Star Power: Don Mattingly, J.T. Realmuto and Bo Bichette
The Phillies have hired Don Mattingly to be their bench coach in 2026.
We love the hire. But how does it help the Phillies? Well, of course, it could help their late-game decision making. But if you read between the lines, Phillies manager Rob Thomson hinted that Mattingly’s star power should bring increased credibility to the coaching staff. The Phillies are trying to tighten up things, and they believe Mattingly should help.
We dig into J.T. Realmuto’s free agency. We talk about the chance Bo Bichette signs with the Phillies, too.
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00:00:03 Speaker 1: Hi, this is jac O Utah. Welcome to the Philly Show. 00:00:08 Speaker 2: Rubin Tomorrow Junior, Jim Salisbury, Todd z Alecki. Hey everybody, it's the Philly Show. It's Thursday, January eighth, two thousand and twenty six. 00:00:20 Speaker 3: How are you guys? 00:00:22 Speaker 1: Outstanding? 00:00:23 Speaker 3: Just terrific, fantastic. 00:00:26 Speaker 4: Finally got some a little break in the weather, which was nice. 00:00:32 Speaker 3: I did see it up, did you. 00:00:34 Speaker 4: I did tee it up with some good friends with Winter Homer, Steve Kotzy. 00:00:41 Speaker 3: Oh wow. 00:00:43 Speaker 4: He took us down to Great Bay down there in outside of Ocean City, and while the Greens were running nicely, I had a great front nine, bad back nine. 00:00:56 Speaker 3: That's all right, you got out there. 00:00:58 Speaker 5: Overall I was front nine plus. 00:01:00 Speaker 3: It felt like it. 00:01:01 Speaker 2: It felt a little like spring training, like if the weather's warming up, weather's warming up. 00:01:07 Speaker 1: Well. 00:01:07 Speaker 2: The Phillies had some news this week, guys. Of course, we were talking about this Monday morning on the show, like Don Manningly, it's gonna be right around the corner. Sure enough, Monday morning, the Phillies announced that Don Manningley finally hired. 00:01:18 Speaker 3: As bench coach. JT. 00:01:20 Speaker 2: Real Muto, of course, is still a free agent. We'll talk about that in a bit, but yeah, Don Mattingly. In October they announced that Mike Cleachery would move out of the bench coach job. 00:01:31 Speaker 3: He's now the Major League field coordinator. 00:01:34 Speaker 2: Dave Dombrowski said at that press conference that he wants he wanted Rob Thompson's bench coach to be somebody with managerial experience, and then Jim first reported the Philly chose. Jim Sliberry first reported in November that the Phillies were eyeing Don Mattingly and then it kind of went quiet, right Don said, I don't really know if I want to do it. And then you knew what was happening at the winter meetings when Dave Debraski goes somebody, I think it might have been Tim Kelly. 00:02:01 Speaker 3: Is there an update in the bench coach ubbies? 00:02:02 Speaker 2: Yeah, Don Manningly is the guy we want, and you know not we're not the finish line yet, but at that point you knew it was it was going to happen. His contract needed to expire with the Blue Jays on December thirty. First, they announced it on Monday, And what do you guys think of this hire? 00:02:22 Speaker 1: I like it? 00:02:24 Speaker 6: I mean there's a lot of ways you can dive into it, but he he was the only guy they had eyes for. He's the guy that Dave Dobroski wanted, and you know they got it done, and that delay was about just letting his contract with Toronto run out. You know, it's a cool story with his son being the GM, but the important reason he's here is they think he can contribute and try to get them over the hump. Rob Thompson really seems very comfortable with it. It's funny like sometimes when you got a new lieutenant and he's got a pretty advanced resume, you know, you get a little uncomfortable, a little uneasy little you look over your shoulder. It's like Charlie when they brought in Jimmy Williams. I don't think he was ever keen on that, right. Rubin, Well, you're awfully, but. 00:03:21 Speaker 4: I think that had other there are other reasons, yeah, but you're right, you're right. 00:03:26 Speaker 6: So and you know Dave Dombrowski had that quote a couple of years ago. 00:03:32 Speaker 1: At the Winter meetings. You win with stars. 00:03:35 Speaker 6: You know, he likes his pitchers with Velo and he likes his roster to have stars and he like, I think he really wanted a star on that coaching staff, and Rob Thompson kind of alluded to that with a quote he had about, you know, our big league staff, We've got a really good big league staff, but you know, in terms of big league playing accomplishments, not anything close to Don Mattingly. And then he also said Don's going to be a great sounding board for our players and our stars, and that really resonated with me that I think, you know, maybe he helps Bryce Harper, you know, mid career. 00:04:21 Speaker 1: Become elite again. I'm sorry about. 00:04:26 Speaker 6: And you know, I think there were some questions in the clubhouse last year maybe or over the last few years about you know, not a lot of big league playing experience in that coaching staff, some rumbles maybe from some disgruntled corners of the clubhouse. 00:04:48 Speaker 1: That won't happen. Now they can say we've got. 00:04:50 Speaker 6: A nine time Gold Glover and MVP of Batting Champion, guy who should be in the Hall of Fame. But all of that is secondary. This is the guy they think can help then put a winner on the field and keep a winner on the fields. 00:05:03 Speaker 4: So many things to unpack with Don Manningly, not just his playing career and his instant credibility as a baseball person. But he was an ex manager, did a really fine, fine job I think with the Miami with the Miami Ball Club, with the Marlins when he was there, sort of a learning experience for him. 00:05:25 Speaker 5: When he was in LA. 00:05:28 Speaker 4: He's got a great relationship with Rob Thompson. Takes a lot of balls for Rob Thompson to hire a guy like this, as you loaded to Jim, because you could be a guy that might take his job. I mean, you have to have some guts and you have to have a lot of confidence in yourself to hire a person on your staff. 00:05:47 Speaker 5: And really want he really wanted him. 00:05:50 Speaker 4: A guy that might at some point take his job, even though Don Manningley doesn't alluded to the fact that he didn't. Really he's done managing. I think he wants he's doing what he's wants to do as far as being a someone to aid that manager. Uh, manager B I guess you could call him. And I just think that as you said, I think the instant credibility, the fact that he has. 00:06:16 Speaker 5: Done what he's done in the. 00:06:17 Speaker 4: Game, and I really don't think this has anything to do at all with his with his son. 00:06:23 Speaker 5: I don't think this is a hire that has literally has nothing new. 00:06:27 Speaker 4: If Preston Manningly was not on the staff, right, this guy that they would that they would target. 00:06:33 Speaker 7: Because of the relationship that Bob Thompson has with him, because Dave Dombrowski, as you said, knows how important it is to have stars, and it just adds a quality to the staff. And it was interesting to hear what Rob Thompson had He said when he was asked in the press conference that he made some different decisions. 00:06:56 Speaker 8: During the course of the playoffs or during the course of the season if he had young guy like Donnie Manningly in his ear, and he said, maybe maybe he would have given me a different perspective on things, and maybe I would have made some different decisions. 00:07:12 Speaker 4: So all really good things positives across the board. The only thing I'll say about this is a few years back when we had a nepotism rule and I wasn't able to hire my dad. 00:07:26 Speaker 5: I wish I could have done the same, but I couldn't. 00:07:29 Speaker 4: Different regime, obviously, But again, this is a hire not has there anything. 00:07:35 Speaker 5: To do with nepotism. 00:07:36 Speaker 4: This is about getting the best quality person on the staff and to add to what I think is already a really, really strong major league staff. 00:07:48 Speaker 2: I think they're trying to tighten everything up that they can possibly tighten up. 00:07:51 Speaker 3: And obviously you go into every off. 00:07:52 Speaker 2: Season you don't you want to tighten up everything, right, but there were questions about some of the in game decisions in the postseason. So we're going to take somebody who's managed a crap ton of games in the big leagues Dodgers Marlins, who's coached in the big leagues under Joe Tory, He's had he had a Hall of Fame career, like like we believe, we all believe he should be in the Hall of Fame. And so you put that guy next to Rob Thompson, maybe some decisions are changed, are different, like Rob Thompson acknowledged, and also Jim, as you mentioned in the quote from from Rob. 00:08:24 Speaker 3: Was. 00:08:26 Speaker 2: You know, we don't have that guy, you know, because as great as our staff is, we don't have that guy who's been a star in the big leagues. 00:08:33 Speaker 3: He should be in the Hall of Fame. 00:08:34 Speaker 2: As far as I'm concerned, what it came time to me that Donnie might be available, I said This is the perfect guy. I know him, I know the integrity of the analogy has I know how detailed he is. Plus he's a great sounding board for our players and our stars because he's been there. So he used the word stars twice, once referring to Don manningly once. 00:08:57 Speaker 3: Exactly exactly. 00:08:58 Speaker 2: And so, as you mentioned in Jim jumped out at me. Jumped out at me too, because there were some some disgruntled corners of the clubhouse who you know, you know, none of these guys, you know whatever, one of these guys. 00:09:14 Speaker 5: No, they never lived this life. They've never played in the big leagues. 00:09:17 Speaker 3: They never played in the big leagues. 00:09:19 Speaker 4: And so I can't say that anymore, although I think Cesar Ramos. 00:09:24 Speaker 1: Oh he did, yeah, Tampa Bay. 00:09:25 Speaker 6: And so you know, you have the leagues, the big leagues. 00:09:31 Speaker 3: You know, Caleb pitched in the big leagues. 00:09:34 Speaker 2: But the point being, though, is that now you tighten up maybe the in game decisions by having a guy with an amazing amount of experience. You get rid of any little griping that might be going on in the clubhouse because you can go, oh, that guy right there, the Hall of Famer. Okay, you want to talk to him about what what what I just talked about in the meeting or a drill or or PFPS or whatever. 00:09:59 Speaker 3: The case may be. 00:10:01 Speaker 2: You can talk to Don Mattingly if you don't want to, you know what I mean. So I think it tightens up a lot of those things. And Jim you asked the question as well. I thought that this is interesting. You asked to don about this certain challenges that might be involved in being a bench coach when your son is the general manager. And don knew exactly what you were talking about, exactly what you were talking about, basically meaning, you know, are you gonna be the eyes and ears of the front office? 00:10:29 Speaker 5: You know, are you gonna be a pipeline? Are you to be a pipeline? 00:10:31 Speaker 4: And Donnie was really sensitive about it and and understands that dynamic absolutely. 00:10:38 Speaker 3: I mean, the quote was great. 00:10:39 Speaker 2: Is I'm very protective of the locker room relationship with players. They have to be able to trust that I'm not a voice running upstairs and talking about anything and everything. 00:10:48 Speaker 3: That's not the way I operate. 00:10:49 Speaker 2: I come from a different era when that is not something that happens. 00:10:52 Speaker 3: So there you go something. 00:10:54 Speaker 2: As well, and honestly to suggest that that would be at that time Manningly be on staff. 00:11:02 Speaker 3: Listen, there are so many people now. 00:11:04 Speaker 1: In the clubhouse, it's crazy. 00:11:05 Speaker 3: There are literally billions of people. 00:11:08 Speaker 1: You know, who's that guy, who's that? 00:11:10 Speaker 2: Yeah, So I mean there's there's literally anybody could be asked to, you know, be the quote unquote informant or eyes and ears for the front office down there. 00:11:18 Speaker 3: Before they would even need to need to dream. 00:11:21 Speaker 2: About asking Don Manningly for help, you know, they they could ask that guy, asked that guy, asked that guys that if they wanted to do that. 00:11:27 Speaker 3: I'm not saying they do that. I'm just saying. 00:11:29 Speaker 5: There's plenty more. 00:11:30 Speaker 3: There's plenty of other people that you do. 00:11:33 Speaker 6: Clubhouses used to have h you know, when I first started covering baseball, there were like four coaches, two trainers, traveling secretary, and two club's. 00:11:43 Speaker 4: And so that that was every five or forty five people. 00:11:47 Speaker 6: Most Now you have a support staff that's bigger than the roster, I mean a float on the clubhouse. 00:11:53 Speaker 1: So there's many many. 00:11:55 Speaker 5: That's another that's a whole another podcast we could have. 00:12:00 Speaker 3: But I think it's I think it's a it's a great hire. 00:12:03 Speaker 2: Obviously, you know, just the experience having somebody like that in the in the clubhouse is just absolutely tremendous. And you know, the added storyline of that the Phillies can fulfill Jim's bold prediction for Monday's show and win the World Series. Don Manningly would win his first World Series rang with the Philadelphia Phillies and share with. 00:12:24 Speaker 4: His son, if I may, If you can indulge me one second. Again, I mentioned this before, but I really loved the way Don Manningly managed his teams. 00:12:35 Speaker 5: He had teams that. 00:12:36 Speaker 4: Were not really great talent wise, but he seemed to maximize their ability to win games and to play good baseball and to play correct baseball. I remember watching him in spring training, how he went about his business. I remember going to him and shaking his hand one time and complimenting about how they play. They played hard, they played smart, they sort of played the way Don Manningly played. 00:13:04 Speaker 5: And that's also another. 00:13:06 Speaker 4: Really important element to this, because at the end of the day, it's not necessarily about how they play all season long. It's about how they play when it really matters. 00:13:18 Speaker 6: Right, because they've put together a team that should play when it really matters. But you mentioned maybe when in a World series and with his son, I mean, we get all romantic. But to quote Brad Pitt in Moneyball, Ruben's favorite movie, how can you not love baseball? 00:13:38 Speaker 5: That's right, I love it. 00:13:41 Speaker 1: Rubin loved that movie. 00:13:44 Speaker 5: Ruined the game. 00:13:45 Speaker 2: The movie ruined the game for like twenty years. 00:13:51 Speaker 1: Brad Pitt's a good looking man. 00:13:53 Speaker 5: The stud great, very entertaining movie. 00:13:58 Speaker 1: Yeah, it was a good story. 00:13:59 Speaker 9: You know they forgot about the three cy Young Award winners in the rotation, right, you guys who were like one and two in the National American League MVP. 00:14:11 Speaker 5: Vote Tahata and Chavez. Other than that, it was a great movie. 00:14:19 Speaker 2: So Don Manningly is a board. The Phillies coaching staff is set. If you are watching us on YouTube, don't forget to hit the subscribe button if you haven't already. 00:14:29 Speaker 3: And of course you can. 00:14:30 Speaker 2: Go to the Phillies show shop dot com. Jim and Rubin, you're wearing some of our gear right now. 00:14:36 Speaker 1: Gear up. 00:14:37 Speaker 3: Mine's in the mad I love this one. 00:14:39 Speaker 2: Man. 00:14:39 Speaker 3: That's that's like the light the lightweight hoodie. Jim. 00:14:44 Speaker 2: Jim's got the head the heavy hoodie the color too. 00:14:48 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's great. It's cool stuff. 00:14:50 Speaker 6: Man, These are like those the color of those unis that they wore once and everybody hated him. Remember in the seventies, the famous picture of Larry Christian. 00:14:59 Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a great baseball card Andrew McCutcheon and they they brought them back for one game a three years and. 00:15:05 Speaker 5: Cuting, yeah, all the way down. 00:15:10 Speaker 2: A couple of what he was calling like a cup of gatorade or something like that. I think they're doing some dance and it was. It was really cool. So uh so dim many on board. Like we said, you know who's. 00:15:20 Speaker 3: Not on board? JT Realm. He's still unsigned. 00:15:25 Speaker 2: Guys, Jim, you were saying the other nervous you get, you're not getting nervous. 00:15:32 Speaker 5: Your predictions where that he's gonna sign. Mine was that he's not. 00:15:36 Speaker 2: I still think I still think he's gonna sign. 00:15:39 Speaker 3: Jim, Are you changing? 00:15:40 Speaker 1: Are you I'm not. I don't waffle, I don't ego. 00:15:46 Speaker 2: But you you did say the other day you wouldn't a three year deal. Still you think a three year deal is gonna be what it takes to get him done, get it done. 00:15:54 Speaker 6: I think that maybe gets them off the market, But I think they're probably talking about different. 00:16:00 Speaker 1: Types of structures, maybe a two, maybe a three. But I don't I don't think they would let a three year deal stop them. 00:16:12 Speaker 6: No, I don't think it would be three times twenty right, But I wouldn't think. I think I could see a three year deal being the resolution here. 00:16:23 Speaker 1: But again, and I think I could be wrong. 00:16:25 Speaker 4: I honestly think that might be a mistake because I went through it myself, and I think that the Phillies are going to stand fast, I really do. 00:16:33 Speaker 5: I don't think that they're gonna budget. I don't know that there's a whole lot of play. 00:16:37 Speaker 4: On JT right now. You would think that he wants to play in Philadelphia. It's curious that it's taken this long. Clearly he's not happy with where. 00:16:46 Speaker 5: They are with the offers and offer and or offers. And I'm to the point right now, boys that it's. 00:16:55 Speaker 4: Time for people to make decisions that other opportunities do not pass them by. One of those opportunities is landing a guy like Bobashett to change things around, because that type of bat and that type of player I think would be really helpful for this team. 00:17:16 Speaker 5: It would also sort of squelch. 00:17:20 Speaker 4: That we're running it back theory, and it would change the dynamics of that of that starting lineup. You can put him anywhere in the lineup from one to six, and he adds that right handed bat. He's young, He's going to command some money. I think it's going to be somewhere between a four and six year deal. 00:17:43 Speaker 5: But lest we forget JT made twenty three million dollars last year. 00:17:48 Speaker 4: If that AAV is between twenty and twenty five, you're basically replacing JT with this guy. And I don't think they can bring both both of them on and uh And you know, it also gives them some flexibility as far as what they want to do in their infield, whether they want to move a guy like om er Stott. 00:18:09 Speaker 6: And you know, if JT doesn't come back and you have that extra budget and you can, I think you can definitely clear. 00:18:18 Speaker 1: Spot in the infield. 00:18:19 Speaker 6: I don't think that would be an insurmountable task. But they do have thirty eight million coming off the books next year in just the form of two players, Walker and Castiano, so. 00:18:32 Speaker 1: That could make it more palatable. 00:18:34 Speaker 6: It's it's a very very intriguing, very intriguing possibility. Stick him right behind Schwarber in the UH, in the five hole, maybe. 00:18:47 Speaker 1: Behind Schwarber, behind Harper. 00:18:49 Speaker 5: I mean, you have so many different machinations. 00:18:51 Speaker 4: I mean, basically all three or four of those guys that we talked about, from from Turner to Schwarbert to Harper and Uh and of course Bobbachette. You're talking about interchangeable parts. You can put them anywhere, each one of them. You can put it any part of that lineup. 00:19:10 Speaker 5: And it's really a matter of how you want to line things. 00:19:12 Speaker 4: Up in what you think is going to be the most effective and to be able to protect the guys you want to protect. 00:19:21 Speaker 6: The Bashette thing has taken on a little different dynamic now because Toronto signed the Japanese third basement and they could move the other guy over the second right. 00:19:33 Speaker 5: I think you can clement the second base. 00:19:38 Speaker 6: And that would be Bob Boschett's spot. So you know, you maybe one of the chairs has disappeared in the musical chairs. 00:19:48 Speaker 1: I don't know if it can happen. There's a lot of moving parts. 00:19:51 Speaker 6: But and I do know, you know, the payrolls tight, and that tax is really tough to deal with but we have I've seen this franchise react to special opportunities in the past and push things a little bit. I think it's different now. The push is different now because they are a repeat offender on the tax and it becomes very punitive. And I think that's in the back of their mind. I mean, they're gonna pay a fifty six million dollar tax bill this month for next last year. So but I guess you never know. It's certainly he would be a great fit. 00:20:33 Speaker 4: The other the other piece of this that makes it a little more murky is what they might do with Aiden Miller after this, because then you have a full infield of Harper, Bashett Turner and either Stod or Boom. 00:20:51 Speaker 5: No, it's not now. Now, now, what do you do with Aiden Miller? 00:20:54 Speaker 1: No, it's not murky at all. 00:20:56 Speaker 5: You you I love it. 00:20:57 Speaker 1: It's not murky at all. 00:20:58 Speaker 6: You love having Yeah, you played Boushette at second where his arm is better suited, where the Blue Jays were gonna put him anyway, and use Alec Bowman to trade hopefully get some value there, play Bryce in Stought at third base. In twenty six he becomes a year closer to free agency. And next year you're in the same situation where now maybe trade him for value if you deem that Miller is ready and you play him at third base, where a lot of people still think he's gonna end up anyway. 00:21:31 Speaker 4: Jim, you should have been a GM. 00:21:37 Speaker 5: Great scout in certain areas. 00:21:41 Speaker 1: Ain't that the truth? 00:21:44 Speaker 2: You know, Jim, people are gonna be watching and listen to the show, and they're gonna go, oh, my gosh, I see a path. 00:21:50 Speaker 3: I see a path for Bobashett. I still think they're going to resign j T. 00:21:55 Speaker 2: And I still think I mean, I think we all, oh yeah, yeah, this's gonna be you know, my understanding has been and is that they feel that they have the best offer on the table, and and and you know, they expect it to remain that way. I don't know if they expect anybody to come out of the woodwork. And you know, you know, the Padres can use a catcher, but they would probably need to shed some payroll to sign JT. 00:22:18 Speaker 3: So does that make sense for them right now? 00:22:19 Speaker 2: The Red Sox had expressed some interest in you know, there's a report a couple maybe a month and a half ago. 00:22:26 Speaker 3: Does that make sense they want Alex Bregman back. 00:22:29 Speaker 6: So those are the only two teams I've heard. I heard a little bit on Houston at one point early, but they're gonna go with the kid and they just you know, spent a bunch of money on EMI. So maybe Boston and Sea and San Diego of the two teams, I mean, I keep thinking, maybe the Mets get involved. But this GM, David Stearn seems to other than I guess Marcus Simmons in a lot of areas. He seems to want to get younger. So I don't know what they would do, but I think I haven't heard that they're involved. Also with that, perhaps Detroit somewhere Detroit a possibility. 00:23:12 Speaker 10: I don't know where they are at shortstop, they might be able to use him. 00:23:15 Speaker 5: It's short. 00:23:16 Speaker 1: No, we're talking to you. 00:23:18 Speaker 3: We're talking. I'm talking to you. 00:23:19 Speaker 5: I'm talking about I was talking about Boom. 00:23:24 Speaker 6: And Detroit could be on BOM. You know, Pittsburgh could be on Bomb if he becomes if you end up doing something there. 00:23:32 Speaker 5: So I think so, because Pittsburgh wants wants to show the world that they're spending some money, they're getting some grievances. I think and some of. 00:23:39 Speaker 4: These teams that aren't spending any money, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Colorado Rockies, those kind of teams haven't spent money in their you know, revenue takers when it comes to revenue sharing, and I think there's a you know, there's a little bit of hand slapping going on. 00:23:58 Speaker 5: I want to show that they're spending some money and they're trying to get some offense. 00:24:01 Speaker 4: Pittsburgh trying to get some offense on their ball club. 00:24:05 Speaker 5: So what are you telling? 00:24:07 Speaker 1: What are you telling JT's agent? This week? 00:24:10 Speaker 6: January seventh, and spring training is approaching. I mean, you're gonna be in fantasy camp next week before you know it. What are you are you starting to get a little tough here, Rubin? 00:24:23 Speaker 5: I think so I would be if I was in his situation. 00:24:27 Speaker 4: I don't know that I would even have waited this long. 00:24:31 Speaker 5: I know the importance of what he brings to the table. I love the guy. 00:24:34 Speaker 4: It's not that I don't want the man on the team, but you also have to not At some point, You've got to be able to do your business. 00:24:42 Speaker 5: You got to be able to sell tickets, You. 00:24:44 Speaker 10: Got to be able to know what you know who's going to be on your ball club, and if you're waiting until close to February, and especially with a team like the Phillies, that's that's. 00:24:54 Speaker 5: Planning on contending. 00:24:59 Speaker 4: I think it's time to eser get off the pot, and I think at some point there's going to be a deadline put I don't know that. That's how Dave Dombrowski operates. If I was in his shoes, I would be doing it. That's what I would be doing if I was in his shoes. And is it January fifteenth? Is it January twentieth? Is it February first? I don't know what it is, but it's got to be soon because it's. 00:25:28 Speaker 2: Happened JT in different circumstances, different player, different career trut jectory five years ago. But he think he signed his five year deal on January twenty six, five years ago, so he doesn't mind sitting it out and waiting around and getting what he wants. 00:25:49 Speaker 3: So maybe he's going to do that. 00:25:50 Speaker 2: Here's a question what happens first, JT. Real Mito picks a team Phillies or somebody else, or the Leaves trade or release Nick castis what happens first. 00:26:06 Speaker 3: I think JT is gonna sign first. 00:26:08 Speaker 4: I think JT's decision comes before castis. 00:26:13 Speaker 3: Yeah, I do too. 00:26:14 Speaker 2: The Phillies can wait until the day before camp opens, and then if they don't find anybody, just release them. 00:26:19 Speaker 1: You know, where are they? 00:26:24 Speaker 3: The thirty nine players? So so and. 00:26:29 Speaker 5: Next these next couple of weeks, so we will be fascinating. 00:26:33 Speaker 3: Yeah, it will be fun. There's a lot of stuff going. 00:26:36 Speaker 2: I mean, all the big guys are still unsigned. 00:26:40 Speaker 4: Craig the Chet's not signed, the two Suarez the suarez Is are not signed. 00:26:50 Speaker 3: You hang out this. 00:26:52 Speaker 6: JT is gonna sign Sunday afternoon at five o'clock and mess up the Eagles game for all the writers. 00:27:02 Speaker 5: I will be there. 00:27:04 Speaker 3: Don't do that, JT. Okay. A couple more things real quick. 00:27:08 Speaker 2: Rob Thompson gave an update on Zach Wheeler said he is throwing from seventy five feet and by all accounts, he said, the trainers think he's doing great. They said, you know, he had the surgery in September. Six to eight months recovery six months is right around just after opening day. 00:27:25 Speaker 3: I mean, good news. 00:27:26 Speaker 2: Everything seems to be upbeat, but everybody seems to be coming back great. 00:27:30 Speaker 3: From injuries, you know, in the off season, right, We don't know. 00:27:32 Speaker 2: Until you actually get on the field and see how things are going, you know, once you get your eyes on and whatnot. 00:27:38 Speaker 3: But good news so far on JT. And then the other. 00:27:42 Speaker 2: Final thing I want to mention is that Thursday is the salary arbitration deadline. 00:27:48 Speaker 3: Doesn't do anything for me. I'll be honest with you, guys. 00:27:51 Speaker 2: Salary arbitration deadline people will get all hot and bothered about it. You know that Alec Boem has requested ten point two or eleven point six and the Phillies have offered ten point one, and then everybody freaks out about it. And then someone goes to trial and says, I won't forget how the Phillies trash talk me in this meeting. And then two years later and they get to a contract excension from Reuben five years, one hundred and twenty four million dollars. Cole says, I love this place. 00:28:22 Speaker 5: Nice, you know what I mean. It is a necessary evil that have to exist. But it's much to do about nothing, baby, that's right. I mean. 00:28:38 Speaker 2: So the numbers are interesting when they come out on Thursday, if they agree to terms with Bryce and Stodd, or they don't agree with Alec Bohm, or what the number is for Lozardo. 00:28:49 Speaker 3: All that stuff is very interesting. Keep that in mind. 00:28:52 Speaker 2: They if somebody goes to trial this spring and they win or they lose and they say there's no hard feelings what JT said several years ago, or if they say there is hard feelings like what Cole Hammill said several years ago, it doesn't mean anything at the. 00:29:08 Speaker 3: End of the day. So I just wanted to That's my opinion on this saying. 00:29:11 Speaker 4: The only thing that I think it might create in certain situations, if a team wants to sign a guy long term, you start to have some of these discussions based on the numbers that pop out. In the Lozardo's case, I don't think that they're gonna be looking to try to extend bone. But in Lozardo's case, he's somebody that those discussions may start to come to fruition preliminarily. But other than that, the whole arbitration stuff, it's just numbers. 00:29:44 Speaker 5: Plug them in, make a decision on the number. 00:29:48 Speaker 3: Roll that's right. Maybe that's right, guys. 00:29:53 Speaker 6: I was gonna say you remember the day Ryan Howard won his arbitration case Testory. 00:29:58 Speaker 5: I do, and I had to be up there facing the music. 00:30:01 Speaker 3: That was fun. 00:30:03 Speaker 1: That's a big deal. 00:30:05 Speaker 4: It was a very big deal. The market considerably and it was a tremendous I still remember that case. 00:30:12 Speaker 5: Casey closes presentation was excellent. He's a great, great. 00:30:22 Speaker 4: Representative and he put on a hell of a representation to win that case, and it moved the market. 00:30:29 Speaker 3: It was big. 00:30:32 Speaker 6: Because Brian Howard walks in the clubhouse, it was like they had the carrying the day before. 00:30:37 Speaker 1: Now the ruling comes on. 00:30:39 Speaker 6: The next day. Howard walks in the club house. He looks his fall. Must have got a text from Casey, so he's like pump his fish. He walks out, and I was talking to you all about he won his case. 00:30:54 Speaker 2: Yeah, I do remember that, Ruben during the hearing where you like shoot. 00:31:01 Speaker 3: Winning. 00:31:03 Speaker 4: I think in the middle of the case when we had a break, we tried to come to you know, even before and after, I mean we try to settle. There's one of those situations where there was a lot of stuff going on because it ends up being in particularly in that case, it ends up being like MLBPA versus, you know, the labor folks in Major League Baseball and MLBPA one out on that one moved the market. 00:31:37 Speaker 3: They did, They absolutely did. 00:31:38 Speaker 9: Well. 00:31:39 Speaker 2: Guys, everybody, Well, if JT would sign, we'll do a little maybe extra show EP, the emergency pod of JT resigns, or if he says, or he signs anywhere really for that matter. Otherwise, we will be back next week. 00:31:54 Speaker 1: Smell you land Bones, Smell James. 00:31:57 Speaker 2: The Philly Show is brought to you by the Foul tear Ratory Network. Subscribe to The Phillies Show on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.