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The Winds of Change: MLB's Biggest Offseason Storylines and the Phillies' Next Moves · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia Sports Table
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Podcast Show, the longest running weekly Philly sports podcast show
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: in the world. Over 13 and a half years strong,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: we got a great discussion coming your way this week
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: as we focus on this Major League Baseball offseason that
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: is almost here. A look at this postseason and... What's
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: in store for the Philadelphia Phillies? We've got a few
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: storylines that we're going to be discussing with our good
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: friend from philliesnation.com. It's always great to see her.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: Always appreciate her taking the time. Ms.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Destiny Legardo, thank you so much for jumping on Table
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Talk this week.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks for having me, Jeff. I'm excited to talk
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: about baseball.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: I know. You know, it's almost the end of the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: season here. We still have the World Series, thankfully, for
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: us baseball fans that truly love the game. And we're
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: certainly going to get into some Phillies storylines later in
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: a bit, as I mentioned, destiny, but this major league
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: baseball post season has really been fun.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: To watch in a lot of ways.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: If you're a regular baseball fan, casual baseball fan, and
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: I'm going to say this right now, we're going to
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: get into them a little bit later here, but I'm
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: honestly glad the Dodgers were eliminated.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: And the fact that they were swept, I absolutely loved it.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Uh, given who and what that baseball team is. And again,
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: we'll get to that because all the money was for
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: that roster, and they were swept.
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: It just, it made me happy.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: And I think the Brewers have a really great story
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: heading into this World Series here. What are your thoughts
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: on this Major League Baseball postseason, how it's gone this far,
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: some of the storylines we've been following?
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it kind of, It's not surprising because this is
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: the way the game has been trending for years, but
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: it is striking just how little offense there is in
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: the postseason. And I think for a casual observer and
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: even somebody like me who likes to see a few
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: more home runs and a few more clutch hits in
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: the playoffs, just the amount of dominant pitching there is
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: every day. And with some of these off days, these
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: guys are throwing, you know, it's a seven game series.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: They're throwing six out of seven games. Yeah. Um, and
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: just how much the little things matter. I know that
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: the raisin guardians have made some errors in their series,
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: but good defense, man, it wins you a lot of
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: games in the playoffs. So there were times in this
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Philly season where they were making mistakes, not only on
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: the field, but in the base pass where I'm like,
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: how is this going to, how is this going to
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: play in October? Cause you can't make those mistakes. So, um,
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: In general, just when you get to this point, the
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: really good teams are the ones that have the fundamentals down.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: They have really good bullpens. Most of the teams have
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: good starters, but if they don't, they're able to ride
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: their bullpen. And everybody says it's not really about how
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: much offense. It's more about the timely hits just because
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: the pitching is so good.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Well, you said something there, and I wasn't going to
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: get into any Phillies talk right now. I was going
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: to do it after the break. But you said something there, Destiny,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: that was so incredibly poignant, I think, with regard to
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: this Phillies team and where they want to go in
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: the future.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: You said good defense wins games in playoffs.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: And we've got certain players on this Phillies team, when
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: it comes to their defense, not all that great.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: And specifically, I'm talking about Trey Turner.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think to myself, if the Phillies were
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: to have gotten to the postseason, because of the great
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: defense we've seen thus far, And because of how important
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: the shortstop position is and the defense with shortstop position,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: Trey Turner, he's not that guy that we could count
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: on in these situations here. And it just leads me
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: to believe that we may need to see something else
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: with Trey Turner in the future because he's not going
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: anywhere anytime soon.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: Maybe he is.
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: I don't know. Who knows?
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Doubtful, but it's just, it's a great theme you brought
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: up and reflecting on this with the Phillies and specifically
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: our shortstop position, it makes me wonder.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I come out of that press conference thinking a
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: little bit. Maybe Trey Turner convinced Dave to give him
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: another chance at shortstop. Maybe they, meaning the team, went
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: into it thinking that Trey will be more, not in agreement,
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: but willing to move off just because he understands the
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: reality of his season. if I were to make an
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: argument for Trey staying at shortstop, it did get much
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: better in the last two months of the year. So
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: if you want some hope there, but yeah, it is
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: surprising that they're sort of dragging this on saying that
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: we'll evaluate in spring training and and throughout the regular season,
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: if he makes three errors in a game, they'll be
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: calling for his head again. So I don't know how
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: that's going to go. Offensively, he just had such an
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: unfathomably bad year to the point where you say to yourself,
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: there's no way it could happen again. I think he
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: knows that he has to really go to the drawing
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: board and look at his swing, look at his decision-making
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: at the plate, and be– more open to change.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: After that season, you have to really be open to everything.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: But he's not going anywhere. He's signed to a really
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: long contract. Any GM that's trading for him this offseason
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: should get fired, if we're being honest. They're going to
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: have to make it work with Trey. And it seems
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: like this year they really wanted to work at shortstop again.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: At some point, he's going to have to move off
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: the position because you can't have somebody that's close to
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: 40 play in shortstop. Yep. I thought it would be
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: next year, but apparently this will drag on for at
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: least a little bit longer.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: It will. Yeah.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: And let's get again, folks, we're going to get to
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: some Phillies talk after we take our first break, which
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: is not now because I want to dive back into
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: the postseason, but more along the lines of looking at
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Dodgers again, eliminated, being swept by the Brewers.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: And honestly, what was a fascinating series to me, just
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: the sweeping dominance of of the Brewers. And I'm actually,
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: I'm actually pulling for the Brewers from here on out, actually,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: because I think they have a great story and it's
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: been so long for that team and organization.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: But in terms of the Dodgers, they are just stacked
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: everywhere on the team.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: As we know, when it comes to the level of talent,
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: the contracts are absolutely insane. Destiny, what, if anything, does
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: this say about the highest paid team in baseball where
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: they can get swept?
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: In the manner that they did.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: Because I ask you that question thinking, I don't think
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: it's really going to change anything in terms of the dynamics.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: We're going to get to the CBA.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Issue in a little bit here, and how things could
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: be affected with the upcoming collective bargaining agreement. But I
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: just wonder if this does anything or what it says
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: for the highest paid team in baseball where they can
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: have a pretty successful regular season and then just get
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: totally swept by the Milwaukee Brewers.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: I mean, the Dodgers, they do have by far the
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: highest payroll in baseball, but they're not without their flaws.
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: And this postseason, Shohei Otani was not himself at all.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Will Smith had a couple of big hits there. later
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: in the DS, but he was not good at it
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: last year. They had a, they had a really old
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: lineup and then they were a year older this year. Um,
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: they didn't win the world series last year because of
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: their lineup. I mean, Shohei Otani is kind of the exception.
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: He was a Superman at points in the playoffs last year. Um,
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: but they won it because they had such a good
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: starting rotation and Yamamoto just went on an incredible run. Um,
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: And this year, it seemed like their starting rotation couldn't
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: cover those holes the same way they did last year.
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: And the Brewers are just such a good team. They
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: have a lot of really good young players. Some of
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: them they develop. Some of them they identify through trades
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: and free agency, smaller signings. They always have really good
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: pitching development. So anybody they're bringing out of their bullpen,
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: they're throwing heat, they can rely on. They're never going
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: to be like the Phillies where they only have– two
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: or three guys in the bullpen that you could throw
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: out there in a playoff game. So, I mean, I
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: think the Dodgers were at their most vulnerable this year
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: and it definitely showed. I don't think that necessarily means
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: that their quote unquote dynasty is over. I think they
• 8:57
  Speaker 3: will rebound from this. There'll be a playoff team again,
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: and there'll be a world series contender again next year,
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: salary cap or not. And even if there is a
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: salary cap and, which I don't think is likely to happen,
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: but if there is, they're still going to be one
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: of the best teams in baseball because they have the organizational,
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: they have very good player development. They know how to
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: win without, it's not just about the payroll. They know
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: how to win.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they do.
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: And it's a good segue. You mentioned, you know, possible
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: salary cap. I as well do not believe we are
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: going to see a salary cap in baseball. Who the
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: heck knows if that will ever happen, but This collective
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: bargaining agreement issue is right around the corner for Major
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: League Baseball, and I think us baseball fans really will
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: be watching intently as we're all wondering whether we're going
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: to see a full 2027 baseball season or not. The
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: core points here are that possible salary cap versus the
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: tax system, local TV and revenue sharing, minimum salaries. These
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: are some of the issues that are going to be
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: talked about within the new CBA. And there will also
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: be negotiations about how long the season will be and
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: whether there should be even a longer postseason. That's going
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: to be an interesting aspect of this. December 1st, is
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. And I think,
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: I personally think this is going to go well into January,
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: possibly February, because as we know with negotiations with anything,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: it's gotten to the point where everything is last minute.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, whether it's in sports, whether it's in government,
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: whether it's whatever the negotiation is, everything is always last
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: minute because everybody wants leverage and time is leverage. So
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: What are your thoughts on what we may or may
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: not see with this new collective bargaining agreement when it's
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: all said and done here?
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I don't want to sound like a doomer
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: at all. you could guarantee that there will be a
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: lockout on December 1st. I will be absolutely shocked if
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: there isn't. And I think people would be celebrating in
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: the streets. If there is it, you could also guarantee
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: that spring training will not start on time. Players will
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: not report on time. I don't know if you could
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: guarantee right now that there will be missed games, but
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: you're right. It's more about timing. Like they're always going
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: to wait until pressure points come up, whether it's, you know,
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: starting the season on time, whether it's, two months into
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: the season. If they don't have a deal by then,
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: then the new negotiations for the national media rights deal
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: move back a year. So I think when you're looking
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: at more, how long is this going to take? You
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: have to look at those pressure points and understand what
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: they mean and where they are. As far as the
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: CBA goes and how long this will actually drag out,
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: I've I'm optimistic that there will be baseball in 2027.
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: I'm even optimistic that there will be baseball, regular season
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: baseball in April. It's just a matter of when do
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: the owners come off the salary cap? Because you also
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: have to think about it. If there's not going to
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: be a salary cap, then you have to figure out,
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: are you Moving forward with the current system, what's the
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: luxury tax number going to be? Because that was a
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: big sticking point last time, and it led to them
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: almost missing games last year. And then all the issues
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: around it, like an international draft, the qualifying offer, the
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: way they implement new rules. All those things are secondary to...
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: whether or not there's going to be a salary cap,
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: and you mentioned the length of the regular season, but
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: there's still big issues that you need to discuss. So
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: if it's very late in the process and the owners
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: are still on the salary cap, then this is going
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: to drag on for a very long time.
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: It's going to be interesting to watch. Again, folks, Destiny
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: Legardo from philliesnation.com. Destiny, where can folks find you out
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: there if they want to follow you on the interwebs?
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: But yeah, read the articles on philliesnation.com first and foremost.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: Read the articles.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Real quick, read the articles, folks. You don't have to
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: just read the headlines. Just read the article. Then again,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: that's not the society we live in, right?
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: You don't even have to read. I always say this.
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: You don't even have to read. Just click on the stories.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: Because that helps us out tremendously.
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: Twitter slash X, Destiny underscore Lugardo. I'm under that same
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: handle on TikTok, though. I'm not as active as I
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: would like to be. So Hopefully, if there is a
• 13:26
  Speaker 3: baseball season next year, I am.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: That's pretty much where you could find me. All right.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Sounds good. Folks, we're going to take a break.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: When we get back, we're going to be diving in
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: to some Philadelphia Phillies offseason talk.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: Stick with us.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: All right. We're back with Destiny Legardo from PhilliesNation.com. I
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: have been giving so much thought to what this upcoming
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: offseason is going to look like as all of us
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: Phillies fans have been destiny. And I really want to
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: get into the future of the catcher position with you here.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: Your colleague over at PhilliesNation.com, Ty Daubert, great writer, always
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: has interesting, interesting takes and how he's writing up his articles.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: He put up a piece recently about JT Real Muto.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: likely catching fewer games next year. And what does this
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: mean for the backup catcher position? And, you know, Dave
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Dombrowski was, he was very honest actually when asked about
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: it recently and JT admitted and Dombrowski had told us
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: that Real Muto is feeling more and more mentally drained.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: And I think that is an issue. It's not necessarily
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: physically drained, but mentally drained from playing the game of
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: baseball and what he's been doing over Behind home plate.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: How do you see this storyline really manifesting itself over
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: this season? Because I've been concerned about the catcher position
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: now for well over the past couple seasons and what
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: the future of it looks like.
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: What are your thoughts?
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm glad you pointed this out. remember last year, um,
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: we all remember last year, uh, Dave Dombrowski's comments about
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: Bryce Harper really blew up and it became a point
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: of contention. Um, we, we haven't really heard about it
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: right now, but I wouldn't be surprised if spring training
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: rolls around and JT is not very happy about Dave
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: Dombrowski airing out his, uh, business in that way. Cause
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: even in, when he asked, when he was asked about
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: Trey Turner, he talked about the conversation they had, but
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: they never really talked about how Trey Turner feels about
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: all this. And I'm sure JT doesn't, I mean, I
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: asked him in the playoffs about the ABS system and
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: how mentally draining that could be. And he gave me
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: an interesting answer about it's not really it's he's more
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: reactionary to the ABS system. But I think in general,
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: over the years, there's so much preparation that comes with
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: being a catcher. And he does so much of it.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: And that's really his calling card right now. he's not
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: really an offensive contributor, but he's still the best catcher
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: behind the plate when it comes to game planning and
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: the pitchers really trust him. And that's where all his
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: value is. There's a lot of work that goes into it,
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: not just within the game and the, you know, having
• 16:20
  Speaker 3: to think about the next pitch and what the best
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: call is, you know, hundreds of times of games, but
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: all hundreds of times a game, but also all the
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: prep that goes book, with into it before the actual game.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: So I'm not really surprised to hear that JT is
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: kind of feeling it in that way. Um, it is
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: encouraging to hear that he feels better physically. Um, they
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: do have to get another catcher to, to work with him. Um,
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: there's been a, uh, a really an incredible amount of
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: continuity in that position within the organization. I think I
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: was looking it up. The only other catcher that has
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: played for the Phillies over the last, what, four years
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: that isn't, you know, JT Stubbs or Marshawn is Aramis Garcia.
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: And he caught like two games in 2024. So not
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: a lot of organizations have this, um, So they're definitely
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: going to have to find somebody. I don't know if
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: you could get anybody in the free agent market or trade,
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: but it'll definitely benefit JT to catch fewer games.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: Absolutely will.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: And look, I mean, there's another aspect of this team
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: that we're hoping can be beneficial in the future. And
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: I don't know after this season if the bullpen can be,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: but with Don Mattingly coming back now as the manager
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: for this team, I don't necessarily have all the confidence
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: in the world about how.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: He's going to manage the bullpen.
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: And then again, I'm thinking we all hope we are
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: all hoping that we see a different bullpen, a much
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: different bullpen in 2027. And I'm wondering if we're. talking
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: about five or six possibly new strategic pieces coming into
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: the bullpen this coming year, because it seems like that's
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: what this team really needs, Destiny. Or are we going
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: to see more of the same when it comes to
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: the bullpen here? Because that is huge for this team
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: and organization as they're moving forward.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the right side of the bullpen is
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: going to look very familiar. There's going to be some
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: turnover on the left side, and I know they re-signed
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: Tim Mazza, who I think did a really good job
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: for them in a middle relief role, and they're glad
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: to have him back, especially Don always warmed Tim Mazza
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: up no matter what. Yes, he did. What about Tim
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: Mazza's warming up in the bullpen? So I think he'll
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: be an important piece for Don Mattingly. But on the
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: right side, unless you trade– duron and try to get
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: a few other players for him like some help in
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: the lineup maybe you turn him into multiple bullpen arms
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: um you know he's gonna stay i would pencil in
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: alex mcfarland into that orion kirkering hopefully a little bit
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: better than orion but as that younger reliever that has
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: options but you don't think you're gonna option down to
• 19:11
  Speaker 3: the minor leagues because you trust him They really like
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: Caleb Killian, and they traded for him at the deadline,
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: and he got hurt immediately. But they do believe that
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: if he spends the next few months in what they
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: call their program, they can make some changes with him
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: as far as his delivery and some things he does
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: for his health. I think they're counting on him to
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: be a big part of their bullpen next year. I
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: mentioned before Meza. Jonathan Bolin, he kind of faded down
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: the stretch.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: At the end of last year, but he's going to
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: be counted on unless they trade him. He's going to
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: be a part of their bullpens. so there's going to
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: be some familiarity. I think they have to do a
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: lot of work on the left-hand side. Um, I, I
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: wouldn't go into next year County on Tanner banks to
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: be a big part of it. Alvarado, they're not going
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: to resign him. So they have to replace him in
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: the bullpen. I don't know if you want to aim big. I've,
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: I loved Adrian more home from the Padres at the deadline.
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: He's a free agent. Now he might get a qualifying offer,
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: which might make him really expensive. Um, so yeah, if
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: he doesn't get a qualifying offer, I would definitely go
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: after him and have him be, you know, the guy
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: in the eighth inning that you go to.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: But there, there will be some change in the bullpen,
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: but I think people are going to be a little
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: bit surprised to see there. There will be some familiar
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: names there next year.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: It's going to be contentious within the world of Philly's
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Nation for sure. Yeah.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: Some of the names do come back. But to close
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: us out here, Destiny, and look, I read the piece
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: that was put up on phillysnation.com where all of you
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: writers were asked about whether Bryce Harper should actually stay
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: or go.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: And everyone said he should stay.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: I am in that belief as well. I believe Bryce
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: Harper should stay because there is that discourse out there
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: Should he stay?
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: Should he go?
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: Should he be traded so that they can start building
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: for something else in the future? Look, he was one
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: of the bright, I should say, few bright spots offensively
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: this year. And while I do believe he won't waive
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: his full no trade clause, I'm wondering, are there any
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: other players who actually might because they need a new
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: start or need a new change of scenery for their careers?
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: I mean, are you thinking that any of these quote
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: top players and top paid players who the Phillies could
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: potentially get assets for and just how the team may
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: look potentially different or may want to look potentially different
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: may come to fruition here.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: What are your thoughts here?
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know if this will happen this year.
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: I would say no. I would be very surprised if
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: Bryce gets traded and I'm, you know, I, I wrote
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: in that story, I would keep him. He was one
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: of your best offensive player, probably the best offensive player
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: on the team. So I would hold on to him
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: no matter what, but you know, among Schwarber and Trey
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: and Bryce, like, I think if, For some reason, both
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: sides wanted to move on. That contract is movable. He's
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: still a very good player. It's a lot of money.
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: But I think another team would take that on if
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: they could. But this year, I don't think that's going
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: to happen. There are a ton of guys with no
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: trade clauses. We mentioned Trey. That was negotiated into his contract.
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: Schwarber actually now has a no trade clause because he
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: hit his 10-5 rights. JT, he just resigned. He's one
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: of those 10-5 guys. I don't think he's going anywhere. Nola,
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: if I were another GM, I'd like the end of
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: Nola's season. I wouldn't trade for that contract. Maybe that's
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: something a little bit down the line. They think about
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: if Nola wants to change a scenery, but then again,
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: for all these guys, it's a matter of, do they
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: want to move and they have to, to want to
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: get out of here. And I know sometimes the way
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: it works is if a team really wants you to go,
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: like you'll waive your no trade calls because you know
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: that you're not wanted. Yeah. But again, Yeah, I think
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: that's the challenge for Dombrowski, and I applaud him for
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: acknowledging that he is, I wouldn't say part of the issue,
• 23:29
  Speaker 3: but he's the one that signed a lot of these contracts,
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: so he has responsibility for the roster being so inflexible.
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: And we talked before about these teams that are left
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: in the playoffs. They don't have a lot of big contracts,
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: so there is a lot of room in the offseason
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: for these teams to trade for players at like bring
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: in other players. Um, that's just, it's, it's hard to
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: do on this Phillies roster where there's so many guys
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: under these contracts. Um, So, yeah, I don't anticipate that
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: being a discussion this offseason. But further down the line,
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: when they're closer to, I don't want to say a
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: full-on rebuild, but they're closer to not being that consistent
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: playoff team year in and year out, it'll be interesting
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: to see where it goes.
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: It absolutely will, as will this offseason.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: Again, the collective bargaining agreement storyline is going to be
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: huge for Major League Baseball and how it affects baseball.
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: All major league baseball teams.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: So that being said, she's destiny Legardo folks, Philly's nation.com.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: My friend, always great to see, uh, and always great
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: talking with you as well. Can, uh, let's get together again.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Talk about this Philly's off season. What's happening with major
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: league baseball down the road. I'd love to have you
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: back on the show.
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: We will. Thank you.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: That's going to do it for us here on Table
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Talk this week. Please share our podcast with your friends
• 24:57
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• 25:00
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• 25:05
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• 25:08
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• 25:10
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• 25:14
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• 25:17
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• 25:20
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• 25:24
  Speaker 2: and we'll catch you next time.