Merrill Kelly, Paul Sewald & Ryan Waldschmidt join FT @D'backs camp

00:00:02
Speaker 1: There we go.

00:00:03
Speaker 2: We got a former Arizona State Sun devil here baby with us, one of my good buddies Meryl Kelly joining us, and one of the head of the rotations. That's gonna be a big focal point. I'm gonna start just because we had one of your new former teammates already, Zach galling with us.

00:00:18
Speaker 3: How big is it to have him back?

00:00:20
Speaker 1: Huge?

00:00:22
Speaker 4: You know, obviously his resume the last couple of years kind of speak for itself. But I think he's a guy, you know, on and off the field that the guys in the clubhouse rely on. Then they they go to when there's a big time situation, and just to have another anchor in the rotation another piece of depth, is obviously huge.

00:00:39
Speaker 3: He's I think, Yeah, sorry, Scott.

00:00:41
Speaker 5: You I just wanted to ask while we're on that topic, you know, for you, I mean, you guys actually had very different off seasons. You signed pretty early, Zach had to wait for a long time, and we spoke to z Act like forty minutes ago about the qualifying offer. He had, you know, kind of an up and down season, the second half much better than the first. So for you, what was the free agent process, like it seems pretty smooth.

00:01:07
Speaker 4: Uh yeah, mine was, like you said, probably a lot more fun than his was. I'm just watching his from afar, you know, being so close. We played golf, you know, probably once a week in the offseason, and every time I'd see him, I'd ask him what we got, and and every time he told me nothing.

00:01:23
Speaker 1: It was it was shocking.

00:01:25
Speaker 4: I mean, I don't think anybody, like you said, the down season, but I don't think anybody could have imagined the offseason that he had.

00:01:31
Speaker 1: But for me, it was cool.

00:01:33
Speaker 4: I mean, obviously the fact that these guys were first in the first on the table. You know, they made it very clear early, even going back to the trade last year, that that was their goal, and the.

00:01:44
Speaker 1: Fact that they showed up.

00:01:45
Speaker 4: You know, there's not a lot of times I feel like that you leave a team and then are able and lucky enough to come back to the place that you want. I'll be forever grateful for these guys, you know, sitting here going into my eighth year coming back from Korea. You know, I don't think I ever could have imagined and still be in here, not only in the big leagues, but also being a diamondback so it's pretty cool to see the fact that they you know, they what their words were towards the end, you know, were actually real, and they made it very apparent that they wanted me back.

00:02:16
Speaker 6: You're one of the few guys that gets traded and comes back, right, So that had to make you feel special, because most guys get traded and they never get to come back to their original organization. So that, I mean that right there tells me they must have wanted you bad, bad, because it's pretty awesome as a player to have that feeling.

00:02:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, like I said, I'm lucky.

00:02:36
Speaker 4: Like you said, I don't think too many guys get the opportunity to go back to a team that they were traded from. Usually for at least from what I've seen, Usually when you get traded, it's kind of like, all right, thanks for your service, but we're gonna move on. But like I said, even the conversations the day of the trading deadline with Hayes and Amiel and all the front office, it was kind of a conversation of like, hey, we got to do this at the time. You know, your values high and we got to get some pieces for you. But I feel like I left it off with Hayes saying that he'll be we'll be talking in a couple of months, and they were definitely first in the ring.

00:03:07
Speaker 5: What was it like for you in Texas?

00:03:10
Speaker 4: Uh, Texas was cool. It actually worked out because my mom and my brother live out there now. They live in Allen, Texas, about fifteen minutes outside the city. So it was nice being able to be coming from one place that has family to the other place my other half of the family is.

00:03:23
Speaker 1: So it was actually pretty comfortable.

00:03:25
Speaker 2: Did you learn any of Mike Maddox when you're out there? Yeah, a short time.

00:03:30
Speaker 1: Not too much.

00:03:30
Speaker 4: Obviously, those times are limited, and I feel like when you get traded to an ORG, it's kind of like, Hey, we brought you here for a reason.

00:03:36
Speaker 1: And we want you to Yeah, we want you to do you and do what you do to get over here.

00:03:42
Speaker 4: So the sample size was pretty small, and I feel like at that point it was just kind of let's bear down and try to get to the playoffs as much as we can.

00:03:49
Speaker 5: Hey, Meryl, you know Ken Rosenthal part of the the ft network here. I saw that he said there might have been a little bigger offer in terms of guaranteed money from a from another tea T can you can you speak to that at all? If there was another team, I mean, hey, you're now locked in for two years. Were you considering another ball club potentially in California and decided, Hey, I've got my setup really nicely here. I've been with Arizona. I've got the home in Arizona. Take us through that part of the process.

00:04:18
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I think, first and foremost, going into the off season, it was pretty clear, you know, I made it pretty clear I wanted to be a diamondback my whole big league career. Coming back here was always first and foremost. It was always the priority. But yeah, there was a team out in California. I think everybody can pretty much figure out who that was. There was a three year offer guaranteed on the table, but the numbers, and like you said, the home situation with the family and my kids getting older and school coming into play, and you know, I don't think any it's any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California. There was a lot of factors that went into the three year deal. It was definitely entice and it definitely made the decision a lot harder to come back here. But once Arizona, once these guys got to kind of the number that they did, it just made a lot more sense to come back here.

00:05:11
Speaker 6: Was that team. Does that team wear blue? That's all I'm gonna ask.

00:05:14
Speaker 4: That team doesn't that team does not wear blue red orange. They're a little further south than the team. They're a little further south than the team that wears blue. They're a little closer to home. That's another reason why it made it so such a challenging decision because living on uh, living on Cornado, I feel here as a is a pretty good question.

00:05:32
Speaker 7: Sales Vagina, and.

00:05:37
Speaker 4: That was like it worked out best for us because that was honestly our second choice. It was between here and San Diego going into the off season, though the San Diego was like really the only place that if we did go somewhere that was probably you know, high on our list. If we weren't in Arizona, It's like, all right, let's just hop over and take a short six hour drive to San Diego. But yeah, the desert is the desert is home. We're not I guess we're not ocean people. We're more Desert Rats.

00:06:03
Speaker 6: Meryl, you're the first person ever that's been offered a bunch of money to go live in San Diego and said, no, I think so. That's just let's just now, when you pitch against them, they're gonna be like, oooh, you hate San Diego.

00:06:15
Speaker 7: He's such a bad guy san Diego.

00:06:18
Speaker 4: No, I love San Diego. It's just like I said, they take too much money out of my pocket.

00:06:23
Speaker 8: Man.

00:06:23
Speaker 4: The taxes over there are are a different level. We had some numbers, guys run the number. No, we had the we had my numbers, got to run the numbers, and it just made more sense to come home, which is crazy on a two year compared to a three year, right.

00:06:37
Speaker 5: Right, Yeah, a three year if if it's lower AAV and then you've got the huge tax difference.

00:06:42
Speaker 9: You know.

00:06:42
Speaker 5: We've actually explained that quite frequently on this show, just to give some perspective to people.

00:06:47
Speaker 1: Okay, and La Joya and La Joya ain't cheap, you know.

00:06:50
Speaker 7: No, Yeah, you know you can live Inland, Hey, maryl.

00:06:56
Speaker 4: To San Diego and live away from the beach. That's what's the point of that. I might as well live by with the scorpions.

00:07:01
Speaker 3: It's a fair rebuttal.

00:07:03
Speaker 7: He's the scorpion King.

00:07:04
Speaker 5: Actually, you know what, So we spoke to Drake Jamison earlier and he called you the change up Wizard. What would be your number one tip to youngsters out there trying to learn how to effectively use a change up in their repertoire in you know, college or wherever. I mean, we get a lot of young fans that listen and love hearing these conversations. And I'm young players I should say that are aspiring to be you.

00:07:28
Speaker 4: That's high praise from from Dre because his heater is on a different level.

00:07:33
Speaker 1: I would say the biggest thing for me and the change up is the arm speed.

00:07:37
Speaker 4: You know, I think anytime you try to detract and I've never been good at physically changing speeds, you know, like mentally trying to subtract an ad speed, Like my throw is just kind of my throw, It's just kind of the way it comes out. Like That's why I think if you look at my velocities, everything is very compact. But I think I get away with that because everything I try to make everything look the same. And I think that would probably be the biggest tip for youngsters is don't necessarily worry about the movement too much. I think gravity in the mound and the grip.

00:08:11
Speaker 1: Will do most of that.

00:08:12
Speaker 4: But if I had to give one tip, it would probably just be try to throw it the same as your fastball. I feel like hitters. You know, you guys can probably attest to this. If you saw a guy with good arm speed and it looks the same as a heater, even if it's not moving as much, your timing is still going to be off because the way it presents, the way it comes out of my hand, and the way I let it go is going to make it look more like a heater than anything else.

00:08:34
Speaker 1: And I think when.

00:08:36
Speaker 4: Guys try to slow up and are worried about the speed differential, you know, some guys just got it. I don't understand how guys throw ninety five mile an hour fastballs and eighty four mile an hour changeups.

00:08:46
Speaker 1: It doesn't make sense in my brain. Look at me, But that's probably be My.

00:08:51
Speaker 4: One tip is try to throw everything the same because I think for the change up, the biggest thing is the eye test. And when you try to start manipulating the ball and try to start making it slower because you're worried about seeing it move I think is when a the hitters can pick up on it a lot quicker and be the movement starts a lot earlier out of the hand, which makes it easier to pick up as well.

00:09:13
Speaker 2: See when you said you're not good at just creating the velocity change with your arm, that just means all I heard is I can repeat my arm slot. That's my throw every single time. First, staying on the change of topic, what would you say is more important for a young guy throwing worrying about the velocity change from the fastball or the movement on the pitch.

00:09:30
Speaker 3: How would you rank the two of importance.

00:09:34
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously, movement is huge.

00:09:36
Speaker 4: Everybody wants everybody's chasing the track man numbers on the separation. For me, I would go a different direction and almost say location great love for me. That's kind of how I've always gotten by, you know. I think that's the reason why I'm still able to do what I do at thirty seven.

00:09:55
Speaker 1: I think execution over everything love.

00:09:59
Speaker 4: If this change isn't there, let's say, and the movement isn't there, but I can put it exactly where I want it to. Usually the outcome's gonna be all right.

00:10:07
Speaker 2: Sometimes and by that it's like we can pick up the pitch maybe and it's like, oh, I think it's a change up. But if you put it right where, it's like do I want to swing?

00:10:14
Speaker 1: Do I not?

00:10:14
Speaker 2: Do I have to reach out for it. That's where location comes in for everything.

00:10:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, it makes you. I try to force you to make a decision.

00:10:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we hate that.

00:10:21
Speaker 6: Yeah, Hey, Meryl, how's your back?

00:10:26
Speaker 7: Your schedule more than likely to be Opening day? Starter?

00:10:28
Speaker 9: Right?

00:10:29
Speaker 7: Are you still on track for that? Or where where were we at?

00:10:31
Speaker 4: I don't think so, you know, just with how many days I've been down, you know, I just think I've I've pushed things back too far. We've had a couple of conversations, but I would guess that that's probably off the table at this point. You know, even if I woke up tomorrow and miraculously felt one hundred percent and just could start ripping balls off the mound. I think the fact that I've missed my second live bullpen and I'm supposed to my first game was slotted for tomorrow, unfortunately, I think Opening Day.

00:10:58
Speaker 1: Is off the table.

00:10:59
Speaker 4: But we at least a direction now I'm gonna get some treatment today and see if that works. I've been told, we've we've talked to a couple of guys. We've talked to Meister, you know, doctor Meister out in Dallas. You know, he's kind of the go to guy for things right now, and we seem to have a pretty good direction. So we're gonna try something today and hopefully that works. But I think unfortunately, you know, off the as far as opening day, I think I think we're kind of pushed too far back at this point.

00:11:27
Speaker 5: Okay, well, let me ask you something about this team, because you know them quite well. I think many fans forget that just a few short years ago the Diamondbacks were in the World Series.

00:11:39
Speaker 7: What do you think when you.

00:11:40
Speaker 5: See, you know, or hear about so many people complaining that only the big market teams have a shot. And I'm not going to say that Arizona and Phoenix specifically is a small market. But you know, a lot of times we're looking at TV money. The Diamondbacks aren't pouring in TV money right now. They're under the league's contract. We don't have to get into the nitty gritty there. The point is their revenue stream is not off the charts yet, this team a few years ago made the World Series. So when you hear fans say like, oh, it's unfair, like only the same few teams can win, did they forget how good you guys were a few years ago?

00:12:12
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I think it's easy to forget with what the Dodgers have done the last couple of years, right, and they continue to go out and spend money and bring good players in.

00:12:20
Speaker 1: Obviously they brought Kyle Tucker in this offseason.

00:12:23
Speaker 4: You know, as a player, like, we love to see that, right, Like we wish more teams would do what they're doing. You know, I think that only breeds good things for the game. But somebody said the other day, there's fifteen guys on this roster right now that we're in that World Series, run on that team. And I think every team has a chance to win, right if they really want to. And I think that comes along with if you don't, if you're not going to spend the huge amount of money. And you know, I got to hand it to our guys. You know, they went out and resigned me, They went and resigned Gallon obviously, not for you know what I think he thought he was gonna get But if you look at our payroll, it's definitely not small compared to the rest of the league. Obviously, nobody can really compete with the Dodger money that's going on right now. But I think if you look at our roster overall and the team that we were in the World Series, I think, on paper were we're definitely a better squad top to bottom than we were that year. And I think with the additions as far as people coming off the il sporadically throughout the year, right we'll get Corbyn back, We'll get aj Puck back at some point, and we'll get Justin Martinez some pretty heavy arms coming out of the bullpen. I think we're in a really good spot, and I think that a lot of teams are a lot of I guess fans around the league look at the Dodgers as the gold standard because you know, obviously they've won two years in a row and they continue to get better. But I think that's the beauty of baseball. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. And I think when you know you hear stuff about the playoffs, you know here you hear throughout the course of the history of the league, it's like, oh, this team got hot at the right at the right time. And I think some teams or some fans look at that as you weren't really that good of a team, you just got hot. But I think that's the beauty of baseball, is being able to play your best baseball when it actually matters.

00:14:12
Speaker 10: You know.

00:14:12
Speaker 4: The Dodgers have been fortunate where they can do that kind of throughout the year. But I think at this point, when you get into the playoffs, especially with where the way the playoffs are structured now, I think it's anybody's game.

00:14:23
Speaker 7: Agreed, agreed, that's the whole team. That's most teams mantra. Even though I hated to just get in. You never know what can happen. So yeah, I don't know.

00:14:30
Speaker 8: All right.

00:14:30
Speaker 6: So you played in the WBC in twenty three, right, obviously you're injured this year. You couldn't do it this year. You want a championship with the in the KBO, if technically could you play for Korea because you have a ring from Korea, would they elect you play for Team Korea.

00:14:47
Speaker 8: I doubt it. I would if I asked, but I doubt it.

00:14:50
Speaker 1: I think you got to have something.

00:14:52
Speaker 4: I think you gotta have some sort of lineage, and just looking at me, I'm pretty sure I don't have any agent in me.

00:14:57
Speaker 8: But I will ask me.

00:15:01
Speaker 4: I think it'd be a I think it'd be a blast, eat some kimchi and and go over to Korea and have some fun. I would do it, but I don't think I'm in the I don't think I'm in the running for that.

00:15:09
Speaker 7: Okay, I don't know.

00:15:10
Speaker 6: If you could just flash your ring from the KBO series and say, look, guys, I got this ring.

00:15:13
Speaker 7: You know I have won championships for you before, so let me be on the team. I don't know. Get citizenship quick, Yeah.

00:15:19
Speaker 6: It gets quick? Citizenship, Yeah, I don't know. All right, last one before we let you go, and we need I need the four box here because I need Kip on for this. So I didn't realize this. No, we got it the two box right here, so I can see all of you and Kip sitting next to you. Do you are you going to rub it into Kip that you graduated, you left Arizona State a year after him, and you're still playing on a two year deal and Kip's been retired for like seven years now, so you're just gonna rub it in his face that you're just the better Arizona State alumni.

00:15:51
Speaker 1: Oh that's tough.

00:15:52
Speaker 4: And you said graduated. I definitely didn't graduate. Uh well, you know what heat graduate.

00:15:57
Speaker 7: He's been to retire for six years now, So.

00:16:00
Speaker 4: I mean, yeah, I'm I'm lucky man. I'm also a pitcher too, and I you know, like I said, I locate. So if I didn't locate, I'd probably be out of the game by now, throwing ninety miles an hour as alrighty, but.

00:16:10
Speaker 2: Don't let me take don't let AJ divide us right now. Watching this guy, yeah, this is what he does. No, watching this guy go over to Korea and then come back and put together a career for this long and this solid has actually been one of just for me, one of the more fun guys that I get to watch.

00:16:30
Speaker 5: That.

00:16:30
Speaker 2: I was like, I know him, I know where he's come from, I know where he started, what he's been through. I love that he's easy to root for. So no, AJ, you are not gonna split up the Sun Devil. Yeah, no chance, but we root for each other.

00:16:40
Speaker 7: You have like a special handshake with your little thing. You little whatever.

00:16:44
Speaker 2: See see get him all out right now, just get him all out of you.

00:16:47
Speaker 7: I don't know, do you guys like? Do you guys like.

00:16:50
Speaker 5: I got something for you?

00:16:51
Speaker 7: He didn't.

00:16:51
Speaker 5: He also played at Yabapai.

00:16:52
Speaker 7: He didn't just do.

00:16:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was gonna say I.

00:16:56
Speaker 4: Was only at ASU for a year. I think people get it twisted away bit that I that I like was I had two years? Yeah, he at least had two years. I was only there for one, even though we did make it to the World Series when I was there about true, we also got it.

00:17:09
Speaker 1: We also got smacked.

00:17:10
Speaker 6: So we went open to wait, did Murph coach both of y'all?

00:17:18
Speaker 3: Uh?

00:17:18
Speaker 1: So Murph recruited me?

00:17:19
Speaker 4: That was the year that Murph resigned how much?

00:17:25
Speaker 7: Not paying you?

00:17:27
Speaker 1: How much?

00:17:29
Speaker 3: This is what he does?

00:17:30
Speaker 6: Yeah, I just got every time, hey, listen, every time I see Murph, Murph says, you know I didn't recruit you, right, And I'm like, I know, Murphy, You've told me every time I see that you did not recruit me.

00:17:44
Speaker 7: Okay, I get it, and like.

00:17:46
Speaker 4: But I got I got nothing. I got nothing for love for Murph agreed.

00:17:50
Speaker 5: He's a rich man managing a good team.

00:17:53
Speaker 10: These days that I.

00:17:54
Speaker 1: Always knew he was going to be. I always knew he was going to be a manager.

00:17:57
Speaker 4: But to see what he's done over there and and in Milwaukee, it's pretty cool.

00:18:02
Speaker 5: Yeah, he's got something good going there. Well, Marilyn, this was awesome and really appreciate it, enjoyed it. Congrats on the contract in the off season. Then good luck this year.

00:18:11
Speaker 7: Yeah.

00:18:11
Speaker 5: Excited to see the Diamondbacks make some noise.

00:18:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, I appreciate you.

00:18:14
Speaker 3: Guys.

00:18:15
Speaker 2: We got the handsome devil Paul Seawalt here coming in just through a bullpen, and it's nice enough to join us right now.

00:18:21
Speaker 5: Hey, what's up, Paul?

00:18:22
Speaker 7: How was the bullpen?

00:18:24
Speaker 8: It was good? It was good.

00:18:25
Speaker 11: We're out here just already got the Arizona sunshine going. It's already hot, but it's good.

00:18:30
Speaker 8: It's good. Camps for good. It's uh.

00:18:32
Speaker 11: I got to skip a couple of the days that you know, we shouldn't be here anyway, so that worked.

00:18:35
Speaker 8: Out just fine.

00:18:37
Speaker 10: There you go.

00:18:38
Speaker 7: What was it eighty eight cutters? Were were we working on to eighty eight high cutters? The low armslot. The high cutter.

00:18:44
Speaker 11: Plays like it's cutting. Look they think it's supposed to be sinking. I don't even know what it does. I just try to get out. I just try to confuse him enough until they look back and can't figure out what happened.

00:18:52
Speaker 3: They can't know what it does if I don't exactly that's exactly.

00:18:57
Speaker 5: Hey, Paul, I want to ask you a question that I just relayed over to Merrill Kelly. Do you feel like people forgot the Diamondbacks made the World Series in twenty twenty three. There are a lot of the same names from that team back then. I mean, of course you were a part of that run. And there's so much talk about how it's unfair for the rest of the league. You know, only the big market teams have a chance, and I am putting the Diamondbacks more in the mid to even maybe a little bit behind that range, because a lot of it's looking at TV money, not TV market, and they don't make a lot TV money wise.

00:19:29
Speaker 7: It's a fact.

00:19:30
Speaker 5: So your thoughts when people say it's so unfair and your team smacked the Dodgers a couple of years ago.

00:19:36
Speaker 11: Three years in baseball feels like an eternity, right, It's like twenty twenty three year almost like I forgot that. I forgot about that World Series and we're talking about literally just two seasons ago. But you know, they were one strike away from the Blue Jays winning last year, and I thought, I mean, I thought the Padres were better than them in twenty four when we played them, you know, back to back at the at the end of the year and they were on the rope. So just you know, they made the pitches and made the place when they had to at the end and kind of wanted back to back World Series. But I mean that margin for air is razor thin, so for people to think that like this a foregone conclusion. Andrew Freeman obviously thought that they needed to improve. That's why he signed Kyle Tucker. That's why he signed Edwin Diez. I mean he he felt like, I gotta make sure that I improved the team or the rest of the league's catching up to us. So people just like to complain about things on the internet. And that's more. That's more what it is than anything.

00:20:24
Speaker 8: Have you ever heard of control, You ever had an inter control?

00:20:27
Speaker 11: I mean, people just like to complain about things, and you know they're in our division, so certainly they're gonna be a challenge for us. And and but twenty three showed more than anything, they were maybe the best team in the league. And you know, in a small sample size like a like a postseason series, you just never know what's gonna happen.

00:20:43
Speaker 8: So that's why we're gonna play the games this year.

00:20:45
Speaker 11: We're not gonna just uh, We're not gonna use Pakoda standings to uh to decide the World Series champion. We're gonna go out there and we're gonna play one six to two and then hopefully we get a couple of playoff games.

00:20:54
Speaker 3: I like that. Now.

00:20:55
Speaker 2: Now, obviously you're being familiar with them from playing with them in twenty twenty three. How much of that factor into you with them? And did they discuss it all roles yet, because we know they have some injuries going into it.

00:21:04
Speaker 3: What have they talked to you about so far?

00:21:05
Speaker 11: Yeah, I mean we moved here, so this is home now, so it obviously had an impact. You know, we had some offers that were all very similar. And when you start talking about you know a little bit here and there, staying at home is really important. And for me, the most important thing is I have to go out there, and I have to be healthy, and I have to pitch healthy, right. I got to go out there and I got to pitch fifty times this year. So for me, it was like, what's the best opportunity for me to do that. I think my own bed is is a pretty high factor. So and I had amazing memories. My favorite baseball memory I've ever had was winning the National League Championship and that was in a Diamondbacks uniform. So that's that's going to stick with me the rest of my life. And so that that obviously had a little bit of bias in this decision.

00:21:43
Speaker 8: But I'm super excited to be back here.

00:21:45
Speaker 3: Roles.

00:21:46
Speaker 11: You know, I'm here to pitch whenever they tell me to pitch. Yeah, you know, is that going to be late?

00:21:51
Speaker 8: Maybe? Is it going to be early? It could be.

00:21:53
Speaker 11: It's depending on how I throw the ball and how other guys throw the ball. And you know, Aj and Justin are not going to be back at the beginning of the year. Who would be our best two best relievers, So everyone's gonna have to step up and outperform themselves a little bit until we get those guys back.

00:22:06
Speaker 2: Either way, that's always the best mentality, and You've always been that throughout your career that the best ability is availability. I want to be available and I'm here with whatever you guys need me, So I'm not demanding a role. I think that type of guys like you are needed on every single roster, not only because how good you are, but just the way that you approach the game and the way that you're willing to do whatever.

00:22:22
Speaker 3: It takes, I think is a huge part.

00:22:25
Speaker 11: And it you know, it could be a maybe I'm a better matchup in the seventh inning versus the guys they throw, then I would be in the eighth or ninth where Thompson or Gink would be like, we're here to win games, so I mean, we're gonna do whatever we can to win those games. And and Torri and Mike have kind of explained that to me that they're you know, you don't have a role right now. It's you're gonna go out there and you're gonna pitch. You know you're gonna pitch, and we hope you get out to when we get out there, so they need, we know they need. We'll have aj justin back soon enough, and that'll that'll be nice.

00:22:55
Speaker 6: Hey, Paul, I haven't gone anywhere so quick. Saying I'm gonna be back. Okay, I haven't gone anywhere. I'll be ready for the opening season, all right. So let's just you have to clarify on this show, Paul, because there's too many AJ's in baseball and now, so you have to call him puck, okay, not not agent, because then I get all confused. I get all ramped up for opening Day, like I'm gonna be out there, but I'm not.

00:23:13
Speaker 8: I heard you had different nicknames when you were playing.

00:23:16
Speaker 7: Yes, exactly, but that's fine. We all have to be called something by our family.

00:23:20
Speaker 3: It's okay.

00:23:23
Speaker 6: When I told this story the other day on here, and I hate to go back to this, but when I saw you, you were in Detroit at the end of last year, and I saw you in Seattle for the for the postseason run, and you big lead me and you walk past me, and I tried to say hi to you. But guys, then you came back like ten minutes later and apologized and you said, hey, I just found out I wasn't gonna be on the roster. I just wanted to say that I'm not bigger than you. So I told that story, and I just want to say thank you.

00:23:54
Speaker 7: That was it.

00:23:55
Speaker 6: I want to say thank you. You didn't have to do that. I totally understood. I've been there, but I just want to say to me, that was big league of you to come up to me and say hey, I'm sorry I didn't say hi, and listen, I got it. I understood, or for you to come back man, thumbs up for me.

00:24:10
Speaker 11: This guy I have my meeting with AJ's like, you don't really look healthy. You know, we're not going to go with you. You know I wasn't one hundred percent healthy. I totally understand the whole perspective. I get the news I walked past him. That's tough news to get right away, right and he's like, oh, you're not going to say hi. I apologize, ag. You were not at the top of my mind at that moment. But I did make sure to come back and say hello, and I did make sure you knew the situation. You are correct, But foul Territory guys, I wouldn't leave you hanging. It was just a difficult three minutes of my time.

00:24:41
Speaker 2: Fal Territory is actually just a front for AJ to confront everybody that's big tim before we just talk other things until we get to the guests that he can confront.

00:24:50
Speaker 6: Dude, I told you, I told you two thumbs up man for you coming back. I didn't know at the time, and so then when you came back and explained it, listen, you didn't have to say anything to me. I'll never be mad at you for it. It's just more to be able to talk a little shit. I mean, you know you know it is.

00:25:05
Speaker 7: I mean, trust me. I was in that Tigers clubhouse.

00:25:07
Speaker 6: Yeah, I was in that Tiger's clubhouse for three three games obviously for five days, but in Seattle, and I heard Tommy Kinley get worn out because college football was on. They wore him out for like the whole time. I was standing in there about Notre Dame and about this and about it was like, poor Tommy Kinley, I can take it.

00:25:26
Speaker 8: I mean, had your.

00:25:28
Speaker 11: Irish jersey, you know, Irish shorts, and your Irish socks and your Irish under armour shoots and they go, oh in two in the first two games.

00:25:34
Speaker 8: You deserve everything that comes.

00:25:35
Speaker 10: Your way, thank you.

00:25:37
Speaker 6: And he had his Eagles. The Eagles and the Irish lost like the same weekend. So these guys were just where I'm sorry yeah, it's.

00:25:43
Speaker 5: Great cry babies during football season this year we can That's one topic I can go all day on as mister Miami. Okay, I want to get your thoughts on a couple of league uh issues, or I would say rule changes coming up here. So here's two the coaches in the box rule and then we'll go to ABS challenge system. So first off, coaches in the box rule and the tipping paranoia that is taking over baseball with AI incorporated. So your thoughts on that, I thought. I mean, some guys are like, it's whatever, it's been going on forever. Then Vinnie Pasporentino was on with us when we were at Royals camp and he's like, hey, you ever see some of the base coaches just not doing anything during the game, like no signs, not talking to anybody on the basis they're busy.

00:26:27
Speaker 11: Yes, nobody, nobody comes to the field and doesn't do anything. I think it's low key. If you're doing nothing, then you're doing something you shouldn't be doing. You know, the coaches boxes are there for a reason, and you know the pitch tipping thing is the most important thing as a pitcher you can worry about. I can do all this stuff on track man, bullpens, I can do all this work if the hitter knows what's coming. It doesn't really do me any good to make my stuff extra nasty. So, you know, if they can pick something up in the game, I feel like that's pretty fair. You're talking about AI, you know, doing one thousand models a second to try to figure out if I did something different. I'm not sure that that's totally appropriate, but you know, it's just kind of the world we live in, and you just have to make sure that you are indistinguishable at any moment while you're out there. And I try to think that I do everything off and not consistent. Anyway, if I'm inconsistently consistent, then I think it can help my chances that they can't pick something up. But you know, the coaches boxes are there for a reason. I don't really want them down the right field line trying to look in my hand or down the left field line. So we're just trying to keep things fair and make sure that you know, if I'm tipping then they can find it from there.

00:27:30
Speaker 8: That's fine, but.

00:27:31
Speaker 2: Let's try to say within the rules of that sort of situation. Then for the other rule change, we've got the ABS system. Thoughts on that, do you think that's gonna go? Well, what problems do you see kind of arising from that? Maybe early on in the league that might get settled on as a season progresses.

00:27:44
Speaker 11: Yeah, you and age earned a different strike zone at the end of your career then you had at the beginning of your career. It's a little devastating for me to have earned that new strike zone and then have it taken away at the very end. The strike zone is a strike zone. It's supposed to be consistent. I think our umpires today are better than they've ever been, especially the guys that are coming up. They've worked really hard to get to that point. I saw one the other day less than a tenth of an inch. Yeah, that seems a little bit fine to me to call out an umpire. I think the most important thing for me the whole time was somebody sitting on their couch watching a game and having the screen or having the box up there, and if they're able to say umpire, A that's a terrible call. When it's like, look at ninety five min our pitch that's moving and you're missing by a tenth of an inch. I kind of want to give some umpires some grace on that situation. But when it's literally black or white, filled in or clear, you know that guy at home shouldn't know whether the umpire missed that car or not. If they can tell without the box agregious call, that's what that's really what we're looking for. It'll be interesting to see the challenge system. We have as an organization, our plan for the challenge system in in spring training to kind of give it a ride. But six seven weeks is tough. I think we're need a couple months to try to figure out how that's gonna work.

00:29:02
Speaker 2: Sure, and I do like the fact that you just said umpires are about as good as they've ever been in this game. They're always trying to get better. I think it's gonna be twofold. I like hearing that. I like you got to give the umpire's credit when they do have good games, and you gotta let them know that they are. Hey, you might have missed that one, or I understand why you missed that one that was closed. I'd go either way. I think there is gonna be some good adjustment period for them as well. I think they're gonna there is gonna be not a shame factor to it or something. But if you keep getting second guest or overruled, and you keep finding out that you're getting it wrong, I think there comes this in game adjustment now where it's like, hey, maybe I need to fix my zone. And that's kind of we're all we're all just trying to get it right, and it's not the easiest thing to do by any means. But at the end of the day, as long as long as that's the focus of the hitter, catcher and the umpire, that we're just trying to get it right, you should be able to find some kind of middle ground between all three, which is a good point.

00:29:50
Speaker 11: I hadn't thought about the in game adjustment for a numpire. Everyone knows the first couple of innings, you're like, look, man, I went back and checked. Those are balls, let's go like, or those are strikes. Come on, let's get it together. Kind of having that feedback maybe in the first readings to try to, you know, get correct for the last the last six is going to be important.

00:30:06
Speaker 8: I hadn't thought about that.

00:30:07
Speaker 2: That's that's good now, you guys probably just covered both of these in the players meeting that you guys had this morning. When you have a important meeting like such where I'm sure you covered a big ground of topics, especially with stuff that's going on, but you cover these new rules. How much do you look at some of the younger players and younger pitchers on the staff, if they're engaged in the meeting. Do they understand what's going on? Do they understand the changes that are being made.

00:30:29
Speaker 11: I think it's really intimidating for a younger guy to participate in those meetings. And I can't blame them. I you know, I wasn't one to participate in those meetings at that age. I think for me, it's more asking these triple A guys what the challenge system looks like, what that ABS looks like.

00:30:42
Speaker 3: They might know more than you.

00:30:42
Speaker 11: They have a lot more, They have a lot more understanding of what that looks like than me. I have thrown in our four or five games in rehab games with that ABS. I don't know what that looks like. For me, it's like, you guys know what that is supposed to look like? Like, let's talk about you know what kind of what kind of pitches. Are you seeing that maybe cross that they call strikes or that that we miss and we can kind of try to figure that out. That's not going to change how I throw pitches, but just kind of having a general understanding of how that's maybe gonna work, or the catchers talking to other catchers of like, hey, this is what I've really succeeded in my challenges versus you know, stuff that I've missed.

00:31:17
Speaker 3: Thanks fair Paul.

00:31:19
Speaker 6: Before we let you go, I just go, I want to know, how's the golf game? You're in Arizona, a spring. You know, you throw a hard bullpen today. You know it's noon there, where's the teeth time? And how's the golf game?

00:31:32
Speaker 11: Well, you know you just had Merril Kelly on he's having a little side tightness thing. That's my golfing partner. So the golfing game has been a little limited at this point. But you know, we're just trying to get back in there, make sure we can throw in games. But uh, it's a long season. You got a little bit of time to play. We got a little bit.

00:31:46
Speaker 8: You know, it's nice here.

00:31:47
Speaker 11: We probably have to make the most of the next two months because it won't be so great towards the middle of the year. But uh, you know, I moved here, so now it's not really an issue. It's kind of one of those things where I've gotten plenty of Arizona golf. But we'll we got some road t toops, We've got some off days.

00:31:58
Speaker 8: We'll be just fine.

00:31:59
Speaker 11: You know.

00:32:00
Speaker 8: Well, you know, I'll find a place to play. You know, I don't. I don't have a problem with that.

00:32:03
Speaker 2: That blood will fin out, You'll get used a little bit more and be able to play into bows more conditions.

00:32:08
Speaker 5: Well, he's got daddy duty too, right for the FAM's there, right.

00:32:13
Speaker 8: That's true.

00:32:13
Speaker 11: I mean you got two of them at this point, got to get the second one into into school pre k and then it's really just gonna just take off, just drop them off and head right up, uh to play in the morning, pick them up on the way back.

00:32:25
Speaker 8: Mama's free. Like it's totally good.

00:32:27
Speaker 5: Yes, that's the good stuff, Paul. We always really enjoy this. Good to see you, and good luck. The rest of camp here will catch you during the season, of course. All right, thanks for me on guys, we've got Ryan wald Schmitt joining us.

00:32:39
Speaker 8: Ryan.

00:32:40
Speaker 5: Great to have you on the show. Really appreciate the time, want to get into your story and some Florida roots. So you're gonna make the guy sitting next to me very happy. But before all that, house camp and tell us about your chances of cutting it with the big league team here.

00:32:53
Speaker 9: Oh yeah, you know, camp's been great so far, really getting to know the guys, getting a lot more comfortable around everyone. You know, early on you're you're the new guy around the clubhouse and get to know everyone. You're a little nervous at first, but you know, we're a weekend now and I feel like I'm getting along with everyone very well, and.

00:33:11
Speaker 10: Everything's getting more comfortable.

00:33:13
Speaker 9: The games are getting more comfortable, getting more comfortable at to play in the field, and you know, I try to think about too much about the chances of making the team. You know, I kind of just go out there every day and and play hard and play aggressive and just see what happens. And that's something out of my control, so I just try and keep my mind off of it and just do what it takes to help the team win and see what happens at the end of the day.

00:33:35
Speaker 6: Ryan as as a young guy in camp, has anyone been mean to you, Has anyone been just so.

00:33:41
Speaker 7: Mean to you and treated you poorly?

00:33:44
Speaker 9: Because we can fly aj in if you need not yet not yet, I have not had any any altercations here at camp so far. Everyone's been very friendly and taking me in with open arms, So I'm very grateful for that.

00:33:59
Speaker 7: Do you know everyone's name? Do you know everybody?

00:34:01
Speaker 1: To do? Eat in the clubhouse?

00:34:03
Speaker 6: Guys, the trainers, the travelings, the director of team Travey can't call him the traveling secretary anymore.

00:34:10
Speaker 9: Of course, I make that emphasis of trying to make sure I know everyone's name, and and in the mornings when I walk in, I try and greet everyone that I walk past. It's just something little that that can make everyone's day, and and it means a lot at the end of the day if you know someone's name and you're able to hold a conversation with them daily. And I think that just means a lot to me as a person, not even as a player or just in general being around the facility, just as a person.

00:34:34
Speaker 10: I take pride in just.

00:34:35
Speaker 9: Kind of getting to know everyone around me and just being able to have conversations with them.

00:34:41
Speaker 6: Okay, do me a favorite turnaround and just wave to Corbin for me. He's behind you running, so just wave to say hi Corban.

00:34:47
Speaker 7: When he runs. Exactly. But you want to know what that is.

00:34:54
Speaker 6: You want to know why you're so nice and you say hi to everybody because you were born in Florida.

00:34:57
Speaker 7: You were raised in Florida. So that's that's why.

00:35:00
Speaker 6: So when Kip gives you crap, when Scott gives you crop dos, why because those Florida people were from the south and were nice.

00:35:06
Speaker 10: Right, yeah, exactly.

00:35:10
Speaker 3: Yep, that's debatable, highly debatable.

00:35:14
Speaker 2: But we got you got a great minor league season under your belt, smashing the baseball. But you you even mentioned a quote where you started to make the game a little bit bigger than it had to be. Did you find I mean, as you went up through the ladders, you think single A is the next show for you.

00:35:30
Speaker 3: But you get there, the game solows down.

00:35:32
Speaker 2: You're like, oh, I can do this, I can be I can play with these guys double A the same way get up to triple A. What are you going to take then from that? Going into this year? How are you going to approach the game? Are you going to try to make it the same from game one to game one sixty two if it gets there or or are you gonna because sometimes it's good. Sometimes they have that energy and to ride that kind of the adrenaline for each match. But what are you taking from last year and what are you using for this year?

00:35:54
Speaker 9: Yeah, you know, I think last year that I'm going to bring into this year is just kind of just being where your feet are.

00:35:59
Speaker 3: Right.

00:36:00
Speaker 9: There's a lot of times where you can look to the future and say, like the what ifs If I do this, I can get to this place. I think that just takes you out of yourself. I think I've done that a couple of times. I mean, right when I got to Double A, I struggled for a couple of weeks early, and I think it was really because I went out of myself.

00:36:17
Speaker 10: I tried to do too much. I tried to prove that I belonged.

00:36:20
Speaker 9: And at the end of the day, you're there for a reason, and you're at that level because you're supposed to be there.

00:36:25
Speaker 10: And I think I.

00:36:26
Speaker 9: Realized that pretty quickly and just kind of tap back into what I do best and just being myself and just simplifying the game.

00:36:32
Speaker 10: Again.

00:36:32
Speaker 9: I think a lot of my strengths come with simplicity. I think controlling the zone is something that I'm very good at, and I think that's something that I have a lot of control over. Swing decisions, something that you control. It's not the umpire calling balls and strikes. It's something that you control. And I think a lot of that comes into play when when the game does get to be sped up a little bit on you, it's it's going back to just the simple things and doing what you can control. And I think a lot of that comes down to just your effort and your attitude. And I think I'm gonna bring that into the season as well, just that positive attitude of just being where my feet are and doing what it takes to win where I'm at and just wherever that may be, whether it's in the big leagues, whether it's Triple AAA, whatever that might be. Just kind of being where your feet are and just working to get better each day. And I have a quote from my college coach that I always bring with me every day. It's it's everything expires at midnight. So whether it's a good game, whether it's a bad game, it is minjion. You get a couple hours after the game. Game might end at ten o'clock. You have it's from ten to midnight to reflect on whatever you did that day, whether you want to celebrate your successes or whether you want to dwell on some of the failures you might have had that day or the losses that you took. But as soon as twelve o'cock hits, it's a new day. So then you move on and it's it's to start another day and just get back to work again.

00:37:51
Speaker 6: Ryan, hold up, before we go on. The guy sitting next to you, did you know he went to Kentucky for one year and then transfer out, so you transferred in. So that's why you didn't know that quote, because the coach to Kentucky didn't give him that quote because he left ye brought and then versus you who actually went there to play.

00:38:10
Speaker 2: I didn't know that quote because he was like minjio on was the bottom assistant and wasn't allowed to talk yet No, because.

00:38:17
Speaker 6: You aren't too good, was too good to talk to the third assistance if you were first off.

00:38:23
Speaker 3: I red shirted, I read shirt.

00:38:25
Speaker 2: It's like clearly wasn't too good, and then I got kicked off then made it back on and then got kicked off again. But yeah, me and you could even if you talked to me, and Minjio never saw eyed eye as the nicest way to put it, I guess that way. But it is a fantastic quote. And I will say, I want to hit back on what you said earlier. It's not you're still consumed trying to prove yourself that you belong that you forget that you already do, or that you forget that you're there for a reason, that your organization's behind you. They've moved you up for a reason, whether you believe it or not. They think you're ready. So I think I really like that you're already kind of recognizing that they're like. It's not whether i'm if I don't need to prove myself that I belong here by getting there.

00:39:07
Speaker 3: You've already proven yourself that you belong there.

00:39:09
Speaker 10: For sure, all right, So I've got one.

00:39:13
Speaker 5: I think you're the perfect person to ask this too, because you had a banger of a season last year and you've continued to develop at the plate right and on the cusp of the big leagues. We often point to organizations that do a really good job of developing pitching talent. You know, we've talked to it's a national show, right, So we've talked about the Rays and the Guardians and the Brewers and some of these teams that will take a guy or they'll develop guys and they just become great pitching talents. I actually think we need to focus on what Arizona is doing on the hitting side of things, and would love to get your thoughts on where you think the secret sauces. They've done a really good job of developing prospects and turning them into big leaguers and then also bringing guys over and making them even better. So and that's why they've had one of the better offenses in baseball over the last few years. So what do you have for us, Like, what have you personally seen from them that's helped you and that's helped the organization pump out many players to be big league regulars or even stars on the lineup.

00:40:10
Speaker 9: Yeah, you know, I think they do an amazing job on just kind of the communication aspect of it. You know, I came in with a good feel of what I do at the plate and why I do those things, and we have conversations about it. There's never a time where the coach is like, I want you to do this, and you're going to do this and we're not going to talk about it. You're going to figure out how to do the way I'm telling you to do this.

00:40:30
Speaker 10: Here. It's a lot of ask questions.

00:40:33
Speaker 9: I think a lot of guys ask questions on why we do things, and it really allows you to just fully understand what they're trying to get you to do and you can grasp the reasoning behind it. And I think when you have that, it allows you to really understand what your plan is at the plate and what you're trying to do and what you're trying to accomplish, so your drill work, VP, game swings, whatever it might be. And I think that's huge because there's no cookie cutter way that they're trying to make us. Each of us, every single one of us have different swings, every single one of us have different setups, and we talk through everything that we're doing, and I think that's huge when it comes down to it, because nobody's body's moved the same, nobody's strengths are the same as each other. Everyone has different weaknesses, everyone has different strengths. Our plans might be different at the plate. I think Arizona does a great job at recognizing that that we're not all going to be going up to the plate with the same approach, We're not all going to be swinging at the same pitches. But as long as us as players understand what our plan is and how to execute that plan, I think that really allows each and every one of us to do our jobs and allows each and every one of us to excel.

00:41:31
Speaker 10: Like to the level that we're trying to reach every day.

00:41:35
Speaker 5: Hey, last one for you on the big league club? Who do you talk to right now? Like, who's a go to guy for you? Is there anyone kind of offering more time, gracious with their time. You've got some pretty veteran names there.

00:41:51
Speaker 10: Yeah.

00:41:51
Speaker 9: You know, obviously Corbyn's not around as much right now just because he's getting that rehabit and just trying to get ready back for opening day. But you know, At and Jordan and even Borsa to all three of us, all three of them have been really influential to me so far.

00:42:07
Speaker 10: Early in camp. You know, they had time.

00:42:09
Speaker 9: Maybe if it's not a ton of time in the big leagues, they're really just show me the ropes and just how to just navigate what's going on. And and you know, even Jordan too, fresh in the outfield, he's asked questions to me, and it's very cool to see someone that's in the big leagues and I haven't made a debut or anything yet, but he's asking questions to me on how he can get better in the outfield. And you know, I'm asking Alex questions about how I can get better jumps.

00:42:33
Speaker 10: And and what to do on defense stuff like that.

00:42:35
Speaker 9: And you know, those at least for Outfitters, have been really good so far for me to talk to. And even Gurriel too, he's starting to make his way back out there after his ACL surgery and and you know, he's just he's a great energy guy to have around, and it really allows you to play, relax and be loose out there when we're doing our work because you know, he's a veteran and he can do what he wants, you know, whenever, and he he doesn't have to take the time to necessarily talk to me and each me things. But he's been really cool out there to have and you know, it really just allows me to think again, and you know, it's just the game and it's you're supposed to have fun with it, and it's really cool to see a guy like Guryell got there and just kind of have the happy medium of knowing when he needs to be locked in and get his work in, but then also the time where you can relax and kind of talk to each other and have a good time out there.

00:43:21
Speaker 7: I love that.

00:43:23
Speaker 6: By the way, the fact that you just said Alec Thomas is like a veteran. He was like the little shit kid running around the clubhouse, right, I mean, now he's like, oh, look at this a veteran. I'm like, oh my gosh, how.

00:43:33
Speaker 7: Old were five years in the things now?

00:43:35
Speaker 3: Right?

00:43:36
Speaker 7: Yeah?

00:43:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know.

00:43:37
Speaker 7: Yeah.

00:43:38
Speaker 10: The other day we actually were joking around.

00:43:39
Speaker 9: We were out there and Guriel wasn't out there and we were talking and h I think the oldest guy we had in the outfield through like the nine of us was like twenty six years old. So we really had nobody out there that necessarily even considered a veteran.

00:43:54
Speaker 10: At this point.

00:43:55
Speaker 9: Everyone's pretty young, so it's a pretty cool, uh core of young guys that we got out there.

00:44:00
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's young man's game.

00:44:01
Speaker 8: Ryan.

00:44:02
Speaker 5: Great to chat with you, appreciate the time, good luck the rest of spring.

00:44:05
Speaker 10: All right, Yeah, thank you guys so much. I appreciate it.