RosterResource Chat – 4/2/26

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the 1st RosterResource chat of the 2026 regular season. “Happy Konnor Griffin MLB Debut Eve” to those who celebrate.

Stu: Who gets kicked out of the Yankees rotation when Cole and rodon are back? Thinking about selling Weathers before a potential move to the bullpen, is that premature?

Jon Becker: They’ve got a lot of time to figure that out (and maybe it’ll get figured out for them) with Cole not back until June. Best guess for right now is Luis Gil, since he didn’t make the season opening rotation and wasn’t good last year, so he’s got the most to prove. I wouldn’t completely discount the possibility of Weathers to the bullpen at some point (playoffs?) but he’d have to be truly awful for it to be the move in the first half of the season. They traded for him to start.

Bryan Baker: is he really the closer?

Jason Martinez: You never know with the Rays, who might be just as likely to go with Kevin Kelly for a 1-out save than the most obvious choice. At least for tomorrow, they can’t trust Griffin Jax after his last outing (and he’s also allowed a run in 3 of 4 appearances). And Garrett Cleavinger has walked 2 batters in each of his last 2 outings. Baker looks great so far. He’d be my pick. But things can change quickly.

Pistol Pete: Red Sox need a shake-up … do you see any big changes?

Jon Becker: Would be big-time overreacting to do anything now, IMO. There’s definitely an early-season results bias (I catch myself doing this too, sometimes) because all the stats and the whole record are there for everyone to see rather than getting hidden in, say, August, but I don’t think there’s really much shaking up they ought to be doing. They’re already playing Yoshida a little more than I thought they would, though.

drplantwrench: oswald peraza seems good at 2B for the angels.  should they call up Christian Moore to play 3B instead?

Jason Martinez: Moore isn’t in AAA for any reason other than he hasn’t proven that he is ready for the majors. He has made 1 start at 3B in AAA this season (3 starts at 2B) so I think they’ll continue to give him the occasional start there just in case.

Peraza hasn’t hit in the majors at all. But he was a top prospect for a reason. If he finally breaks out and takes hold of the 2B job (meaning that he’s good for months, not a week), maybe they start giving Moore a majority of time at 3B if that becomes his most likely big league position.

Highway61: More HRs this year? Konnor Griffin or JJ Wetherholt+Kevin McGonigle? SBs?

Jon Becker: I’ll take JJ+McG for both. Not that I don’t think Griffin will be good — he will! — but it’s not hard to foresee growing pains in his first few weeks/months in MLB, and Wetherholt and McGonigle are just more polished. Plus, two players are better than one, easier to rack up the stats. Griffin’s speed won’t slump but he’ll still have to get on base to have those SB opportunities.

DJ: Who’s playing time will be most negatively impacted by Konnor Griffin’s promotion?

Jason Martinez: TBD. I think Triolo and Gonzales will share time at 3B for now. Triolo is the plus defender but, aside from some occasional flashes, has struggled at the plate. If Gonzales can be an above-average hitter and an adequate defender at the hot corner, I think he’ll end up playing more than Triolo.

Big Buckston: Opinions on the Pratt and Emerson extensions? I find it odd that they were extended with no imminent plan to be up in the big leagues. I don’t think we’ve seen extensions like that before, 0 days of service time but the plan for the immediate future is still developing in the minor leagues.

Jon Becker: You’re right that we’ve never seen deals like this before: every zero-service-time pre-arb deal is attached at the hip to getting called up. I like the decoupling of the extension from big-league readiness though, it shows that you can acknowledge that you believe in a player’s future but not see a sense in rushing him to the big leagues. The Emerson one makes a whole lot more sense to me than Pratt, since he’s a better prospect and the Brewers have so many great SS options in the system besides.

Lord Thunder: What’s going on with Noelvi Marte in Cincinnati? Looks like Francona is burying him.

Jason Martinez: Not ideal to have an unproven youngster playing only every other day. Seems like they decided that Spencer Steer won an everyday role and figured there would still be enough at-bats for Marte. And they’ve both been bad so far. My guess is Marte will either be playing every day in the majors or AAA within a week. Not sustainable unless he can somehow be good vs LHP after being really bad against them last season.

Dale: Is it too late for the Brewers to work out an extension for Turang? Looks like the breakout from last season is real.

Jon Becker: Not impossible, but I think he’d have to be willing to leave a nice chunk of change on the table to stay in Milwaukee. He’s set to hit free agency heading into his age-30 season and you don’t have to imagine too hard to see him getting a $200M contract at that point.

Pistol Pete: Looks like a Loperfido/Matthews platoon in LF for the Astros, unless Altuve is squeezed out of the infield. Do you see any changes there?

Jason Martinez: For now, Matthews will be in there vs LHP. But he doesn’t have the experience or hit tool to be a part-time player at this point in his career. Unless they decide he’s a better option in CF than Meyers, I think he ends up back in AAA so he can play every day.

Their potential issue with getting Paredes in the lineup on most days hasn’t come up yet because Peña is only playing every other game. But that could be a challenge soon. For now, having the depth has worked out well.

Guest: The Mariners, Colt Emerson, and so many lefties – how will this shake out?

Jon Becker: If/when Emerson comes up this year, the big question is “how well is Cole Young doing?” If Young is still hitting really well then it may actually be J.P. Crawford who’s the biggest playing time loser, even if Dipoto said that the point of having Emerson get a lot of 3B time this spring was to play him there when he’s ready. But Donovan’s versatility is so helpful, it can allow them to pretty evenly break up the playing time if they so wish, do things like (as an example) bench Arozarena and put Donovan in left if there’s a matchup that screams for loading up on lefties. That was the big draw of getting Donovan, they didn’t lock in any particular position.

Dan: How is Cole throwing 97+ in February but not expecting to pitch until June? If he really capable of throwing 97 months before he’s fully healed or is it he can’t pitch like a starter without reinjuring himself yet?  Would having him in the bullpen set back his timeline for returning to the rotation?

Jason Martinez: Velocity usually isn’t an issue for pitchers returning from TJ surgery. That’s why they almost always think they’re ahead of schedule to return. It’s the command that takes much longer and the biggest concern is re-injury. So it’s always best to take a cautious approach. Most pitchers will say they’re not really “back” for 18-24 months.

Zach: Does Liam Hicks end up with around 450 at bats with the Marlins? Does he get moved?

Jon Becker: If I may sub out at bats for plate appearances, I think that’s a very reasonable target. I don’t think he’s an elite hitter now or anything but he did work on adding bat speed in spring training and has come out of the gates hot. Plus, more 1B/DH time means fewer days off needed than when he was the primary catcher for a big chunk of last year. Don’t think he’ll be traded unless a team is more convinced by his hot start (or whatever it’s regressed to in July) than the Marlins are. For now, he looks like a nice long-term piece.

The Actor for Al Pacino: Seiya Suzuki is nearing return. Dylan Carlson made the Cubs’ active roster out of camp, but has yet to make an appearance. He has to be the one on the chopping block with the Suzuki return, right?

Jason Martinez: I’d guess that Kingery gets optioned or DFAd. Carlson not getting the start when they first faced a lefty yesterday isn’t a good sign that he’ll be there much longer. But there are 2 guys not being used on that roster at the moment.

Farhandrew Zaidman: How much runway do you think the Dodgers are going to give Freeland? He’s in a pseudo platoon with Rojas for 2B, but Kim is right there in AAA and Keekay/Edman will be back sooner or later…

Jon Becker: I think he’ll be the guy against righties until one of the injured guys is back (and if Hernández is the first one back, maybe Freeland still will be the guy against righties). Kim’s had a really nice start to the season in Triple-A but he’s already changed his swing at least twice and I’m sure the Dodgers want to see more consistency than a good week.

Nick: Nats carrying 4 outfielders vs. 7 infielders seems like odd roster construction. Jose Tena was made somewhat redundant after the Jorbit Vivas acquisition, and many fans expected him to be traded, even for just cash, but it hasn’t happened yet, and he doesn’t have enough of a bat to be a platoon DH, which is how he’s been utilized. What do you think is the rationale here?

JCCinDC: Who is going to play 1b for the Nationals? Chaparro can hit a bit against LHP, but he’s a terrible fielder and got sent down for now. Garcia Jr. is not a great 1b and hasn’t hit for a while now. Abimelec Ortiz?

Jason Martinez: Tena is the backup 2B/SS so he has a purpose on the roster. He’s also out of options and I don’t think the addition of Vivas, who is considered a marginal defender at 2B/3B, affects him at this time. Seems like the priority is to find out if Vivas is a good enough hitter to carry him on the roster past May/June. It’s possible that Tena gets a longer look at 2B if Nasim Nuñez doesn’t hit enough.

I think Ortiz is likely going to get his shot sooner than later. The issue right now is that Garcia is a bad defensive 2B so they want to give him some time to find out if he can be an adequate 1B. Not sure how long that experiment will last. Curtis Mead is also a former Top 100 prospect. Similar to Vivas in that it’s worth giving him some semi-regular at-bats for a month to see if they can unlock something that hasn’t shown up during his time as a big leaguer.

DJ: Tristan Peters has started the last 5 games for the White Sox including 4 in CF. Do you think that trend will continue while Acuna rotates between SS and the outfield?

Jon Becker: The calculus will change when Baldwin is back, but yeah it seems like they want to get Acuña time both on the dirt and in the grass. He’s had some throwing errors in the outfield (on back to back plays, in fact!) but they’re keeping an open mind to where he is long-term. It helps that Montgomery can slide over to third, for sure.

Mike: Rank these 4 speculative closer plays: Bryan Baker, Graham Ashcraft, Tyler Alexander, Sam Bachman?

Jason Martinez: Baker, Ashcraft, Bachman, Alexander

Alexander is reliable enough and the Rangers’ bullpen is without a set closer so he could get a random save chance. But no way he becomes the regular closer.

Bachman is interesting but Jordan Romano looks good so far, Kirby Yates could be back in a few weeks, and I’d expect Ben Joyce to be back by June and closing games by July.

Ashcraft has a shot. Pagan has been mostly effective with the Reds but he’s imploded a couple times during his career and has always been HR-prone. Santillan is probably next in line but I’d pick Ashcraft as the eventual closer.

Baker is the Rays’ most reliable reliever right now, which means the closer job could be his to lose. That’s how most relievers become closers. Just need the opportunity first.

Bob: Jacob Melton get more than 400 ABs this year?

Jon Becker: Don’t think so. Mullins and Fraley are on guaranteed contracts (though Fraley is making little enough to see him being a bench guy) and Simpson has been really good so far, especially in left after really shaky defense last year. Even if Melton was to come up pretty soon he’d sit a lot against LHP, too.

DJ: Among Brewers INF options Luis Rengifo and David Hamilton, who do you think will get more plate appearances this season?

Jason Martinez: I’d guess Rengifo, but mostly because he’d stick on the roster for the entire season as a semi-regular/bench player. Hamilton is off to a slow start and doesn’t have enough of a track record to stick with him very long.

We’ll see what the Cooper Pratt extension means. For a guy who has only played SS and hadn’t played above AA (with slightly above-average production at the plate), the contract extension took me by surprise. But maybe they think he’s very close to being their everyday SS, which could push Joey Ortiz to 3B. Or maybe someone like Jett Williams or Brock Wilken gets to the majors at some point in 2026. I don’t think the plan was for Hamilton to be their primary 3B for the entire season.

John: Is Evan Carter never going to be more than a platoon guy? His promise seemed so great a few years ago but injuries and continued struggles with lefties have really dampened the picture…. is it time to give up on him being a star?

Jon Becker: He’s still just 23, but to me “star” and “platoon player” are mutually exclusive, yeah. Priority number one for him is staying healthy and number two is doing damage against RHP. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

Guest: How blocked is Dalton Rushing, anyway?   Is he the guy who is going to lose the most money in his career to his team context?

Jason Martinez: He is a great backup plan in case Will Smith gets hurt. Catchers do get hurt a lot. And I think the plan is to play Smith less now that he’s in his 30’s. But he is so important to their success that it’s not an easy thing to do.

My guess is that the Dodgers will identify someone who is the perfect veteran backup to pair with Smith next offseason and Rushing will become a valuable trade chip. So he’ll be a starting catcher on another team in 2027 with 5 years of club control. I’m sure it’s his preference to be in the majors not playing very often rather than being in AAA (less $, not accruing MLB service time).

Guest: With manzardo looking lost will cle consider ralphy if he starts out hot in AA?

Jon Becker: I would think they’d consider it, but this is another one of those situations where I think making a move anytime particularly soon would be pretty rash. By the time Velazquez has enough of a minor-league sample, it’ll be May, and maybe they’ll have enough info then, but we can’t ignore that Manzardo was solid last year, either.

Mike Elias: Who do I get rid of when Jackson Holliday returns? Jeremiah Jackson can hit but not defend, and Ryan Mountcastle is surplus but holds practically no trade value.

Jason Martinez: Pretty sure they’ll just option Jackson to AAA. For Mountcastle, they’ll hold out as long as possible and hope a good trade offer is made. Might take an injury to another team’s 1B. But no reason to DFA him anytime soon. He’s making close to $7MM.

Zach: Any idea why McGreevy’s velocity is down so much? Is he in danger of getting booted from the rotation?

Jon Becker: After the game he said he’s not worried about it, that he often starts out a little lower as part of the buildup and then ticks back up. I don’t think he’s in any real danger after one start, but Dobbins just started his rehab assignment (can spend 30 days on rehab and I bet he’ll take most/all of it) so it could be McGreevy getting bumped at that point if they don’t think Dobbins deserves to be optioned, sure.

A Boy Named Yu: With minor league rosters being released, how do they get reconciled with your depth charts?

Jason Martinez: It’s just me moving players around manually so it’s not a fast process. As of now, I have all 30 teams re-sorted by level (sorted by position in the offseason). Next step is identifying where each team’s top prospect is playing and adjusting if necessary. The goal is to have the sections mostly accurate by the end of the week when all teams will have played a few games.

Jason Martinez: Reminder that our Minor League Power Rankings leaderboard is up and running … https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/minor-league-power-rankings

Only AAA player thus far but AA, A+, A levels will start showing up on there tomorrow.

Jason Martinez: That will do it for today. Thanks for joining us! We’ll be back next Thursday at the same time.