RosterResource Chat – 7/10/25

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource Chat! Three weeks until the Trade Deadline, which means you have today, next week (7/17), and the following week (7/24) to ask me and Jon what we think of your best trade proposals.

Here we go …

Paul: What do the Rays do with Curtis Mead? Clock is ticking on his last option and plenty of teams need a RHH 3B/2B/1B.

Jon Becker: His option is intact all year, so it’s not as if he becomes inflexible to being optioned again if he’s brought back up at some point. I think they’d certainly consider dealing him if the right deal comes along, but with Lowe hitting free agency in the offseason and Kim possible to do the same with his opt out, he could still play a key role on the 2026 squad even with Yandy, Aranda, Walls, Caminero, and Caballero all still around.

JT: Any chance we see Joe Mack in the big leagues this year?

Jason Martinez: I imagine that Nick Fortes could be a trade candidate. Agustin Ramirez is probably not a catcher. Liam Hicks is playing a lot of 1B lately. And Mack, who might be their starting catcher by 2026, is crushing the ball in AAA. I’d say there’s a very good chance we see him in August.

Justin: Any too-early thoughts on Ben Rice’s playing time in 2026? This week of “downward trend” is concerning.

Jon Becker: There should be time plenty of time for him not just in 2026 but the rest of the year, especially with Goldschmidt fading (and if he continues to, they’re gonna have no interest in bringing him back, and he might struggle to find an MLB deal at all). The Yankees have so much depth at OF/DH/C/1B that Rice playing is gonna be pretty matchup-dependent, and I guess they didn’t love the matchup for him in the last three games, even as they were all righties.

Hicks: Where are you on Jordan Hicks? He hasn’t been that much better in Boston but people are spec’ing on him taking over for Chapman.

Jason Martinez: Red Sox are trending towards playoff contention so Chapman is likely staying put unless things go very badly over the next couple weeks. I’d still put Garrett Whitlock as the “Next in line”. He’s had 1 bad outing over his last 18-20 games. Put Slaten in that mix once he’s healthy. Hicks would need to get back to his 2023 form for him to have a shot.

Jon Becker: I figured Hicks would get back to throwing 100+ consistently now that he’s definitely back in the bullpen as long as he’s wit the Red Sox, but that’s evidently not the case, so those days might just be in the past for him.

O(o)F: o/u games in the field for Yoshida this year?

Jon Becker: I think the over/under on starts in the outfield is 0.5, really, and maybe, I dunno, 5.5 for games where he comes in for an inning or two in a blowout? So much depth in the outfield that there’s just no need and I’m not sure how serious the 1B workouts are.

Ham Fighter: Tobias Myers had 3.4 rWAR as a rookie last year, and has a 64 ERA- | 77 FIP- in AAA this year. Chad Patrick leads all rookies with 2.3 rWAR | 2.0 fWAR this year. Logan Henderson is one of only five rookie pitchers with at least 1.0 rWAR this year, and has a 69 ERA- | 85 FIP- in AAA. Nestor Cortes just struck out four over three scoreless innings in his first rehab start. Do you see the Brewers doing anything with all their SP depth at the deadline?

Jason Martinez: For sure. It’s probably necessary to include one of those guys in a trade, especially Patrick or Henderson, if they want to upgrade their lineup by the deadline. But they also have experienced both extremes this year (not enough/too much pitching) so they might value the current amount of depth more than most teams. Myers has value but not nearly as much as the rookies.

Guest: hey remember when Matt Shaw bat 5th in his MLB debut

Jon Becker: This question (amidst Shaw’s really bad struggles right now) is a great reminder that (a) it’s a really, really long season, and (b) when you’re looking at a RosterResource page, the Go-To Starting Lineup (and bullpen hierarchy for that matter) change super often! Teams will use 120+ different lineups throughout the year as players get hot, slump, get hurt, get sent down, and get called up, so it might only be the Go-To Lineup for a few days.

Guest: How soon do you see Konnor Griffin debuting in Pittsburgh? Sometime next summer? Any thoughts on Termarr Johnson?

Jason Martinez: I think a 2026 debut is starting to seem likely. Without pointing at any particular numbers, sometimes you just get the sense when a guy is the real deal and is going to move quickly. I’ll guess that he finishes the season in AA and there will be a good amount of “will he make the Opening Day roster” hype during Spring Training 2026 (at least until the Pirates throw cold water on that possibility). And then it will be a relevant topic until he does get the call.

Johnson’s numbers are very ordinary in AA so far. Still young (21) but hasn’t shown a ton of power. Had a good month or so (.300+ BA) before a recent string of 0-fers.

Alec: Biggest need for Detroit ahead of the deadline: high-leverage reliever to support Vest/Kahnle, additional starting pitcher (also to potentially save the bullpen), or splurge on one of the alleged power bats available (a la a reunion with Suarez)?

Jon Becker: Knowing how Hinch manages a pitching staff in the playoffs, probably another high-leverage reliever. A depth-y starter would get relegated to the bullpen or shorter starts by playoff time anyway, and they have enough of those guys to get through the year.

Bob Nutting Scouting Dept.: McMahon or Burger the rest of the way @ 3B

Jason Martinez: I’ll go with McMahon, especially if he gets traded. As crazy as it might seem, moving away from the most hitter-friendly ballpark and to a contending team should revitalize him. The guy hasn’t played in a meaningful baseball game in so long. Not an easy situation to lock in and have success over a full season.

Refugee: What’s your read on the Bryan Baker trade?

Jon Becker: Not at all surprised to see the Orioles selling, and they had to do that trade for the comp pick now because the draft is Sunday. I get the displeasure O’s fans have with moving Baker since he’s not a free agent until the conclusion of the 2028 season, but he’s also a 30-year-old reliever. Seems perfectly fair for both sides. Now we just wait and see who gets all the O’s rentals before the 31st.

Ozzie: Do you think we will see River Ryan pitch at all this season? I really liked him in the little time we got to see him last year. Do you think he would be a real candidate to make the Dodgers rotation at the start of next season?

Jason Martinez: Not a chance in 2025 and I think the Dodgers will be bring him along slowly at the start of 2026. Not only should their rotation be full — Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Snell, Sasaki, etc. — the Dodgers have been overly cautious with their injured players with the intention of having as many of them ready for the playoffs. And there’s no sense of urgency knowing that they don’t have much competition in the NL West.

Mike: Agree or disagree? Twins aren’t fixable, unless CC and Lewis hit. They are stuck with those two (when Lewis is healthy, which is part of the issue, building a roster around his health).

Jon Becker: Absolutely. Not saying this works the other way — they’re not automatically fixed just because those two are hitting — but you can’t have two core players struggling at the plate this much and expect to do well. They just don’t have the depth up and down the rest of the lineup to paper over those two not hitting.

Opifijikl: Do the Red Sox regret the Priester trade? Would you do it again?

Jason Martinez: Probably. They gave up 6 years of a guy who finally seems to have figured things out and looks like a legit MLB starter. But it will take years for us to know whether it was a good deal or not. Yophery Rodriguez has struggled a bit but he’s only 19 in Hi-A and could still turn out to be a very good player. Holobetz looks like he has a good arm and is a couple years from the majors. And they still have the draft pick. Long ways to go before we can make a good judgement.

KM: Is anybody going to bite on the White Sox’s trade deadline offerings of Adrian Houser, LRjr, etc? And if so what would they get back?

Jon Becker: Houser should be a hot commodity since he’s looked legitimately good and is owed well under $1M the rest of the year. Robert on the other hand… he might be in the Eloy Zone of being so ineffective that the Sox have to eat money and/or not expect much back in return, and I’m saying that as someone who expected he’d bounce back at some point. They’ve also got Taylor, Slater, Civale, Tyler Alexander on expiring contracts.

Wes: Is Ben Brown buried pretty deep in the depth chart now? Was a bit surprised they left him in Iowa after Taillon got injured

Jason Martinez: Not really. They probably won’t want to bring him back right away unless absolutely necessary. But there’s not a lot of depth behind the current group. Flexen/Wicks are ahead of him for now but he can put himself back into the mix if he makes the proper adjustments in AAA.

Johnny5Alive: Any chance left for faucher? Seemed like he got himself into the mix for like 1 opportunity. What about pressly in Chicago?

Jon Becker: The Marlins have been extremely fluid with bullpen usage all season so Faucher could absolutely pick up a few saves still, sure. As for Pressly, he’s certainly looked better since that horrible extra innings outing against the Giants, but Palencia is the guy right now and hasn’t done anything to show it should be anyone else.

Ryan: I get that things happen over the course of a season, and they’re facing a lefty, but boy it is nuts with the amount of position player depth we all thought the Orioles had, they’re running out a lineup with a Laureano/O’Neill/Urias heart of the order

Jason Martinez: Urias is the only guy on the roster with good numbers vs LHP this season. Also Rutschman but he’s on t he IL and also Mullins but he usually sits vs LHP. And Laureano/O’Neill both have good career numbers vs LHP. So not necessarily bad that they’re in the middle of the lineup. But it sure is bad that no one else hits LHP.

Rave: You highlighted John Rave’s increased PT in your piece the other day. What will he do with it?

Jon Becker: For those unaware, this refers to the playing time changes article I write every Tuesday for hitters and every Friday for pitchers. Rave isn’t doing much hitting but he runs well and is an okay fielder, and that’s not an org exactly teeming with options. Not sure they’ll be buying at the deadline but they really need to get some outfielders who can hit before the 2026 season starts.

drplantwrench: if/when CMo comes back and assuming Yoan Moncada is healthy, is Rengifo without a spot?  Should he be traded ASAP?

Jason Martinez: Not sure how much time Moore will miss but I think it’s going to be far beyond the trade deadline. And the Angels, whether it feels like it or not, are only 3 games out from a playoff spot. So trading Rengifo, who has been pretty good for the past few weeks, seems unlikely if nothing has changed much three weeks from now. But if they continue to go backwards, I think it’s likely he’ll be traded.

Alec: With most of the reserve players seemingly announced, who’s a player from each league you would say falls somewhere between “disrespectfully snubbed from the ASG” and “would have been cool to see him make it given the year he’s having”?

Jon Becker: Ceddanne Rafaela was struggling when players actually voted for All-Star reserves so I get why JRod made it over him, but it would’ve been fun to see him make the trip considering his sneaky all-around value. And I’ll take Pivetta in the NL, having his best year yet at age 32 and has never made an ASG.

Chad: Who debut first with the Mets? McLean, Sprout or Tong?

Jason Martinez: With Senga and Manaea likely to return this weekend, it seems less likely that either of them will get the call anytime soon. It sounds like they have no intention of calling up Tong in 2025. Sproat hasn’t given up a run in his last two starts but hasn’t been great overall this season. McLean is the one who has been super consistent — 2 ER or less in most of his starts — so I think he’s ahead of the pack. All could be valuable trade candidates, too, so wouldn’t rule out getting  to the majors on another team.

Insert Witty Name Here: Should the M’s DH Barry Bonds Cal Raleigh a lot during the stretch to keep him somewhat fresh?

Jon Becker: I’m sure they’ll do a lot of talking with him about how he feels and let the performance speak for itself there. I know he prefers to catch so I’d be surprised to see him DH back-to-back games. He has that prime Yadier Molina-esque ability to stay fresh despite all the catching.

Guest: what’s going through a pitcher’s head when he decides to throw Salvy Perez or PCA an in-zone fastball?

Jason Martinez: Even with guys like Salvy and PCA who don’t walk much, they can work a count to their advantage and a pitcher has to throw them a strike. And then I’m sure the goal is to paint a corner. But that’s not always the easiest thing to do, especially when you’re 50-75+ pitches into an outing. Miss your spot in the strike zone and that’s how most of these productive hitters make a living.

Lowe Distribution System: Tigers going to pick up any notable upgrades for the lineup, or just shore up the bench, get another infielder to mix/match with?

Jon Becker: This doesn’t mean they won’t or shouldn’t make a bigger move, but they’re 7th of the 30 teams in wRC+, so I don’t think they really need to do anything notable. My guess is they’ll be pragmatic but not get super aggressive there and that their biggest move will be on the pitching side.

Ozzie: When I read trade articles, I don’t see much mention of Moises Ballesteros being a potential trade target from the Cubs. Mostly Caissie, Alcantara, Wiggins, etc. Is this because the Cubs value him very highly? Or other teams aren’t looking to trade for him due to the positional questions?

Jason Martinez: From a writer’s perspective, I think it’s becoming more and more difficult to determine value for a catcher who isn’t considered an above-average defender. Cubs are seemingly set in 2026 with Kelly/Amaya and McGuire is also under team control (although they can’t keep all 3). And they didn’t appear to have any intention of letting Ballesteros catch a game when he was called up earlier. He’s also very young. So is the bat good enough to be a part-time C/DH? It’s just difficult to know what other teams think of what kind of player he’s going to be so the value is uncertain.

Opifijikl: The Royals – they said they wanted more OBP, and went and got India. Not sure if that worked, but if you wanted to improve them, what would you do? Would you trade a pitcher to the Red Sox for an outfielder?

Jon Becker: Duran does in fact feel extremely Royals-y, and I’m not sure to what extent the Red Sox feel their outfield carousel is sustainable. Boston would surely love Noah Cameron.

Keith (from CT): Should the Orioles be giving OF-Dylan Beavers a call-up after the break? He’s slashing .318/.409/.500 in 287 PA at AAA

Jason Martinez: Unless the O’s make a crazy run to get back into contention, Laureano, O’Hearn, and Mullins are almost certain to be traded. That should result in plenty of at-bats for Kjerstad, Carlson, etc. Beavers has worked his way into the mix and I’d expect to see him in the majors by early September.

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