Scott Lauber Previews The Phillies Offseason And What Moves Could Be Coming….

Scott Lauber Previews The Phillies Offseason And What Moves Could Be Coming….

Scott, good morning, man. How you doing today? I’m doing well. How are you guys? We’re doing good. We’re We’re following every single nugget that is the Philadelphia Phillies and their off season right now. Uh so I’m curious. I want to start off with this. Do you believe Dave Dumbrossski will move on from over under three and a half position players from the everyday lineup last year with the Phillies? Wow, that’s a good number. Uh, that’s a good over under. Three and a half. Um, I would say I would say over because I think look, I think Nick Castanos is is is good as gone. Uh, he he’s basically Sowski has basically said that uh when he said that he talked with them after the season and kind of the message was a change of scenery is good for everyone. So, right away that’s that’s one off your list. Um, they’re not going to bring back, I don’t think, all three of Schwarber, Riomuto, Bader. So, that’s probably another one off the list. Um, I mean, do you count Max Kepler because he’s not coming back? Do you count, you know, so that’s three. Um, so yeah, I think you’re right. You’re right on that number and and it’s probably going to be right around that number if you’re talking about regular players or everyday guys. So, um, that’s probably what what you’re what you’re looking at. I would say I would say over, but you know, I could see it coming in right around three as well. Scott, I’ve spent too much time this off season already looking at how older rosters and how old this roster could look if they decide to lock down Schwarber to a long-term deal. It looks like there’s an impending cliff of just age, money, and over the hill guys. And the Phillies seem like uh at least if I go by Dave Neowski’s comments that they really want to do it and they embrace it. Yeah, I mean all you got to do, right, is look back about 15 years uh or 10 years to the, you know, what happened to the 0809 crew and and how and how it it sort of uh a step back every year in the playoffs and and then off the cliff in in 2012 or after 2012. So, you know, you don’t have to look that far, correct? Sort of see what happens. So, no, I mean, look, you’re right. And look, I think that they’re going to tell you, no matter what they do in the offseason, they’re going to tell you that the age thing is going to be mitigated by the fact that Justin Crawford’s going to be here next year as an everyday guy and he’s 20. He’ll be 22 by opening day. Um, you know, I’ll point to Andrew Painter who’s going to be in the rotation at age 22, uh, if he’s on the opening day roster, and I think he will be. So, they’re going to tell you that, you know, finally, um, this is the year where internally they’re getting younger. And so, even if they bring back Schwarber, if they bring back Real Muto, you know, guys who are 34 and 35, they’re going to tell you that that’s offset by the fact that they’ve got Crawford, they’ve got painter, Aiden Miller is on the way. So, that’s how they’re going to sort of position it. And there’s some val validity to that. But, no, you’re right. I mean, you’re right that they’re not getting any younger. And if they were to add a uh you know another free agent in in his 30s um you know that’s not going to help either. So they they are getting a little older. But look that was going to happen with this group because of how many of them are signed to long-term contracts. Scott, when it comes to Kyle Schwarber, I mean I I say it I’m I’m signing him no matter what. John doesn’t want to go past what, like four years is the number that John doesn’t want to go past. The longest I would go. Do you believe that the Phillies desperately need Kyle Schwer back? Or could you see a world in which they go, you know what, we’re not going to reach the money even though we’ve been telling you all along that we will be and we’ll move on and we’ll try to find a replacement for Schwarber or replacements. Well, I’ll answer that by saying this. Um, so it me personally, if I was running the front office, no, I I don’t I don’t think that they should be desperate. I don’t think that they that it’s like Kyle Schwarber or Bust. I think that there are ways that they could go in the off season that don’t involve Kyle Schwarber and still be a really good team next year. Like, you know, you could make an argument uh that they are that that a guy like Alex Bregman might be a better fit for this roster. for a guy like Cody Bellinger um who plays the outfield and first base at an elite level um bats left-handed might not hit 50 homers but he’ll he’ll hit 30 um and gives you more flexibility in the DH spot than you would have if you bring back Kyle Schwarber. So, no, I don’t I don’t think it’s um it’s it’s a you know, it’s a mustave, but I do think that they’re going to bring him back. And I do think that there’s a real argument for bringing him back um because of, you know, number one, the production that you get, number two, the uh the leadership component in the clubhouse. I don’t think that that can be overstated. Uh I I think he’s really um kind of the glue that holds the whole thing together. And so from that standpoint, I think, you know, that’s part of the uh the cost for a player like Kyle Schwarber. And I think it’s a unique cost. Um I think they’re going to bring him back. I I I I still do. I mean, the people that I talked to seem to think that as well, both inside and outside the organization. Now, that’s not to say that another team might not step up and get crazy, right? I mean, maybe the Red Sox decide that Schwarber is their guy more so than Pete Alonzo or or even Bregman and and they offer up a fifth year and uh now you’ve got a stretch to go somewhere where it’s really uncomfortable to go. That could happen. But I mean, I think that uh ultimately he likes it here. Look, I saw the uh I saw the report just as you guys did that the Pirates are looking to spend this off season a little bit more than usual. And what 10 10 cents more? Well, look, I mean, they should because they have Paul Ske, right? So, you’ve got to either trade Paul Ske or try uh to win while you have him. Um, but if I’m Kyle Schwarber, right, and I’ve made the playoffs 10 of my 11 years in in my career, you know, odds are I’m not going there with the Pirates. And so I think that, you know, I was talking to Joe Madden last week for our podcast and and Joe Madden knows Kyle Schwarber very well from their time in Chicago and he said, “Look, I’m not going to tell you that he’s going to give anybody a discount.” But, you know, I’ve never gotten a sense that Schwarber is a guy who’s going to hold out for the last dollar to go just anywhere. He likes it here. He’s comfortable here. His family likes it here. Um I I do think he wants to come back on a fair offer and I think ultimately there’s going to be a fair offer for him to come back here. the the it’s interesting when I hear like you know I monitor fan sites or blog sites and everything and they’re proposing trades and they’re saying well the Phillies should trade Marsh and Boom and Castian and put a package together and I’m like what do people think the market value is for the guys that they’ve got because I look at the guys that they potentially could trade and I don’t see that there’s going to be a much of a return available unless you’re looking to restock minor leagues. I think you’re right about that. You know, I think I think Brandon Marsh probably still has some value to people uh around the league. I don’t think, you know, obviously like Castanos. See, the Castanos thing makes me scratch my head because so the other night uh the Orioles make a trade. They trade uh uh they trade Grayson Rodriguez to get Taylor Ward. Now, on paper, that looks like a lopsided trade. Grayson Rodriguez is 26 years old. He’s got four years of control. I know he missed all of this year with with an elbow injury, but he’s a young controllable pitcher and you’re getting back Taylor Ward who hits a lot of home runs, but he strikes out a lot. He’s 32. He’s going into his walk year. Those don’t look like equal equal uh assets, right? I thought Alec Bow for Taylor Ward was a deal that made sense both for the Angels and for the Phillies, the players lined up in terms of money, in terms of control. But I think what you saw in that trade is how um how much teams are valuing outfield, right? Like there’s just not a whole lot out there right now to get either in free agency or in a trade if you need outfield help. And so Taylor Ward got the Angels a controllable young pitcher. So you know if the Phillies are out there talking about we’ll trade Alec Bow, you have to ask yourself how much you’re going to get. And look, I think that the Taylor Ward trade does actually bode well for the Castanos market because there’s got to be some team out there that would say, “Hey, you pay all 20 million. We’ll take Nick Castianos. A free Nick Castanos might hit us 20 home runs. He might help us in the outfield.” But based on what I hear and you know in talking to people, it just doesn’t sound like there’s been a whole lot of traction on a Castianos trade for the Phillies even if they pick up all the money even with the outfield shortage around baseball. So that one kind of makes me scratch my head because I have a hard time thinking that they’re not going to get something even if it’s a B or C-level prospect for Nick Castanos. All right, last thing for you, Scott. We appreciate the time as always. is you don’t also have to just sign for players. You can trade for players. And you were just mentioning trading away Nick Cassianos. Uh is the names that keep on popping up a Buckton, a Joe Adele, and then pick your catcher because if they do not resign JT Ramuto, I imagine they don’t go into the year saying Raphael Marshon’s our guy. So what’s the more likely name to hear? A Buckston, an Adele, or like an Adley Rutman behind the dish? Well, I think Adele probably comes off the board now that Ward has been traded out of out of Anaheim. I don’t think that they’re going to move on from both Ward and Adele. That leaves them short in the outfield. So, I’d probably cross him off. I mean, I could be wrong. They could decide, you know, to just redo the outfield completely there. But, I think Joe Adell is probably back. Uh Buckton’s the one I keep I keep looking at and calling people about because to me that’s you know there aren’t many players that fit the Phillies needs better than Byron Buckton. I know there are injury concerns there but um he’s in the prime of his career. He is ultra productive when he plays. He is a center fielder. They need a center they’ve needed a center fielder for like 10 years. They should have Joel Embiid pick him up at the airport if they go and make this deal. Honestly, he plays 95 games a year. They can’t. Yeah. No, I know that. I I know that. I know that. And that’s the concern with him. But look at what he does in a year like last year where he’s healthy and and maybe, you know, look, the Phillies, I will tell you this, the Phillies trust their training staff. They have done a good job of for the most part the last three, four years of keeping their players healthy relative to the rest of the league. So, I don’t know, maybe they think that they can keep him healthy. The thing I’m watching with the Twins is what do they do with Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez? Because Byron Buckston has a no trade clause that he said last last year at the All-Star game. He is not going to wave. He said, “I’m a Minnesota Twin for life.” That’s his those are his words. Now, if they trade Joe Ryan or if they trade Pablo Lopez, one of their two top pitchers, that’s a sign that the Twins are in fact just totally rebuilding, totally reloading, even more so than what they did at the deadline where they traded away 10 guys. So, I think if they trade one or both of those pitchers, Bustin could say, “You know what? you know, this twin for life thing that that was good when I thought we were trying, not when I thought we were rebuilding. I think he would wave his no trade uh if they trade those one of those two pitchers or certainly both. So, I’m watching Buckton closely because I’m watching the Twins to see exactly what they do. Uh right now, they’re signaling that they’re going to try to compete with that pitching uh and try to build around it. If that happens, I don’t think he’s going anywhere. If they do trade a pitcher, I do think he would consider moving. So, he’s the one I’m watching. I do agree with you about the catcher situation. I think if JT doesn’t come back, it’s a trade for a catcher. I don’t know who that’s going to be. I don’t think it’s going to be Adley Rutman. I don’t think he’s moving. But, you know, I mean, there are some teams out there. I’ I’ve thought about reverse engineering the Oh trade, right? Like, there are some teams out there that have a young catcher who’s ready for the big leagues, who’s blocked. Seattle’s got Harry Ford. Um, there are others. So, I I’m watching that closely, but you know, I do think that their priority is still to bring back real muto and and and go from there. All right, Scott. Listen, man. We appreciate the time as always. Great work. Good job for the Inquir. Yeah. Yeah. Well, no, that offseason with this Phillies team uh and Phillies Extra, the podcast is tremendous. Keep up the great work, man. We’ll talk to you again soon. Thank you so much for checking out our content here on our YouTube channel. You know, you can like and subscribe and that way you’re never going to miss anything that we’ve got going on right here at 975 the Fanatic.

Scott Lauber joined John and Andrew to discuss the Philadelphia Phillies offseason, and what moves Dave Dombrowski could have up his sleeve.

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