RosterResource Chat – 5/7/26

2:01	Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource chat! Always a pleasure to join you all and talk some baseball. Here we go …

2:01	Metsox: Whats up with Jose Fernandez’s playing time? He seems to young to sit on the bench, but maybe isn/t? Could the DBacks move Marte, which they want to do apparently, and create space for him? Could he move to OF. He hits the ball hard and has been solid so far.

2:04

Jon Becker: He’s playing a decent amount, but it’s damn near impossible to sit Ildemaro Vargas with the way he’s hitting. As for the OF, he’s never played there as a pro and I haven’t seen anything about him getting work there, so that’s probably off the table for now. It’ll be interesting to see what they do when Carlos Santana is back, since Vargas/Fernandez getting playing time makes the most sense but I don’t think they’d DFA Santana based on such a small sample size since he’s such a great glue guy.

2:04	AT: What less than full time NL players would you look at getting more playing time as the season goes on as they show ability?

2:05	Jason Martinez: A few names that come to mind are players who mostly play vs LHP but are already getting more and more starts vs RHP due to increased production. Trending in that direction are … Tyler Freeman, COL Matt Vierling, DET Austin Martin, MIN Miguel Andujar, SDP

2:07	RAGBRAI: How long is Snelling up for? Does he pitch enough in the majors to be fantasy viable?

2:08

Jon Becker: I think he’ll get a good long look and get every chance to hold onto that spot for the rest of the season. If it was just an injury for Paddack I’d say “well I guess we’ll see when Paddack comes back” but that spot is wide open now. Braxton Garrett has also been very good at Triple-A, though.

2:10	Dale: Who gets called up first for the Brewers? Jett Williams, or Cooper Pratt?

2:12

Jason Martinez: Depends on need. Unless Cooper Pratt is going to be the regular SS, they’re probably not calling him up because he hasn’t played any other position in AAA. Williams has been splitting time between 3B/SS/CF. But he’s not the type of prospect who gets the call unless he’s going to play regularly. So unless he’s going to be the starting 3B, he probably won’t be up soon. With that said, I’d lean towards the guy who signed a long-term contract (Pratt) getting the call first.

2:13	RAGBRAI: Third and short seem to be a weak point for the Brewers. Barring any trades, who do you think is playing SS and 3B at the end of July? Do they have the capital to make a significant trade?

2:14

Jon Becker: I don’t think there’s a need for them to make a significant trade. The medium-term shortstop (maybe as soon as the end of July) is going to be Pratt or Williams, and ultimately it’ll be Jesús Made sooner than later. As for third, the longterm guy there is Andrew Fischer and he seems to be pretty fast approaching. So I don’t think they’ll shake up those plans by emptying out the farm for a big name.

2:15	Big J: How likely does Peter Lambert start on Sunday? Any other options for HOU? I read Imai’s next start will come in MLB against SEA.

2:16

Jason Martinez: He’s clearly separated himself from all of the other temporary options (Bolton, Teng, Alexander, Weiss). 2 outstanding starts and 2 others where he gave his team a chance. Not sure if they shuffle things around for the weekend but there’s no reason to think he’ll be out of the rotation anytime soon. One of the few bright spots.

2:17	DJ: Is there an advantage to teams waiting to place players on the 60-day IL? It seemed obvious for awhile Drew Thorpe wasn’t going to be able to return within the first 60 days of the season, but was only recently placed on the 60-day IL.

2:18

Jon Becker: Teams can’t place a player on the 60-day IL unless they need the 40-man spot (and that can be for any reason: trade, selecting a contract from the minors, etc.), and the White Sox didn’t need Thorpe’s until a few days ago. But the IL backdate remains the same, it’s not a 60-day clock starting the day he’s transferred. So it’s entirely a paper move that doesn’t change anything about his surgery recovery timetable.

2:19	EccentricATLFan: What happens to Lenyn Sosa first: getting cut by the Jays, or getting a walk?

2:21

Jason Martinez: He’s not getting DFAd anytime soon. Jays traded their 17th rd pick from last season and a PTBNL or cash to get him. And he’s under team control for another 3 1/2 seasons. When Barger returns from the IL tomorrow, they’ve hinted that there’s a chance that Pinango to AAA might not be the corresponding move despite being the obvious one. If it was someone else to go, I’d guess Schneider gets optioned. Sosa has 0 options remaining. Over/under on when Sosa gets his 1st walk? I’ll say May 22. 15 days from now.

2:22	A Boy Named Yu: What happens first – the Dodgers miss the playoffs or the Rockies make them?

2:23

Jon Becker: Rockies making the playoffs. I don’t want to put a year on it but Dollander looks legit, Charlie Condon might help them out as soon as this year, and if Ethan Holliday can cut down on the in-zone whiffs (big if!) he could be a guy too. It’s way harder for me to envision the Dodgers missing the playoffs anytime soon when 12 teams make it now (and maybe that’ll be 14 of 30 or 14 of 32 come the next CBA or expansion).

2:24	Oaktown Blues: Do you think Carlos Cortes will continue to sit vs LHP?

2:26

Jason Martinez: At least for now. And it’s not even that big of a deal. Sometimes teams don’t face many lefties so it can be a good time to rest a lefty batter if they happen to face a LHP. For example, the A’s are scheduled to face only 1 lefty in the next 10 days … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/probables-grid?view= *Note that our SP Grid now has an “opposing starters” option. Colby Thomas is Cortes’ platoon partner and he should be playing at least occasionally. And he’s done well vs LHP in his 20 PAs. If there’s a time when they face like 4 LHPs in 10 days, I can see Cortes getting 1-2 of those starts because he does seem like he’d be fine.

2:27	OW: No way the Yankees give Jones a try this early with Dominguez out, right?

2:30

Jon Becker: On the one hand, Jones is leading all of affiliated baseball in RBI last I checked, and the “baseball card stats” are really good. On the other hand, his zone- and overall contact rates are even lower than last year, and I continue to have a tough time seeing it work with any regularity whatsoever against MLB pitching. Assuming Jasson has to go on the IL (he’s in concussion protocol and also getting an MRI on his shoulder after crashing into the OF wall making a catch today), my best guess is they go with a shorter-term option like Yanquiel Fernández. He’s doing well in Triple-A, they’ve got the 40-man space, and Stanton isn’t too far off from coming back.

2:31

War2D2: So the Cubs are rolling, but they’re losing pitchers like it’s a random Tuesday on the Somme in 1916. They really don’t have depth in the minors that they can pull from, and with 3/4 of the league able to squint and say they’re contenders they don’t have much in the way of potential trade targets either. Who do you think eventually becomes available? Sandy Alcantara and Joe Ryan seemed like the obvious candidates early on, but Sandy’s just been okay and Ryan had a pretty big elbow scare last time out. Who else is out there that you think will be on the move by the deadline, or potentially sooner?

2:31	A Boy Named Yu: With Boyd’s injury, are we assuming Assad moves back into the rotation?  Also, if another starter goes down, who do the Cubs turn to next?  Pull Ben Brown out of the bullpen or look externally/trade market?

2:36

Jason Martinez: There is concern but I don’t things have changed that much. They’re good enough with the current group and Boyd should be back by end of June. Assad/Wicks are probably fine for 4-5 starts, whichever one replaces Boyd (maybe combination of both). It’s a really good team. Offense/defense are great and the bullpen is above average with Palencia back. The setback for Steele could make it more difficult to assess how badly they need another SP by the trade deadline. But they have this time to decide where Ben Brown will be most valuable. High-leverage reliever or starting pitcher with No. 2 potential. My guess is that they aggressively pursue a SP in July. No idea who will be available. Sandy and Joe Ryan are good bets. Not much separation in playoff races right now. Everyone still has a chance.

2:37	Coby Mayo: When do I lose my spot in the order?

2:38

Jon Becker: Holliday (we’ve now mentioned both Holliday kids, and I will now mention Matt just to complete things) is restarting his rehab assignment today so it might not be much longer for Mayo. When Holliday’s back it’s possible they’ll ease him back into things and/or sit him against at least some lefties, but the best course of action on a regular basis is Holliday at second and Jeremiah Jackson at third. Mayo might not even keep his roster spot, with Weston Wilson and Blaze Alexander out of options and Mayo able to go down to Norfolk for more regular playing time.

2:39	Procter S.: Do you see Didier Fuentes staying in the Yankee bullpen for the remainder of the season? If so, do you see him moving into more high leverage situations?

2:39	Procter S.: Sorry, I meant Braves.

2:43

Jason Martinez: Despite several injuries, the Braves’ pitching staff might be in better shape than any team in baseball. Their top 4 relievers — Iglesias, Suarez, Lee, Kinley — have things locked down from the 6th inning on so there’s not really a huge opportunity to pitch in a high-leverage role. Between Reynaldo Lopez, Grant Holmes (if he’s eventually moved to the bullpen), and Fuentes, they have 3 capable high-leverage arms who can pitch multiple innings. However, the rotation could become a bit thin if they have another injury. Waldrep should be back by mid-season and Schwellenback is still a possibility to return by end of season. But Fuentes could still be needed there, at least occasionally.

2:43	Good Problems: How do you think the Pirates will rearrange their staff once Jared Jones is back? I could see them piggybacking him with Mlod to build him back up, but piggybacking Bubba and Mlod could be good for both of them, or keeping Mlod as a long relief option would help the bullpen a lot.

2:45

Jon Becker: Your piggyback idea makes the most sense to me. Jones has gone three innings in each of his first two rehab outings and I assume they’re going to get him up around or above five innings before activating him, but it’s not like he’ll be unleashed for 100+ pitches right away. So having Mlodzinski either as a planned piggybacker with Jones or merely available as a multi-inning guy if someone is inefficient is really helpful.

2:45

Big Buckston: Twins have the second-worst bullpen ERA in baseball after a couple of recent blowups, but they do have some guys on the IL or down in AAA as options. Any idea how the ‘pen shakes out when guys like Acton, Laweryson, and Sands get back? I don’t even know who gets replaced because almost everyone has been bad

2:49

Jason Martinez: The bullpen looked problematic on paper and it has been. They needed several guys to be better than expected and it hasn’t happened. Expect a lot of waiver claims (Yoendrys Gomez is next in line) as they try to find some stability. Not much help on the way. I think Kendry Rojas is the most intriguing option. Prielipp would’ve been very interesting if they didn’t need him to start. C.J. Culpepper is in AAA. I think he’ll get a chance to make some starts but he could also get a look in the bullpen at some point. Most teams usually have a veteran who is dominating in AAA or a young prospect who is putting up great numbers in the upper minors. Twins don’t have either right now.

2:49	Sid the Astros Kid: The Astros seem kinda cooked am i right? Offense is going to take a hit with Correa going down for the season and our big pitching addition from the offseason Imai was not meaningfully throw strikes in his mlb starts or his rehab starts :/ Too pessimistic on my end?

2:51

Jon Becker: I don’t really disagree with your assessment. The only saving graces are (a) that Hunter Brown seems to be on schedule to return when expected and (b) that the whole division (and AL for that matter) has been weak. So they’re really a good stretch away from being right back in there. But that whole pitching staff is more or less in shambles from top to bottom, and I just don’t see Imai being very helpful based on how much he’s struggled to find the zone at all.

2:52	Nick: Kyle Karros’ underlying numbers look quite good. Is he a thing?

2:55

Jason Martinez: He’s 6’5″ so I’d assume he’s a guy who strikes out a lot and has a ton of power. But that’s not been the case. His BB and K rates are good. He just hasn’t hit much in the majors despite playing half of his games at Coors Field. We’ve seen so many cases of the reverse (poor BB/K rates, plus power) not working out well. In Karros’ case, they’re hoping he has the difficult part figured out (plate discipline) and the power will eventually come. They don’t have a lot of 3B options at the moment so I think they’ll continue to be patient.

2:56	Bruce: Any news on Aidan Miller?

2:57

Jon Becker: I saw a day or two ago that he’s still not swinging a bat, which strikes me as… not good. Still no real specifics on his back injury but obviously going that long without being able to swing doesn’t portend well for getting enough time to get going, get into games in Triple-A, and make enough headway to be a significant contributor to the Phillies this year. Really unfortunate for him and the team because if he was healthy and doing well with the IronPigs right now he’d be knocking on the door for a call-up to take over at 3B.

2:57	DJ: Jesus Rodriguez has played many different positions in addition to catcher in the minors (1B, 2B, 3B, LF). So far with the Giants he was in RF for one game. Do you think he can be a true “utility” type defensive profile in addition to his catching ability?

3:01

Jason Martinez: Unless they demote Patrick Bailey (not completely out of the question), I think they’ll continue to give him starts all around the diamond to keep his bat in the lineup. His misplay in RF cost them the game yesterday but he probably should’ve been out of the game (1-1 game in the 7th inning), considering that he hasn’t played out there much (maybe never). If things continue to go badly and the Giants fall out of the playoffs race, they won’t hesitate to play him in the OF, 2B, 3B, etc. since the season will basically become an audition for 2027.

3:02	Crews: Any sense on whether Dylan Crews has a timeline for return or is he back in the bucket with other AAA players waiting for an injury/spot to open up?

3:03

Jon Becker: I haven’t seen any particular timetable mentioned, and he’s been below-average by wRC+ in Triple-A so I doubt anything’s imminent there. The Nats still have a crowded outfield so I’d guess from their perspective Crews really has to earn it, it’s not just “we’ll call him up on June 1” or something like that.

3:04	Doc Estes: Any idea what is wrong with Bryan Abreu?

3:07

Jason Martinez: Could be a lot of things. Fastball velo is down 2 MPH compared to his last several seasons. That could be mechanical. Could be injury-related where he’s trying to pitch through something that seems minor but is affecting his command. His last 2 outings were better but far from “no more need for concern” territory. Relievers being effective and healthy for 2+ seasons in a row is rare. Abreu has had 4 in a row.

3:07	OW: cheers for the opposing starters option, that’s awesome

3:07	Jason Martinez: Shout out to Jon on adding that feature. More cool stuff on the way!

3:08	Jason Martinez: That will do it for today. We’ll be back next Thursday. Enjoy the rest of your week!

Source

* This article was originally published here