RosterResource Chat – 5/28/26

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource chat! We’ll be with you for the next hour. And here we go …

Person: who are the realistic Dodgers Hernandez replacement call up options and where will they go?

Jon Becker: It’s already been reported that Ryan Ward will get called up to replace Teoscar on the roster, so we know that part of the equation. What remains to be seen is how time in LF will get divvied up. The best guess for now is that Call plays every day against LHP and Kim/Ward are battling for time against RHP, with Kim also factoring in at 2B if Freeland doesn’t hit.

GatorKen: Is Waldschmidt now a fixture as a starter for the Dbacks, or is he still in the honeymoon period and subject to being sent down if he slumps?

Jason Martinez: Not locked in yet but should have at least a few more weeks before he has some competition. Once Gurriel is healthy, they’ll just have the CF spot up for grabs if Waldschmidt hasn’t solidified the starting job. It’s possible that he can. But, if not, Jordan Lawlar and Tommy Troy should be in the mix.

Jesse Gilmore: When healthy, it looks like the Sox rotation will roll out 4 impact lefthanded pitchers: Crochet, Suarez, Tolle, and Early. This feels both unbalanced and a bit unprecedented. Are there any notable examples of such a lefty-heavy big league rotation?

Jon Becker: Did some quick Googling and the 2017 Dodgers went through large chunks of the season with four lefties in Kershaw, Wood, Ryu, and Hill. The 2024 Marlins also started with Rogers, Luzardo, Puk, Weathers. So it’s really rare but I don’t think it’s intentionally avoided, it’s just that there are fewer lefties in general. Boston’s lefties happen to have very different profiles so I don’t think overexposure for the opposing team is a big problem.

Philip Christy: Is it possible to predict who is 2nd in the pecking order in the LAD bullpen behind Scott? Kyle Hurt has been the guy lately, but how long will that last?

Jason Martinez: Not really with the entire bullpen being so good right now. I’d still consider Scott the “primary closer” but it wouldn’t surprise me if they go with any of 5 different relievers to close out a game right now. I think Dave Roberts likes to do that as a flex, anyways. Like “we’re so good that my 6th best reliever is going to close out this game”.

Thus, an injury to Scott wouldn’t necessarily result in “next man up”. Would pretty much be the same but even more of a committee approach. Of course, that can change if certain guys struggle and others continue to be lights out. Hurt has risen the quickest and the fact that Klein and Henriquez are so reliable has gone unnoticed.

Broken Bat: So will Minter get some closing opportunities so Mets can trade for value in last year of contract? Will Vest or Finnegan get 1st crack replacing Jansen?

Jon Becker: I’m not sure opposing teams will particularly care if Minter is getting save opportunities or not, they care how well he’s pitching. The added leverage of closing can help make a pitcher more noticed, sure, but I don’t think the Mets are going to remove Williams as closer just to pad Minter’s stats. Minter looked sharp in his first outing and they shouldn’t have much of a problem finding a taker at the deadline if he’s healthy.

Phil: Are you surprised at how much Mickey Gasper has been catching? I admit I didn’t actually know he was a catcher until this year. Given that 1st is the one infield position where they actually have a good hitter, which is his better position, 2nd or C? Statistically he looks average-to-below average at both, so far, but that’s a tiny sample.

Jason Martinez: Can’t ever be too surprised at anything in this game. Surprising that Gasper is on the roster and playing regularly. But not surprising that he’s getting starts as the catcher a few weeks after they called him up. Red Sox need a spark offensively. Narvaez/Wong aren’t hitting much. Gasper gives them another lefty bat vs RHP and starting him at catcher allows them to get Yoshida in the lineup. Maybe not sustainable but it’s worth a shot right now.

OddBall Herrera: News is that the Red Sox are on the market for some offense.  Why ship out guys from your farm system before seeing what Arias can do?  It’s not like the MI is full of guys who are playing great…

Jon Becker: Not like it would be unprecedented to call a guy up after just 48 Double-A games, especially when you’re hitting as well as Arias is, but it would still be an aggressive promotion and I think teams are really cognizant of the optics around “we’re an underachieving team and we’re going to pin all our hopes on this super prospect to make it all better.” Maybe that’s a risk worth taking but it’s not one I really have on my radar as very possible right now.

Scott: Do you think Esmerlyn up long term of is one of humor password back down soon?

Jason Martinez: It’s clear that they are giving him an opportunity to prove himself, which is smart. And that’s at the expense of Mangum and Jhostynxon, who doesn’t have nearly the upside of Valdez. So my guess is that this could be a Marcell Ozuna vs Esmerlyn Valdez competition that will end once Ryan O’Hearn returns from the IL in a few weeks. Ozuna has been about league average in May. But he needs to be much better if Valdez proves that he can be an impact hitter this season.

Daniel Bergman: If Rodon doesn’t return to form is it possible he is the odd man out when Max Fried returns

Jon Becker: Assuming Fried returns fairly soon and as such there’s still not a very large sample of Rodón starts, I don’t think it’s really possible. Maybe they try the Mariners-style piggybacking with a couple of their starters (and Rodón could be one of those) but I’d be shocked if Rodón ended up as a true reliever unless he’s absolutely awful (and if he is, it’s likely that it’s because he’s pitching through a hypothetical injury of some kind).

Ray Darwin: Yorman Gomez starting rehab soon…what are his chances this year and ultimate ceiling?

Jason Martinez: Once he’s built up to 5+ innings, I think he’s the next SP in line after Logan Allen (SP6). They don’t have a lot of SP depth and Gomez is already on the 40-man and pitched 120+ innings in 2025.

SP7 is usually a lock to make starts in the big leagues but the Guardians pitchers are injured way less than other teams for some reason. Also a chance he can help in middle relief, although they’re also in good shape there and Daniel Espino is probably going to get a chance there soon. Gomez’s ceiling is probably mid-rotation/high-leverage reliever.

Philip Christy: Jared Jones is nearly back! Do they shove out Mlod, Bubba, or do a 6-man?

Jon Becker: Cherington has been pretty guarded on what exactly they’re going to do, and it sounds like nothing is off the table. But he did say (and this is how just about every team thinks) that six-man rotations are tough long-term because you lose a reliever by doing that (unless you have Ohtani). I could see them getting creative in limiting innings for everyone but Skenes and Keller by doing rotating piggybacks to keep everyone at least mostly stretched out. But like a true six-man that’s tough to navigate, too.

Ragbrai: May comes close to a no hitter, any takeaways? Thought he always had potential but just hasn’t had the control he needs to be consistently good.

Jason Martinez: Stuff is still there. Typically, once a pitcher gets locked in, they can go on a nice run and he seems to be on one now. At least 6 innings in 7 of 11 starts and 3 ER or less in 8 of his starts. Can’t imagine the Cardinals expected any better than that.

When I think of wiry guys with long arms and legs, staying consistent with those mechanics is very difficult so someone who gets injured as often as May is going to have the track record of inconsistency. Continuing to start every 6 days with no injuries could put him in a great spot next offseason.

Webster: How do you see the Twins rotation shaking out ros?

Jon Becker: This is unfortunately a really timely question because Kendry Rojas got scratched today with posterior elbow soreness, which could be minor or a big deal, we just don’t know. Ryan, Ober, and Bradley are locks to stay in assuming health, and Abel slots back in once he’s healthy, whenever that is. Rough last start notwithstanding, Prielipp has looked pretty good, and so have Matthews and Rojas. As teams continue to blur the line between starters and relievers, they’re another team that’s a candidate for piggybacking if they have too many healthy, well-performing starters they want to keep stretched out and in the majors.

aviaries: Surprised at all that Ryan Ward is the call-up for Teo and not Tibbs? I was all in on in this being Tibbs’ break

Jason Martinez: Not at all. Ward was Tibbs in 2025 (.937 OPS, 36 HR, 16 SB in AAA) but with a better K%. That’s why he’s on the 40-man, which is also why he’s the clear choice to be the temporary replacement for Hernandez. Not really ideal to add Tibbs to the 40-man even if they guaranteed him 2 weeks of regular playing time. Teoscar is getting his job back when he’s healthy.

Webster: Why don’t the Guardians let Manzardo cook? He has better splits vs lhp than rhp this season.

Jon Becker: It’s only 25 PA against LHP for Manzardo this year, and historically he’s been below average against them, so I’m going to favor the larger sample size. There’s absolutely something to be said for how this impacts Manzardo’s future, though, and if he makes the most of his limited opportunities against LHP you have to figure he’ll cut into the playing time that Hoskins and Fry will get against them.

Alex Remington: Ha-Seong Kim has been hhurt a lot, but I’m getting seriously concerned that his bat has gone from average (2022-2023) to unplayable. Atlanta has gotten far more from Mauricio Dubon *and* Jorge Mateo, both of whom started the spring behind Kim on the team’s SS depth chart. Leaving aside his inflated salary, does Kim still deserve to be the starter on this team?

Jon Becker: It’s only 47 plate appearances for Kim so I think it would be awfully early to pull the plug. But at a certain point it absolutely becomes a meritocracy and if Kim is somewhere near this bad with, say, 50-100 more PA, he’s definitely going to lose significant time.

GatorKen: Need to pick up some “relievers on the rise”, can Brandyn Garcia, Edgardo Henriquez and George Soriano get the green diamond on the CDC?

Jason Martinez: Reminder that I need to take a good look at this today and make some additions. A few names that come to mind are Yoendrys Gomez, who has the stuff to separate himself in the Twins’ 7-man closer committee, and Keaton Winn/Sam Hentges have a chance to become the top 2 high-leverage options for the Giants.

sokpuppet: Shane Bieber has begun making rehab starts. What are we expecting out of him and where does he rank among guys with similar ownership in Yahoo like Foster Griffin and Mitch Keller?

Jon Becker: A healthy Shane Bieber is significantly better than Griffin and Keller, but it remains to be seen how healthy he is, what the velocity looks like moving forward, how the Jays limit him if at all, all that stuff. I don’t really like to set expectations for anyone coming off injury because we just don’t know enough yet.

JayGray007: Do you think Cole Carrigg has any MLB time nearing, or are there just too many slappy decent-defending outfielders on the 40 man that the Rockies need to sort through first?

Jason Martinez: The fact that he can play SS helps his chances but they’re not moving on from Tovar anytime soon. They gave him the long-term contract and he’s been much better as of late after a terrible start. I think they’ll give Carrigg a chance at some point in 2026 but it will be as a utilityman who plays mostly in the OF.

GatorKen: Similar question to Waldschmidt, is Payton Tolle now a rotation regular, rest of this season and next?

Jon Becker: Assuming there’s not some massive downturn in stuff, yeah. His fastball is ridiculous and he looks a lot more confident in the secondaries than he was when he first came up last year and teams pretty quickly realized that you can just sit on the fastball. Been a tough season for the Red Sox but having 60% of your 2027 rotation all but set with Crochet, Tolle, Early puts them in a good spot on the pitching side.

Scott: Punted saves and now own every potential closer…do Juan Morillo, Keaton Winn, or Gus Varland have any real chances for saves!?!

Jason Martinez: I’d go with Winn. Morillo has fallen down the depth chart a bit. Not really his fault but Ginkel has re-emerged as a reliable option and a few other veterans have also been great. Varland is stuck in a committee that has gotten more crowded with the return of Clayton Beeter and now Cole Henry is back from the IL.

Winn has been the Giants’ best reliever. Because most of the others have been unreliable, Winn has to be used earlier in close games. As things stabilize (if they do), I’d expect Winn to get more save chances.

Norm Chouinard: Nuts and bolts question.  What is the date that the WW order stops using last year’s standings?

Jon Becker: Love a nuts and bolts question. The waiver wire goes by last year’s standings, worst-to-first (the whole league sorted together, it’s not the player’s league and then the opposite league like it used to be) through April 30 and then it switches over to the current year standings on May 1. I believe that’s based on the date on which the player is placed on waivers, which can be up to 48 hours after the DFA, if I recall correctly.

Phil: Breslow is starting to get asked about selling off at the deadline, although naturally his responses have been typically information-free. What is your sense? It seems quite possible that he’ll do basically nothing, even though that’s what always made people so mad at Bloom. But the team isn’t good enough to “go for it,” and he’d be selling low on a lot of the guys who are tradeable (e.g., Duran) or trading away guys who are both signed and likely to be useful next year (e.g., Chapman). Is the pressure to do *something* likely to play a role?

Jason Martinez: They’re only 3 games out of the WC race. And even if they were 10 games out, I don’t know if Breslow has the job security where he’d be confident enough making trades to help a future Red Sox team. Best-case scenario, they’ll stay within reach of the playoff race while creeping back to .500 and Breslow can treat the deadline like his job is on the line. So they’d be buyers and not sellers. If they’re trading big leaguers before mid-July and Breslow is still in charge, I’m assuming he was given a vote of confidence by ownership and he’s expecting to lead the team in 2027.

Jason Martinez: That will do it for today. Thanks for joining us. Have a great rest of the week!