 Brian yesterday you delivered news that nobody wanted to hear Luis Severino would need Tommy John surgery What was your initial reaction when you received the diagnosis? Well, I mean obviously after two failed You know rehab attempts this winter. I knew when he went back for a third Evaluation in New York and another repeat of an MRI this time a Dicontrest MRI being part of the equation I knew I just felt that the surgery was in the picture I just didn't know what kind was it a stress reaction was it a you know little bone spur that you know They thought was an incidental finding wasn't playing a part or you know the ligament appeared to be fine But the Dicontrast would confirm or deny that so in the end it turned out to be Unfortunately a Tommy John surgery was there any consideration along the way of giving him that Dicontrast MRI sooner You know I I think the consideration wouldn't have been on round one in December I think it's a fair discussion whether you would have repeated that Utilize that Platform in January I'm not sure if it changes the time frame to be honest when it's all said and done even if you did a Dicontrast MRI in the beginning say December They would have then the first reaction would have been treating it conservatively and buying time backing off And seeing how he responds Because it's a partial tear. It's not like a full thickness tear of the UCL So even though it was found on the back end versus the front end I still think that conservative gap in between a surgery would always have been in play So I don't think it changes the time frame unfortunately either way This was a guy that you expected to play a major role in your rotation You said yesterday that help is gonna have to come from within who exactly do you expect to step up in that rotation? well, I mean We have a number of you know real quality arms interesting young talented pitchers in camp that are you know Obviously starting to find their way to the major leagues and I know when we Unfortunately had to go through this process last year You know we lost Luis Severino and there was Domingo Hermon that popped up in and what he wins 17-18 games for us last year and pitched like a Severino and and that's hard to ask or continue to re-ask for that type of you know Gap filling But you know, there's a lot of people that want to make a name for themselves are gonna get an opportunity You know, it's way too early in camp to kind of speculate speculate But clearly, you know, we got Jordan Montgomery coming back from his Tommy John He looks good early in camp and then you got the kids you got Michael King you got people We already know Sessa, Loisiga People that people don't know already as much on as Debbie Garcia amongst others. So Who and what remains to be seen we got a long way to go Do you expect the fifth starter to start this season to be a traditional fifth starter? Or is an open or more of an option because of the off days and because of the situation that this team is in right now I'd say all things are gonna be on the table as we evaluate the one thing that's probably less realistic is a Trying to figure out if we can navigate a marketplace that doesn't really exist outside The current franchise. That's why I say it's easier to rely on the depth than the first and foremost. So You know Available pitching is so difficult early To kind of secure so, you know, we probably have to navigate this on our own through through the June draft Which is usually the way it plays out But we'll see we'll stay connected with everybody and you know, hopefully we have some good candidates to pick from here in This camp you haven't seen a lot of him in game action, but Jordan Montgomery has said that he has felt good He has felt strong. What stood out to you about the way he has thrown the ball so far this spring. I mean, he's got conviction He's got confidence. He's in great shape and but I say all that it's so early I mean it it's so early and and so We already know what he's capable of because you know a healthy Jordan Montgomery on his rookie campaign was fantastic And and someone that would give us a chance to win every fifth day. So him coming back now and looking healthy and Feeling confident that's the projection that you see early in camp and that's an exciting thing for us So hopefully he can maintain that and and if he is what he used to be then, you know We're in a good place with him. So another guy that's a little bit nicked up Aaron judge had some soreness in his shoulder He's been swinging off a tee throwing at 120 feet any doubt in your mind that he's gonna be ready for opening day I mean all indicators are are really good. I just think that we're you know, the one thing About taking advantage of spring training is a you're gonna have various things come up And so we don't want to respond to you know Pressure, you know, we're outside pressures of you know, hey I get this guy playing just because you know Our games don't start obviously until you know the end of March this year and so, you know The ones that count so we just want to take the time if necessary, you know to give judgey a chance to let this you know Shoulder ailment get behind them before you know, we just don't want to keep pushing it really and then wind up costing us late So let's give him the downtime slowly bring him back into it and then turn him loose And so it sounds like everything's going really well his responses to all of it's been going really well And and so we just want to make sure that we don't place something in nothing into something so to speak so But he's jumping at the bit he wants to play so he's had to help He's had we've had to hold him back because I know he's been frustrated by our timeline that we've imposed I was gonna ask you how difficult is it to tell a guy like that? No, we do not want you out there right now We want to take this slow to make sure that you're healthy for the whole season I'm not the one having to have that conversation But I can report that those conversations do have and especially early on you know It's not something he wanted to be dealing with in terms of being held back, you know Yeah, and you want you want to create an environment where the players know you got something say something really so we can react to it And but there's always that fine line where players don't want to say anything because they don't want to be taken out of action either and so But hopefully I think we have a nice harmony going there with all our new personnel and then he knows he's in good hands And and we can just get this thing taken care of in the early stages There's another guy on the mend in James Paxton anything new to report there. How's he coming along good? I mean his you know, I get a chance to see him unfortunately, you know More so because he's off the field right now and doing his rehab and he's he All the verbal is a good. He's going in the right direction. He's responding and hitting all the targets He's supposed to be hitting in his physical therapy So the early outset is that you know the surgery hopefully have taken care of this issue And you know, he'll be back to pitching sooner than later Miguel and do harm is seeing his first action in left field had a few opportunities small sample size right now Obviously, but what are you going to need to see from him to feel confident putting him on this roster? Well, you know, obviously first and foremost is calling cards that bat, you know He's already knocked a home run his first game and again You're not judging anything early, but it's always nice to see him out of the gate that you know the Mickey with the the the ability with that bat is still there to put the ball and play with a hard hard exit velocity And in the air so But more importantly the athleticism on the field I've seen him play third base already in game action and and and you know, that's been nice and and looks good The feedback from Reggie will it's especially on how he's looked in pregame work in the outfield has been very Surprisingly good to Reggie and that he has full confidence that you know, you have a Outfield choice here in his opinion. We just have to see it play in the game But what he's seen in his early work would indicate that this is not going to be a difficult transition for him. So That's what you play the rest of the game is for and and so, you know He'll get an opportunity to show his wares and and not just there. It's first base, too, you know, so he's got a lot of New experiences coming his way and and some of the cut-offs and relays and where he's supposed to be positioned and you know that comes with that type of territory but You know, I've been around long enough to know that if you have a quality bat It reminds me of when Soriano Was with us back in the day. He was a shortstop coming up in the minor leagues. He had a great bat And next, you know, you know, he filled in in for Jeteran short for hamstring and spring training for about 10 to 10 games or so Then we moved him out to the outfield And with no blocks throwing stuff going on then we want to move into the second base We were going to find the bottom line We're gonna find a spot for Soriano and that bat and and to heart reminds me of that It might not be now, maybe it's later, but he's in the competition, but he does have options So but the versatility is gonna serve as well as as we all saw last year is always important with injuries that come Well, you're definitely gonna give us that 26 man roster as soon as you know it, right? Yeah, we're gonna figure out this thing over the course of time But we definitely have some candidates that we're excited about we think could take a shot at it and then you know And easily handle that position for us, but at the same time It's gonna be resolving a revolving door Regardless based on pressure points and season of how certain aspects in field or outfield or catching You know seem to be playing out with injuries. So that aren't DL injuries, but we're IEL injuries But we might have to protect a certain area of the roster and that could affect who that 26 man is at certain times Brian as always. Thank you for the time. Thanks for having me