This week’s 40-man roster deadline was less eventful than usual (we only had one trade on deadline day), but as always, a number of young players became big leaguers in a certain sense, and teams had no choice but to indicate what they think of lots of fringe prospects who they either did or did not choose to roster. This day of clerical activity is the culmination of the efforts of the players themselves, the people in player development who have helped turn them into big leaguers, and the scouting and decision-making portions of each org that put their stamp of approval on the prospects. Is any one move here as impactful as signing a Yoshinobu Yamamoto or a Matt Chapman? No, but when your favorite team experiences a rash of injuries in June, whether or not they have the depth to scrap and compete is often dictated by the people and processes that surround this day. I’m more focused on analyzing roster depth, fit and flexibility in this space than on scouting players (especially when they’re star prospects you already know well). I’ll have a separate post on the National League. Read the rest of this entry »

If there is one month when even the most diehard baseball fans tend to check out and focus their attention elsewhere, it’s probably November. It’s not that things don’t happen — eight managerial vacancies have been filled, a few of the top free agents have signed, and 118 minor leaguers have been added to their parent club’s 40-man rosters — but the offseason rarely picks up much steam until the Winter Meetings begin. So it’s understandable if you might need to get caught up on all of the recent comings and goings around the league.

I have compiled that list for you here, along with links to the applicable RosterResource depth charts and payroll pages, and analysis from FanGraphs writers for each of the more notable moves.

National League

Arizona Diamondbacks | Depth Chart | Payroll
Free Agent Signings

• C Stephen Vogt signed to one-year, $3 million contract with 2021 vesting option. Analysis

Lost Off Waivers

• RP T.J. McFarland lost off waivers to Oakland Athletics.

Added to 40-Man Roster

• INF Wyatt Mathisen, INF Andy Young, SP Riley Smith, SP Taylor Widener

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Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts, and top prospect promotions. For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Arizona Diamondbacks
8/24/19: OF David Peralta (AC joint inflammation) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to August 24.

For the third time this season, Peralta has been placed on the injured list with a shoulder issue. He’s still managed to slash .275/.343/.461 with 12 homers and 29 doubles in 432 plate appearances, but he has only nine hits in his last 46 at-bats. With the Diamondbacks’ playoff hopes all but gone, they could just decide to shut him down for the year and take a long look at rookie Josh Rojas in the outfield.

Roster Resource

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Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts, and top prospect promotions. For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Atlanta Braves
8/17/19: OF Ender Inciarte (strained hamstring) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to August 17.
8/16/19: SS Adeiny Hechavarria signed to MLB contract.

The return of Inciarte, who missed two months earlier in the season with a back injury, had helped to spark the Braves’ offense as of late (.328/.438/.582 over his last 80 plate appearances) as well as re-establish that he could be a key contributor down the stretch. For now, they’ll have to rely on Adam Duvall, Matt Joyce, Rafael Ortega, and Charlie Culberson in the corner outfield spots and hope that Inciarte is back at full speed by the start of the post-season.

Dansby Swanson’s slow recovery from a foot injury, combined with the struggles of Johan Camargo, prompted the Braves to sign Hechavarria almost immediately after he was released by the Mets. The 30-year-old has four hits in nine at-bats, including a pair of doubles, in three starts since joining the team.

Roster Resource

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Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts, and top prospect promotions. For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Cincinnati Reds
8/12/19: INF Freddy Galvis claimed off waivers from Blue Jays.

The acquisition of Galvis, which might or might not be related to Jose Iglesias being out of the lineup for three consecutive games over the weekend due to biceps soreness, gives them another reliable option at shortstop and, at the least, a timeshare with Jose Peraza and Josh VanMeter at second base. The 29-year-old has a $5.5MM club option in 2020, making it very possible that he enters next season as the starting shortstop.

Roster Resource

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Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts, and top prospect promotions. For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Chicago Cubs
8/4/19: C Willson Contreras (strained hamstring) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to August 3.

Contreras will likely be out until early September. Victor Caratini, who has an .803 OPS in 140 plate appearances, will be the starting catcher with Taylor Davis serving as his backup. Nick Hundley and Jonathan Lucroy are free agents who the Cubs could consider signing.

Roster Resource

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Below you’ll find a list of every trade that occurred between July 13 and July 31 involving at least one player on a 40-man roster. You can click on “analysis” for the corresponding article and click on “Roster Resource” to view that team’s updated depth chart. For players not on a major league roster, their current level is listed in parentheses next to their name.

Updated prospect rankings for players who have switched teams can be found underneath the list of trades. Organizational rank is listed first. Overall rank, if a player is included in our Top 121 prospects, is listed in bold.

National League

Arizona Diamondbacks
7/31/19: SP Zack Greinke and $24MM traded to Astros for INF/OF Joshua Rojas (AAA), OF Seth Beer (AA), SP J.B. Bukauskas (AA), SP Corbin Martin (AAA injured list). ANALYSIS
7/31/19: SP Mike Leake and cash acquired from Mariners for INF Jose Caballero (A+). ANALYSIS
7/31/19: SP Zac Gallen acquired from Marlins for SS Jazz Chisholm (AA). ANALYSIS

Top Prospects Acquired: Gallen (4, 94), Martin (5, 113), Bukauskas (8, 121), Beer (14), Rojas (14)

Roster Resource

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Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts, top prospect promotions, and a few players who are “knocking down the door” to the majors. For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Atlanta Braves
7/27/19: SS Dansby Swanson (foot contusion) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to July 24.
7/27/19: OF Nick Markakis (fractured wrist) placed on 10-Day IL, retroactive to July 27.
7/27/19: OF Adam Duvall recalled from Triple-A.

With Swanson and Markakis sidelined and struggling rookie Austin Riley playing much less often, the Braves’ lineup looks much different all of a sudden with Johan Camargo, Ender Inciarte, and Duvall thrust into regular roles. Inicarte and Duvall, both former All-Stars, have combined for eight hits, including three homers, over the past two games. The Braves could look to acquire an outfielder before the deadline, however, as Markakis isn’t expected to return until sometime in September.

Roster Resource

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Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts, top prospect promotions, and a few players who are “knocking down the door” to the majors (Mondays only). For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Arizona Diamondbacks
7/24/19: OF David Peralta activated from 10-Day IL.

With the Diamondbacks facing off against lefty John Means on Wednesday, Peralta was out of the starting lineup in his first game back from the injured list. The 31-year-old has struggled against left-handers in 2019 (.596 OPS, 1 HR, 26 K in 98 plate appearances), making it likely he’ll continue to platoon with Tim Locastro and the newly-promoted Yasmany Tomas in the mix. Peralta is batting fourth and playing left field on Friday.

Roster Resource

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Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves from the past few days, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts, top prospect promotions, and a few players who are “knocking down the door” to the majors (most Mondays). For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

Lineup Regulars

Houston Astros
7/22/19: INF Aledmys Diaz activated from 10-Day IL.
7/20/19: INF/OF Tyler White designated for assignment.

The 28-year-old White had an .888 OPS with 12 homers in 237 plate appearances in 2018, which is a big reason why the Astros were extremely patient with him despite having so many other players deserving of at-bats. But with Diaz activated from the injured list today, Carlos Correa close to returning, and Kyle Tucker and Joshua Rojas pushing for big league promotions, White finally ran out of time to show he could turn things around.

Roster Resource

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