RosterResource Chat – 5/30/25

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource Live Chat! Busy roster day ahead. In fact, it’s already started so Jon will take the first few questions while I get caught up.

Here we go …

TradesTenYearsLater: Can you help explain the math on whether Roki Sasaki is still rookie-eligible? He’s short on innings, so it comes down to 45 days on the active roster — I’m not sure how days get counted when the Dodgers started their season early in Japan and can’t identify his precise IL date because it’s wrong on the official MLB site (it definitely wasn’t April 16th)

Jon Becker: Even without the two Japan days he accrued 47 days before being placed on the IL on 5/13 (the US season started on March 27 so that’s five days in March plus all of April plus 12 on the active roster in May), so if this is somehow season ending (I doubt it, since he just re-started a throwing progression) he’s lost his rookie eligibility already. I really hope it was indeed the injury contributing to less velocity, because he really struggled in the mid-90s.

T: Do you think there will be adjustment to the 60 day IL similar to what we saw from the change to 10 day to the 15 for pitchers? Teams like Mets and Dodgers are using their immense payrolls to stash depth. Is this even seen as a problem? Would a change to 75 days be enough?

Jon Becker: I don’t really see a problem here, and the Dodgers and Mets aren’t stashing depth so much as they are simply especially unfortunate with injuries. The Dodgers had some existing injuries but they didn’t plan on this many and the Mets’ injuries were largely unexpected, too.

Jason Martinez: All caught up for now. You can keep track of everything that’s happened so far (and is expected to happen) with our Transaction Tracker …

https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/transaction-tracker

Eric: What is the likelihood that Devin Williams gets his closer role back?  We traded for him early in the season before his complete implosion, and he is killing our cap room but don’t want to outright cut him because we can use the saves.

Jason Martinez: Weaver seems locked in right now and the Yankees are one of the best teams in baseball so there’s not really much incentive for the Yankees to give Williams the closer’s job. They also have a bunch of guys pitching well out of the ‘pen so it could be one of a few different options on the days that Weaver isn’t available.

chandler simpson: does it bum you out that he’s an exciting young player, would’ve been a star in another era, but gets sent down because teams value SB far less than fans? I realize he’s a below average hitter and defender right now, and that this isn’t the business minded way to think about it, but he’s so exciting!

Jon Becker: It does bum me out, because I want him to be better than this, but the only tool he showed was the speed. That has plenty of utility as a 26th man but he needs to be playing every day and working on his defense so he can at least be good in a corner, and he was bad in both CF and LF. And I wasn’t expecting him to actually slug (nobody was) but I thought he’d slash some more balls for doubles down the line, at least.

Hey Mr dj: Is dj lemahieu going to be competent enough to be the everyday 2b for the Yankees? Hitting the ball hard but striking out a lot in his small sample…

Jason Martinez: Small sample but he has 3 DRS in 94 innings. I haven’t watched him there at all but that’s a good sign. I was surprised that they went with him at 2B instead of 3B because he’s 37 and you figure the range factor would be an issue. And now the word is that Jazz will play 3B when he returns. So, most importantly, the Yankees seem to think DJ will be fine at 2B.

Insert Witty Name Here: Why isn’t Bubba Chandler up yet?

Jon Becker: The only reason I can think of is the Super Two cutoff. Players within the top 22% of service time for those who have between 2-3 years of service are eligible for arbitration a fourth time, and the cutoff isn’t known until the end of the season (or in Chandler’s case, the end of the 2027 season). Right now, there’s 122 days left in the season, so Chandler would be at 2.122 years of service at the end of 2027 assuming he’s up for good. The cutoff was 2.132 last year but it’s been as low as 2.115, so the Pirates aren’t yet “safe” from paying him for four years of arbitration instead of three.

Beano: Willy Adames? I know he has a career year that’s tough to repeat but he’s really terrible! Is there hope?

Jason Martinez: Perspective from a Padres’ fan who recently saw him play a couple games at Petco Park. The ball was jumping off of his bat in BP. And in the games, too, only most of them were pop-ups hit a mile in the air. So it’s not the same drop-off as someone like Bogaerts, who just doesn’t barrel the ball very often. And his BB/K rates don’t seem way off from his career norms. I think it’s just a matter of getting comfortable with his new team and putting less pressure on himself. Happens a lot with big-name free agents.

Guest: Has any progress been made on incorporating projected go-to lineups by opposing pitcher handedness on the team pages?

Jon Becker: I’ve been working on this behind the scenes for a few weeks now! I’m still very new to app development (shoutout to our devs Sean and Keaton for answering my million questions as I go through this), so it’s slower going than it would be if they had the bandwidth to work on it, but it’s getting somewhere. We’ll definitely have it for the offseason when the changes are less frequent, remains to be seen if there’ll be runway to implement it during the regular season this year. But it’s coming!

Dan: With Caratini and Dubon’s bats seeming hot, how do the Astros balance that with getting playing time for Cam Smith and Dezenzo, especially once Yordan comes back? Seems like maybe one of them needs to go down to get regular playing time as to not stymie their development.

Jason Martinez: Dezenso has over 100 PA and probably needed to do much better than a .683 OPS. It’s not terrible but I think he’s ready to go back to AAA and get everyday at-bats. Cam Smith has a 153 wRC+ over his last 62 PA so I think he could be turning a corner. Just needed to hold his own for a couple months and then, hopefully, take it to another level. Seems like it could be happening.

Hercules Rockefeller: Just from seeing roster moves it seems like DFA’s are up in recent years. Is there a reason for this? Semi related, how does one being DFA’d affect their service time?

Jon Becker: Doesn’t look like there’s really been an increase, we’re at 215 so far this year and 645 last year, and we’re about 1/3 of the way through the season so it’s actually pacing perfectly well. As for service time, players accrue while they’re in DFA limbo. So Matt Mervis, for example, will get service time today and every day until he’s outrighted, released, or claimed, and if he goes on the MLB roster of whoever claims him his service time accrual will be uninterrupted.

Carl: Is Henry Davis going to get a shot at actual playing time, or do the Pirates think he’s just  a backup now?

Jason Martinez: He was already starting to cut into Bart’s playing time and, even with Endy Rodriguez back, I think he’ll get a majority of starts. Apparently, Adam Frazier gave him some tips and he’s been better ever since. He’s 8 for his last 20. He definitely has the opportunity over the next 10-14 days to grab a bigger share of the catching job moving forward.

Eddie: When Stanton returns how do you see the Yankees navigating the 5 guys for 3 spots ?

Jon Becker: I think it’ll be a lot of very granular matchup-based decision making, though it’s of course possible that by the time Stanton is back someone else is hurt or really struggling. Would figure Jasson plays against every righty and Stanton against every lefty, so from there it’s a matter of divvying up Grisham/Rice time for one spot (I don’t think Goldy or Bellinger will really have their playing time cut into at all). How they want to align the defense and who’s on the mound for the Yankees will play a part, too.

drplantwrench: it seems the angels are choosing to have their CF be split between chris taylor and jo adell, both of which have substantial problems. as the Mayor of Jo Island, i refuse to give up hope on him, but things seem bleak.  how do you see this plays out in the short/medium term?

Jason Martinez: Their 1-7 spots in the lineup are very good and upgrading in CF doesn’t seem to be a priority at the moment. But I expect that to change. They’ll likely give up on Adell at some point, but they’re not there yet. Nelson Rada is interesting. He’s only 19 and putting up good numbers in AA. But probably not the answer in 2025.

Beano: Victor Mesa – an ok fill-in or a future OF mainstay?

Jon Becker: I think a lot closer to the former than the latter. Has never been even above-average by wRC+ in the minors and his fielding was graded as slightly above-average last year, so he’s not really great at anything. Maybe a fine 4th/5th OF but not a guy who’s starting for a good team.

D’oh: How long do you think Simpson stays in the minors?

Jason Martinez: Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s in AAA until at least September. Rays got a long enough look and have a good idea of what kind of impact he can have now (at this point in his career). And they optioned him. So that tells us a lot. Mangum/Misner can also run (obviously not as fast as Simpson) and can provide more offense. Jonny DeLuca should be back soon. Richie Palacios will be back at some point.

matty25: Thairo Estrada was just activated by the Rockies. Will he be getting everday ABs?

Jon Becker: Absolutely. The plan all along when they signed him was for him to be their starting 2B, and they sent Amador (who had been playing somewhat regularly) down to make room for him.

Tacoby Bellsbury: Henry Davis-related follow-up question: How far down the draft would he have to have been picked for “second-division backup catcher” to have been a positive outcome for the selecting team?

Jason Martinez: A catcher getting drafted in the 1st round should be expected to be a starting catcher who can be at least average offensively/defensively. A top 10 pick will have huge expectations. But there are so few of those. A very good MLB backup drafted in the 2nd Rd wouldn’t be a disappointment.

drplantwrench: with the return of Bob Steve, and the potential call up of Sam Bachman, could the angels bullpen be good again??

Jon Becker: I’m not sure about “good” but certainly higher-upside than it has been in recent years, even without Joyce. I thought Stephenson’s stuff would take a step back right off surgery and it’d take him some time, but nope, he came back throwing 98 with his filthy cutter/slider and got six whiffs in his first inning back. Zeferjahn’s been largely pretty good, too, and Detmers might be getting more and more used to pitching in relief.

dubykoff: How likely do you think Emilio Pagan is to hold onto the closer role for the rest of the season? I need to replace Ryan Walker’s saves, and was thinking of offering Soderstrom or Drew Rasmussen for Pagan.

Jason Martinez: I like his chances. His biggest competition for save chances was probably Graham Ashcraft and he’s had a few shaky outings in a row. And Alexis Diaz bouncing back and reclaiming his job is no longer a possibility. Only thing you’d have to worry about is Pagan imploding, which he’s been known to do once in awhile throughout his career.

RoyalBlue: Will Cameron replace Lorenzen in rotation when Ragans returns? Back to Omaha?

Jon Becker: Back to Omaha is the likeliest outcome despite how well he’s performed just so they can maintain roster flexibility, though Lorenzen shifting to the bullpen certainly impossible. That’s looking like a heck of a division race and they should make whatever decision they think helps them win more, which might be Cameron sticking.

Something clever: The team being held back the most by a frustratingly cheap owner: ______ (Pirates, Royals, Orioles, Cubs)

Jason Martinez: Probably the Pirates. But I think people should have a better understanding of how people with so much $ these days became rich. It’s usually a failson or the failson of a failson. What motivates them isn’t likely to be sports championships. This is just an easy way to make more money without having to actually be good at anything. I’m guessing that is most important in their circles.

Guest: Who goes down for Cubs when Shota is back? Is it Ben Brown?

Jon Becker: Most likely. Rea’s faded a bit lately and they might want to have him back in the bullpen, though they’ve already got Flexen as the long man. Brown was on a nice little run of a few good starts but then had two awful ones in a row, and the offense can’t be expected to bail him out every time.

Rufus IX: Ronny Mauricio. Let’s hear it, guys.

Jason Martinez: He’s crushing the ball in AAA, which isn’t completely meaningless. But there needs to be a path for regular playing time and I don’t see it. Vientos has been good over the past few weeks. McNeil hasn’t been bad. Baty has been terrific. Mets would love for him to keep it up thru the end of July when they’re looking to upgrade their roster via trade.

Ricky: Any chance of Ben Rice getting time at 3B, even if he’s eventually lifted for a defensive replacement mid game?

Jon Becker: I noted in last week’s chat that he’d been taking some grounders at third “for fun” pregame, so it wouldn’t completely surprise me to see them try it out. Don’t think you want him at third when Fried is starting and getting a lot of soft contact but it could work okay enough playing behind other guys in the rotation.

Reamonn: What’s the frequency of the updates for the closer depth chart specifically regarding hot seat/on the rise? Jeff Hoffman’s had two straight clean appearances, so I feel like that seat isn’t as hot as it could have been. Maybe there need to be a warm seat before hot seat? Really enjoy that product (and everything else). Thanks.

Jason Martinez: I look at the box scores everyday and make adjustments daily. In some cases, it just takes one clean save chance for things to cool off. That’s probably the case with Hoffman, although I might’ve held off because Yariel and Little have been so good.

RoyalBlue: Jac in Royals lineup June 10th vs Yankees?

Jon Becker: That feels correct-ish. He might be in for a rude awakening in MLB considering how much he chases but they really need a jolt in that lineup.

Jon Becker: That’ll do it for this week! You can follow along here with all the transactions as Jason updates them. Have a great weekend and we’ll see you next Friday!