RosterResource Chat – 8/14/25

Jason Martinez: Welcome to the RosterResource Live Chat! Another day, another former Padres’ prospect (Owen Caissie) has arrived in the majors with another team. Seems like you can put together a very good roster of former Padres right now and that doesn’t include a lot of very good prospects still in the minors. Would be rough for a Padres fan if they weren’t one of the best teams in baseball right now.

Here we go …

J: How do you see Caissie’s callup shaking out? There’s nowhere obvious for him to fit in right now, and I’d have thought they’d want him to preserve rookie eligibility for next year at this point. Just a brief cup of coffee then back in a couple weeks?

Jonny: Will Owen Cassie actually get any at-bats while he’s in the majors?

Jon Becker: Speaking of Caissie, yeah I’m mildly surprised to see the call-up considering the lack of PA available, but they need a spark and maybe they think he can provide one. Seiya, Tucker, and PCA have all been a mess since the All-Star break and Happ has been merely okay, so Counsell might elect to give more off days for guys to clear their heads and work Caissie in against some RHP.

Bucs: How fast can Konnor Griffin reach the bigs? If he ends the season in AA, is as soon as next year realistic? He’s raking at high A

Jason Martinez: Definitely seems like he’s on the fast track. Almost certainly will get a look in AA before season’s end and then I can see him in the majors as early as next May if he does to pitching in AAA/AA what he’s done in A+/A ball.

Showbusiness77: Looks like Goldy is going to the IL. Do we expect Ben Rice to be an everyday player during this time?

Jon Becker: He already has been an everyday player since they went back down to two catchers for a bit, so yeah, that’ll continue with Goldy likely to hit the IL. The real beneficiary here will be Wells, who should play more with Rice getting more 1B time.

Rand: Do you think Melton gets more starts for the Tigers? No obvious spot for him but he has been great and the rest of the rotation – aside from Skubal – has been struggling.

Jason Martinez: I’d guess he’s “next in line” at the moment but Tigers seem set with their 1-5. I’m sure they’d also like to get Alex Cobb back on the mound, if only because they paid him $15MM this season and it would be nice to get some innings. He’s working his way back but not sure he’s going to be capable of going more than 3-4 innings. So maybe we’ll see a Melton/Cobb piggyback a few times in September.

Showbusiness77: Can you please tell us which teams are currently rolling with a 6-man rotation? The Dodgers come to mind, anyone else? In the middle of planning playoff fantasy matchups and one pitcher giving 2 vs. 3 starts in a 2 week period is a big deal.

Jon Becker: Right now it’s only definitely the Dodgers, but the Reds are weighing when and how to slot Chase Burns back in with Greene back (maybe he piggybacks with Littell or Martinez), and a few teams have decisions to make when players return from injury:

Jays: Bieber/Manoah nearing returns, do they go to a six man? Lauer to the bullpen? Manoah to the bullpen?

Phillies: Nola is close, does Luzardo go to the bullpen? Walker? Six-man?

Mets: Even if McLean pitches well, is he bumped for Megill? Does Megill go to the bullpen? Neither?

Sinister Swingers: What do you make of the seeming glut of LH outfielders the Twins have accumulated? Wallner and Larnach were already on the team (and Clemens has played on the grass a bit too), plus two top prospects (Jenkins and ERodriguez). Then they added Roden and Outman. Does Larnach get traded or non-tendered this offseason? Outman as Buxton insurance? Is the goal to just see who sticks and lefties have the platoon advantage more often, so they’re more valuable?

Dave M: Any chance the Twins call up Emmanuel Rodriguez or Gabriel Gonzalez this season?

Jason Martinez: Great observation. I wonder if Larnach and/or Wallner are both shopped during the offseason. I think Larnach will have trade value so not a DFA candidate. Roden is getting a long look now. Outman should also get a look soon. Rodriguez is hurt right now so probably won’t be in the mix until next season. Have to anticipate Walker Jenkins forcing his way onto the roster in 2026.

On the other hand, they have two right-handed hitters (Gabriel Gonzalez and Kyler Fedko), who are tearing it up in AAA. I think one of them, probably Fedko, will get a look soon. As bad as things seem right now (because they are), there is plenty of talent in the upper minors and enough depth to expect some interesting trade scenarios.

Brownout: Any forecast of Ben Brown’s usage to close out the year and then what spring may look like?

Jon Becker: Taillon’s almost back so I don’t see him getting more starts unless someone else gets hurt, which the Cubs really can’t afford. I’m sure they’ll keep him stretched out into Spring Training next year and see if he comes in pitching great, but it’d be an uphill climb for a rotation spot.

Chicks Dig the Fundamentals: What type of player archetype is the most difficult to predict playing time for, in your experience? A super-utility man like Willi Castro? A career long-man/spot starter like Ryan Yarbrough? Curious to hear your thoughts

Jason Martinez: Those types of players are easier because we’re conservative enough with playing time for regulars — high likelihood of at least 1 IL stint — so we can give the super-utility/semi-regular time at so many different positions. And same goes for pitchers who could bounce between the rotation and bullpen. Easy to pencil in 5-10 starts and 30-50 innings for this type of pitcher.

I think the most difficult (and most arguable) projection is for a player who is seemingly completely healthy after having missed a lot of time over the previous 1-3+ years. Jacob deGrom, for example, was an easy 150+ innings for me even though he hadn’t pitched that many innings in 6 years. A lot of people didn’t agree because of his injury history. But it’s hard for us to know who is “injury-prone” and I can’t guess that a healthy pitcher is going to miss a lot of time again.

Big Buckston: Any candidates you see getting placed on waivers to try to save money in late August who could find their way onto a playoff contender?

Jon Becker: I actually just made a whole list the other day for fun, can’t get the image to send here but some of the highlights were Tommy Pham, Andrew Heaney, Josh Bell, all the Angels guys (Kenley Jansen, Moncada, etc)

Jason Martinez: Nathaniel Lowe just got DFAd. Maybe he goes back to Texas.

matt: Who do you think has the upper hand for saves in Arizona?

Jason Martinez: Juan Morillo is the one to watch, mostly because he throws 100MPH and had a 1-2-3 inning save in his first game back a few days ago. And everyone else in the mix seems more like a matchup guy who fits best in a committee. Morillo was pretty shaky at times earlier in the season but he had allowed 1 ER over his last 11 innings before a disastrous outing that resulted in him being sent to AAA.

Tim B: Chances that Edwin Diaz opts out after this season? Still great but probably won’t get a higher AAV than his current deal.

Jon Becker: The deferrals make the value of the remaining money closer to $32M than $37M, if I recall correctly, so I think him opting out is very likely assuming he finishes the year strong and healthy, since he’d have no problem beating that AAV. The bigger problem is if/how much the QO would dampen his market (he’s still eligible since he re-signed with the Mets so quickly he even get the QO to reject), so it’s plausible he could opt out and then accept the one year at ~$22M or whatever exactly it ends up being, though there’s still a risk since he’d be leaving overall money on the table.

Lowe Distribution System: Basallo getting called up the moment he’ll retain rookie status for next year?  Or do they have to wait a couple days to pretend like it’s not service time manipulation?

Finn: Thanks, Jason, do you think Basallo gets the call tomorrow?

Jason Martinez: Calling him up tomorrow would make it seem like they were doing it for any other reason than “we just feel like he’s ready”. And even if it were true, any type of MLB call-up/service time manipulation looks bad even if it’s strategically very smart. So maybe they wait a few more days just to avoid any controversy. But, c’mon, give Orioles fans something to look forward to for the last 6 weeks of the season. This has been brutal.

Guest: is choosing Lowe for the DFA more a business (read: cheap) or baseball decision?

Jon Becker: Entirely the latter, since they have to pay him all the money he’s owed regardless. They don’t have a young guy to play at 1B, but giving Bell more time there opens up more DH time for Wood and Crews so Lile and Hassell can play more.

SD Fan: If the Padres kept Campusano around to be backup C next year (which they appear to have no intention of doing), do they retain the 4 years of control over him they had going into the year?

Jason Martinez: It does seem like they’re ready to move on. Allowing him to continue destroying AAA pitching could make it easier to trade him in the offseason rather than risk having him struggle in a part-time MLB role (he’s already had 2 of those this season).

I still think there’s a spot for him as a DH/1B vs LHP and occasional catcher next season but I really have no idea if the Padres have just completely ruled him out from that type of role. We should know better when they call up their extra position player on 9/1. Probably will be Will Wagner but I think having a right-handed bat off the bench would also be helpful. Just not sure if Campy would be productive in such a limited role.

Chicks Dig the Fundamentals: Luis Robert. Is the team option picked up at this point? He’s had such an odd career that I really don’t know what happens next for him. The skills still seem to be there in some fashion this year after last year’s disastrous season

Jon Becker: Not trading him but also not picking up his option would be so illogical I’d be pretty floored if it happened. I think the bigger question is what happens when they do pick up the option; do they trade him in the offseason or see if he rebuilds more value during the season?

Guest: McGonigle is opening day at the earliest right?

Jason Martinez: I mentioned Griffin earlier as being on the fast track, but he’s also 19 and still in Hi-A so Opening Day would be a long shot. For McGonigle, not so much. I think he’d probably help the Tigers if they called him up today. But I also think that’s unlikely. Very strong chance that he makes the 2026 Opening Day roster.

Lowe Distribution System: Keegan Akin is left handed, mediocre, and has blown two saves in a row.  The alternatives to him are somehow worse.  Do you think he stays the closer?  Or it’s just a messy jumble the rest of the year?

Jon Becker: Definitely the latter, I don’t think there’s too much of a point in naming a closer, he’s just the de facto guy (although Cano got the chance and blew it yesterday). I guess they could give Enns a shot? Kade Strowd has prevented runs in a very small sample too but doesn’t miss bats.

Phil: What happens if and when Marcelo Mayer is activated do you think? Toro is seeming DFAish these days, with bad hitting and bad fielding–Gonzalez to first, Rafaela to center. . . and then what?

Jason Martinez: The Mayer news still didn’t make it seem like he would be back anytime soon. Just that he was trying to avoid surgery and hoping to play again at some point in 2025.

More likely that they give Kristian Campbell another shot (he’s hitting in AAA again and playing 1B). After all, they did give him a long-term contract to be a MLB player. Playing Romy Gonzalez more at 2B with Rafaela in CF more often is probably going to happen either way. Vaughn Grissom was also on a heater (1.000+ OPS and 155 wRC+ in 100 PA) before he went 0 for his last 12. Not sure if the Red Sox have completely moved on from him or not.

Gnats in the outfield: Crews up, Lowe down! How does the playing time shake out now for Lile/Hassell, etc.?

Jon Becker: I think they’ll want to get Hassell and Lile some time against lefties, so as a general rule I could see something like Lile/Hassell/Crews/Wood being the OF/DH mix against RHP (with DH rotating), and Wood/Crews/Young/one of Lile/Hassell against lefties. That way everyone’s playing plenty but Wood and Crews are the only true everyday starters.

Giants: Giants season has slipped away. Do you think they give birdsong another chance to figure it out at the big league level? He’s far more important to the organization than Kai Wei teng

Jason Martinez: That is very likely the plan. Teng deserved a look. He allowed 1 ER with 39 K in his last 21.1 IP in AAA before his call-up. But not nearly the upside as Birdsong, who has been OK in his 3 AAA starts since his demotion. He’s also only thrown 78 IP so there shouldn’t be any workload issues.

O’s Knows: I’ve heard some recent chatter discussing what Bo Bichette will get in free agency this year. Any ballpark estimates for what that contract would look like, and do you have any likely suitors other than the Jays?

Jon Becker: Last week or the week before I think I said something like the Adames deal (7/182) seems about right, and I’ll stick with that. Bo’s a year younger than Adames was at his FA but I’m not sure teams will completely forget Bo’s 2024, and there’s a couple of big risks with Bo. For one I’m not sure how long he can stick at shortstop, and for two the lower-walk, hand-eye-coordination-type hitters often don’t age well, so teams might be reticent there. As for fits besides the Blue Jays, I could see the Tigers (perhaps ironically since Báez is a hand-eye-coordination-type hitter who didn’t age well), Braves and Dodgers at least poking around, and the list gets a lot longer if he’s willing to slide to 2B or 3B right away.

drplantwrench: angels OF looks surprisingly okay with Byrce Teodosio patrolling CF, do you think this means Neslon Rada doesn’t get called up?

Jason Martinez: Bigger factors for Rada are his age (20), limited AAA experience (43 PA), and maybe most importantly, he doesn’t have to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason. So if they don’t think he’d have a big enough impact on their Wild Card chances, I think they’re fine with Teodosio in CF. Especially when he’s contributing with his bat like he has. The defense seems elite.

Big Buckston: Noelvi Marte with two straight weeks of starts in RF, and he’s been hitting. Is he now an outfield corners guy in both the near and far future for Cincy?

Jon Becker: I think so, I’ve been super impressed with what I’ve seen from him in the outfield, especially the strong and accurate arm. And Cincy’s a relatively easy place to learn right field, no weird angles off the wall and less ground to cover. With Hayes around there’s no real reason to stick him back in the infield, where he never looked very sure handed out there to me anyway.

Rob: Red Sox should pick up N. Lowe and DFA Hamilton

Jason Martinez: Not a bad call. Take a guy with a World Series ring and decent track record out of a situation where they haven’t been playing meaningful games in a couple months and put him right into the middle of a heated battle for the AL East and a Wild Card.

Lowe hasn’t been terrible vs RHP. He’s actually been slightly above average (104 wRC+). Maybe he takes it up a notch on a contender playing important games.

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