RosterResource Chat – 8/21/25

Jason Martinez: Welcome to another RosterResource Live Chat! Samuel Basallo is finally a big leaguer. Bubba Chandler day on Friday. Sounds like Carson Williams will debut today in TB. A lot of fun topics to discuss. Here we go …

Guest: Is it worthwhile for the Chisox  to give up on Vargas and play Curtis Mead? Thx!

Jon Becker: I’m surprised by how little Mead has been playing since they called him up, but I don’t think they ought to “give up” on Vargas, who’s got a 96 wRC+ and has shown flashes of far better. I’d probably sit Benintendi more than they have been and see if Mead can hit righties.

Nik: Is Grant Taylor a SP next year?  Does he have top of the rotation upside?   Thanks for all you do with RR, it’s much appreciated!!!

Jason Martinez: If they go with the Chris Sale plan — I know there’s going to be a comparison — he’d be a reliever for all of 2026 and then start in his 2nd full big league season (2027). He’s only thrown about 50 innings this season so he probably isn’t quite ready for a full SP workload, anyways.

diadem: Is Lord the real thing or just a blip?

Jon Becker: I’m not sure he’s actually a true-talent 3.5 ERA guy (FIP has him at 3.65, xERA at 4.37) but I think he’s a high-floor back-of-the-rotation arm because he has a nice starter pack of things you want in a starter: throws mid-90s while still being under league average in walk rate, and gets a ton of grounders.

victoria: When Amaya comes back is it finally time to DFA Justin Turner or will Caissie go back to Iowa?

Jason Martinez: Barring injury (or Tucker not being able to play thru his injury), I don’t see a path for Caissie to get at-bats. And Turner’s role is already pretty limited. He could at least get an important pinch-hit AB in the playoffs for one of their lefty hitters (PCA and Busch both have bad numbers vs LHP). His post-season experience would be valuable, I would think. I doubt he gets DFAd.

Bobdoesfantasy: Castellanos…Rotoworld blurb seemed to think that this is the start of a short side platoon role for him. Thoughts?

Jon Becker: I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a strict platoon, but he’s been sitting a lot more lately (I think three of the last 11 games?) because Bader’s been playing pretty well and Kepler has been decent enough lately. It’s probably more of a rotation with four outfielders for three spots, but Castellanos needs to hit to have any value at all.

Adam Friedman: Which contenders project to be most pitching needy in 2026?

Jason Martinez: I wanted to say the Mets, but Jonah Tong-Nolan McLean-Brandon Sproat should all be there in 2026. Will be interesting to see how they approach the offseason with those 3 being so close.

Padres are losing Michael King and Dylan Cease but Musgrove will be back. And maybe Mason Miller goes to the rotation.

Mojave Miracles: If the Brewers hold serve and finish with the best record in MLB, who is their highest MVP finisher and do they even crack the Top Five? Guys like Frelick and Contreras are just inside the Top Twenty here and even with the DRS boost Turang is barely Top Ten in NL position player WAR at BRef.

Jon Becker: Yeah, they’re not going to come close to having someone in the top five unless someone is absolutely on fire for the rest of the season. Voters still consider performance of the team as a whole for MVP voting but not nearly as much as they used to, so having the best record in baseball isn’t going to boost anyone much. Their calling card is their depth and maneuverability, not having a star-level performance from anyone in particular.

jake from state farm: Any bets on whether Sasaki makes the Dodgers playoff roster?

Jason Martinez: I’ll give him a 1% chance. Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Kershaw/Ohtani would be the starters. Sheehan is probably next in line. Would take a few injuries and Sasaki looking much-improved when/if he returns to the majors in September.

Bruce: Assuming he continues to pitch well in the roles available to him ROS, does Troy Melton have a clear shot at an SP role for the Tigers next year?

Jon Becker: Absolutely. Flaherty’s a guarantee to opt out assuming he ends the year healthy, so Skubal and Mize are the only two with spots next year for sure. Reese Olson probably has one assuming his shoulder is healthy, so from there it’s two spots for Melton, Gipson-Long, Montero, Hurter, and Jaden Hamm, if they make no other additions.

RAGBRAI: If/when Lawlar comes back does he have any impact this year? Starting 3B next year for AZ?

Jason Martinez: Blaze Alexander has actually been very good at 3B since he took over after the Suarez trade. He has a 133 wRC+ in August. Lawlar is healthy again and has been playing in AAA for the past week. The Dbacks have an important decision to make in the offseason, though, and it seems absolutely necessary to give Lawlar all of September to audition at 3B so they have a better idea of what kind of options they have in-house.

Nervous M’s Fan: You buying the Royals or Guardians as playoff teams?

Jon Becker: It’s a close enough race where either of them could get in, sure, but I don’t think either of them would do all that well. Anything can happen in a short series but neither of them have a deep lineup nor the rotation firepower they’ve had in years past.

Bill: I need to make a few drops coming up to activate Yordan from IR and Basallo from NA. Are you buying Doyle’s resurgence? Two of Helliot Ramos, Andy Pages, Luis Robert and Doyle most likely to go. Basallo keepable but probably least likely to help this year but need him off NA to make additional moves.

Jason Martinez: Pages and Heliot have haven’t hit much this past month. But I also don’t see either of them losing playing time and could easily bounce back in September. Doyle has done all of his damage against LHP. Probably trust him the least.

Vlad’s Dad: What is your outlook on Shane Bieber?

Do we think he moves Lauer to the pen for good or do you see the Jays moving to a 6 man rotation after this series?

Jason Martinez: Jays are in a good spot with a somewhat comfortable lead in the division. They can utilize Lauer to give their starting 5 an extra day of rest. Berrios might need a turn skipped at some point. Lots of options.

City By The Lake: Chances of Shaw winning NL ROY?

Jon Becker: It’s very wide open so he has a decent shot (20%?), I’d say, but Collins and Baldwin have been better so he needs to keep doing what he’s been doing in tandem with both of those guys slumping.

Ash: Any guesses on whether the three AL wild card teams change between now and the playoffs?

Jason Martinez: I don’t think the Royals or Guardians are good enough to make the kind of run needed to surpass one of the current WC teams and I don’t think the Yankees, Red Sox, or Mariners are bad enough to completely tank and fall out. I hope it stays interesting, though.

Justin Crawford: Will I ever get a chance?

Jon Becker: Yep. CF should be wide open next year with Bader and Kepler hitting FA. He’ll get a nice long look in Spring Training.

Miller Park: Chad Patrick in the Brewers rotation in ’26?

Jason Martinez: My initial 2026 projection will probably be Freddy Peralta, Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson with Robert Gasser/Tobias Myers next in line.

Mojave Miracles: Ortiz / Durbin are perfectly cromulent players, but do you see the Brewers trying to upgrade an IF spot this offseason or just wait it out until Pratt, Made, Pena are ready?

Jon Becker: I think the latter. They’re not big spenders and like you said, they’re perfectly fine players. The type of player in their budget probably isn’t a clear upgrade over those guys anyway.

Beano: What are the Giants ROS plans for their team? It doesn’t seem they have enough starting pitchers to last a week! Is Birdsong coming back?
And when does Eldridge get a look see?

Same in AZ  – why play P Smith over Locklear when they need to see if Locklear is their future?

Every year teams either don’t promote their farm guys or promote them and then don’t play them -even when they are out of the running. I don’t understand it.

Jason Martinez: I was at yesterday’s game. It’s getting ugly. I’d imagine Birdsong is in the rotation for the final month (if not sooner). Roupp’s injured. Tidwell is injured. I think Whisenhunt will get another look at some point. Maybe Mason Black.

Smith is having a good season and he’s under team control for another 2 years. And I think their entire group of position players (aside from James McCann) are all under control for 2026 so not really any easy options to bench. Locklear will have to earn his way back into a regular role (rather than current platoon vs LHP).

Okra: A’s have started to sit L. Butler vs lefties.  seems very surprising given they have nothing to play for, gave him a big extension, and he’s still young.  thoughts?

Jon Becker: Yeah, I don’t love them shielding him from lefties of late either, though with Colby Thomas hitting like he is I get wanting to make sure he plays too. If Butler hit better against righties he’d probably play more against lefties, so perhaps the thinking is “let’s give him one side to focus on and go from there.”

Mac: Any chance Braves call up David McCabe to play 3B? Doesn’t sound like Riley will be back anytime soon.

Jason Martinez: He just got to AAA but I wouldn’t rule it out. He’s been crushing the ball. Braves are probably fine with Nacho getting everyday at-bats for now. And he’s starting to look more comfortable. 8 hits in his last 5 games.

RAGBRAI: Singer has pitched decently this year. Projections put him with a much higher ERA next year. Do you see regression coming next year or will he be about the same as this year?

Jon Becker: His xERA, FIP, and ERA are .37 runs, so in that regard I think he’s likely to be roughly the same next year since the whole point of ERA estimators is to better predict future ERA. He’s a perfectly average starter and no reason to think that’ll change much in either direction at his age.

Mike D: Robby Snelling time in Miami?

Jason Martinez: Might be the most deserving pitcher in the minors at the moment. But I’m not so certain he gets the call. The biggest reason why not is that he doesn’t have to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason. And without doing any research, I’m guessing that all the prospects that the Marlins have traded for will cause a bit of a 40-man crunch this offseason. In other words, they might have a lot of prospects they want to protect who would be eligible for the Rule 5 draft if not on the 40-man. Teams like the 40-man flexibility, anyways, even if there wasn’t a roster crunch.

Guest: Who starts a game 3 and 4 for the Yankees

Jon Becker: I’d go with Warren and Schlittler as of now, Gil’s control scares me too much. Cruz is back soon so I’m sure they’re planning for a postseason with a lot of bullpen innings when those two are starting. They might even split up Fried and Rodón to tax the bullpen less.

Opifijikl: Should the Red Sox call up Tolle and any other top pitching prospects (even starters) to pitch relief for them this season? Watching I. Campbell is getting old.

Jason Martinez: Richard Fitts will be in the bullpen for today’s game. He’s first up. David Sandlin is preparing in AAA, although results aren’t great thus far (7 ER, 10 H in 5.2 IP). It doesn’t sound like that’s the plan for Tolle, but maybe that could change if Fitts struggles and Sandlin continues to struggle.

Shea Stadium: Can Carson Benge play CF in the majors?  Seems like his path to NY is straightest if he can play acceptable CF.

Jon Becker: From what I’ve read I think he can, yes. The medium-term outfield plan is Nimmo-Benge-Soto; I think Benge could be up fairly early next year if he’s healthy.

Pokey Reese: How much is “The Password” actually going to play in Boston? Is this a long-term thing? Also, at what point do you sit Rafaela for more hitting?

Jason Martinez: Ideally, Rafaela would move back to CF and the Abreu injury makes that an easy move. But that would mean a lot of David Hamilton at 2B and I’m not sure the Red Sox want that. So my guess is that Jhostynxon starts a majority of time for now at one of the corner OF spots. Seems like the kind of hitter who can spark a team. And he has a cool nickname.

Jason Martinez: That will do it for today. Enjoy the rest of the week! Bubba debut. Password debut. Carson Williams debut. We’ll be back next Thursday.