RosterResource Chat – 4/18/25

Jason Martinez: Welcome to another RosterResource Live Chat! I’d like to take the time to thank you for all of the great questions. We can get tunnel vision with this job because it does require a certain level of focus. These chats allow us to take a step back and view things from a different perspective.

I also wanted to highlight Jon’s first RosterResource creation. He built this MLB coaching grid … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/breakdowns/coaches … Hopefully, it’s the first of many cool things he’ll build on the site.   

And here we go …

TooDamnTall: What positional arrangements will the A’s use to get Kurtz into the lineup? Also, what should they do?

Jon Becker: Hi everyone, happy Friday!

Jon Becker: Looking forward to Kurtz making his debut sometime soon. I think most straightforward is just putting Rooker in the OF and Soderstrom/Kurtz splitting time at DH/1B, though I think either of the latter two getting some OF time by the end of the year is at least somewhat plausible. Maybe Soderstrom gets time behind the plate if Langeliers needs a rest.

MF Luder: Is 2B going to be a platoon in Minnesota now that Luke Keaschall is up?

Jason Martinez: Most likely. Julien has been very good vs RHP so far (123 wRC+) and Luke Keaschall is a right-handed batter. He’s a versatile defender, which could get him additional starts at other positions, but he’s coming back from TJ surgery so not sure if he’ll play much OF. He played some 1B last season, but Ty France is pretty well set there.

Joe Shlabotnik: When Woodruff rejoins the Brewers’ rotation, who gets bumped? Does Priester’s spot seem secure or no?

Jon Becker: Right now, nobody will have to get bumped for Woodruff since the fifth spot has been pseudo-bullpen games with Patrick and Alexander eating innings but not expected to hold onto their spots no matter how well they pitch. Priester might be in jeopardy when Myers is back too, but maybe they do some piggybacking with Woodruff to limit his innings or build in extra rest for everyone but Peralta more liberally than a team with a standard five-man rotation would.

Guest: Who is the odd man out when Neto returns to LAA?

Jason Martinez: Lots of options, which probably isn’t a good thing for the Angels. JD Davis and Nicky Lopez have barely played. Tim Anderson and Kevin Newman have played a lot and haven’t hit at all. Newman is guaranteed $2.75MM so I think he’s staying. Lopez gives them a left-handed hitting option. I think Davis gets DFAd and Anderson is safe. At least for now.

Mark: Spencer Horwitz is heading on a rehab assignment. Any idea what his role will look like and where he hits in the lineup?

Jon Becker: The Pirates’ offense has been so bad that they’ve hit Enmanuel Valdez cleanup while playing him at first, neither of which are roles he should ever expect to play. So I think Horwitz will slot into the same role, maybe face some lefties too and see if he can prove himself viable there. If not, Triolo can play first against lefties.

Weird1@Portland: Will Stanton hit 20 HT TY?

Jason Martinez: He hit his 20th HR at around his 315th plate appearance last season. The question is whether he gets 300 PA. I’ll take the under, partly because of his injury history and partly because Ben Rice’s performance is going to cause the Yankees to take their time in bringing Stanton back.

David: Dont you think Nico Hoerner should be leadoff for the Cubs? Ian Happ just isn’t bringing it

Jon Becker: Nah, I don’t think so. Happ is in multiple stretches like this every year and always ends up doing just fine, and no need to rearrange when the offense as a whole is doing pretty well. By and large the league has moved away from Hoerner-types (not a lot of walking or slug) atop lineups.

matty25: When Varsho returns who gets bumped off of the Blue Jays 26-man roster? Seems like they might keep one of Barger or Wagner and send the other to AAA for regular ABs? Thus Lukes survives?

Jason Martinez: Sounds like Varsho is close to a rehab assignment so my guess is they have about 2 weeks to figure it out. And that 2-week period is probably enough time for Barger to prove that he belongs over Wagner or Lukes. We’ll see how often they start him.

Bill: Is keashall up for good ?

Jon Becker: Simple answer to questions like these, especially for a team that needs to start winning as badly as the Twins do: if he performs, they’ll find time for him, and if he doesn’t, he’ll go back down. It helps that Castro can play all over if Keaschall and Julien hold down the fort at 2B.

Closers in deep league: Do you think Abner Uribe gets more saves opportunites in Milwaukee or will it become a committee? Other guys to consider Santana is a option in Pitts or Leasure in ChiSox?

Jason Martinez: It’s still a small sample and he missed a lot of time last season. But I’d say he’s the next man up to be the primary closer. If Megill struggles or misses time with injury, I think they’re set up nicely for a committee (Koeing, Hudson, Uribe, Anderson). But if Uribe continues to throw strikes, he will be the closer at some point, in my opinion.

Guille: Why is Ben Rice playing no C for the Yankees? Also, is it safe to say his spot in the lineup is safe when/if Stanton is healthy again?

Jon Becker: There’s no need for him to with DH open and with Wells and Escarra much more highly-regarded defensively. But his lineup spot should be considered safe unless he massively slumps right before Stanton comes back. Rice could catch when Stanton returns, I suppose, but I wouldn’t expect him to more than maybe once a week.

Toolsy: Is dingler the #1 catcher in Detroit after Jake Roger’s returns?

Jason Martinez: I think it’s possible. And, at least initially upon Rogers’ return, very likely. But for a catcher, that just means he’s getting around 60% of the starts. Not sure either of them would get more than that. It’s a good tandem.

MF Luder: When Roman Anthony comes up does Rafaela become a utility-type that pushes out David Hamilton’s playing time?

Jon Becker: If there’s not an injury I think that’s the only way the puzzle works out. Rafaela would still play plenty, especially late in games, but until he stops swinging at everything I’m not sure he can be anywhere close to league average at the plate.

KC Pain: As someone who doesnt have any Christian Javier shares, I was offered him for Bohm in dynasty. Do you think he returns to being a really good when he comes back from IL or more of a 4+ ERA under K per 9 type?

Jason Martinez: By mid-2026, I think he’ll settle in somewhere between his 2022 and 2023 seasons. Not quite the ace he was trending to be after 2022 but probably better than the 2023 version when he might’ve started feeling the early effects of the elbow injury. And he’s only 28. Not sure I’d feel great about Bohm’s inconsistency so I don’t think it’s a bad move.

April: Do you think Misner or Mangum will lose more PT with Palacios back?

Jon Becker: Probably Mangum, because Misner can do actual damage and Mangum is more of a slash-and-dash type guy. That’s not to say he’s not valuable, and he should play every day against lefties and come in for defense against righties, and pick up some steals off the bench. Nice player to have at Kevin Cash’s disposal.

Dan in TX: Does Williamson go down when Polanco is healthy?

Jason Martinez: Once Polanco can play 3B regularly, that is likely. Williamson should be playing everyday (MLB or AAA). But it’s not like Polanco at DH is blocking someone from getting at-bats. Tellez hasn’t hit. Solano hasn’t hit. Not really a good DH option so they might as well keep Polanco there as long as possible while getting a chance to see Williamson on a regular basis.

Misinformation: Do you think there will ever be a time when money is not a big part of baseball fandom? When trades are talent for talent without regard to salaries? it used to be that way, until about 20 years ago.

Jon Becker: No, I don’t think so, the toothpaste came out of that tube as soon as free agency was instituted and players actually had the right to choose where they played and maximized earning power. But salary’s always going to be a factor and has been going back to Babe Ruth, who was traded for over $100K in large part because the Red Sox just needed the money. And it’s really just the nature of how people make deals: if I offer you a Milky Way for a Snickers you might be willing to do it, but you’re going to be a lot less willing if I want $10 attached to the Snickers. (Apologies, I really would like some candy right about now.)

Chris Knapp: When does Emmanuel Rodriguez get the call?

Jason Martinez: There’s a good chance he’d be up with the Twins now if he was off to a better start. But it seems clear that he still has a ways to go. Only around 250 PA between AAA/AA and he missed valuable time last season due to injury. I could see him as a 2nd half option if he shows improvement, especially with his K% (currently above 30%).

Guille: Mike Trout last 2 seasons: 16 singles, 16 homers. What´s up with that?

Jon Becker: Mostly really fun small-sample weirdness, but he’s also got a pretty low grounder rate the last two years. He’s not a Schwarber-esque one-tool slugger, now, I don’t think (though, for what it’s worth, the very very very early returns on his RF defense are not good!).

sgtjunior: How much is Verdugo going to hurt Kelenic’s playing time?

Jason Martinez: Not as much as Kelenic’s performance is going to hurt his playing time. Even with Profar’s suspension, they’d be looking around for a better option right now if Verdugo hadn’t signed. Once Acuña returns, Kelenic will likely be in AAA.

Mets Pitching Lab: What is David Sterns seeing in these bounce back pitchers that other teams and sports media are missing? Or is the Pitching Lab just so good that they can improve even bad pitchers?

Jon Becker: I think there’s a couple of factors here. I doubt the Mets are the only ones who saw something interesting in Holmes or Canning, and it might even have been more than half the league, for all we know. But the Mets generally have more money to offer (would you rather take $4M or $3M to rebuild your value?), and with so many open rotation spots this offseason they had playing time to offer. Other teams might’ve just shoved Canning in the bullpen because they didn’t have another choice.

john b: Will Francisco Alvarez be back by Monday? Is he a safe start for next week? Thanks!

Jason Martinez: It’s a good bet. But I don’t think he’ll be starting 75% of the time right away, which is how often I think he was going to start this season prior to the injury. Torrens is very good and I think he’s earned at least 40% of starts.

Okra: Time for the Rays to stop being so cute and let Aranda start against lefties.  Crazy that they think they are being smart starting their horrible RHH options instead of letting Aranda and his 18% barrel rate start all the time

Jon Becker: If Mead keeps struggling maybe they do try this, but there’s also some selection bias here. Aranda has a great barrel rate in large part because he’s being shielded from lefties, who he didn’t hit particularly well in the minors either. We’ve seen platooned players solve lefties before (Schwarber comes to mind once again) but the Rays are maybe the least-likely org to let someone sink or swim in that regard in MLB.

Dre’: Logan Henderson’s been up a couple of days, any indication on when he’ll start, or is he bullpen guy? Thanks

Jason Martinez: It’s looking like he could start on Sunday, although he hasn’t pitched since 4/9 so it would be 11 days between starts. The current window is closing with Woodruff and Myers close to returning so this might be the only chance they get a good look at him early in the season.

MF Luder: Any ideas on what Boston does when Yoshida is back?

Jon Becker: Yoshida’s been veeeeeeeeeery slowly increasing distance for his throwing progression last I saw, so this seems like something of a game of chicken where the Red Sox want to drag this out as long as possible.  My guess is they want to see if the decision gets made for them by someone getting hurt, either on their own team or elsewhere and getting desperate by trading for Yoshida (the Red Sox would have to pay a lot of his contract still, though). He can go on rehab for up to 20 days and I’d bet they keep him on assignment for the full time once that starts.

Weird1@Portland: Will Lance McCullers have an impact TY?

Jason Martinez: Astros need him to make an impact if they’re gonna keep up their run of consecutive playoff appearances. He threw 4 scoreless IP in his last rehab start so that’s a good sign. It’s been a long while but he’s been a very good MLB pitcher when healthy.

Rocky: Can Angel Martinez carve out fairly regular playing time?

Jon Becker: For sure. He can play all over and only Kwan, Ramírez, and the 1B/DH duo of Santana and Manzardo are locked in. No reason why he can’t start at least four times a week, maybe at four different positions!

Toolsy: Tyler Holton usage? Not sure what is going on there but he isn’t gettinn higher leverages opps. Is he a viable holds source?

Jason Martinez: The bullpen only has a few holds and Kahnle has the 3 saves in games that were close. So without looking at the game log, I’m guessing that many of their wins have been by more than 3-run margins. Not sure how Holton looks compared to last season, but I think his usage is based more on how the game situations have played out. Doesn’t seem like there’s been much chance to establish roles yet.

Mauricio Dubon: How many of AB’s does he get this season? Over/Under 400 (and by how much either way?)

Jon Becker: He had 428 last year, but only 29 so far this year. Plenty of time to up the pace but we’ve got him projected for 305 the rest of the year, so 334 total.

Drew: Luis Campasano is killing it in AAA with more power and even BB/SO.  With Guriel sucking, should the Pads bring Campy up to DH against LHP?

Jason Martinez: It’s a good sign that Campy is crushing the ball in AAA. But I think it’s expected. Doesn’t mean he’d be better in the majors than he was last season (he was awful). I do think having a 3rd catcher gives them some flexibility since Diaz and Maldonado can’t hit at all. Being able to pinch hit for them late in the game is easier to do with Campy on the roster. I’m good with that swap (Campy for Gurriel) at some point. Maybe not quite yet.

Shane Smith: What kind of innings limit do you think Shane Smith will be on if he continues to perform the way he has? (Will they give him a similar treatment as Crochet last year?)

Jon Becker: They could certainly limit him a little bit after he had just 94 IP in the minors last year, but it won’t be nearly as restrictive as Crochet, who missed almost the whole prior season and was only pitching in relief. I wouldn’t expect months of shortened appearances like Crochet’s.

Wes: How much longer does Pavin Smith stay in a platoon if he keeps hitting like this?

Jason Martinez: Dbacks have only faced 6 LHP in 19 games and Grichuk has a track record of crushing lefties. So I don’t think it’s something the Dbacks are thinking about too much right now. I also think having Smith on the bench to use in a big spot late in the game is valuable. If they face a LHP in 3 out of 4 games or something like that, I think Smith will get a start or two in favor of giving Carroll or Thomas a break. But I think Grichuk will continue to start vs LHP and Smith is most likely to sit.

Jason Martinez: That will do it for today. Thanks for joining us and have a great weekend!