RosterResource Chat – 7/2/26

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource chat. The new Heat Maps feature just dropped today for those who like colors …

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/heat-maps-are-here/

Here we go …

Philip Christy: Patrick Sandoval is looming, do the Sox go to a six-man? I sure hope not, I have 2 of their SPs in fantasy

Jon Becker: Don’t think a six-man is on the radar for them right now because Sandoval would (and is probably the best guess to) take Early’s spot in the rotation now that he’s on the IL with elbow inflammation. They of course could reconsider it when Early is closer to returning but I can’t imagine it’ll be a particularly short IL stay for Early, and by the time he’s back Sandoval could be traded elsewhere at the deadline.

Hollis: Hi, guys. Thanks for doing this. Any chance Victor Bericoto will be given a chance to become a regular for the Giants anytime soon? He keeps hitting, but (even in a losing season) the team doesn’t seem to be prioritizing his development. Does he need guys ahead of him to get traded, or is the second half plan to give guys like him and Jonah Cox more run? Much appreciated!

Jason Martinez: Bericoto has a hit in 6 straight starts, including 3 multi-hit games and 3 HR. That should earn him an opportunity to play more often, although the path isn’t completely clear. And it still might not be after the trade deadline. They really have one position player who is an obvious trade candidate (Arraez) and then everyone else is either a big contract they’d love to unload but probably can’t (Chapman, Adames) or a productive player with years of team control (Heliot, Jung Ho).

For now, I think he’ll continue to get at-bats vs LHP and an occasional start vs RHP. Could be more if Bryce Eldridge continues to struggle and ends up back in AAA.

appayipyip: Is Spencer Miles starting games for the Blue Jays next year?

Jon Becker: A lot of question marks in the Jays rotation next year. With Bieber, Gausman, Scherzer, and Corbin all reaching free agency and Berríos still recovering from Tommy John surgery, the only sure things are Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage. Cody Ponce *should* have a spot assuming his ACL tear recovery goes fine. That leaves two spots for the likes of Miles, Chad Dallas, Lazardo Estrada, CJ Van Eyk, and of course any external additions they make in the offseason. But right now, things are looking good for Miles. H

drplantwrench: how bad is the angel’s handling of christian moore? cant they make space for him between LF/2B?  why mess with his with head calling up and down?

Jason Martinez: On paper, I don’t really see the issue. He’s just not a perfect fit right now despite earning the call-up with his performance. Not even Vaughn Grissom and Oswald Peraza are playing much vs RHP and they’ve been two of the bright spots during another bad season. Having multiple lefty bats in the lineup, especially contact hitters like Meckler and Walton, balance out that lineup a bit more. At some point, the org will have to decide when the best time for Moore will be.

With Minasian out, Suzuki likely a 1-year guy, and now an interim front office in place, it’s probably a frustrating time for Moore because he has no idea what’s going to happen. But once a plan is in place for the trade deadline, I believe they’ll prioritize Moore (and anyone else who is integral for 2027 and beyond) and decide the best path forward.

rsimmons07: The Diamondbacks keep running Pavin Smith out there at first base (at least against righties), and he keeps doing not much of anything. Are there any replacements that could be had this early in the season? It feels like a guy who can stand at first base and produce something even close to league-average offense shouldn’t be hard to find…

Jon Becker: I think they’ve tried more 1B options than any team in baseball. Santana didn’t hit, got hurt, didn’t hit on his rehab, and got released. Vargas had that insane hitting streak to start the year but crashed back down to earth. Jose Fernandez started out okay but tailed off. Groover hasn’t been good. And finally, Smith hasn’t hit as you said. I can get giving Smith some more rope because he has a better track record than those they’ve tried but maybe they take a whirl on a change of scenery candidate like Mark Vientos (who has been atrocious this year) or a blocked Quad-A guy like Ryan Ward. Not really any teams obviously enough in sell mode yet with a legit 1B.

Beano: I am curious about the current and future usage of two NL pitchers – L Bachar (who might be a closer or who might be a starter or who might get traded away!) and C Mlodzinski -( who might become a closer or might go back to the rotation). Have you any swell insights to share?

Jason Martinez: Marlins are kind of all over the place with their bullpen usage, but not really with Fairbanks, who has struggled in the closer’s role. Don’t know how much longer they stick with that. Faucher has turned things around while Bachar and Petersen have been solid. Not sure either is good enough to become the primary closer, though.

If they eventually go with a committee, I’d expect it to be wide-ranging (similar to the Rays bullpens from a few years ago) until someone steps up. Similar to the Twins and Yoendrys Gomez. Someone will have a chance. Not sure if they have that guy or if Bachar can be. And not sure they are in a place where they can stretch him out to become a starter in 2026.

Mlodizinski is still kind of stuck in between roles. Pirates really need help in the late innnings, but it would be almost impossible for their current rotation to remain healthy. Someone is going to get hurt eventually and they’ll need another starter. So keeping Mlodzinski stretched out enough is very important. But so is holding on to leads. Something has to give.

NicklePickers: Victor Mesa Jr. in a platoon role but often hitting cleanup when he plays. More likely that he starts playing vs. lefties or that he stops playing against righties?

Jon Becker: The latter is far likelier. He’s only been hitting cleanup because they don’t really have many options to; outside of the big three at the top of the lineup only Simpson and Vilade have been average or better against RHP. Fraley and Lux are both on rehab assignments so Mesa’s time on the roster at all could be limited.

flightsongs: Dodgers have Evan Phillips and, probably, Blake Treinen coming back soon. Besides Charlie Barnes, who do you think gets sent down in their pen? So many of the young guys have been performing so well.

Jason Martinez: Seems like Henriquez has overtaken Klein and Hurt as the primary right-handed setup man. And I think Dreyer has value as their 3rd lefty out of the ‘pen who can pitch very often. So, if I had to guess, I’d say Hurt is the odd man out in that scenario.

However, the Dodgers love having that one rotating roster spot that allows for a soon-to-be-DFAd pitcher to eat as many innings as possible to give everyone a day off. I’d bet that someone from the current group would eventually go on the IL with some minor ailment and they’ll keep that flexibility.

NicklePickers: If Helsley misses time again, do you think it’s back to Rico Garcia or do they go elsewhere?

Jon Becker: Garcia started out the year ridiculously well but has been in a rough stretch for a while now, with a 6.97 ERA and 6.59 FIP since the beginning of June. Even when Helsley was out the first time Garcia was the most-often closer but not the guy, so my guess would be Albernaz would just play matchups.

ankoalec: Do you expect Ryan Johnson to remain in the Angels rotation for the long run at this point? He’s had at least one start at four different levels this year and doesn’t have great major-league stats, but did have a great outing recently and has a decent delta between some of his headline stats and xstats

Jason Martinez: Probably dependent on performance and whether Mozeliak thinks he’s a big part of the future or not. Once Grayson Rodriguez returns (he’s currently on a rehab assignment), there will be one spot open between Aldegheri/Johnson and I’m sure the primary decision-makers will eventually want to get a good look at Klassen, Dana, and maybe even Joel Hurtado (having a very good season in AA). Trading Soriano and/or Detmers would make that easier. My guess is they trade 1. Not both. And I can see them going to a 6-man, as well. So there is a good chance that Johnson gets several more MLB starts in 2026.

Bernie51fan: Is Perdomo’s drop in production real?

Jon Becker: Yes and no. His BABIP is worse despite fewer pop-ups and more ground balls (grounders aren’t good for power but they are decent for average), and he’s pulling the ball more than ever, which tends to be a good thing. But he’s barreling the ball significantly less often than last year, too, so I do buy the lack of power being legit.

Alex Remington: Atlanta’s offense seems to be extraordinarily collectively streaky – its ice-cold June saw the team post a .213/.270/.329 triple slash that was more than 150 points lower than their performance in April and May. How do you evaluate these hitters going forward?

Jason Martinez: It’s a veteran team and all these guys have track records. It’s a matter of weathering the storm when they’re in a team slump and veteran teams tend to be best at this. They’ve been terrible but I think they’ll turn it around enough and remain near the top of the playoff standings.

In the short-term, I think they’re ready to move on from Ha-Seong Kim and ready to give Jim Jarvis a look at SS. That’s unfortunate but they don’t really need Kim once Acuña is healthy and Dubon will very likely get most of his starts at SS.

There’s probably some concern with Baldwin. And I don’t think they’d shake things up at 3B, but they’re probably not expecting Riley to bounce back too much at this point. And that’s fine if he’s the No. 7 or 8 hitter. Wouldn’t be their main concern.

NicklePickers: Kahlil Watson and Cooper Ingle both saw PT rises in your recent piece. How long do you think their leashes are?

Jon Becker: They’ll both get a good long look with Martínez and Ramírez both out for awhile longer. Maybe Angel Genao is someone they take a look at soon but that wouldn’t really affect playing time for Watson or Ingle anywhere but perhaps DH, and outside of Genao there’s nobody else they’ve got knocking on the door. As the Guardians tend to do they’re relying on internal contribution/improvement and as usual the returns there have been… not ideal.

Eshan Mehere: How cooked are the Yankees

Jason Martinez: Every team but the Dodgers, and maybe the Brewers and Rays, has been “cooked” at some point this season. Being a baseball fan can be mentally exhausting and I’m sure it’s the same for the players. Veteran players and good manager/coaching staff are integral in getting through these difficult periods.

Yankees are good enough right now to remain firmly in the playoff race and then should get a spark once Judge, Stanton, and Fried are back and they can add at least 1 reliever at the trade deadline. Should be an interesting next few weeks.

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