Optimism: Signs point to Kyle Schwarber's return with Phillies

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Hi, this is Kyles Forber and welcome to the Philly Show. Ruben Tomorrow Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd's The Lucky. It's a Philly Show.

00:00:12
Speaker 2: It is Tuesday, December ninth, twenty twenty five. Jim, we might have a little uh. Are you feeling optimistic or you feel a little upbeat because Dave Dombrowski yesterday I used the word optimism regarding Kyle Schwarber's free agency.

00:00:30
Speaker 3: Well, you must be feeling optimistic because that's two days in a row you've used the Kyle Schwarber lead into the Philly Show. But I am feeling so optimistic that I've brought a prop to today's show. Okay, and Harey comes down the street.

00:00:45
Speaker 1: If you're watching this on YouTube, there's a bus.

00:00:49
Speaker 3: I have a bad wheel on that book. Ye, I'll show you this side that's like that's the schwar bus pulling into the station.

00:01:00
Speaker 2: So yesterday Monday, Jim, at the Winter Meetings, we're up in Dave Dombrowski's Sweet the Phillies Sweet, and we're talking to him, and the question was posed, how do you feel about negotiations right now? With the two big guys meeting Schwarburn JT and and Dave used the word optimism. And you know, we've been covering Dave a long time and just GMS a long time, and and a lot of times will deflect well, you know where it's it's a process.

00:01:27
Speaker 1: And but the fact that he said.

00:01:30
Speaker 2: We're there's some optimism to me jumped out at me immediately. And then in my conversations here talking to people inside outside the organization, people that are familiar with Schwarber's thinking, he believes that, you know, they are going to get something done at some point.

00:01:50
Speaker 1: With the Phillies. What do you think? What do you hear?

00:01:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree with you. The fact that Dave used the word optimism is very encouraging, very kind of telltale, because you know, I think we had all heard there might have been some frustration with maybe the pace of things in recent weeks, and I think that's natural, it's it's the byplay of a negotiation. But everything I hear is narrowing down on Philadelphia and their return. Many signs and you know, I've heard the Phillies expected decision this week, and I've seen signs that, like I said, the bus is pulling back into Philadelphia so that's that's you know, and I I say, you wrote like they want a decision. They need a decision because they need to you know, you start need to start moving on to Plan b's before they start disappearing. And Kyle and his agent Casey close the very respectful gentleman. They understand that that you can't hold a team hostage forever. They're not. They're there. I think they operate in good faith. So yeah, all signs point to something being resolved, a resolution this week and just overwhelming evidence and feel and just talking to people and signs. And this is what you do as report. You put all the pieces together and you come up with a bigger puzzle and every little puzzle chip, puzzle piece seems to have a big red pea on it.

00:03:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, obviously, you know things can change. Of course, the Red Sox could wake up today and go, you know, we're not going to get p Alonso. Let's just go crazy and just get make sure we get college over. So you never know what can change. But the teams that have reportedly are reportedly involved or are involved, the Reds, the Pirates, the Red Sox, the Mets, the Orioles have been mentioned I can say, just again just from being here, some of those teams that are involved, they are hopeful, but they're also not optimistic. They are kind of like, listen, we're giving our best shot here, We're trying our best to get cal shwar but we would love him. But even they think again, just from what I understand, even they think that he is going to go back to Philadelphia.

00:04:21
Speaker 1: Who knows. I mean, maybe.

00:04:23
Speaker 2: Maybe we're out here, Jim later this week going your your bus with the broken wheel.

00:04:28
Speaker 1: Maybe there's more broken wheels.

00:04:30
Speaker 3: On it, you know, but anything we you know, Ed Wade used to say, a deal is not done until it's done. You know. He can be on the you know, in the red zone, on the on the one yard line and something can go wrong. But the general feel is it's going to happen, and they can start moving on to other things because they have other pieces of this roster that need to be put together.

00:04:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, I should mention that he Dave when he used the word optimism, he included JT. Real Muto in that in that sense, and so you know, I've heard less buzz about JT at the meetings. Obviously, Schwarber is the big piece that needs to fall. It seems like, you know, he's kind of that. Once he goes down, then you're gonna have Bregman break and Baschette break and Alonzo break in certain different directions. But uh, you know, maybe the Phillies are confident that they can get something done with j T as well. So they're too big, they're too big pieces off the board. Is they try to find other ways than to kind of work on the roster.

00:05:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, and these are guys with young kids. I think, young families, young family men, and I think they want to have things wrapped up before Christmas. I actually think Schwarber his family might be growing this month. I think he's, uh, yeah, do to have a baby this He and his wife to have another child this month. So just a lot of reasons to believe that they want to put a bow on this thing. And I think a lot of people will be happy.

00:05:59
Speaker 1: I'm both yeah, absolutely So.

00:06:01
Speaker 2: Hey, if you're watching us on YouTube, don't forget to hit the subscribe button.

00:06:05
Speaker 1: Helps support the show, grow the show. We appreciate all of your support. And of course with the holidays running around, rolling around coming up soon, It's December ninth, shopping days are running out. Go to the Phillieshowshop.

00:06:19
Speaker 2: Dot dot com, scan the QR code on your screen, and right now use the promo code Holiday Jim, and you can get ten percent off everything in the store.

00:06:30
Speaker 1: So a lot of cool stuff there.

00:06:34
Speaker 2: Another piece of interesting news, Jim, that came out of Dave Dombrowski's suite on Monday was something that you first mentioned as a possibility man, Well, was that early last month GM meetings. Dave, I'm talking about Don Mattingly becoming the new Phillies bench coach.

00:06:52
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think he was the guy they targeted from day one, and I think the ball has been in Don Mattingly's court all along and he's been, you know, mulling things over and it sounds like it's going to happen. Yeah, bench coach. Yeah.

00:07:12
Speaker 2: So so we were talking earlier about how you know it's no mistake when Dave says optimism about Shoreburn JT.

00:07:20
Speaker 1: There's the reason why he's saying that.

00:07:22
Speaker 2: He's not just's he didn't yeah, yeah, he he We didn't leave the room to go, oh my god, why did I say that? So he knows something regarding Don Manningly. He goes, no, Listen, nothing's done yet, but we're really hopeful Don Manningly is going to sign hire.

00:07:40
Speaker 1: You know, we're going to get this thing done.

00:07:41
Speaker 2: So I mean, Don Manningly, unless something insane happens, is going to be the new Phillies bench coach, which which is something that I think they they they wanted, they need, you know, a guy with big league experience, tons of managerial experience, tons of coaching experience, and in my opinion, Hall of Fame baseball career.

00:08:02
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, that's timely. It was disappointing to see him knocket in. I'm still hopefully he gets in some day. I think he I think it's a richly deserved honor, and who knows, maybe he can add to his resume here after Phillies can finally get over the hump and win a World Series. I think he's going to be a valuable contributor, another set of eyes in the dugout, and he'll bring a lot of cred to that coaching staff, you know, because there's not a lot of major league playing experience on that coaching staff. And it's been noticed in some quarters corners of the clubhouse over the years. Well, nobody can shake a stick at that experience exactly.

00:08:41
Speaker 2: Now, Dave did have Dave Dombrowski did say something interesting regarding this hire. He said, well, first, he's like, listen, I've had long conversations with Don. Of course Rob Thompson, Preston Manningly, who is you know, it's Don's son, And he said, yeah, just to make sure everybody's comfortable with this situation. And Rob Thompson was in the suite on Monday and said, oh, yeah, I think it's gonna be awesome.

00:09:06
Speaker 1: I'd be it's going to be great. I have no reservations at all.

00:09:10
Speaker 2: Preston Manningly joked that now he can take now when his dad, he and his dad go get dinner, he can put it on the old expense account.

00:09:16
Speaker 1: He's at the business meal.

00:09:20
Speaker 2: But Dave did also say this, Jim, and this is something we might have discussed this on the show.

00:09:25
Speaker 1: I believe right.

00:09:27
Speaker 2: He says, listen, some people might wonder, if you know, having that direct link into the front office could be an issue in the clubhouse. He's like, I think Don has enough credibility, Preston has enough credibility where I don't think there's going to be any like direct Hey, this is what I'm hearing, this is what's going on in the clubhouse, straight to the front office. That's something that he felt he needed to say. Dave Nebrowski.

00:09:51
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's something you know, I wondered about from the moment I heard they were considering him, and I think they had they only had eyes for him. I think he's guy they focused on, and the guy they wanted, and the guy they were willing to wait for are willing to wait for. But yeah, I mean, he's the GM is his son, So you wonder if he's gonna it's gonna be interpreted, and as him being a clubhouse a front office operative in the clubhouse, you's wondering about how he's going to be perceived by the players. I'm not saying it's going to be that r the mare I think about it. That's just to me, it's not a concern because you know, when I first started covering baseball, there were not many people in the clubhouse. You had, you know, a couple of athletic trainers, a couple of equipment equipment and four four coaches and a manager. Now there's you know, tons of people. You can't take a stick without seeing a person in uniform that you know is a new face almost every day. So if the front office wants to find out stuff, what's going on in their clubhouse, they can find out stuff.

00:10:56
Speaker 1: So that's a great point.

00:10:58
Speaker 3: Done Mattingly is gonna be here and and where he is at the stage of his career. There's no ego. Rob Thompson, there's no ego. They're all about how can we get this thing to the finish line, how can we win this world series that's been elusive and go deeper into the postseason things that have been elusive, And it's like, I don't think those type of personalities care who gets credit and who gets what. They just want to be there for the team. And I think it would be an unbelievable great story if Don Mattingly's first World series came working under his son. I think it would be a fabulous human story that I would love to witness, to be honest with you, and I think it could be like a story book. So Don Maddingly a very honorable man. Rob Thompson a very honorable honorable man. I don't think Rob's gonna be looking over his shoulder. He's you know, Rob how secure he is. Yeah, he's There's also this element he was going to retire a couple of years ago, that he's very at peace where his career is and the focus is on one thing, a world series. How can we do it? And the more help we can get doing it for as long as we're all moving in the right direction is a good thing. So I personally think this is good. Higher. It's kind of a Dave Dombroski higher. I go back to that quote at the Winter Meetings a couple of years ago, you win with stars. Love that quote. Love that quote. They have stars. They haven't won the big one yet, but Don Manningly is another star, and he'll pitch in in his way, and I think he's going to be a good contributor to this team. Yeah.

00:12:37
Speaker 1: Absolutely.

00:12:38
Speaker 2: I mean just you know, he is a star man like for me growing up as a kid. You know Don Manningly, I mean, come on nineteen eighty five New York Yankees caw like cow.

00:12:48
Speaker 1: He was on this week in Baseball, Gym every Saturday morning, he was on this Week in Baseball.

00:12:56
Speaker 3: I love when Steinbrenner was giving him crap about his hair being too long. It was not even long.

00:13:03
Speaker 2: They turned that into a bit on this famous bit on The Simpsons, of course, which Don gets asked about a lot. I mean, Preston has been asked about that Simpson episode. I know, uh, you know, but yeah, I think it's going to be exciting, and you're you're right, it would be a great story. Like you can just see that image of like father and son embracing on the field after a World Series championship and just you know, the joy on their faces.

00:13:30
Speaker 3: It'd be like, uh, it'd be like Jerry Kramer looking up at Vince Lombardi.

00:13:37
Speaker 2: I like that image, Jim, that's a good image. I like that image absolutely.

00:13:43
Speaker 3: See where Where's just you know, that's why we got in this business with suckers for a good story, you know, absolutely.

00:13:50
Speaker 2: I mean it's those are the things that you love to write about, you love to see it's just so much. That's what makes the job really fun. Are moments like those that you can kind of capture that moment talk to the people and just see the joy on their faces and and just you know, have have been Phillies fans kind of read about it the next day or that day.

00:14:09
Speaker 3: So it sounds like the uh, the Manningly bus.

00:14:12
Speaker 2: Is pulling into I'd say, I'd say the Manningly bus is like basically already in the garage, in the almost in the garage. The Schwarmer bus is maybe kind of rolling down the street maybe a little bit.

00:14:27
Speaker 3: I think, Yeah, it's it's it sounds, it feels like it's on its way.

00:14:30
Speaker 2: Feels like it now, Yeah, we'll see, We'll say. A couple other things wanted to mention, is that Dave used this word again regarding Nick Castianis he says we are looking for a change of scenery for him. And again this is now the third time I'm saying on the show. But when the when the president of Baseball Operations is saying we're looking for a change of scenery, that means this guy is not coming back. This guy is not coming back. Uh, now are they going to be able to trade him? You know a lot of people Nick wanted to go to the Miami Marlins.

00:15:04
Speaker 3: A few years ago.

00:15:06
Speaker 2: Phillies outbid the Marlins by what like sixty million dollars.

00:15:10
Speaker 3: Or so wow, you know, Merry Christmas, Yeah, Merry Christmas.

00:15:15
Speaker 1: So he goes to the Phillies.

00:15:16
Speaker 2: But he was originally interested in going to the Marlins, so you know, they would be a great fit, but it does not sound like the Marlins are interested right now in Nick Castianos. I know Peter Bendix was asked on MLB Network about guys with local ties and he kind of, you know, sidestepped the question so that you know, I don't think there's much interest on the Marlins side, and quite frankly, I don't know how much interest they're going to get at all on him. I've heard some people talk about, you know, man, his defense is just so bad and right field and you know, boy oh boy.

00:15:51
Speaker 1: I feel like, I.

00:15:53
Speaker 2: Don't know, maybe they could pull off something soon, but I feel like if any trade goes down for Nick Castiance, it's going to happen later later in the off season, and then if not, they probably release them.

00:16:04
Speaker 3: Yeah. I agree, if a deal happens, it'll be later when a lot of those right handed bats, you know, find a home. And then if there's there's an opening and some team takes a shot on them with the Phillies eating a significant portion, otherwise the Phillies would release them. I mean, it's just the whole thing is just they've been too open talking about you know, change of scenery and uh, it's it's it's expected, and you know, I think they know with all of that chatter, you just can't bring him the spring training because it'll become a side show. Yeah. And if you know he's not going to be part of your team, you know, you can't get him the playing time in spring training because other guys need it and they need the add bats. The guys are going to be there, so you know, he'll get that change of scenery and just find out what is the vehicle a trade or release and and when? But I agree with you, it seems like it'll be down the road a little bit.

00:17:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, So allay, So we'll see what happens on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. No, Rob Thompson is every Winter meetings they have these manager manager availabilities. Rob Thompson's going to have his availability Tuesday afternoon. Of course, we're going to talk to davidan browskiing this weitek later. Maybe he'll have some news, maybe he'll drop some more encouraging words of optimism or and whatnot. Uh So we'll be back on Wednesday morning to do it one more time.

00:17:31
Speaker 1: From the Winter meetings.

00:17:34
Speaker 3: Awesome, well, great talking to you. We'll see what happens and smelly later.

00:17:39
Speaker 1: The Philly Show is brought to you by the Foul Territory Network.

00:17:42
Speaker 2: Subscribe to The Philly Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.