RosterResource Chat – 11/6/25

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource Live Chat! The deadline is coming up in a few hours for teams to exercise/decline options for 2026 contracts. Only a few players left … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/offseason-tracker?transactio…

Still plenty of coaching vacancies but all 30 teams have a manager … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/breakdowns/coaches

Lots to discuss. Here we go …

Elliott D.: Do these rumors of the Reds potentially trading Hunter Greene make any sense to you? What would a return look like?

Jon Becker: They don’t particularly make sense to me, no, but it’s worth noting that during the offseason (especially early on) teams are going to consider a bunch of different things. There are very few, if any, untouchables in the league. I wouldn’t expect the Reds to trade him for prospects based on how they’ve operated lately but they’d at least have to consider it if they were offered the type of impact bat they’ve lacked for a few years now.

Eddie: Tucker or Bellinger + a better fit for NYY?

Jason Martinez: It’s close and it really depends on what other moves they make this offseason. As things stand, I’d go with Bellinger short-term since he’s a better option in CF than Jasson Dominguez. Signing Tucker and not doing anything else would mean that either Dominguez or Judge would begin the season in CF. Of course, signing Tucker could mean they also add a CF and trade Dominguez.

Crashed Scion: Does Woodruff get a QO, and if so does he accept it?

Jon Becker: I lean towards him not getting one, in part because I think there are decent odds (maybe 33%?) he’d accept it if given one. $22.05M for a year assuming he’s healthy is a bargain for most teams, but maybe not for the Brewers, who aren’t working with a lot of payroll room unless they’re willing to go up by quite a bit.

jose luis: Thoughts on likely landing spots for Ha Seong Kim? Would he fit on the Mariners, who would seem to have at bats available and second and third, and could stand to improve defense at short?

Jason Martinez: Braves are the best fit for Kim as a SS and it’s not even close. His ability to play 2B/3B at a high level gives him more options but there’s not a clear path to be the starting SS on any other team.

Mariners make sense with JP Crawford due to become a free agent after this season. Signing Kim to a multi-year deal to play 2B in 2026 and take over as the SS in 2027 could work. But he’s a better defender than Crawford so could be kind of a weird fit. And they also have some elite infield talent on the way (Emerson, Arroyo, Young). He could also fit with the Yankees, but also kind of weird to sign him to play 2B when he’s a better option than their starting SS.

Here’s an updated look at each team’s SS situation … https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=SS

Dump on me Cal: Colt Emerson straight to the opening day roster, what’s the possibility do you think?

Jon Becker: Depends a lot on what they do in the offseason, but if at least one of 2B/3B is at least somewhat open in Spring Training, he could have a chance. It would certainly be aggressive to hand a 20-year-old a starting job out of Spring Training but they brought Cole Young up this year when he was 21, so there’s precedent there.

Ronnie: Bo Bichette will be the starting SS for which team in 2026? Or is he done being a SS?

Jason Martinez: As I mentioned with Kim, there are not many teams that have a clear path to being the starting SS. But like with Kim, the likelihood that Bo is fine at 2B or 3B, and willing to change positions, gives him a lot of options.

Not sure if the Braves are willing to spend big on Bichette to be their SS. I can see a scenario where he plays SS for 1-2 more seasons with an obvious move to 2B or 3B for the final 4+ years of a contract.

Jays still might make the most sense after their magical season. But I think his days at SS are over if he returns. Gimenez would be the starter. Bo would play 2B.

CDN: Why are the Dbacks so intent on finding a position for Lawlar when he can’t seem to hit or defend… or like baseball in any way?

Jon Becker: I think there are two equally important answers here: he’s a just-graduated top prospect, and he’s still really young. Yes he’s been awful in his two MLB chances so far but entering his age-23 season, it would be pretty shortsighted for the Diamondbacks to decide now that he’s a bust who can only DH, in my opinion.

Michael – FG since 2016: if Pirates don’t protect Esmerlyn Valdez, do you think he’d get picked in R5?

Jason Martinez: It would be tough to keep him on a MLB bench for a full season but I could see a team like the White Sox, Rockies, or Marlins taking a chance. A player with that upside isn’t available often. Best-case is that one of those teams can give him semi-regular at-bats and then some minor injury puts him on the IL for a majority of the season. The drafting team only needs to keep him on the active roster for 90 days.

Mark: Would it be fair.to say the free agents will start changing teams more after the R5 deadline and non tender are complete. (November 22nd and later)

Jon Becker: Yep, this is how it goes every year. There’ll be a few signings here and there before Thanksgiving but it doesn’t really pick up until after that and especially at the Winter Meetings in early December.

Jackson: What do you think the Phillies outfield will look like in 2026? Crawford should feature, but who else? The fanbase seems ready for them to move on from Casty, Marsh and the platoons. The Bader injury was a good example of what happens when you run platoons and the only guy who is an everyday player is forced to sit – the 4th outfielder type guys (Marsh, Wilson, Kemp) are thrust in and are overexposed

Jason Martinez: I have Crawford in there for now … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/phillies … and I think there’s a good chance he’s given a good chance to win the CF or LF job. And, at the least, they’ll have a temporary stop-gap who can hold down the job for a month or two until Crawford takes over. But he should be in the big league lineup at some point in 2026.

The expectation is that they’ll look to move Castellanos. My guess is that they’d have to eat most of his $20MM salary. I think a few teams would be happy to take on $5-$7MM as long as they don’t have to give up much.

Joey B.: Top candidates to be the 2026 version of Yesavage? Top prospect called up in September who can be an impact post-season pitcher.

Jon Becker: Looking at the first round of this year’s draft (the equivalent to Yesavage coming up this year), I could see Kade Anderson making an impact for the Mariners if there’s an injury, Gage Wood for the Phillies (probably out of the bullpen for them if he’s rushed up), or Kyson Witherspoon for the Red Sox — probably in that order from most to least likely, too.

Tyler: The Cubs have 28 men on their 40-man as of this moment, with likely one more less assuming they don’t tender McGuire at catcher.

That seems . . . light?

J: The Cubs’ 40 man is down to 28. That has to be close to a record, no?

Jason Martinez: I haven’t paid close enough attention but I know there have been teams in that 27-29 range in the past. Cubs had more free agents than any team (pretty sure) so there are a lot of holes to fill. 1 impact bat, 1 backup infielder, 1 SP, 4-5 RP. With their 40-man adds, that’s gonna take up most of those spots.

jose luis: In the team’s post-seasion presser, the Mariners said their outfield was set. Does an alignment of Randy Arozarena, Julio, and a platoon of Canzone/Robles seem like a reasonable plan A for a contending team? Does Luke Raley stick on the roster?

Jon Becker: Considering that was their postseason outfield, I don’t think it’s an unreasonable plan A, though it does put a decent onus on Robles to get back to playing closer to his 2024 form. Raley doesn’t feel particularly likely to stick after they barely used him in the playoffs; my guess is they’d want a DH who they don’t have to platoon.

So cal: Who do you think the padres protect in the rule 5 draft

Jason Martinez: Miguel Mendez, Francis Peña, Garrett Hawkins are probably the locks. Maybe Jagger Haynes and Victor Lizarraga. There is probably an under the radar guy with elite stuff who they protect. If there was a position player, it’s probably Braden Karpathios.

Dan S.: Can you see the Orioles DFAing Leody Taveras before OD if they find better options and risk paying $2 million for AAA depth?

Jon Becker: Yeah, I think it’s possible, though $2M (assuming it’s fully guaranteed, and I haven’t seen otherwise) would be a lot to flush. Plus, he’d be allowed to keep the money and reject an outright assignment to the minors anyway. To me, signing Taveras shows a strong likelihood of non-tendering Dylan Carlson, who can’t be optioned to the minors.

Dan S.: Best free agent starter to get a short (3 years or less) deal?

Jason Martinez: Merrilly Kelly and Chris Bassitt because they’re heading into age-37 seasons. If there’s a younger frontline guy, maybe Michael King. As a Padres fan, I don’t think that at all. He’s elite. He was a workhorse in 2024 and had two non-arm injuries in 2025. But from an outsider’s perspective, he’s only had one good season as a starter so maybe he only gets a 1-year “prove it deal”.

Guest: If a player constantly gets tendered a contract in arbitration, but spends no time on the major league roster each year, does he go through ARB1 in perpetuity? Is there any limit to the number of times you can be tendered a contract with more than 3 but less than 6 years service time?

Jon Becker: It would be pretty funny if a player could get stuck in an endless loop of never reaching free agency and kept going to arbitration, but you need 45 days of service time in the prior year to be arbitration eligible, regardless of whether you were eligible for arbitration the year before or not. Because a player can only get optioned to the minors for 20+ days in three separate seasons (option years), I don’t think it’s possible to go through arb more than the four times a Super Two player does.

Fin: How will the Red Sox handle their outfield logjam/positional logjam more generally? Ben C. said yesterday he doesn’t see Duran getting traded but I’m not sure I agree. Does Yoshida still fit in anywhere as another LHH corner outfielder and the worst defender of the group? Kristian Campbell?

Jason Martinez: They have all the leverage here since there is still room for everyone and, even if it’s not ideal after they gave him a long-term deal, Campbell can still be in AAA until there’s a spot for him.

With that said, I think everything is on the table other than trading Roman Anthony. Rafaela in CF is part of their best-case and moving Duran or Abreu is the most likely way to make that happen. They can just move Yoshida but I’m not sure they’re quite ready to eat most (or all) of that contract. And if he’s on the roster, they’ll want to find out if he can get back to the 2023-24 version, which was a pretty good MLB hitter.

Jeff Nold: Boom goes the Preller chaos dynamite!
Now predict how he addresses SP and 1B.

Jon Becker: Craig Stammen was on absolutely nobody’s radar as a manager candidate (and apparently was present on the Padres side on some of the early interviews!) and how he’s the only former pitcher currently managing. Amazing stuff. As for Preller’s next moves, I sort of see them being mid-market at best in filling both of those spots. So probably not Naylor for 1B, but maybe a reunion with O’Hearn or a buy-low on Rhys Hoskins. As for SP, I’ll say they add a shorter-term guy for $10-$20M (Tyler Mahle? Cody Ponce? Nick Martinez? Zack Littell?) and move one of Morejon or Miller to the rotation. I saw they’re also considering trying Estrada as an SP but I just don’t think he has the command for it.

A Boy Named Yu: Would you DH Seiya and platoon Caissie/Alcantara or develop the young guys on the bench and bring in someone else to start?

Jason Martinez: Prospects like Caissie and Ballesteros (currently projected by me as starting DH) are expected to be future MLB regulars and have to get a shot at some point. And both have already done enough in AAA. But the Cubs are a big market team and should have the $ to either re-sign Tucker or go after another impact bat. I also don’t think those young prospects are great fits on a MLB bench. I’m expecting at least one of Caissie or Ballesteros to be traded this offseason.

A Boy Named Yu: What do you make of the Shota situation?  Seemed like a like to live out his contract in Chicago.  Was his second half really that bad that he’s going to walk now?

Jon Becker: I’m reserving full judgment until we see that he’s QO’d or not (I tend to think not, but I could be wrong), but it’s basically just the Cubs saying they think he’s worth less than 3y/$57M and Imanaga thinks he’s worth more than 1y/$15M. They’re probably both right, because early contract predictions I’ve seen for him are around 2y/$40M or 3y/$54M. Still a real chance the Cubs keep him somewhere in the middle.

Avery: Are Taylor Ward or Jo Adell realistic trade targets to fill in LF for the Dodgers? Arte hates trading with the Dodgers but I feel like it makes a lot of sense in a vacuum.

Jason Martinez: The thing about the Dodgers is that they can outbid any other team for Tucker or Bellinger if they wanted another OF. And they also have the trade chips to go after a player with multiple years or control (Ward has only 1 year remaining) and who is less boom or bust than Jo Adell. Their farm system is great and then they have a lot of young pitchers who have pitched in the majors but are way down on the depth chart. Dodgers are in good shape. They could trade for Ward or Adell. I just think they’ll aim higher.

Jason Martinez: Leaving some great questions in the queue but I’m falling behind on some roster moves so we’ll leave it here. Have a great weekend!