad, though, Jesse, that Theo Epstein is with the Red Sox because I do feel like that. It's like us getting a DH, right? Like, the need is satisfied. So, like, leave our Mike Hazen alone. Stop calling him. Stop texting him.

Stop liking all of his Instagram pictures. You know what I mean? like stop all of this pursuing our guy but that's because Mike Hazen did this offseason the exact thing that we knew Mike Hazen could do. We knew that if if you allowed Mike Hayeson to cook, he's going to cook. And I feel like the budget that Ken Kendrick and Diamondback's ownership allowed him to go out there and improve this team with once again, he was he was still able to go out and get a lot of value without spending an enormous amount of money, at least not nearly as much as we've seen some of the other teams in baseball spent.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, and the fact that the Diamondbacks, speaking of prospects, haven't really traded any of this offseason, right? I mean, it's basically just been money. There was the trade, of course, to get Ehio Hennio Hsuarez, but that took Sebi Zavala and Carlos Vargas,

two guys who, you know, not at the top of the prospect list for the Diamondbacks by any means. So, yeah, it's been efficient, right? I mean, it's not only have they checked a lot of boxes, but the amount of money that they've spent across the board has been pretty reasonable. And I think they've spent more of it altogether than a lot of people were expecting. Well, Fox went ahead and ranked the best off-season in MLB and the worst off-season.

And this right here is the most exciting and the most disappointing. And their year, Arizona Diamondbacks, ranked number three on this list behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. Yeah, we have most exciting and then we have most disappointing. And this graphic was clearly made before the Baltimore Orioles traded for Gordon Burns because I don't think those would be on the most disappointing side of this graphic anymore. But yeah, this is interesting. That's how fast things can change, Jesse.

Things can change quickly. And that's what I'm saying. Like you see the Cubs over there at number one on most disappointing. But, you know, you go out and you mess around, you shine, you sign Matt Chapman. you sign Blake Snell or whatever and suddenly things can change very quickly. The offseason certainly, certainly there's still some more moves to be made.

Yeah, they have the diamondbacks here behind the Dodgers and the Yankees. I don't think you can argue with the Dodgers. No. That's just, I mean, if ever a team, you know, quote on quote won the off season, I think we have to give that to the Dodgers at this point. Acquiring Tyler Glass now and extending him for five more seasons is like a footnote in everything that the Dodgers have done this offseason, which is which is kind of outrageous.

And that would have been most teams best move. You know what I mean? Like that would have been by far the best addition to 26 of the teams in baseball probably. I mean, even if the Diamondbacks had gone out and traded for Tyler Glassdown extended him, I mean, that would have, you know, certainly been that the headliner move for them as well. So, yeah, the Dodgers are a clear cut number one. I think you could have some debate over who should come after them. As we said, they have the Yankees in that spot.

Obviously, the Yankees traded for Juan Soto, which was a very significant move. Juan Soto, I think, is destined for, you know, some pretty special things, especially playing in that ballpark. You know, that's obviously a big thing. But I think you could have a debate there over, you know, it might be the Diamondbacks and Diamondbacks, Yankees, the Braves were on this list as well. I guess the Orioles you could throw into the conversation. Whoever you want to put at number two,

I think there's a conversation to be had there. There's no disrespect to Trent Grisham or Alex Verdugo, but Juan Soto and Marcus Stroman are the big additions there to the Yankees. A Yankees team that didn't do very well last year. I'm not going to say they were a bad team, but they didn't do very well. Whereas the Diamondbacks were a team that had an incredible postseason run. And then they went out.

And I think the big thing, thing here is addressed almost every single one of their positional needs and still have a little bit of money of money left in the budget to get the rest of the potentially the rest of what they're looking for at least you know some some decent options there to fill in but resigning lortis bringing in erod bringing in jock peterson and trading for gino i mean those like it's just crazy because the diamondbacks are team they had three starting pitchers they desperately needed the fourth but the cat to bring in somebody the caliber of edwardo rodriguez where you kind of like move brand and fought down to four and now you have your your three a guy that could hypothetically

move in at maybe two you know it's it's it's all it all is what it is nobody really cares who where they're at in the starting rotation but i'm just saying like has the talent there to essentially be a number two starter behind zach gallon uh and bring in you know a solution to their their problem at third base that they had where they just kind of had a third base by committee like this team over the last year from where they were at to start that season you know where they started the 2023 season versus where they are at right now as we speak is a team that has addressed every single one of their needs including the improvement to the bullpen around you know the trade deadline at the last season right so it's like I can't see honestly a way that you could tell me the

Yankees had a better offseason than the Diamondbacks. I really can't. But I can see what we're saying about how this could instantly change because of any of these disappointing teams, just pick up two of Scott Boris's clients, then they might even slot in at number two above the diamondbacks over on the most exciting side. Yeah, I'm torn on who I would put at number two. When I look at what the Diamondbacks have done, you know, I think it's been a good offseason for them. I still think that, you know, they got Jock Peterson instead of Hori Solera, J.D. Martinez. I guess that's, you know, one potential negative you could point to. They didn't add to the bullpen, which I know is something that Jordan mentioned when he was on this show filling in the other day.

That is a little bit of a concern for me. I know that you can add bullpen pieces at the trade deadline. That's a pretty manageable thing to do. I imagine that's probably what the Diamondbacks are thinking, that, you know, if they get, they're, you know, in the mix as they expect to be. come the trade deadline. You can add a left-handed reliever whatever you need at the back end. But yeah, I don't really see another team that has clearly had a better off-season

than the Diamondbacks. The Yankees, although Juan Soto is a better player than anyone the Diamondbacks have gotten, I'm not sure if he's really enough. Like the Yankees weren't exactly right on the brink last season. I know there were tons of injuries across the board, but that kind of seems to be the case every year

for the Yankees. I know they're expecting Carlos Rodon to bounce back and, you know, actually be a productive starter. I think there's certainly a world in which the Yankees are a 95 win team in 2024. But yeah, if you, I mean, if you're looking at it compared to like what the team actually needs in order to be in good position to make the playoffs, I'm not sure the Yankees have actually done what they really need to do in order to be in in good position to make the playoffs. I could, I could see it happening, but I'm not sure they're in as

good of a position as the Diamondbacks are right now. I also wonder. where you would put the Orioles now that they made the Corbyn Burns move. Do they impact that top three? Do they slide in above any of these teams on the most? I mean, they have to fall somewhere in the top five. But do you put them above where the Braves fell? Do you put them above the Diamondbacks? I think I, yeah, man.

I mean, the Orioles just didn't need that much this off season, right? Right, right. Whereas, you know, some other teams on this list did. The Orioles had one really big need, which was to get an elite. starting pitcher and they absolutely have checked that box. So I guess like, yeah, they didn't need to do as much, but they did do what they needed to. So in that sense, I'm inclined to put the Orioles.

Maybe I'd put the Orioles at second and then and then I'd have the Diamondback sliding in at third. I guess I didn't necessarily love Craig Kimbril for them. That's maybe my one criticism of the Orioles, a team that doesn't spend a ton of money. 14 mil. Yeah, it was something like that. The pitcher that we saw in the playoffs was not, I wouldn't, I wouldn't want to be giving Craig Kimbril $14 million at this stage in his career. I mean, do we want to talk about the home run against Corbyn Burns in the playoffs or do we just want to not acknowledge that?

Yeah, Corbyn-Berns was clearly wanting to move to the American League so that he didn't have to face Gabby Moreno, Corby and Carole and Tel Marte in the first round of the playoffs. That now cannot happen. So buyer, buyer beware, right, for the Orioles. You might want to watch that wild card series game. I don't know if you're, if you know what you're getting. Me and Jesse have watched it 600 times. So you might as well just take a peep in at least just one time to see what you got in the playoffs.

But, yeah, Diamondbacks continue to make pitchers feel sad. That the Diamondbacks did end, uh, Corbyn Burns' career with the Brewers technically, right? Am I right?

Am I right? They did. They did. So that's just a fun, uh, trophy to hang on your mantle. Big shout out, by the way, this week. We went out to Phoenix Raceway.

Jesse, of course, did not join us because he was in Washington, D.C. at the Spy Museum, which sounds so cool every time I hear him say that. But we had a blast out at Phoenix Raceway. In fact, I even tore up the track a little myself. Jesse, do we have footage of that? Wow. Your boy still has got it. He still got it.

Yeah, I thought racetracks were for cars, not seat. Yeah, it's kind of wild. You know, it's wild when they take one look at me and say, no, you're not allowed to drive any of the cars. No, I was like, just the little ways and they're like, no ways. No, not at all. Not slowly, not quickly. You're not allowed to drive the cars at all. But you shred, though.

I do shred. I do shred. And the Valley of the Sun will roar to life this spring when NASCAR returns to Phoenix Raceway, March 8th through 10th. I have never been to a NASCAR race before, by the way. I have to profess that. And there was a lot. It was pretty epic being out. being out there standing on the racetrack and like standing in front of the grandstands and stuff.

It was really cool. So I definitely am going to make my way out there this year and catch a race. Of course, I also needed to kind of be informed a little bit by the president of Phoenix Raceway about NASCAR. My wife knows way more than me about NASCAR, Jesse. I can't allow that, right? And it's not a man-woman thing. I do sports for a living. I can't have my wife looking at me and rolling her eyes when she's trying to break down how

the NASCAR playoff chase works and how the NASCAR playoff chase works and how their point system works. I can't have it. I need to understand it. I need her to get me a book like you got me on FIPP. So it's like FIPP for Dummies or whatever it was that you got me. But of course, make sure to check out all the fun that Phoenix Raceway has. She just told me they have some great experiences, by the way. You can get your loved one like my wife who loves NASCAR, a NASCAR experience where they come out, they teach them how to drive. I think they actually let them race around the track unlike they wouldn't let me. They're also a charity event where you can drive your own car on the track. So whether you're diehard racing fan or simply looking for a fantastic day out,

there's going to be so much fun to be at Phoenix Raceway. Make sure to check out their spring break at Phoenix Raceway. And of course, get your tickets to the Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway. That is March 8th through 10th. Promises a weekend of good vibes for the whole family. Get your tickets now at Phoenix Raceway.com. And also, fill up. There's a Circle K right there right by the racetrack. It was a great Circle K. It was perfectly positioned. for both me and Espo to stop. I had to get gas. Espo had to get a drink.

And it's what Circle Ks do. They're exactly where you need them to be at all times here in the Valley. It's America's third stop. And of course, if you sign up right now for their Inner Circle membership program, which is absolutely free, you can save 25 cents off per gallon. Gas prices are going back up.

So it's a great time to do this. It'll be 25 cents off per gallon on your first five Phillips. You also get three cents off per gallon every day after that. You also get a wonderful selection of free products. Buy five, get a six one free on pizza, coffee, ice cold fountain drinks, all sorts of great stuff in the app. So make sure to join the Inner Circle for free by downloading the CircleK app today. Terms and conditions apply at participating locations. Visit CircleK.com for details.

Big shout out to all of our diehards. Of course, if you are a diehard, we thank you so much for being one. If you are not a diehard, join us today over at GoPhNX.com. We have all sorts of wonderful content on the Discord, including all of our Discord discussions. We have our game show, squeeze play. We have so much more coming to you, diehards. We're trying to do our best to give you all of the value that you are looking for. And of course, we love hanging out with you guys,

so you guys make it so much fun and easy to do so. You get Jesse's newsletter for free now, by the way. He wanted me to tell everybody that. But there is other content Jesse has that is for diehards only. So you want to make sure not to miss out on that. You also don't want to miss out on all of the content we have here at PHNX. We also have discounts with our partners discount on our takeover event. like the Suns coming up on February 14th.

Great way, great way to spend Valentine's Day. So make sure to check out all of our events. And, of course, make sure to become a diehard today. Speaking of diehards, happy birthday to one of our favorite diehards. One and only Coggs turns 18 today. He's one of our only Kingsnakes, by the way. Do we have that? Well, let's start up the Kingsnake.

There we go. Oh, boy, Cogs. So happy for you. Happy birthday, young man. He has started a rival podcast, though. and so he is dead to us, and that's the last positive thing I'll ever say about him on this show until the end of time. That's how it works. You know, that's how it works around here.

I'm a very petty individual, Jesse. But I do know who Corbyn Carroll would maybe elect for King Snake, by the way. And I'm thinking, based on this story, he told at the MLB headquarters, that he would be electing Luis Gonzalez for his King Snake, considering apparently Gonzo saved his life. Is that right? Is that hyperbolic to say he saved his life? I mean, yeah, the story goes that Corvin Carroll was locked inside of Chaparral High School with his mom, I believe. His mom was like throwing him BP.

Yeah. We have video of it. We have Corby telling the story. Let's hear from Corbyn himself. And there was a story I saw during COVID was your mom throwing batting practice to you. Did that happen? That's awesome. I told this story two days ago, random.

But this is getting out there now. To Arizona, we driven down COVID, the canceled season, do our testing. And they're like, okay, go quarantine. Like, don't go to the grocery store. Don't do anything. We're like, all right. I mean, I can't sit still. So let's go take some batting practice.

Mom got out there. We go to Chaparral High School. Yeah, hit BP. Everything's great. And then I got locked into the high school. My mom was like, okay, call Joe, you're, your agent. Call Joe. Joe calls our assistant GM.

Amiel calls Luis Gonzalez. Like former Diamondbacks legend, Luis Gonzalez. Yes. I did have to explain to my mom who exactly this was that was coming to get us. My mom's like, who's this coming again? I'm like, mom, this is, you know, not just like. Another guy. Yeah, like show her the video of winning the World Series.

And that was my first time meeting him. So he won't let me forget that. That is an unreal story. Of course, Gonzo is a hero. Jesse, we knew that. But Gonzo is a hero. So Gonzo's like Superman. Like everybody has almost the story of the time Gonzo saved them from falling out of a building or from a car almost swerving at them in traffic.

It's incredible what this guy has done. Yeah, that's my favorite part of this story is that Gonzo in his advisory role in the Diamond Beck's front office is apparently like the errand boy. You know, like I imagine that, you know, if they if they need some refreshments or whatnot during some of their. front office meetings. How dare you? No. To go do that. You know, if your star prospect locked himself inside of a high school, of course,

that's Gonzo's job. Everyone knows that. I have one friend I will call to get me out of jail. Jesse, I have lots of friends. I have lots of friends that would come get me out of jail. But I only have one friend that I actually would call. Why is that? Because I know that man will get the job done.

And that's the same reason why you send Gonzo to go rescue Corbyn Garrell. You're like, oh, could we send that? Yeah, I mean, we could send, do you want to send an intern? No, we can't send an intern. Intern's not going to be able to talk the principal of Chaparral High School to coming over on unlocking the gates. Gonzo is. Gonzo can get anything to happen.

Gonzo is a goddamn hero, and we know it. I have my own heroic story of interacting with Gonzo, and I've told it on this show many times. He let me cut in line in front of him at Dutch Bros at Chasefield when there was a very long line. Talk about a hero. Like, you want there to be more to that story? There isn't, other than he knew my name without my badge being turned.

it around in the right way, and that was also a very cool moment for me personally. However, I digress. The point is, anybody that lets me cut in line in front of them at Dutch Bros is a goddamn hero, and that's the way it goes. And of course, we already knew that about Gonzo. But this story is spectacular. And there's another part of this that very much intrigued me. And it's not even included in that particular clip that we showed just now. But not only does Corbyn Carroll's mom, Palin, throw him batting practice. But she's a lefty, Jesse. And he even said that she has a pretty, like a pretty nasty arm angle.

Like she's bringing it is what I'm saying. And it all makes all the sense now why Corby Carroll is as good as baseball as he is. Yeah, yeah, I now have to see that. I don't. Yes, exactly. Throw a baseball. Can we arrange the Diamondbacks to arrange for another media BP. and then we need we need we need we need we need we need corb carroll's mom out there throwing the ball to us

imagine the scenes of his mom throwing him BP in a home run derby i mean that would just stop stop that would be mad that would really be something but that would be a terrible idea for corbin because why would you intentionally choose someone who has like this nasty left on left arm angle that's a great point in the in the home run derby because he's corbin and she wants to show how impressive he is yeah that's the truth i'm not I'm not opposed to that, but we are just 12 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting, three weeks away from spring training games. So we will be watching baseball here in no time.

We cannot wait for that. So make sure to keep your eyes peeled. We will be at 1 p.m. until pitchers and catchers report, then we're going to be moving our show out an hour to 2 p.m. So we just wanted to update you guys on that. On tomorrow's audio-only show, we will be discussing where baseball, America, and ESPN rank the Diamondbacks farm system. and if there's any cause for pause, any cause for panic there.

But we got lots of fun stuff. We're so glad you guys stopped by. Of course, we did comment on a video on YouTube about the little beauty that the Arizona Diamondbacks dropped on us. I don't know. Do we have the image of the hat anywhere available? Can you grab that for me? The Diamondbacks just casually dropped an image of their spring training hat on us, Jesse.

And it caused our office to just erupt into chaos because, The hat is so goddamn gorgeous that we couldn't believe it was real. It was incredible. I'd heard from an inside source that this hat was fire, and it's hard to live up to that. Right? Like, you tell me that the new spring training hats fire, and I am as skeptical as I possibly could be, because I just don't believe it. I don't believe it's as awesome as it was described, and it was as awesome as described. We'll pull that up for you.

but what were your thoughts on this on this teal beauty that they have this spring it's much better than last year was the really the first thing that came to mind the diamond back's spring training hat last year was all red it was like a red on red look um and it was like the the trucker hat design yeah would be mesh in the back yeah i feel like people don't really like that and especially bald man yeah it's a little it's a little it seems a little bit more uncomfortable but but But yeah, this isn't the Diamondbacks primary hat. Like they're not going to wear this in the regular season as far as we're aware. But who knows? You know, maybe this is behaving the way for the Diamondbacks one day to actually have, you know, teal not just as like an accent color, but it's like, yeah, we are wearing a hat that is all teal in regular season baseball games. Yeah. You got that fire, Damon? Drop that on them.

Look at that thing. Oh, man. That's a pretty hat. like there was a lot of rumors about what the new diamondbacks jerseys were going to look at like we heard that there was some potentially all teal jerseys and honestly if the diamondbacks could find a way to pair this with a with a jersey of the same color i don't hate that i don't hate that entirely i also don't hate the idea of this eventually becoming a regular season hat i know sometimes they kind of test some ideas out and see what the response is to them this one is such a great looking hat though like There's some sort of like it looks like a golf hat to me. It looks like it has some sort of moisture wicking material to it. It has a very simplistic design that looks like something like I described on our video yesterday that people would wear out to the to the open and stuff.

So that's a, I don't know, it's just a fire hat. I dig it very much. Yeah, I think I think you'll see D. I think the Diamondbacks, first of all, on Twitter, they commented on someone who is asking where they could buy the hat or, you know, if they could buy the hat. and the D-back set soon. So it sounds like we'll be getting that opportunity here in short order. And yeah, you're going to see,

I think you're going to see D-BACs fans wearing these, not just at the ballpark. Oh, yeah. Can I drop some insider information on you? Oh, please. I know for a fact that they're already at the team shop. They're just not available for sale yet. And I can also say that they're just waiting on the official sale date to drop.

I imagine it can't be too much later than when spring training. starting starts, especially if the, like this, this is different than supply not being available for the jerseys, but the hats are in. So it sounds like it should be only a matter of time until they drop. They will be available at the team shop over here at Chase Field. And I imagine they'll be available at all of the, at those shops out at Salt River Fields when you go out to those spring training games. So, yeah, there's, uh, Elise says I love it, but wish the teal were a little darker if they made a jersey out of it. Let's look at that hat again. I was going to bring that up about the color. That's the only thing that's like they are definitely moving

with some of these shades of teal into a just complete blue. I was saying that to you not that long ago and you were like screaming at me like I was crazy. Yeah. It's a completely different color than the old teal that the that that is that one. I mean it looks like a completely different color than the fangs in the diamond back logo or even the 24 there on the side. It's like a light blue. Yeah. Right. Like it's definitely There's not really much green tint to it But I like that about that Don't you like that about that or do you not like

Like someone was putting up the old thing I dislike it I just we moved so far from the teal In the original Diamondbacks logo that basically Yeah like a like a green now like by comparison It's yeah there's a There's a difference between teal and turquoise and what what the Diamondbacks started with was teal according to this Google search that I'm doing right now.

What they have now is really turquoise. If you look up like turquoise versus teal, this hat looks a whole lot more turquoise than it, than it does teal. Teal is darker. What are we doing? Lean into that. This has been my war for a while.

But call it that. Yeah. Don't sound like it's the same. Turquoise is an indigenous. It's indigenous to Arizona. Like it's part of our, it would be like, you know,

it's like when they actually had copper be part of the design, right? Like that is an Arizona. thing. It's one of the five Cs that our state stands for. And that is something that, like, it's cool when you can find ways to incorporate that into, you know, our designs. Like our, we have a lot of culture here, but our culture has a lot to do with Hispanic culture here in Arizona. It has a lot to do with Native American culture. And it's that stuff, right? It's the, it's the copper and it's the turquoise and some of the metals, some of the stuff. Like, that you went so far as to call a shade of,

red Sedona Red. I don't know why you're not leading into just calling this turquoise and just getting away from the teal stuff all together. But Elizabeth says this reminds me of the Sun's Jersey from last year. That's incredibly accurate. That's very much what it looked like for sure. So, but can't wait. Of course, we'll see these in person out spring training and that is right around the corner. And that is where you will find me and Jesse. Nicholas says turquoise and copper for the debacks would be so freaking hot. There you go. We just, we just brainstormed that as a group. And We figured it out. Hopefully the Diamondbacks design department is watching.

We know they are. I don't even know if there is a diamond back's design department. With black? With black? Yeah. Maybe just a little bit of purple. A little bit of purple? Man.

It's a lot of colors. A little bit of gold. A little bit of purple. I'm just trying to bring the old colors back. Shout out to Pedro, by the way. I saw you compliment in my hat earlier. I didn't acknowledge it. He'd said I was like as cool Tio.

Miho, thank you for saying that. I appreciate you. Of course. as a good T.O. I will tell you that if you want to save yourself some money and go, maybe secure your financial future a little bit, go with our friends over at Desert Financial. Desert Financial Credit Union has been Arizona's largest, most trusted credit union for more than 84 years. And they always have your financial interest in mind, which not all financial institutions do. They got me started on my home ownership journey, and they can get you started as well.

So you can look to Desert Financial for loans, credit cards, checking and saving and safe. savings account, accounts, mortgages, and so much more, including investment options, which is important right now. So join a credit union that is committed to giving back to the community and sharing success with its members. When you open a free checking account online, you can get $200 and bonuses. Get started by visiting desertfinancial.com slash 200 right now. Also, game time. You know, game time. I don't think game time covers spring training games, but game time does cover almost everything else that you want to go to. I'm going to go see a musical tonight, Jesse, which I am. very much not looking forward to.

But, and that's only because it has nothing to do with the musical itself. It has to do with the fact that my daughter is very much into singing the songs from musicals while she's in the shower with her music blaring as loudly as you can imagine.

And then she's out there just performing both parts. It's just crazy behavior. And I have to deal with listening to it while I'm trying to watch Godzilla shows over here on Apple Plus. But I will tell you that if you want to go to musicals, if you want to go to concerts you want to go to shows most importantly if you want to go to games make sure to check out game time it is the place for last minute ticket deals it's the fastest growing ticketing

app in the country for a reason can snag the tickets without the stress with game time download their app and create an account use code phnx for $20 off your first order terms do apply again create an account and redeem code pH and x for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed I have to dunk on you a little bit Derek please do game time does have spring training tickets they do have spring well they have everything see i was wrong okay i'm glad to know that you're glad to know that the side of your mouth i am talking you're right you're right here i am mustard on their jacket yeah you're right you're right here i am blowing up their spot and i was just factually incorrect game time does have spring training tickets folks so again

you all of a sudden decide to play hooky and you need those last minute tickets to those uh those spring training games they're all day games pretty much right jesse they're almost all day games Were there any night games on the schedule? Yeah. Yeah, I think there's a couple. They always play a night game against the Reds out in Avondale. Oh, yeah. That's right.

That's a thing. The annual night reds game. Yeah, it's really random. It's really random. I discovered last year that that was not just a one-time thing. Yeah, it's every year. An annual occurrence, yeah. All right.

Well, I can't wait to watch all of that baseball action. So make sure to get your tickets through game time. Of course, make sure to say hi to Jesse. I when you're out there. We will be out there watching this Diamondbacks team. In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter. I am at Cap underscore Kman with the K. Jesse is at Jesse and Friedman. We're very glad to have Damon back behind the Mac on ones and twos. You can follow him at Damon Dog. That's DAWG. We are Damon's dogs. Bark, bark, bark. Of course, our shows at PHNX underscore Dbacks, but all roads do lead to at PHNX underscore Sports on Twitter,

Instagram and Facebook. Do not miss our audio-only podcast dropping tomorrow. We will be talking more about where the Diamondbacks farm system ranks, as well as how these umpires might be doing a little better behind the plate, at least better than Punksitani Phil, that fraud. But we will get into that more on that audio podcast. So make sure to join us over there. We do appreciate your time. As always, we thank you for stopping by. We will see you on Monday with our Mailbag Monday episode. And in the meantime, you guys take care of yourselves.

Coggs, you have a happy birthday. And y'all, rest of you, remember kids, baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you don't trust a groundhog to tell you the weather.