PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Who Will Be the D-backs Fifth Starter? Michael Soroka Makes his Intentions CLEAR

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

The Diamondbacks stunned everyone by bringing back Zac Gallen, suddenly giving the Snakes SIX legitimate starting pitchers heading into Spring Training. So who’s the odd man out? If you ask Michael Soroka, it won’t be him. We break down Soroka’s comments about staying in the rotation, why internal competition could elevate this entire staff, and what it means for the D-backs’ fifth starter battle. Plus, D-backs pregame and postgame host Steve Zinsmeister joins the show to share his thoughts on Arizona’s offseason moves, the biggest storyline heading into 2026, and his pick for the team’s most surprising player this season. We also have the latest updates from camp and what the Major League Baseball Players Association voting on a new interim executive director means for the upcoming CBA negotiations.   0:00 - Intro 2:00 - Steve Zinsmeister joins 32:00 - Torey Lovullo Press Conference 45:00 - Michael Soroka Press Conference 55:30 - MLBPA and Lockout 1:04:00 - Mountain Dew   JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4   An ALLCITY Network Production   SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtube   ALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsports   MERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-locker   ALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Phoenix   PHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/   Phoenix Raceway: Get your tickets now for March 5-8! https://www.phoenixraceway.com/march-cup-weekend/?CID=PIR_DI_TP_BA_PHNX26Spring_251120   ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/   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 visit https://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotes   bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets! Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/     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.   #dbacks #diamondbacks #arizonadiamondbacks #mlb #zacgallen #corbincarroll #ketelmarte #mlbtheshow #mlbtraderumors #tradedeadline #traderumors #allstargame Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Diamondbacks have six starting pitchers. So who doesn't make the rotation? According to Michael Soroka, it's not him. He's going to be there. Welcome in to another edition of the P.HNX Diamondbacks podcast. Love at five. Trying something. My name is Derek Montia.

Of course, I'm occasionally known as your mayor of PHNX. Thrilled to have you guys joining us and thrilled for real spring training baseball games to get underway tomorrow. Cannot wait for real action to start. with the Diamondbacks taking on Colorado Rockies out at Salt River Fields. And of course, thrilled that we made it through camp. Camp is difficult. Camp was muddy. I logged 18 miles walking around camp.

And I'm glad for this to finally be over so that I can just sit in the press box, relax and watch some baseball. I am not alone today. I got the one, the only production God himself, Shane Diefenbach on the ones and twos today. And I'm also joined by this. this face, this familiar face, what, what we call you? Pre-game, post-game, podcast host, slash heated rival. Former colleague now my arch-nemesis, Steve Zinsmeister, joining the show.

Good to see that you prepared for this, Derek. I've been waiting a long time for the show. For those of you that may not know, Steve was the one that kind of unleashed me on the world over at Arizona Sports 98.7. And he did produce me there, and he's still producing me to this day. He's out at Salt River Fields every day, telling me things to say, telling me things to tweet. Just in general reminding me every single day that he's better at this than I am. But Steve, thrilled to have you here.

And again, welcome in. I know you're excited for camp to be over and for us to be progressing actual spring training games as well. There's only so much watching guys play catch you can do. Leave it to you on the day before games actually start. You're like, oh, I'm ready for this to be over. Yes, I am ready. I'm done. I am done.

Let's get to the regular season already. He got his 18 miles of steps in and he is ready to be done with it. By the way, I do not believe that you have walked 18 miles. I don't buy that for a second. You of all people should buy it because you also have to walk from field one to fields, the clover leaf out there at Salt River Fields. That alone has to be a quarter of a mile. Easy.

And you know what? won't even let me ride in one of the golf carts. I know. I know. I want Ronnie to give me a ride when she's driving around, but she's a menace in that cart. So I don't know if I necessarily trust to survive in that thing. But overall here, Diamondbacks, weird team, right? Like the offseason moves kind of put this team in a weird place where it's hard to say they didn't improve this team with what they did, but it's also like a team filled with guys that if they reach their potential that we've seen at one point in their career, then this could be an incredibly talented, incredibly successful team.

Or if they're more of what we saw from most of them in 2025, then it's hard to believe that this team is going to be any kind of contender at the very least. Yeah, but if you just take the team that played those last two months of last season very effectively, that was very competitive, right? Take that roster and then take a look at the two halves. The what have we lost and what have we gained since then? There's not a lot in the loss column. There's Jake McCarthy, they traded away,

who was essentially your fifth outfielder. Blaze Alexander, they traded away, who was a utility player off the bench. And Jalen Beeks, who, yeah, made the most appearances in their bullpen last year, but it's still a relief pitcher. And then I guess Kyle Backus, who they traded as well. Like there's not a ton in the lost column.

Correct. What they have gained, I mean, you've got a 10-time gold Glover at third base. That's got to be worth something. You've got Carlos Santana at first who's played the second most games among all active players in Major League Baseball. You've gone out and acquired guys like Cade Stroud and Taylor Clark for your bullpen. You brought back nearly every name, big name, I should say, like Zach Gallen, Merrill Kelly. you've brought back James McCann, Ildamaro Vargas, you throw in a guy like Michael Soroka in there.

And all of a sudden, that column of acquisitions is a lot bigger than the column of losses. And so, yeah, they're running it back in a lot of ways. And I understand what that means. I mean, this team hasn't made the playoffs the last two years. But there's a lot of upside when you consider all the new pieces they've added. This team almost feels like right now, a team that kind of like won the World Series a few years ago.

Now, I say this, not comparing it to the 2023 team. I'm just when you look at the pieces, you look at, you know, guys like Arnado and Carlos Santana kind of being past their prime, but still, you know, valuable players that can help you win baseball games. I'm not going to act like either of those guys aren't going to give you amazing defense. And both guys could honestly take a huge step forward from what their numbers were in 25 with this team. I think Joe Mather has done wonders with a lot of, the offense with a lot of the players at the plate on this team. I don't have any concerns about

this team offensively next year. I don't know if there'll be a top five offense like they were last season. But again, even with that, it feels like it's possible, right? It's more about the other questions about the rest of the staff. Now we're sitting in a position, like you said, the additions to this team, especially once they added Zach Gallen, it feels like it kind of put them over the top to be to being backed up. having depth and a surplus. And we even talked to Michael Soroka today. We'll have video here shortly from him,

but he didn't sound like he was ready to just relinquish a starting rotation spot himself. So he's going to be battling in camp. And I do think that, you know, again, if this pitching staff can take any kind of step forward from what they were last year, which right now the projections don't suggest that they will. The projections suggest they'll be just as bad. next year as they were last year, right? But those are projections.

And I do think that they went out and added enough pieces to try to make both the starting rotation and bullpen, not only competitive, but they added enough for there to be competition for these roles, which should hopefully bring out the best in all of these guys that want to stick around on the major league roster and be here on opening day. What projections account for is personnel. What they see is the same, basically the same starting rotation that was 19th in ERA in the league last year, bottom half of the league. They see largely the same bullpen that posted the 27th best ERA in baseball last year. What they don't account for is guys like Soroka lighting a fire under somebody like Brandon Fought who had an ERA over five.

Or Eduardo Rodriguez, who has been in this league a long time and certainly doesn't want to have another year like he did last. year, at least for the first four months or so. So you're right, sparking competition is going to potentially spark growth among several key players, whether it's in the rotation, the bullpen, or among the hitters as well. But yeah, I mean, you can't really account fully in projections for how much players are going to grow on an individual basis. And to your point about feeling like the 2023 team, I mean, largely the roster is similar. I mean, the biggest piece missing from my perspective.

perspective is probably Christian Walker. But, you know, you add a Nolan Aeronado at third base where Evan Longoria was a little bit further back in his career on the back nine. You add a Jordan Lawler who could potentially play a huge role in this outfield. Like it's kind of like the 20203 team, but two more years of experience and a couple of extra nice pieces defensively. Is that such a bad thing? It worked in 2023. No. And especially what I meant by that too was like, with guys like Arnato, Carlos Santana, you know, all of these guys on this team, there's, there's this like weird feeling that there's a lot of talent here, but maybe a lot of the talent, you know, including guys from that 2023 team,

they were talented then, but they might be more league average now. That's and like when I say that, world series teams, teams that win that world series, they often, you know, reward their players with, you know, extensions or new deals or whatever, even when those players really aren't going to maybe be as good as they were, right? So that's why this collaboration, this current team, the way that it's assembled, kind of feels like that with guys like Aronato and, you know, Paul Seawall being out of the team, Carlos Santana, they're all of that. But I do think defensively this team is going to be really good,

at least as far as the infield is concerned. Do you buy when the front office, like Mike Hazen, Tori Lavallo, do you buy when they say that the numbers that we saw from the pitching staff was more impacted by the defense last year than we give it credit for? Like the pitchers kind of take the blame, but at the end of the day, the defense was pretty bad behind them, especially in the first half of the season last year. I had a member of the front office explain it to us during last season.

say it was in August or September, talking about earlier in the season and why pitchers had struggled, then largely they agreed that the defense didn't do them a whole lot of favors. I mean, Eduardo Rodriguez, if you looked at his underlying metrics, they were much better than his just straight up ERA because the defense had let him down a handful of times early in the season. I mean, I'm sure you talked about it after some of his starts during last year. And some of the other pitchers could say the same. So their strategy in the offseason to make this team better. I think they viewed it similar to what you said earlier. We know we're going to have a strength in our offense, the way that we have each of the last two seasons. They were number one in

runs scored two years ago. I think they were number six or five last year. They feel that they still have the core of that within them. Corby and Carole, Catele, Heraldo Perdomo. Sure, they don't have it. Eugenio Suarez hitting 30 some odd home runs before the trade deadline. I get that. They'll have to recreate some of that elsewhere. But they do have some high upside players. Jordan Lawler was arguably the best player in AAA Reno last year in his entire league. And can he transition some of that to the major league level this year? That's upside.

Can Lordus Gurriel get off his feet a little bit once he's back and do some de-hing instead of playing left field? Does that make you more athletic in the outfield with somebody like Alex Thomas getting reps in left field now as well as center? So your defense can be better in that way. The front office made it clear they were going to pursue defense this offseason, even if it meant it came at the expense of some offense. And that seems to be the direction that they've taken because they believe that if this team is going to improve internally,

it's going to be through run prevention because they've already got the run scoring down. They don't want to be winning ball games 10 to 9 every night. They want to win a couple of games here and there like, you know, 4 to 3 or something like that. About seven to one would be nice. That would be great to see just a good old fashioned, you know, thumping. You know, those didn't happen often enough. And they did let teams in, you know, back in the games far too often. We've talked about the number of blown leads that this team had. I still don't think Nolan Aronado is that. I still think the acquisition of Aronado was a very savvy move. One that makes this team better, you know, regardless. But I do agree

with you there. I think that there were options. We were big fans of adding Paul Goldschmidt, back to this team, but Carlos Santana, arguably a much better defender. And that's what they were looking at. Offensively, how much were you giving up by going after Santana versus one of the other first base options out there? And how much more were you going to have to spend on that option versus going after Carlos? Like I kind of like the way he's already fit in this spring with the infield. Everybody's just jelling really well.

You know what I mean? Like when we look at these guys out there, Nolan, Carlos, Catellel. Heraldo, that infield, they're bonding. It's more than just like, okay, they're on the field together. No, they're walking from field to field together. They're playing catch together. There's there's something that's happening here. And I think a lot of it is because both of those guys are veterans.

And they know how to come into a camp and acclimate themselves to the team and kind of fit in. Right. But it just, it feels like these moves, even though, you know, the over. OPS plus from last year for these guys don't look great. And a lot of the numbers might suggest that the Diamondbacks just kind of got older. I think that they're underestimated. And I think they did bring together a quality team overall this spring on a very limited budget. I mean, got to admit, they spent on all of these guys, what some teams, less than what some teams spent on one guy that they added to their team in an Alex Breggman or Kyle Tucker.

They were savvy about it, but they also did it in an order that, you know, they were able to kind of check all the boxes in the end. I mentioned this the other day, but if Zach Allen had signed the one-year qualifying offer for $22 million at the beginning of the offseason, instead of taking one year 22 with a bunch deferred, which is a slight discount later in the off-season, if they had reversed the order of that,

would they have had the money to go get Merrill Kelly back? Would they have had the flexibility of pulling off the Aronado trade or signing Michael Soroka to what is essentially, one year seven and a half million. I don't know, but, you know, there were a lot of iterations of what this offseason could have looked like. The one thing, and you talk about Aronado and defense, the one thing that I've been reiterating here is I can't imagine a scenario where a younger player is in the clubhouse and looks over

at Aronado or at Santana's locker and sees them working their butts off at 35 and 40 years old this season, respectively. I can't imagine a young player seeing them working and thinking that they can slack off or not go 100%. In a year where the Diamondbacks, the last two years, if they had won one more game in 2024,

they make the playoffs. If they had won two or three more in 2025, maybe they make the playoffs. And this is a year where you're down four or five horses on the IL to start the year. Like I hear a lot of people say, well, if we hang around until we get those guys back, no, no, no.

no hang around. They need to win ball games. And there's an urgency. And I think by bringing in players of that caliber at that point in their career, it sends a message to the rest of the clubhouse. Like, these guys aren't here to hang around. These guys are working their tails off just to stay in the game of baseball, let alone win ball games right now to try to make it into the dance. And like we learned in 23, all you got to do is get in. And then anything can happen. And in 24 and 25, we learned that every single game counts, you know, and you could go back and really nitpick how many games they shouldn't have lost that they did. But you're right. Like, it's one of the things that I've talked about with them

being mentors over, over some of their younger teammates, right? Like, it's not necessarily them teaching them, you know, it's not necessarily going up and putting their hand on their shoulder and being an unk. It's about, you know, teaching, I guess, by example, like leading by example. and they do that every single day with how professional they are. You know, it's funny you say that. I was talking with Tim Tawa the other day. And I was asking about, you know, like, hey, what position are you solely focused on?

Like, if you're playing, if you're getting reps, where are you getting the most reps? And he said, well, honestly, I'm reppping all three outfield spots just to be ready. And I'm also playing third base, second base, and maybe even a little first, but I don't know if they're going to need that. And I said, what about a guy like Nolan Aronado?

Like are you, are you chatting him up a bunch? Are you talking to him? And he said, no, you know, I'm trying. I'm not, I'm not like trying to be in his face and like, you know, I'm not trying to like pluck things from him constantly. But I'm watching him. I'm keeping an eye on how he works. Yeah. And what his routine is like and how he prepares for the day and how he takes ground balls and what angles he goes at and what arm angles he has.

So like a guy like Tawa just kind of painting the picture like you were just saying, like he may not be, you know, getting advice from. the guy every single day. But he's keeping an eye on him and he's watching what he does and see how he can implement some of that into his game too. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you could argue it's the reason why the Mets bring in a guy like Marcus Simi into their clubhouse, right?

And into their team, you want a true leader. You don't necessarily care about what their numbers currently are or that, oh, okay, he had a slightly worse OPS last year than the guy we traded away for him or whatever. No, you're bringing a guy in like that because you. you feel essentially like he is going to rub off on the rest of your team. And he is going to be a leader by example, which is going to bring those guys together and get the most out of them. It's like it's also like what you could say here about having six guys for the starting

rotation or having a bullpen competition where you and I could sit here and say, we know who's going to be in the bullpen because you and I do kind of. At least we think we do. But do we? No. Because spring, they have not played one spring. training game yet and tory again we're going to have some video from tory talking about it but like this is a true competition whether they're going to be evaluating everybody and yes veterans

get that like edge but it doesn't mean that a young player couldn't easily outperform them and win a spot in the either in the bullpen or one of these guys in the starting rotation over someone else it's all about you know it's all about i guess more than results it's about you're taking in coaching, doing the things you're told, and showing, you know, the staff that that you're the best option for them, even if the results aren't there during spring, because that's not necessarily what they're looking at. I asked a member of the front office yesterday, specifically about Paul Seawald. And I was looking to get some answers as to like, what is it about his pitching that you

saw, whether it's this off season or last year in the end? Seems like, why Paul? Why Seawald? Basically, I mean, I didn't mean that in any sort of bad way. I was just interested in acquisition. And they said one reason and one reason only. Experience. You know, the fact that they can throw him into any situation,

and it's nothing he hasn't seen before. And it kind of felt like that was representative of how they feel about a lot of these guys. Carlos Santana, like I mentioned, has played the second most games among all players in baseball. Yeah, who has more experience than that? You'd be hard pressed to find a pitcher he has not faced, I would think.

Nolan Aronado is kind of in that same boat being, I think, eighth most games played as a professional player on the active list. I felt the same way about Seawall. I mean, the rotation, obviously, with Merrill Kelly and Zach Gowan, like the continuity there plays so well for this rotation. That seems to be the theme for me. Everyone talks about leadership. I don't know how much guys are like rah, raw in the clubhouse.

I think that's kind of what we have for all the Pardombo for, to be honest with you. Yeah, exactly. But these are guys who, again, they lead by example, and they're in situations that they're comfortable with that they've seen before. And the Diamondbacks may have been lacking in that department heading into the off season. They certainly addressed it. I agree. I agree. All right.

I got some rapid fire questions here for you. These are the really important things like food related and whatnot. But first, who do you think is going to be the, I don't even know if you want to say biggest surprise, but who do you think will be a surprise to this team, to this fan base in 2026? Biggest surprise. I don't know if I have a surprise. I have a couple of names of guys I'd like to see breakout this year.

Sure. First and foremost, Jordan Lawler offensively. I mean, again, like I mentioned earlier, I talked to my friends in AAA, and they're like he's the best player in AAA. I mean, at some point... It's crazy. At some point, there's nothing left to prove, right?

Yeah. And so I would think for him, you know, learning a new position, obviously is first and foremost, but hitting, you know, we all want to see him hit and play at that level because he could have the level of impact as a prospect converting to, you know, no longer prospect. He could have the same level of impact as a guy like Corby and Carroll down the road. Not saying that he's the same caliber of player, just like that's the level of impact. It could have on a team. I want to see Gabby Moreno in year four as the starting catcher. I want to see him play a lot of baseball games.

I know that Tori has a two-on, one-off policy. with his catchers. I get that. But Gabby's played about 60% of the games since he came to Arizona. So I want to see a healthy year out of Gabby, which isn't entirely up to him, but just hoping the universe hears me on that. And then Brandon fought. I would love to see have like a Ryan Nelson type jump where Nellie's ERA has gone down a full run each of the last two years.

And if fought can get that sweeper working for him again, if he can stay in the zone and not get pounded. I think I think Brandon Fawson in for another really good year this year taking a big leap from last year. So those are a couple guys I expect to break out. If I had to throw a name out there that I think could break out, a guy you and I were

saying hello to at camp today, Brandon Garcia left-handed relief pitcher. This team doesn't have a lot of lefties right now with Andrew Saul Frank down for the year. Philip Adler was in a mix. Yeah. But I think Brandon Garcia, I mean, he's a big guy with big stuff.

can run a sinker up there at 97. He's got some funky kind of sidearm slot angle. That's a guy that I think could stand out in the first couple months while they wait for AJ Puck to get back. I completely agree with that. And something about Brandon, by the way, he is proportionately big so that he doesn't look actually as big as he actually is. He's a very tall guy,

but he does not like lanky and stuff. And I think that, again, he looks like he is made for Major League Baseball. I think that he kind of got thrown into a lot of scenarios last year that he wouldn't have been put into other than the fact that Diamondbacks didn't have anybody else and just simply needed him. And I think because of that, he's really kind of grown as a pitcher. A lot of the young guys have due to that. It was like there were there were so many pitching prospects last year. It's like, oh, guess what? You're going into save a game.

right now go close a game out go pitch again show hey otani and freddie freeman philabner and oh we just struck them both out good job great job all right again the important stuff uh steve what's your favorite ballpark meal at chase field i know we're a month away from being back home just about a little little less than a little more than a month uh but what is your go-to favorite meal that you get at the ballpark i am going to shock you when i tell you that i do not eat like on the concourse at Chase Field during games because I'm working. Some of us have to work for a living there. That's a crazy take. It's just right there, Steve. Just go get food. I know. There was one time last year where I went down to the concourse to get a Chick-fil-A sandwich.

And I felt like I was, I felt like I was breaking every rule in the book. But I will tell you, like when I do go to baseball games as a fan, which doesn't happen as much anymore. But I used to always get a soft pretzel somewhere. It doesn't really matter what company or brand or whatever. But that was my thing. If you go to my Instagram and you go way back to before I was in Major League Baseball, all the pictures of me with soft pretzels at different spring training ballparks. You holding them up next to your face.

Or pretending that it's my actual mustache. There was a wonderful time where they actually gave us soft pretzels for free in the press box every three days. and I didn't appreciate that time in my life nearly enough when it was happening. You know? Write a letter, Derek. I will. I will write a letter. If you had to swap jobs with one person in the organization for just a day, who would it be?

What would you do? I mean, Gonzo, right? Yes. I mean, what does he actually do? I don't know. He's gonzo. He just walks around. He walks around and people shake his hand.

No, I mean, Like what's like to be a firefighter that saved a baby out of a well? That's what it's like to be Gonzo. Yeah, I just want to be local hero for a day. Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, Gonzo plays an important role on the business side, but I think I would still choose to be him just to just to be him. Experience that for a day would be interesting.

Yeah, no, that's a great choice. That is a great choice. And I got to get one more broadcasting question before we get out of here. who on the current roster is going to make a great broadcaster after retirement, which time and back? You know, if you'd ask me this like two weeks ago, I might have said Blaze Alexander. That hurts. Honestly, though, he has almost too much energy to be a broad. He has too much charisma.

He would be like an Archie Bradley type where he would just have his own like show where you just follow Blaze around doing stuff. I think, you know, the lineup has a lot of quiet leadership like Corbyn Carroll and. and some other guys as well, like Alec Thomas, you know, they're not really talkers. So I think I might lean on the pitching side. And I think I'd go with Paul Seawald. I know we've talked a little bit about him already today. But that's a guy who's widely considered one of the best dudes in the sport. And, you know, what he and his family do for charity and in the community.

I mean, he wasn't here all that long when you think about it. It was like a year plus, if you include the postseason, like a year and a half. I feel like he made a pretty big impact in the community and throughout the organization. And so I would say he's a good talker. He's a great interview. Let's go with Paul Sebald. It's a great, great choice. Great choice.

Well, you are a great interview as always. So we appreciate you stopping by. And I need you to still produce my life outside of, I know you don't produce this show for me anymore. I know you don't produce me anymore. But I need you to still keep me in line. But appreciate you. Stopping by, Steve. I'm going to need proof of the 18 miles that you walked.

I'll show you my Apple device. I'll figure it out. But anyway, follow him at Steve underscore Zins. Listen to him on the DeBax Radio show, pregame post game show. He does an excellent job over there. Steve, thank you again for stopping by. I appreciate you, buddy. Thanks, Derek.

All right. We'll see you next time. That man, he comes up with entirely too many ideas. I'll sit here and I'll be like brainstorming what my headline would be for the day. Steve gets it. in 10 seconds. It makes me sick how good he is at this. But we're going to take a quick break.

On the other side of this break, we're going to talk about spring training camp and what Tori had to say today in regards to getting these guys prepared prior to the WBC and who he's going to have as a backup shortstop. More importantly, we hear from Michael Soroka, who does not intend on acquiescing when it comes to being part of the starting rotation. We're going to do all of this on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere.

You're watching the PHA next Diamondback show. Of course, I need more Circle K in my life. I can never get enough Circle K in my life. That's mostly because I don't hydrate myself. And Circle K is Derek's Thirst Stop. And it's also America's Thirstop. So make sure you go over there, whether it's cold like it was today or hot like it's going to be this weekend because Arizona can never make up its mind.

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I am here in Studio A and I don't have my glasses on so I can't read some of this stuff on the side. I'll gladly read this one, Derek. Let's go. BCSC. Just want to say all as well and nothing feels better than your super champs of the world, Seattle Seahawks.

We did not care. The Empire has struck. I'm glad Shane was here to read that, that one specifically. I know that brought him a lot of joy. I'm thrilled to have you guys here, like I said. Spring training camp has officially ended. I guess you want to say that? The Diamondbacks will play games.

I mean, nothing really changes. They still go out. They still get there in the morning. They work out and then they go play some baseball. But the camp portion has ended. And we have more here from Tori Lovolo. Here was his opening remarks as to what he saw out there. how he is liking the way this team is jelling together.

Here's what he had to say. Another good quality day work, and I just feel like as I'm watching these guys go through some of their some of their reps, some of the routines, there's that intensity that I talked about. There's an extra ingredient and extra intangible that we're looking for, and that's to make your plays,

don't draw baseballs, do it under control, fast-paced. and I couldn't be more pleased with how these days have been going. You know, a couple more lives. But I think the priorities are the little things, the fundamentals of our cuts and relays. That was easily the highlight of the day today to try and get us through that for the first time. So we hit all of our fundamentals. We're ready to play game tomorrow. The fundamentals portion of spring training is still just incredible to me.

And I think it's one of the reasons why I really implore parents, to bring young kids out to this portion of spring training. It's great to go get autographs and watch the games and do all of that. But man, I think when kids see that professional athletes still do the most basic drills and the most basic fundamentals here at this portion of camp, it just not only can solidify or at least reinforce how important those are to being a baseball player, but I think it also just goes to show that none of us, none of these guys just walk into the season ready to go, right? None of these guys just get up from not playing baseball

for four months and then just walk in and can hit a ball again. I mean, there's so many gradual, like there's so much gradual steps to getting prepared, to getting yourself ready for the season. And it's what you see during this time of the year, right? It's also the reason why, as we get here to the first game starting, there's not necessarily a sense of urgency for them to put, you know, their starting pitchers out there. Tori talked about, who will be starting. We'll get to that here in a moment. But he did discuss, and I thought this was very interesting, what he and his coaching staff evaluate during these games. Often we hear about guys that might be hitting 150 having a really good spring. And you as a fan might say,

nothing that I'm seeing here would tell me that he's having a good spring. But everything that they evaluate is so much different. And it's, It's so much more intricate than I think we as fans look and see. And even if a guy goes 0 for four, he can still have a great day out there during spring training games. This is what Tori had to say about what they evaluate during spring training games and when results start to matter. I'm not so concerned about a hitters. I'm looking for their feet lining up, everything being concerned. their body getting towards a baseball, the hand path being super clean, following the ball

meeting where if it's thrown away, hit away, if it's throwing in, you hit in, swinging it strikes and just overall listening to conversations about what they are seeing as that ball is there ball tracking. And then we haven't had a chance to really watch any game reps. Of course we're getting some live out bats, but nothing like what will happen tomorrow. And And once that happens, I'm going to watch the same things. It's just going to be sped up a little bit more. And now I'm honing in on pitch selection, and I want to see if they're going to be controlling the outbats, swinging its strikes.

Pitchers, it's about just repeating deliveries, landing stuff other than fastballs, following the glove, and, you know, the game plan and being able to recognize swings and make adjustments. And it's all fast-forwarded tomorrow. and it's a crash course because it is day one, so I don't expect to be perfect. But I'm watching the game inside of a game, not necessarily the 90.

I don't need to see 96 blown by hitters. I don't need to see balls 1 15 off of walls if you're the hitter. So it's just about the game inside of the game. Does there come a time when the results do matter that in the spring? A little bit, yeah, a little bit. You know, if a young hitter that's trying to make the team covers a baseball four times and hits four-line drives and sees 25 pitches in those upbats.

He's doing a lot right. So we're going to evaluate it that way. And, you know, some things are weighted for sure. If we're looking to see a guy make a team over a guy that's going to continue to develop, and we've got to make a decision, it's got to be a slam dunk type of decision. So we're going to definitely take in the results, but more or less projections than how they're getting there. And obviously, the results are not really important during spring training.

that's the reason why that's how they approach it. However, if you heard that stupid deep voice there asking that second question, that was me getting that clarification because I do think that obviously at some point, results have to start to matter. And I think, like he said there, there's going to be some players that aren't necessarily in a competition battle and there are going to be others that obviously are. That's going to involve some of the outfield. It's also going to involve a lot of the pitching.

staff. But Tori did confirm the starting pitcher tomorrow will be Hatch. And this is what he had to say about that. He also discussed how he plans on, you know, basically what the lineup plan is here. Also, I'll clarify here in the moment, but WBC has changed some of the rules. So managers did have to start so many players during these spring training games that are actual like starters. But due to the WBC, Tori confirmed here that they're being a little lax on that. Here's what he had to say. Who's starting tomorrow for your hatch?

Hatch. Yeah. And any of your regular is going to be in the line of course? A lot of them are. So I, normally they wouldn't be, but I'm trying to fast forward this as much as possible because the entire infield is going to play in the WBC, so I want to get them on the field. I wouldn't be playing AT in the outfield tomorrow, but I'm going to so you can get ready for Team Mexico.

So you're going to see. five of the six of the righters Gabby's going to catch as well. Gabby's going to catch AT and center or left? Center. Did you ever find out the WBC impacts how many players you have to have on the field? I did. So it's going to be relaxed.

So the following day it's going to be a little light. You'll see Pavin. You'll see McCann and then some other guys that are I think like Timitawa, so not the regulars, the six regulars that you'll see tomorrow.

So Thomas Hatch will get the start tomorrow. He was signed to a minor league contract in January. He's one of the basically non-raster invitees to spring this year, the NRI guys. He's 31 years old. He pitched for the Blue Jays. He's pitched for the Pirates and he also pitched in Japan. He is a guy that Diamondbacks are going to be taking a look at along with Jonathan Loisiga and Derek Law, once again, spells his name correctly,

for the potential bullpen rolls. Again, Tori said that the first couple of days will feature those guys, and then Michael Soroka will get the start in the first game for an actual starting pitching, I guess, option, and that will be on Tuesday. But Tori was asked about backup shortstop, which now that Jordan Lawler is being converted to an outfield role, seems to be a role that they don't necessarily have someone designated for. They do have Tim Tawa who plays everywhere. They do have Jordan Lawler available, so he could.

play backup shortstop and our guy Jack Summers asked Torrey about what the plan was for Jordan Lawler if he was going to be the backup shortstop. Here's what Tori had to say. Yeah, hard for me to fast forward and answer that question. We're aware of that we want to have that conversation, but giving Jordan the chance to go out there and get the basics down pat with Dave McKay was our top priority. So we'll see how that figures, figures itself out. And when needed he'll migrate into shortstop but he is doing morning work as an infielder and very light because we don't want to overload him and most of his early days the first week will be done in the outfield so we're aware of that we do need a backup shortstop for sure but we have a lot of players

are going to play into that role as well Jordan being one of them ill tomorrow vargas welcome back to this team he is there and he probably will be back on this team so we'll see if he gets another trip around the Diamondbacks universe this man. You cannot quit Ildemarovar Vargas when you are a Diamondbacks fan. He is forever a Dback. But speaking of being forever Dbackes,

we know that a big part of Tori's managing style is to treat us players like family. You could argue that that makes things difficult when you go through a season like the Dbacks had in 2025. But so many injuries and so many opportunities, but also

having a short leash because of They couldn't allow guys to kind of, you know, cost this team games when they were already struggling to figure out how they were going to pick up the pieces after they lost the players that they did. Right. But I will say Tori is a uniter. Tori is big, obviously, on the idea that his, you know, his clubhouse is a sacred place where all of these team, all of these players are expected to be family members with each other and be close. And a big way he does that is by having everybody out. for a big team barbecue, right? And I mean, Tori has been known to throw some amazing events at his home.

As you know, Damon and I attend dinner at his house every Sunday night, simply because we defended the man when we felt like he wasn't the sole reason that this team lost games in 2025. But Tori discussed the team barbecue. He discussed what it means to him to have all of these guys together and for him to get a chance to meet families. And also, he gave us a little breakdown. on which families are going to absolutely tear it up at the wiffle ball game here's what to

say um i love that stuff i i like to live in that space the way for me to get out and and see the kids that i haven't seen for an entire off season um see their see their progress and how much they've grown up reconnect with families it's a lot of fun for me and then for the for the new families it's a way for me to get to know them and i try to get to know as much as i possibly can about the player and their families. It's not just about that time. So yeah, we'll be out there. There's going to be bounce houses out there. There's usually a sick wiffleball game that breaks out. And I, you know, we all kind of get into that zone where we are letting our guard down and just get to know the raw self. And I like that time. Is there a family where like they own

wiffle ball typically year and in Europe? Yeah. The DePanfellos, their kids kind of take it over. I'll say the Kaplan's, and I don't know if the Kaplan kids are here, they take the game over. And I think the Clarks, I haven't seen the Clark's kids, they've grown up in a long time. They've grown up and I've seen them a long time. I guarantee they take it over and then the McCann kids, you should take the game over. What is that? I love having the breakdown on which kids are going to come out and rake during the good old team barbecue. But yeah, wholesome.

You can't, you, you can't not like that portion of Tori and the way he manages this team. Like I said, it might not make things easy at times when difficult decisions need to be made. But let me tell you, speaking as a dad, you got difficult decisions that you have to make when it comes to your kids all the time. It's nothing new. So I think that Tori is best when he's in this space. I also think Tori's best when he's coming as an underdog, when he's in the role of an underdog managing from that place. But speaking of some underdogs, our very own Michael Soroka will be competing for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. We were there when he got to watch his team Canada lose in the hockey finale to Team USA.

That was fun to be in the clubhouse for that. But we did ask him right after that what it was like to pitch for Team Canada. And if watching these Olympics got him pumped up to pitch for his country, this is what he had to say. Absolutely. Yeah. I think that's something that we've been talking about, and lots of people have said that for whatever reason, hockey's been a much bigger thing on the world stage for some time.

Maybe it's because of the movies that were made about it, you know, Miracle and, you know, a lot of other ones, Slavshot, and there's some big movies that kind of have things to do with just playing on the world stage. But I think so with baseball. I think we're starting to see that. You know, I think it kind of used to be a bit of a two-country competition between the states and the Dominican a little bit.

now Venezuela, Japan, kind of really bringing it to it. You know, I think the Canadian team this year were as strong as we've ever been, too. So Mexico is going to be really strong and then has a chance to do something as well. So the more competition, I think, the better the tournament's going to get. And the more likely it is, I think, the guys are wanting to say yes and compete. So I think we've done a good job of getting ready for it, and it should be a lot of fun. What you're also hearing in the background, speaking of competition, is a doctor. Domino's game going on that I need to get into one of these days.

I need to get into. I was raised on Domino's. I'm Puerto Rican. It's just, it's a natural part of my life. And it was Catelle, Geraldo Perdomo, I think Juan Morillo, and I think it was Eduardo Rodriguez playing. And yeah, we're just hearing that. I'm not even thinking about the World Baseball Classic.

I'm just thinking about sitting down and playing Domino's with those guys. But the camp is great. the vibes are great and Mike was asked about becoming part of this team and what his thoughts are on this camp and joining this team so far this spring. Everybody's upbeat. It's a good program. I mean, these guys, again, they've been close to the last couple years. I played against them in 23 in the beginning of the year. These guys were the toughest teams to play against. I thought that entire year. You know, I think it was very evident. We said it in May that seems can surprise people all year. and now I think it's a matter of expecting to do it. I got to see it out at the Braves when we got to stunting people in 18, 19, you know,

win the division and kind of struggle on the playoffs. But I think now it's the time where we expect to do something. We've made the moves to be able to do that. Obviously, we have some injuries coming off the aisle at some points in the year that are going to be a huge help. Yeah, we're just trying to give them a good head start for when that happens. Well, things changed after that because Michael Soroka was kind of asked about his role with this team. There's no question that, you know, the things changed for specifically for him. Michael Soroka signed to be a starting pitcher when the Diamondbacks still needed two starting pitchers to fill out a five-man rotation.

Now since then, they've added Merrill Kelly. They've added Zach Gallen. And Soroka, you know, of course, now kind of sits. on the bubble on the outside looking in just a little bit. I don't think that this team is going to let anybody's financial situation dictate if they're part of the starting rotation. I truly do believe that performance is going to dictate who stays in the starting rotation and who ends up in the bullpen.

But it's hard to imagine that Diamondbacks go out and add Merrill Kelly and Zach Gallen and have either one of those guys end up in the bullpen. Ryan Nelson continues to get better year after year. So as long as he is what he was last year and his fastball is as good as it is, he stays in the starting rotation. So it really comes down to Brandon Fott, E. Rod, and Michael Soroka. And Soroka made his intentions clear.

Here's what he had to say about his role with this team going forward. And if he was going to be more of a starter or more of a bullpen arm. I mean, yeah, my expectations to help the team. And I think the best way that I can do that is to start. We talked about that. That's why I signed here. and everything's going really well so far. Again, obviously, there's lots of position battles that always is in camp,

but I think if I continue to do the things that I've done this off season and the things that I've done this for training so far, I think it's all my workouts, so I'm very excited moving forward to help the team and whatever that might be. Yep, I mean, again, like, I'll do what I have to do, but I feel like it's been communicated for the time of the day. I think we all see the best suited and starting to go, at least from camp. So we'll see moving forward.

That it's a very interesting take to me, and it's a very interesting position. I actually applaud him for this. I know that in today's day and age of being an athlete and being a good team member, teammate, you want to like do whatever the team wants you to do. When you hear Diamondbacks players, and this is maybe a credit to, Toy Levalo. Maybe it's a credit to the front office. But when you hear Diamondbacks players discuss being asked to change roles and to play different positions, they typically give you the answer of, I'll do whatever I can to help this team win games. And Soroka gave us some

of that. He also stood firm on the fact that he believes his best way, his best, the best way he can help this team win is by starting baseball games. Now, I don't know in what capacity that ends up. And of course, after watching what happened last year, there's no doubt in my mind that even if Soroka isn't a starter at the beginning of the season, that he won't get opportunities to be a starting pitcher down the line when injuries inevitably happen or if someone just kind of struggles to find it, right? If any of the other guys are putting this team in a position that would not win baseball all games, Soroka could slide in. But I do feel like despite the fact that, you know, you, you kind of sound maybe a little bit like you are, you know, not wanting to, not wanting to

change or whatever to help the team win. Starting versus being a bullpen arm are two vastly different things. And you got to stay stretched out to be a starter. If you go to the bullpen and you just become a bullpen arm, it's going to take you a while for you to get stretched back out, for you to be a starter. It's far more complicated than we tend to think, especially when it comes to just switching and turning it off, turning it on, right? I understand Soroka and his position

as far as this decision to come to this team as well. He came to this team and he signed with this team to be a starting pitcher. Had it been conveyed to him that there was a possibility that he wouldn't be that, who knows if he would have still signed with this team? Who knows if that would have been a shot. choice. So it's an interesting development. And I think, again, competition is going to bring out the best

and all of these guys. Kind of has to because, you know, again, there's, there's a lot on the line for this team. And I mean, you could argue that right now there isn't, there isn't many spots available. So the guys that are kind of on the outside looking in are going to have to give it their best. And even the guys that are kind of in the starting rotation now, or at least the ones we think are locks, have to continue to perform or else they might not find themselves in the starting rotation either. I doubt that's the case for most of them, but you just never know. You never know with this team. But we're going to take a quick break.

On the other side of this break, we get to talk about MLBPA having a new chief executive and why this might be a good thing or a bad thing for the lockout. And we really don't know. But what we do know is Tony Clark really fumbled the ball. And that's not even a baseball reference. That's a football one, but we're going to talk about on the other side of this break. Don't you go anywhere. You're watching the pH next time in Back show.

Well, you guys know I'm a huge NASCAR fan, and I'm about to become a huge IndyCar fan because coming up here very shortly, you are going to be able to see both of these wonderful racing organizations happen on the same weekend, on the same track right here at Phoenix Raceway. For the first time ever, NASCAR and NTT IndyCar series are racing during the same weekend at Phoenix Raceway, and you get a front row seat. all of it. Nothing delivers the intensity of watching live racing action. It is incredible and you have to get out there to feel the electricity in the air and also the engines that you feel the engines in the air. It's the kind of energy you just really have to attend in person to understand.

Also, you got to get down on the Desert Diamond Casino Infield Experience, which is the best access in all of motorsports or perhaps even the best access in all of sports, period. You get to go inside the garages. You get to walk the track, meet the drive. drivers and catch the pre-race concert. There are camping options available and ticket options available as well. So do not miss out on this historic weekend, March 5th through March 8th, out there at Phoenix Raceway. You can watch, of course, the 2025 Cup series champion Kyle Larson returned to the same track

where he won at all. Secure your seats now at the link in our description. And of course, like I said, time is running out for me. Baseball season is right around the corner. I have to get these projects done. and I have to get them done now around my home, and I'm doing it with my friends at the Window Depot. They are helping me out.

They have all sorts of options, including right now. You can get flooring at the Window Depot. So if you are looking for a full project to get started on, get all of your refurbishments done, you can check out the flooring options that they currently have available at all Tucson stores, coming soon here to Phoenix. But besides that, they have everything else you need. They got windows, they got doors, they got skylights,

countertop sinks and more everything is in stock everything is ready for pickup it's the reason why contractors love the window depot it's their job site ready quantities and the fact that they have unbeatable prices plus no membership is required any of us can go there and take advantage of the wonderful prices that the window depot has to offer they also have in-house designers that are completely free of charge that can help you get your next project plan and started today so do not miss out on the window depot more than just a window store visit the window depot dot com and get started on your next project right now. Well, the MLB Players Association has a new chief executive after former Dback, Tony Clark,

stepped down amid multiple scandals. Pick your poison on that, whether it's the scandal that he slept with his sister-in-law, apparently, or had inappropriate relations with her, whether it's the fact that they were involved in multiple scandals involving outside organizations, or at least one of those is an organization they started. That was a youth baseball program that wasn't actually. holding events. But now what came yesterday was the MLBPA picking a replacement for Tony Clark and the MLBPA's executive board, which features 72 player reps, voted unanimously to appoint

Bruce Meyer as the new interim executive director. Meyer was already serving as the union's deputy executive director under Tony Clark and chief negotiator going into this transition here. And now they have, instead of a player in charge of the MLBPA, they once again have legal counsel, somebody with legal experience. And that is probably pretty important considering what they are about to go through here with the CBA expiring on December 1st, 2026. Negotiants with the league are expected to begin in spring training now. So they are not waiting until the CBA expires. That's the reason why it was so important to get somebody here in place of Tony Clark so quickly. And obviously we know a lockout is widely anticipated if a deal isn't reached in a timely fashion.

Owners are expected to push hard for structural changes, including a salary cap, something that has been a longstanding red line with the Players Association. So Meyer isn't brought in here as an unknown. He's been the chief negotiator on multiple key deals, including the 20, 22 CBA that ended the 99-day lockout, and he's already involved, he's already been involved in the bargaining strategy. So this moves makes a lot of sense for them to not start completely over with a new person running the MLBPA. The union has signaled that the basic direction and priorities of the CBA fight won't change despite the leadership shakeup. And of course, players definitely needed representation here when it comes to, you know, this huge fight, this historic.

fight that could forever change the landscape of major league baseball. This comes at a critical labor moment. Having Meyer come in and step in for Clark doesn't reset the bargaining process. It actually, I think, might improve the union's negotiating posture. A lot of players are very excited to have Meyer in here leading the charge. So it doesn't necessarily feel like this is a step backwards. Tony Clark had, you know, he was a historic figure there leading the PA. He was the first player to ever do it.

He was the first African American to ever be in charge of the MLBPA. And his resignation due to these scandals feels like a huge disappointment overall considering, you know, how important his time there as the chief executive really was for the PA. I think Clinton Yates wrote an excellent piece in regards to that and how much he had how much he led everyone down, right, overall. But he really did let the players down here with this situation and they just needed somebody to step in and give them a fair shot at this. I have kind of wavered back and forth on this whole situation because of, you know, just because of how unfair baseball seems at times. Obviously being in the Dodgers division only, you know, kind of. makes it worse for us. It only magnifies it because of how difficult the struggle is within this

division to keep up with one of your division rivals just in general, let alone, you know, kind of the idea here that we have to write off winning the division because of how stacked the Dodgers are. Chris Bassett, he is an MLBPA executive subcommittee member, and he had a lot to say when it came to the salary cap, including he alluded to the fact that the salary cap doesn't fix anything at all. He says if you look at every major sport with the salary cap, we have the best parity. The salary cap is not the issue. Having suppressed salaries across the league, so owners make more money is not the answer. And while I can agree with them on that, and I tend to side with the players overall, I do feel like baseball is the only sport that seems to be running

this kind of this position that you can't have a cap or you can't have a floor. Whereas all of these other sports do that, right? You have this big story right now with, you know, the Kansas City Chiefs restructuring Patrick Mahomes' deal. And, I mean, he even brought up the Chiefs. He said, if I would tell you in 25 years, the Dodgers would be going to 10 World Series and winning seven of them. Is that an issue?

Because that's the Patriots, said the Chiefs have been. to what, six or seven, the Philadelphia Eagles have been to four or five. The parody in our sport is better than any other sport. Sure, sure. But what's happened recently has been the Dodgers just completely getting out of control because of the amount of money they make and how

unfair things in the league are, like the Dodgers television deal, versus what the rest of the teams make. And this was all Chris Bassett. Now, there was another tweet I found very, very interesting. And it came from Brian Householder,

B House 50, and he went in on the idea of suppressing the salary argument. Basically, what he said here, which is maybe new information to some people, is that the overall the players or the teams receive money from a central fund. And really what it comes down to is the fact that these players are not, or these teams are not necessarily spending the money that they're getting from this central fund on their teams. The payrolls are far below so many, so much of the spending, right, or what they're receiving.

But at the end of the day, if the floor was raised and the proposed cap was like $240 million and the floor was $160 million, what you would actually see is more players around major league baseball being paid more rather than the extremely. high amounts of salary going just to the best players in the league, right? The top 5% of players he's suggesting are actually suppressing the salary of the other 95%. There's actual purpose of a union, and it's to avoid having elite privilege for the top players in the league. And really what's happening right now is that, right? You're just seeing these absurd contracts. And in some cases, it's a contract that could wreck a team potentially or a contract, you know,

if it doesn't go their way. Or in the case of the Dodgers, you have a team that has so much money that it doesn't matter if one of those big deals don't go their way because they have so many good players that they've added and their payroll is already so high that Tanner Scott not being good hardly impacts them. I mean, it does impact them, but it's easy for them to go out and find a replacement overall. But again, there's an interesting battle going on here already when it comes to the idea of a salary cap or salary floor and what is exactly going to fix baseball. I completely understand how baseball is different than any other sport when it comes to the individual athlete's journey.

Players go through so much for so long before they're actually able to get this big payday that I understand the union not wanting to restrict what. any player is able to get at the end of the day after how long they have to go you know with making a minimal salary as a minor league player and struggling through those years before they can get to a point of making not only decent money but achieving their ultimate goal of getting that big contract that they're seeking right so uh this this whole thing is is isn't great and really what it comes down to is the amount of teams that are paying less money for their entire payroll than the Dodgers are going to spend on Kyle Tucker alone in

26. That needs to be corrected. But it's also fair to say that the Dodgers spending $500 million also needs to be corrected. Right. So we'll see what happens. But the salary cap battle is not starting after the season ends. It's starting now and we're going to see it go on and be negotiated throughout this entire year. Right. So one great way to do that is to bring in a new sponsor. And now Mountain Dew Baja Blast is going to be the official soft drink of Major League Baseball. I know one guy in the world that's super excited for that.

And it's my friend Tim Agney and he's super pumped. But yes, that is true. That is a real thing. Mountain Dew Baja Blast is, according to this press release, swinging for the fences and joining. Major League Baseball is the official soft drink of the 2026 MLB season. This makes all the sense in the world. In fact, I would argue that the phrase Baja Blast already sounds like a nickname for a home run.

Does it not? Are we not going to be calling every single home run that Cotel Marte hits during that Mexico City series against the Padres? Are we not going to call every one of those home runs a Baja blast? I know it doesn't take in the Baja or take place in the Baja Peninsula. it's more in the centralized portion of Mexico. I don't care. Baja Blast is such a perfect name for a home run. This should have been done years ago.

This shouldn't have taken so long. And also, I feel like there's a connection there with Taco Bell as well. We need to get that sound of the bell ringing as also a thing with home runs. Right now, somewhere Max Simpson is furious with me because of the amount of free ads I'm giving out. And it's not even Friday yet. It's almost Friday. It's Friday Eve. So maybe this is free Friday.

Free Ad Friday E, but speaking of ads, make sure to go check out our merch sale. If you haven't done so already, we're running a 30% off sitewide sale on all of our merch. So you can go get yourself some new shirts, get yourself all fitted up and ready for baseball season. Make sure to get yourself the Jesse Jr. shirt. That's the most important one. But of course, check out our Arizona Over Everything collection. Those shirts are amazing. All sorts of great stuff.

Our new villain shirt is out there. This sale ends on Sunday. So visit store. Allcitynetwork.com slash collection slash PhNX dash logger or just go to go phtonx.com and click on our merch link from there. But we thank you guys so much for joining us. We appreciate your time. I'm going to let Shane go back to living in Denver for the time being and being cold because I know he's very cold.

It's not great here, but it's going to get warmer starting tomorrow. Can't wait to see all of you guys out there for spring training games tomorrow. I was like 28 here tomorrow. Derek. 28? It's 65 here and I was chilly. I had to wear a light coat. My feet are popsicles.

Tomorrow, spring training games. We'll be back at noon tomorrow. We're kind of a pregame show for the spring training game. So make sure to join us for that. Then I hope to see you guys out there for our first spring training game on Friday. Then, you know, I got to go and live the world of being a professional wrestling manager this weekend. Until Monday or until tomorrow, I should say. Hope you guys all have a wonderful evening.

We'll see you guys back here at 12. Behave yourselves. You can follow me on Twitter at cap underscore caveman with a K. You can follow Shane and his adventures in the great north from here at Shane Deef. Our show is at PHNX underscore Dbacks, but as always all roads lead to at PHNX underscore sports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Thank you guys again for your time. Appreciate you so much. We'll see you back here tomorrow.

Until then, have a wonderful evening. kids. Baseball is fun, but it's so much more fun when you let the world know that you're going to be the fifth starter.