RosterResource Chat – 2/12/26

Jason Martinez: Welcome the RosterResource Live Chat! 8 days until Spring Training games! Jon is working on a new RR feature that is going to be very useful for those of you who use our payroll pages. It should be ready very soon.  

Here we go …

529: Is Konnor Griffin on Pittsburgh’s opening day roster? What about if you were in charge?

Jon Becker: I think the answer to both of the questions is “we’ll see how he looks in Spring Training.” They kept Skenes down probably in part to try to secure the extra year of control but he won the ROY anyway, giving him a full year and they didn’t get PPI, either. So that might be a consideration again. He’d make their lineup look that much better, though it’s a lot to put on a 19-year-old kid’s shoulders.

Ramblin Rod: Which Arizona Diamondback has the most saves this season?

Jason Martinez: I’ll bet they have at least 8 different pitchers with saves this season. I think they’ll lean on Ginkel and Sewald early on since they have the experience. Puk will be in the mix by mid-season and Justin Martinez will definitely get some saves if he can return by late August (as expected). I really like Strowd. But the guy with the biggest upside and the best chance to separate himself is Drey Jameson. He’s my dark-horse pick.

Jeremy: If a team was willing to take Yoshida would that be enough to get Campbell?

Jon Becker: I think the Red Sox would gladly do that, especially because I’m not sure how open teams would be to trading for Campbell alone right now. Was bad in the majors on both sides of the ball, was only okay when he went back to the minors, and his defensive home is unsettled. I’d be all over that if he was merely a post-prospect who struggled but it’s very different calculus when he’s got $57M left.

clydethedog: How strongly do you feel that Bichette will indeed hit behind Soto?

Jason Martinez: I projected Lindor-Soto-Bichette when he signed and Carlos Mendoza said yesterday that’s the direction he’s leaning as of now (once Lindor is in the lineup). So I feel pretty strongly about it, although the manager can change his mind on any given day. Soto likes batting 3rd but I don’t think it affects him either way.

Updated projection … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/mets

SCrew: What are the Brewers going to do at 3B and how do you see it changing through out the year?

Max: I feel like a trade between Hou and Mil would make a lot of sense, and they have seem to like trading with each other.

Jon Becker: Murphy basically completely shut down the idea of messing with Ortiz and Turang’s positions right now, so while our initial thought was Ortiz sliding over to third and someone like Jett Williams at short, that’s not going to happen, at least to start. So of the internal options, David Hamilton is probably likeliest. But to Max’s point, I think a trade for Paredes makes a lot of sense for Milwaukee. The Brewers have a ton of controllable pitching and the Astros keep looking for that, plus they’ve been clear that they want a LHH and I could see Garrett Mitchell being someone they’d like.

Guest: other than Griffin, which hitters and SP yet to debut do you think have the most fantasy relevance this season?

Jason Martinez: The obvious ones are Wetherholt, Benge, and Justin Crawford because they have a clear path to starting jobs. Here’s a good place to view projected PA for non-roster invitees with 0.000 service time … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/opening-day-tracker?status=n…

Colt Emerson and Kevin McGonigle don’t have the same clear paths, which is why they have lower projected plate appearances, but that doesn’t matter as much. Once the team decides they’re ready, they will make room.

For SP, it’s tough because most won’t be on an Opening Day roster due to inning limitations. But I’d say Robby Snelling is up there.

Aaron: Which team has the worst defensive roster?  Pirates?

Jon Becker: I think the Angels are worse — they were the worst defensive team in baseball last year, and they still don’t have a clear CF until Bryce Teodosio subs for whoever’s out there late in games. But the Pirates do currently have the most inelegantly-constructed one now that Ozuna’s clogging up DH. Haven’t seen any clarity yet but we assume going to be a lot of O’Hearn in the OF, and fewer DH days available for Lowe.

Nick: How do you see the Nats’ defensive infield alignment shaping up? To me, it seems a little goofy to keep running Abrams out at short with a far superior defender in Nunez projected to start at 2B just because of Abrams’ bat.

Jason Martinez: This falls into the category of “projections I made early in the offseason with an incomplete roster that will surely work itself out sooner than later” and it never really worked itself out. In other words, I put Luis Garcia at 1B because they didn’t have a 1B and moved Nasim Nuñez into the 2B spot with the thinking that it was just a temporary holding spot. While there has been talk of Garcia getting reps at 1B, there has been no talk of moving Abrams to 2B with Nuñez playing SS. So I’m still assuming they could add a 1B. Rhys Hoskins and Dom Smith seem like decent options. Maybe Abimelec Ortiz gets a real chance. And maybe they’re still open to trading Abrams.

But if they don’t do anything and commit to Garcia at 1B (at least vs RHP), they’d have to consider flipping Nuñez and Abrams because that would make more sense defensively.

Roman: Where do you think Castellanos will end up? He seems like a no-risk flyer for a team like the Padres who need another righty corner bat

Jon Becker: Phillies just released him about two minutes ago! He can only be paid the league minimum $780k so really anyone could sign him and cut him before the season for essentially nothing if it doesn’t work out. Padres would be an okay fit, sure.

TC: I have heard absolutely nothing about Luis Rengifo as a FA this year. are there any plausible landing spots left that will give him a starting role?

Jason Martinez: Same. All has been quiet but I assume he and his agent have determined that a versatile switch-hitter who was very good for 3 consecutive seasons (.754 OPS, 111 wRC+ from 2022-24) shouldn’t sign for lower than the $5.95MM he made last season. I’m sure there is a point where the price will have to come down and that’s very soon. Brewers make a ton of sense. Maybe the Nats or Rockies.

Colton: Think there’s any chance Tyler Black gets another shot at 3b work now?

Jon Becker: Sure, I would assume he’s on the list of guys they’ll take a look at. But he didn’t play there in the minors at all last year and while Hamilton didn’t either, Hamilton is regarded as a better defender.

Colton: Lovullo came out and said they’re going to make Thomas a roving OF with Lawlar getting most of his looks in CF for this spring. Does that meaningfully change the outlook for the team in your eyes?

Jason Martinez: Yep. Any info on the Dbacks (specifically Lawlar) is helpful because I’m just taking an educated guess on a lot of that roster this offseason. With the giant hole in LF until Gurriel returns, Blaze Alexander made sense because he looked very comfortable in the OF at the end of the season. I moved Lawlar to LF after Alexander was traded but this latest report seems to suggest they want him to focus on CF. So I moved him back into a platoon with Thomas in CF for now.

I don’t think the Dbacks have much idea if he can handle CF or not. If that changes during ST, I think starting CF is back in play but they’d have to feel pretty confident that he’d also hit because it’s a big downgrade defensively. As far as Thomas, I think getting him comfortable at all 3 spots is more in preparation for him eventually being a 4th OF, whether that’s right away or later in the season.

A Boy Named Yu: The Cubs bullpen really only has 1-2 spots up for grabs.  Which relievers in camp do you see as most likely to make the opening day roster?

Jon Becker: Yeah, it’s interesting because they added a bunch of free agents who can’t be optioned but also loaded up on NRIs that they’ve talked up as really interesting. The depth is of course great to have but they won’t have room to tap into it much at the start of the season. In the mix are starters Assad, Brown, and Wicks, any or all of whom they could prefer to keep stretched out in AAA; a bunch of 40-man relievers led by Hodge, Little, and Roberts; and interesting NRIs like Trent Thornton, Corbin Martin, and Collin Snider. I’ve seen them talk up Snider quite a bit.

Natsfan26: Do you like the Mikolas pick up for the Nats? Where do you think he slots into the rotation?

Jason Martinez: Considering the remaining options and that they’re clearly not willing to spend $ this offseason, I like it a lot. Veteran who has some very good seasons under his belt. Overall numbers aren’t great, but he allowed 2 ER or less in 18 of his 31 starts last season. So he can still get guys out. And since he’s cheap ($2.25MM), he’ll be easy to trade or release if they want to make room at some point for a younger pitcher.

Chris: What do you think happens with Bryce Eldridge this year? More minors seasoning or permanent lineup fixture. Feel like he struck out a lot but did hit ball hard in debut to give optimism.

Jon Becker: A lot closer to the latter, because they’ve left DH so wide open for him. There’ll be ups and downs for sure but he’s really good at not chasing so I don’t foresee Caglianone-level struggles or anything like that, even though they’re both tall dudes with huge pop.

Chris: I know it was cheap but what exactly is the point of bringing back Goldy? Clogging up a bench spot with a short side 1B only is dumb.

Jason Martinez: He was one of the best hitters in baseball vs LHP last season. Reports from yesterday suggest that Ben Rice will be an everyday guy (not just a 1B vs RHP) but I think that has more to do with his ability to catch occasionally and Giancarlo Stanton’s ongoing elbow issues. And Rice is too good to call him a “platoon bat”. But Goldy will always be in the lineup vs LHP and I’m sure he’ll get some starts vs RHP.

Jon Becker: Rice could (will?) also continue to catch some, so having a good defensive 1B for those days instead of just sticking Rosario there helps, too.

baseballer8489: I have to imagine the Brewers wouldn’t trade their entire 3B depth chart unless they thought Jett could be the guy there (or Turang to SS, Ortiz to 3B, Jett to 2B but like you mentioned Murphy rejected that). Could Jett stick at third or maybe they think a Luke Adams/Brock Wilken/Andrew Fischer/Cooper Pratt will be ready?

Jon Becker: I think if you can handle both SS and CF like Jett can you can probably figure out 3B (relatively) easily, too, for sure. And the other names you listed are part of the equation too — their upper-level 3B depth is strong so they could be totally fine with Hamilton stopgapping for a few months, I doubt they’re anticipating waiting until 2027 for someone to emerge out of that group of four + Williams.

OW: Am I wrong to think the Mariners roster could still use another bat (or at least a platoon guy)?

Jason Martinez: They’re probably fine for now. It sounds like they think Colt Emerson can be in the lineup at some point. He can be that impact bat. The current projected backup infielder is Leo Rivas, who was very good in 41 PA vs LHP last season. Refsnyder crushes lefty pitching. Victor Robles has good career numbers vs LHP.

captainjameshook: Do you guys do a projected SP6-10 anywhere? Thinking particularly about the Brewers and with Sproat and their rumored stretching Zerpa out as a starter in ST. (I assume the ship has sailed on DL Hall but maybe they don’t think it has either)

Jon Becker: Not directly, but you can glean a lot from our positional depth charts, which for SP include 10+ names for most teams. People are understandably going to read a lot into who’s projected for (and who ends up making) the Opening Day roster but there’s often not some massive gap in projected SP5 and SP6 innings.

A Boy Named Yu: If the Cubs sign Gallen, who gets bumped from the current projected rotation?  Or do they roll with a 6-man?  Or is the answer, as usual, “these things tend to work themselves out”?

Jason Martinez: They do tend to work themselves out. Unfortunately, that ends up being due to injury. But if no injuries occur and none of their 6 starters needs to ramp up slowly and begin the season on the IL for any reason, it might be Cade Horton who starts the season in AAA.

That would suck but I’m sure the conversation is that they need him completely available in October and they’ll be able to limit his innings early in the season while he’s in AAA. It’s understandable.

millville meltdown: do you think soderstrom sticks in lf? what happens if he doesn’t?

Jon Becker: Yeah, absolutely. He graded out really well there and even if he falls back to below-average, he can really hit, and they’ve got nowhere else to play him anyway.

Yakety Sox: Do you have a sense of how the Royals will use Garcia going forward? Trying to figure out what kind of position flexibility I should anticipate in the next couple of years. Thanks as always!

Jason Martinez: Not really. He’s a Gold Glove 3B and they don’t really have other 3B on the roster. Adding Lane Thomas and Isaac Collins make it less likely that he’s needed for CF coverage. If Witt goes on the IL for any reason, maybe he plays SS.

A Boy Named Yu: I’m pretty sure this is Kevin Alcantara’s last option year.  At this point, the Cubs still don’t really know what they’ve got with him.  IYO, is it better to play him everyday at AAA to maximize development, or carry him on the big team’s bench and get him exposure to MLB pitching?

Jon Becker: I think by bringing McCormick and Carlson in on MiLB deals, they’re showing (to me at least) that they’d rather he play every day in AAA than be on the MLB bench, though it’s not like he’s completely closed off from being the backup OF. But I agree that he’ll be at something at a crossroads once he’s out of options.

Ramblin Rod: Castellanos feels like an Athletic. Dirt cheap, formerly successful.

Jason Martinez: Not really any at-bats available at corner OF/DH on that roster between Butler/Soderstrom/Rooker. And remember that he’s the same amount of dirt cheap to every team. It’s going to be a minimum salary so $ won’t have anything to do with it. All that matters is roster fit. Dbacks, Rockies, Padres seem most likely.

M&M: Who ends the year with more innings, Messick or Melton?

Jon Becker: I’m leaning Messick. Despite not being in the projected rotation he has a really good chance of making it (i.e., he’s pretty clearly their SP6), whereas Melton is definitely out of the rotation to start the year assuming everyone’s healthy, and he might have to leapfrog Drew Anderson as the next man up, too.

Sid the Astros Kid: I was wondering if you could breakdown why Tatsuya Imai is projected as the SP3 for the Astros in RosterResource when he seems to have better projections than the SP2 Javier? I guess I assumed in that case the Astros would want to have Imai as the SP2 and Javier as the SP3.

Jason Martinez: In this case, I went with Javier as SP2 because he pitched like an ace in 2022 and then was rewarded with a contract extension. As happens with most pitchers, he’s been off the radar for a while because of elbow surgery but important that he did establish himself prior to that. And he should be good to go for a full season.

Imai does have the big contract but no track record, which is why I listed him after Javier. He could very well be the better pitcher but that’s TBD.

Booble miles: Who is the odd on favorite for Halo’s CL l, percentage-wise: Yates, Stephenson, Romano, Hoyce

Jon Becker: Joyce actually might not be too far behind in camp, like I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back in May. So if I’m ordering most to fewest saves this year I’ll say Joyce-Stephenson-Yates-Romano? Honestly though you could order them however and I wouldn’t quibble with it too much.

Kevin: So what is Kevin McGonigle going to do this year?

Jason Martinez: Most of the projection systems have him somewhere between .735-.775 OPS, 111-115 wRC+, and around 300-400 PA. Pretty darn good for a rookie. And projection systems are usually going to be conservative with rookies since a majority do struggle in the big leagues within their first few seasons. He’d be my pick to exceed his projections, though. I’d go with an .800 OPS and 500 PA, 15 HR, 30 2B.

Jason Martinez: That will do it for today. Thank you for stopping by. We’ll be back next Thursday. Have a great rest of the week!