‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Joe Maddon on what it would take for Mike Trout to be traded, Rob Thomson’s firing, and more

Joe Maddon managed against the Phillies in the World Series. Kyle Schwarber played for him with the Cubs and Brandon Marsh with the Angels. He has known Rob Thomson and Don Mattingly for years.

Oh, and he used to manage Mike Trout.

Maddon recently brought his unique perspective to Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to share his thoughts on all things Phillies.

Here are a few excerpts from the conversation. Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

A: He’s from Millville, [N.J.], not far from Philadelphia. He’s a small town guy. I’m a small town guy. I’m in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania. My hometown, Hazleton, is right over there. Sensibility-wise, it’s like loyalty. We were raised that way. I was never of the ilk that I’m going to walk into the boss’ office and demand anything. I just think there’s a level of loyalty that has been embedded in us, whether it’s through your parents, your coaches, your teachers, the city itself.

So, I just think the reason why that hasn’t happened [is] because that’s who he is. He’s not going to do that. And then you got [owner] Arte [Moreno] on the other side, who, I don’t think wants to be the guy that trades Mike Trout, either. I think there’s these opposing forces at work right here. The only way it’s going to happen, I think, is if the Angels decide that they’d like to do this, they would then approach Mike about it. And then if they were to do it that way, I think that would become more amenable to Mike. But for him to be proactively trying to get this done, I don’t see that happening.

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... I really thought when Shohei [Ohtani] left a couple years ago [in free agency], they should have traded Mike at that point, although he had been hurt a lot. Right now, he’s playing every day, his OPS is good, he’s getting on base a lot. He looks fine in the outfield. I watch him move around, he looks like he’s pretty healthy right now. So this is the optimal moment to do it, or you just can eat it. ... The thing [the Angels] have to realize is that you’re not going to get the same level of prospect for Mike Trout, regardless of future Hall of Fame or not, that you think you would like to. So, you have to lower your expectations a little bit to get this deal done. But they should get at least one, maybe two guys they kind of dig on, and then move it forward from right there. And plus the game itself, and Mike himself, I think deserves that kind of opportunity to be able to play some postseason baseball to be highlighted in that regard.

So, that’s how I see it. Mike’s not going to be proactively involved in setting this up. It’s got to be the Angels to him, I think. And then at that point, I think Mike would probably acquiesce and move it from there. But I just think it has a lot to do with where he’s from, how he grew up, who his parents are. I think you’re not going to be very demanding to your employers, your boss at that point.

A: Robbie hadn’t changed at all. Robbie was still outstanding at what he did. It always amazes me why somebody has to be fired in that particular moment, unless he had lost the clubhouse, unless he did something untoward that really upset a lot of different people. I don’t really understand that. Just a year ago, two years ago, before that, he’s one of the best … managers out there. But then all of a sudden, he’s not good. And I just don’t like that, quite frankly, because Robbie is very good. The fact that the team did not play well wasn’t his fault. Sorry, but it’s not.

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I would consider the acquisitional process or things that occurred outside of his office first. So, having said all that, of course it did happen, and I believe Robbie’s going to land on his feet very, very well. I don’t even know exactly what he’s doing right now. But those are the kind of moments that you see, that unless there’s a really good reason [but] just the team has lost some games? The guy has had a great track record, so I didn’t like it, quite frankly. And just like the Mets stayed with Carlos [Mendoza] for a bit … I always evaluate based on what I hear when they speak, and always solid good stuff. And I’m not there, and I’m not in the locker room, but I never really heard anything said badly about these fellas.

So again, it’s just the way the game’s run. I think social media really has fueled a lot of this to the point where it becomes a real hot-button topic, where some really sound baseball folks from the past probably would not have reached that. But I think we are so influenced by our phones and thumbs and fingers and opinions that are varied and really shouldn’t carry a whole lot of weight, actually. The only weight that should be necessary is that among the front office and the scouting department. And that’s where the decision-making should be made, not publicly.

A: It’s always a concern with the young left-handed hitter coming up through the minor leagues that’s done well that he’s going to become an everyday player. It’s always left-handed more than it is right-handed. We could talk about Schwarber, too, and there’s other lefties that I’ve had that as they come up through the minor leagues — how can he become [an] everyday [player], because is he going to be able to handle that side, left-on-left? So, when I’m watching him now, it’s just a maturation process. It’s just time. These guys don’t have enough opportunity to bake in the minor leagues to the point where they become accomplished. They just get here so quickly, the number of at-bats down there, the number of situations to have been put into left-on-left at-bats, they’re not piled up high enough. So, then you come to the major leagues where everything’s so scrutinized, and you have to perform right now in order to maintain your status there. And then the pressure mounts regarding I’ve [gotta] hit this lefty or otherwise, whatever. But I think [hitting coach] Kevin [Long] has done a nice job. They’ve both done a nice job. I like his setup. I like how quiet he is.

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… But the thing about Marshy, he always hit the ball well to left-center, even as a kid. That was the one thing I noticed on the films that I saw of him that I liked. He started to bat a little bit different way, kind of like tapped the nail of the head, and he kept the bat more in front of his head, and he was able to really hit the ball well to the left-center side. Great speed, great energy for the game. He had all that stuff.

When I was [with the Angels], it was between him and Jo Adell. And at that time, [it was] who’s going to make it first? And really the overarching concept of the thought was that Marshy was going to be there before Jo. Jo needed more polishing at that point. Right now, look what Jo’s doing. These are two wonderful young men, these two guys. I was in love with both of them over there.

I’m so happy for the success of both of them, but Marshy specifically. Larry Bowa called me about Marsh when they were ready to trade for him [in 2022] and asked me what I thought. I said he just needs more information, he needs more time, that’s all. That’s all he needed, because athletically, my God, and as a teammate it’s hard to beat this guy. So he has all the appropriate bells and whistles. Sometimes you just need time to become better at what you do.

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Phillies Extra is your deep dive into all things Phillies on Gameday Central! Hosted by Scott Lauber, each episode brings you insider analysis, exclusive interviews with players and experts, reader emails, and more to cover the hottest topics with the Phillies and across Major League Baseball. Don’t miss it — the conversation starts here!

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