Todd Zolecki broke this story last week, but the news is officially official. The Phillies will be replacing Kevin Frandsen with FOUR former players, explained here in a press release:

The Phillies have added former players Michael Bourn, Chad Durbin, Erik Kratz and Kevin Stocker to their radio broadcast team, Executive Vice President David Buck announced today. The four alums will rotate working road games alongside play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke for the 2022 regular season. Phillies color analyst Larry Andersen will continue to call most home games. Additionally, Gregg Murphy will host pre- and postgame shows both at Citizens Bank Park and for road games.

“We believe the four alums who we selected will work well with Scott Franzke and bring a variety of perspectives and unique personalities to the game, making listening more entertaining,” said Buck. “Larry’s role in covering home games is a great balance, given his long history in working with Scott. He’s also a fan favorite, so we’re fortunate to still have him as part of the radio broadcast team.”

Bourn – a two-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove winner and the 2012 Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year – is returning to the club that selected him in the fourth round of the June 2003 draft. He began his 11-year major league career with the Phillies (2006-07) before playing for Houston (2008-11), Atlanta (2011-12; 2015), Cleveland (2013-15), Arizona (2016) and Baltimore (2016). Bourn batted .266 with 341 steals in 1,361 career games. From 2009-11, he paced the National League in stolen bases, including leading the majors in 2011.

A member of the 2008 World Series champions, Durbin returns to the team with which he pitched the most regular season games (210) and postseason games (15) in his 14-year major league career. Prior to joining the Phillies’ broadcast team, Durbin covered MLB and college baseball with regular segments on 104.9 ESPN in Baton Rouge, La. Durbin pitched for Kansas City (1999-2002), Cleveland (2003-04; 2011), Arizona (2004), Detroit (2006-07), Philadelphia (2008-10; 2013) and Atlanta (2012). In 2008, he led all NL relievers in innings (87.2) and posted a 2.87 ERA.

Kratz spent last year, his first in retirement, spending time with his family and coaching middle school baseball at Dock Mennonite Academy in Lansdale, Pa. A former catcher, Kratz played in affiliated baseball from 2002-20. During his major league career, he played for Pittsburgh (2010; 2016) the Phillies (2011-13; 2015), Toronto (2014), Kansas City (2014-15), Houston (2016), New York-AL (2017; 2020), Milwaukee (2018), San Francisco (2019) and Tampa Bay (2019). He hit a career-best nine home runs in both 2012 and 2013 with the Phillies.

A member of the 1993 NL championship team, Stocker has rejoined the Phillies radio broadcast team after previously serving in that capacity in 2018, working select road games. He also called six Phillies games in 2016-17. In addition to his work with the Phillies, Stocker is also a college baseball color analyst for the Pac-12 Network and CBS Sports Network, roles he has held since 2002. During the 2017 season, Stocker broadcast four major league games as part of the Intel True VR Game of the Week venture between MLB and Intel Corporation. Stocker, a second-round selection by the Phillies in the June 1991 draft, played eight seasons in the majors, including his first five (1993-97) with the Phillies. In 545 games for the club, he posted a .347 on-base percentage.

The talent schedule for road games will be finalized and announced at a later date.

It’s interesting to go back to that first paragraph and read between the lines. It’ll be Franzke with LA for “most” home games, which in the past equated to about half of the schedule. That began in 2018, when Andersen reduced his work load and the Phillies started doing the radio platoon. If you had a regular schedule, and chopped it in half, you’d have 81 road games to split between Stocker/Bourn/Durbin/Kratz, giving each guy about 20 appearances if shared equally. But with the lockout unresolved, we might be shaving more games off the schedule, and there may be a smaller pool for those guys to divvy up.

Regardless, it’s an interesting approach, and the Phils have had some broadcasting adventures in recent years. Last season, you’ll recall they parted ways with Jim Jackson, then had Broadcasting Manager Rob Brooks fill-in for a number of games on a temporary basis. Scott Franzke then picked up those mid-game innings again, and they went back to a more traditional, pre-pandemic approach. Gregg Murphy getting an increased role is a good move also, IMO.

Now all we need is the owners and players to agree on a damn CBA. Let’s get it done so we can play ball.