RosterResource Chat – 7/23/26

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource chat! Only 2 more chats before trade deadline.

Likely sellers at this point … ATH, CIN, COL, KCR, LAA, NYM, SFG, TOR

A few others who can go either way.

Here we go …

mike sixel: Does Jeffers accept the QO or test FA if they Twins offer him? I mean, I trade him, but others want the QO and the rest of this year and maybe next at 23 million….thanks!

Jon Becker: I think I’d reject it if I’m him, assuming I finish the season healthy and hitting somewhere near as well as I am now. The catcher market in FA is always so thin, and this coming offseason is no exception with Jeffers and Stephenson the top two and then a lot of backup-types. I think he’d at minimum double the value of the QO on a multi-year deal, probably even triple it.

crazyhorse: Thanks for all you do with RR!  Is Tim Tawa going to hold onto regular AB’s with AZ for the rest of season?

Jason Martinez: Seems like the Dbacks are committed to giving him a longer look this time. They’ve liked him enough to give him opportunities despite not hitting much, but I think he’s earned at least a few weeks of consistent playing time. Since 3 consecutive hitless games, he’s been on fire with 3 HR, 3 2B, and 4 multi-hit games over the past 8 starts. The defensive versatility is a plus. Should lock him, at the minimum, as a bench bat who can play 3-4 times per week. But he’s trying to prove he can be more.

contrabandjazz: The Rockies have like 3 outfielders to trade. They should at least deal McCarthy before his even year magic runs out, right?

clydethedog: I have a hard time believing the Rockies will be better off continually jettisoning talent out of the org. I understand Goodman and Moniak might bring in some nice pieces, but shouldnt they try building around these players while dealing lesser pieces?

Jon Becker: I’ll take these two Rockies-related questions together. The big question for the Rockies is: when do they think they’ll have enough pitching to really compete? The offensive pipeline no matter who they keep or deal doesn’t seem to be what’s stopping them now that they have some more interesting prospects than they’ve had in a while coming through the minors with Condon, Holliday, just-drafted Tyler Bell, etc. But with Dollander probably out until the tail end of next year at the absolute earliest and the organization still really low on interesting upper-level pitching, I’d say moving on from at least Moniak (FA after 2027) and probably McCarthy (after 2028) makes a whole lot of sense with all the OF coming through the system. But sure, I can see an argument for keeping Goodman, under club control through 2029.

InsertWittyNameHere: % Aroldis gets traded?

claymolly: im hanging on whitlock as the closer in boston as they trade chappy for a cathcer. wishful thinking?

Jason Martinez: Barring a disastrous next week, I think they’re all in and will keep Chapman. It was never a sure thing, anyways, even when it seemed like their season was done. He’s signed for $13MM next season so it’s a much higher asking price than it would be if he was only a rental. There is a stronger likelihood that they add another high-leverage reliever.

With so few sellers, the chances of big leaguer-for-big leaguer trades are more likely but I can’t imagine they’d move Chapman and end up in a better position. Bullpen depth is what many playoff contenders are lacking.

JayGray007: what’s one obvious (presumably) available player that would make sense for the Pirates  (assuming they don’t totally crater over the next week)

Jon Becker: Their bullpen has reached the “watching them is like getting your teeth pulled” stage, so I think they’ll be all over the relief market, especially RHP with Montgomery and Soto two of their most trusted leverage relievers right now (insofar as they trust anyone). I’ll aim high but realistically and say they get someone who can close but don’t pay a ransom for Mason Miller and suggest Luke Weaver.

gonzoman: Thoughts on Robert Gasser? Barely a #5 pitcher?

Jason Martinez: I think he’s a solid 4 or 5 right now with maybe some upside to become a mid-rotation guy. 7 of his 10 MLB starts this season have been good enough. At this point, he’s a guy who you’re hoping can give you 5 innings and hand over a lead to the bullpen. That’s most MLB starters in this era.

ankoalec: In a world where the Tigers get to .500 over their next few series and become buyers at the deadline, how much would you expect them to look for in improvements? Maybe a Rockies OF? An extra reliever or two? Feels like the FO will say the classic “Javy returning counts as a deadline addition”, but the lineup could still use an extra bat imo

Jon Becker: I think hitting would be the focus, but you’re right that they could use another reliever with Vest out for most of the rest of the year. McGonigle, Green, Dingler, Carpenter, Torres is a really nice front five especially against RHP, but the lineup thins out after that, especially when Torkelson is slumping.

Ray Darwin: What’s the plan in Texas vis-a-vis Seager & Walcott? Move Seager to 1B to try and keep him healthy when Walcott’s ready?

Jason Martinez: Walcott made 17 starts at 3B last season so I think they were at least starting to think about what happens when he’s MLB-ready. I wonder if they’d trade Josh Jung in the offseason to open up 3B for Seager or Walcott. Of course, Seager could DH a lot more next season and could be limited to 1B/DH by the end of his contract in 2031. Not sure if they’d do that anytime soon.

Getting Walcott back earlier than expected from his injury should be extremely helpful in planning out 2027. Keep an eye on whether he plays anywhere but SS.

Ragbrai: Looking ahead to next year do you think Eldridge and Waldschmidt are players that take a step forward and contribute or more just adequate roster fillers for their respective teams?

Jon Becker: I don’t see why not. They were both highly regarded prospects and Eldridge especially has shown a lot this year, so he should be a mainstay at DH/1B for as long as he’s there. As for Waldschmidt, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is a free agent after the year (he has a $14M club option that isn’t getting picked up, at this rate) so LF or CF is all his with Corbin in right.

GatorKen: Why has Braxton Garret been passed by many arms for the Marlins?  Is he cooked?

Jason Martinez: A lot of possibilities. He’s been great in AAA but has been passed over multiple times when a MLB rotation spot opens up. In his 2 MLB starts, he didn’t look good. They might not trust that his command is all the way back yet. He missed all of 2025 and didn’t pitch much in 2024 before his surgery. So there will be a limit on his innings. That doesn’t explain why they haven’t trusted him up until now because he’s made 13 AAA starts.

He made a 1-inning appearance on 7/18 after a 10-day break. Not sure if they’re going to start ramping him back up or just limiting him the rest of the season.

betob: Next season, is there any likelihood that the Rangers use Latz as a starter? I feel like the fastball shape and secondaries would really befit a solid starter…

Jon Becker: It’s easy to forget now because he’s been so good as their closer, but he was the runner-up for the SP5 job that went to Kumar Rocker and his first appearance of the year was an emergency start in place of Jacob deGrom in which he went four innings. Normally I’d say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” with moving great relievers to the rotation but unlike most he’s got recent experience there and his four-pitch mix is legit. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him come to camp stretched out next year even though they’ve probably already got their five starters.

warpath: Any predictions as to which of the mess of teams in the middle of the AL end up buyers vs. sellers? You think we go all up to the deadline with some of these teams before they decide?

Jason Martinez: I think the Twins will be the only one to sell. They’ve overachieved and will be happy with sticking around this long and looking ahead to 2027. Good farm system. More talent on the way. They can focus on adding pitching this offseason.

Orioles are close enough but could sell if they fall any further out. They added Alonso, Ward, and Baz and had high expectations. Selling would be a huge loss for that front office. Same for the Tigers.

lildaz44: The word is that Triantos is coming up for the Cubs.  Any idea what the corresponding move is?  Sending Alcantara or Dean back down, trade impact, or an injury?

Jon Becker: I don’t want to speculate on anything major so until we hear otherwise I’ll assume it’s something pretty minor, whether it’s deciding that Dean’s role is too niche (pinch running and defense) to keep rostering him, or swapping out Alcántara for a different short-side platoon guy in Triantos so Alcántara can play more regularly in Triple-A. Seems early for a trade and I don’t think we’d get news on who was coming up without any trade whispers, anyway.

JayGray007: do you think every team should have one “bad hitter who runs bases and defends like a total madman” over an overall slightly better/slower player due to the relatively predictable use cases for that player’s strengths?

Jason Martinez: As Jon mentioned in his previous response, it’s a niche role and teams don’t seem capable of utilizing it enough to make it worth it for more than just a short period of time. Of course, it’s easier in the playoffs because they can carry at least 1 extra position player. We’ve just seen too many examples where we ask “how unproductive does this hitter have to be before a team decides that elite speed and/or defense) doesn’t matter?” And it’s usually not very long. I think Chandler Simpson is the most interesting current case. We’ll see how far his elite speed and contact ability can get him.

JayGray007: If the pirates ever get their offense healthy, do you think Marcell Ozuna gets DFA’d?  Or is there just something taboo about DFA’ing veterans that keeps him around somehow?

Jon Becker: I think he very well could. Hard to foresee where he’d play when a fully healthy Pirates team pushes O’Hearn back to significant RF/DH time, and they’ve also got Jacob Gonzalez to work in now, too. Ozuna obviously has no defensive/baserunning value and if he’s not hitting, well… maybe they really like him as a clubhouse presence? But I’m not in that clubhouse to know either way and it seems like giving a lot away on the field rather than rostering your best 26 guys.

Ozzie: Can we see a Michael Arroyo debut this season? What would his role look like if he isn’t traded from the M’s?

Jason Martinez: Probably not in 2026. Barring an injury, there is no available regular playing time for him — he’s played 2B and LF in AAA. And there’s no reason to think a 21-year-old can handle a part-time role so my guess is he’ll keep working on his game in AAA. He’s certainly one of their top trade chips if they want to do something big at the deadline. But there should also be a spot for him by 2027 with Arozarena and Crawford heading for free agency.

lildaz44: I saw that the Cubs released Bethancourt and Yang from the AAA roster.  Both of them were, superficially, performing well enough to keep as depth.  Is that purely to give all the playing time to Ayers and give the released guys a chance to find another opportunity??

Jon Becker: Yeah, with Ayers and Ballesteros down there it’s just a common “courtesy” to cut these guys loose and let them find Triple-A jobs elsewhere instead of reassigning to Double-A. Catchers are always needed by teams all over the world so they won’t be FAs for long.

aldrinbatistarocks: Very excited to see the Rosenthal report that a “realistic” deadline for the White Sox includes acquiring a mid-rotation starter. With the talk about the Spox poking around on Clay Holmes, do you think he’s a good fit in black or would you seek an arm with more team control? Or who knows maybe both. Thanks!

Jason Martinez: I’d guess that a rental would be most likely. Someone like Holmes would make a lot of sense. They’re already in good shape for 2027 with Burke, Martin, Schultz, Shane Smith, Hagen Smith, Kay, McDougal, and more. No need to give up too much for another starter. I can see them going all out for Mason Miller, though. 3 more seasons of the best closer in baseball on one of the more talented up-and-coming teams. And they’d probably be willing to include Bonemer or Carlson in a trade now that they’ve added Cholowsky to the farm system.

oriolesbullpen: Do you see the Orioles trading Adley this year or 20227? I know he has this year + next. I know he has been injured a lot, but when he has been healthy, he has been pretty good. I think with the new ownership group there is a possibility of an extension(IE bradish) but with Basallo locked up long term, and Alonso playing 1st and DH I just don’t know if I see the extension as a possibility. Thanks!

Jon Becker: All the latest reporting makes it sound like they’re going to hold onto him at this deadline but I suppose I could see it as an offseason move. My best guess is that if they don’t move him in the offseason they’re just going to take him to FA because moving catchers at the deadline is really hard.

Don Glickstein: Once he returns from his unfortunate accidentg, and assiuming that he’ll wear a cup from now on, will Joshua Kuroda-Grauer be apermanent regular in hter A’s lineup? Or is he one-too-many Jacob Wilsons for the A’s?

Jason Martinez: Ideally, for the A’s, he makes it back with plenty of time this season so they can get a much longer look at him and make a better assessment of their needs for 2027. He’s already done enough to be put back in the starting lineup whenever he does return. It’s just difficult to know after 60 PA what his production would look like over 162 games. Having him and Wilson in the lineup is probably fine, especially if it’s a deep lineup with a lot of balance (right-left, power, OBP, contact).

Jason Martinez: That will do it for today. Back next Thursday. Have a great rest of the week!