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RosterResource Chat - 8/7/25

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Jason Martinez

2:48

Swapping Lowe for Pederson wasn't really a risk. Pederson crushes RHP. And he's only 33 so I doubt they expected this much of a drop in production.

I'm guessing they knew Burger was a risk with those BB/K numbers being as bad as they were in his first 3 seasons. But if he could still hit 25-30 HR hitting 7th or 8th in that lineup, they figured they could live with it. But they got the bad version, at least in 2025.

Gaddis about Town

2:48

Could Gaddis take the closer role in Cleveland?

Jon Becker

2:49

Probably not. Cade Smith is clearly the best guy in that bullpen (and he had an argument for being the best arm in the bullpen even when Clase was still around), and he's who Vogt has been using as his closer whenever he's available. It's no Clase-Smith-Gaddis-Herrin from last year but Smith-Gaddis-Enright-Sabrowski has been a nice quartet.

Like sands through an hourglass

2:50

Has Sands washed away as min closer? Who do you like for saves in that pen?

Jason Martinez

2:53

As far as potential closer committees go -- multiple good options vs zero good options -- the Twins have the zero good options one. Sands hasn't been terrible but he's gone backwards since his breakout in 2024. K/9 dropped from 10.7 to 7.5. I think he could get some save chances because there really isn't many options but he's also likely to pitch earlier when they have a lead for the same reason. Not a lot of good options.

Justin Topa has been bad this season coming back from injury but I think they've been waiting to see the version they traded for. And hoping to get some value out of him if he can pick up some saves. So I'd lean towards Topa getting the majority of chances.

MF Luder

2:53

Do you think Cristian Javier is guaranteed a rotation spot?

Jon Becker

2:55

Definitely not. 15 walks in 14 innings on rehab so far, and it's not like he's ever been a command/control guy but even half that rate wouldn't be workable for a starter. I'd guess their hope is that he at least shows enough to be a bullpen weapon in the playoffs.

Guest

2:55

Varsho has sat against both lefties since returning, do you think he's strictly platoon now or is it more about easing him back in after so much time off (yesterday was also day game after night game in addition to being a lefy)?

Jason Martinez

2:58

They're easing him back in. He was actually much better vs LHP than RHP last season. But it's also because their other lefty OFs (Lukes and Loperfido) have been good vs LHP this season. Varsho's defense is too valuable to sit him in the most meaningful games, though, so I'd expect him to be out there mostly every day by season's end/playoffs.

Colton

2:58

Realistically, how many prospects get called up after the rookie eligibility threshold passes later this month? 8-10? Less? More?

Jon Becker

3:00

Depends who we're considering a prospect here, but off the top 99 prospects, here's who I'm monitoring as strong possibilities:

Chandler
Painter
Lawlar
Eldridge
Wetherholt
Sproat
McLean
Tolle
Henriquez

That's not to say all or even most of them will get the call, but that's nine right there, and then a bunch of others below 50 FV.

Fka oakland

3:01

With Perkins in the rotation, Newcombe getting the 7th/8th yesterday, and Kelly blowing the tie in the 9th, is there an arm in the Sactown pen that you would add?

Jason Martinez

3:03

Not really. As we saw with Eduarniel, a guy can absolutely dominate in the minors but won't be successful in the majors if his command isn't at least average. Ferguson seemed to turn things around in AAA before getting called back up yesterday. I'd imagine he's in a high-leverage role if he looks anything like he did last season. Luis Morales is interesting, too.

Guest

3:03

who would be in the Paredes trade market with his ballpark sensitivities? 1B at Fenway? the park factor isn't great but the monster seems to serve his needs

Jon Becker

3:06

Boston certainly makes sense especially if Bregman walks after opting out and 3B is open, too. Looking at xHR by park, the Jays might be an okay fit too, if Bichette signs elsewhere and Giménez is at short with Clement sliding over to more 2B.

3:06

Does also manoah make a start for the jays this year?

Jason Martinez

3:08

Yep. He's making progress. Barring any major setbacks, he'll be back. And even if he doesn't start, I think he'll still be on a starter's routine (every 5-6 days, at least 3 IP) out of the bullpen. There should be opportunities for some piggyback starts in September.

Phil

3:09

I assume you weren't counting Campbell as a prospect call-up since he's been up previously, but would you expect him to be up as well?

Jon Becker

3:10

Cora alluded to him still having things to work on, but he's definitely trending back upwards. I think they'd love for him to take over 1B down the stretch.

Ariz Cl?

3:10

Any thoughts on the next Arizona closer?

Jason Martinez

3:12

It's as bad as a situation can possibly be, losing Puk and Martinez (and Shelby Miller for a time before he was traded). By default, I think they'll probably just go with Graveman and hope he can figure things out. Maybe Ryan Thompson once he's healthy. Andrew Hoffmann could get a look but he's going to be inconsistent. Wouldn't surprise me if they tried to sign Ryan Pressly just to help get them through the season.

MF Luder

3:13

Beavers will presumably be a strong side platoon once he's called up?

Jon Becker

3:13

That could be what he ends up being in the end, but if I'm the Orioles I'm giving him plenty of reps against LHP to see how well he can handle them. It's not like they're envisioning Jordyn Adams or Jeremiah Jackson on the next good Orioles team, anyway.

Victoria

3:14

Is Strong Side Platoon Belli going to opt into his last year?

Jason Martinez

3:16

No way he doesn't opt out. Heading into his age-30 season. Great numbers vs RHP and LHP. Above-average corner OF who can also play 1B or CF. Not sure he'll get 5+ years but I can see him getting around 4 yr, $110MM.

Scarecrow

3:17

So, we're past the trade deadline, but here's a wild hair trade idea for the offseason:

Matasaka Yoshiba for Giancarlo Stanton. The money and obligation appear almost identical I think. Change of scenery, lefty goes to Yankee Stadium to feast, Stanton moves to Fenway. DH for DH. Maybe, even just to clear some unhappiness.

Jon Becker

3:19

This is one of those ideas that doesn't make much sense for either team. Stanton is better than Yoshida but also more expensive, and what either team would hope to accomplish in a trade is freeing up DH for a rotation of players. All the Yankees would accomplish here is making their offense worse but cheaper, and all the Red Sox would accomplish is having an even more inflexible DH spot than they do now and hopefully getting 30 homers out of it.

Opifijikl

3:19

I was looking at the transaction tracker and didn't realize how many little "MiLB player traded for cash" trades happened. What do teams do with the cash? Why not try to get a player back? Do only certain teams do those trades?

Jason Martinez

3:21

Not sure how much $ usually changes hands, but it's enough to jump the waiver line. If a team wants a player and thinks they'll be claimed by a team ahead of them in the waiver order, they can just offer $50K (just a guess) to acquire the player.

Guest

3:22

The PPI date to maintain rookie eligibility is 8/14. Let's pretend that Vegas odds makers (or just me) set the line at 8/21 for the O's to call up Basallo. Are you taking the over or under?

Jon Becker

3:24

I'm guessing if he's up at all it'll be as one of the couple September call-ups. Wouldn't surprise me to see him not up at all this year, though, with a leg up a spot next year.

Guest

3:24

Is it safe to assume BOS and CLE wouldn't have traded Duran or Kwan for a package centered around De Vries?

Jason Martinez

3:26

I assume they wouldn't have given up De Vries for 2+ years of Kwan. Possibly for 3+ years of Duran, but maybe the Padres hadn't included him in trade talks prior to the Red Sox saying Duran was staying put.

4+ years of Miller is probably why they decided to includ De Vries, although I think 4 years of a pitcher is equal to 2-3 years of a position player due to the high likelihood of an elbow injury.

Guest

3:26

Hey guys! Wondering who are some players you could see getting DFAed or placed on revocable waivers in lieu of other teams picking them up for a final playoff push (and salary relief for the offsetting team)??

Jon Becker

3:28

A lot of rentals on selling teams I was surprised to see stick around, namely Pham, Heaney, and Josh Bell, so I'd expect them to be on waivers (though we may never hear about it) along with names like DeJong, Farmer, and Gio Urshela. But as with every year I'm most curious to see if the Angels waive their rentals assuming they keep losing, because they've got a lot: Jansen, Tyler Anderson, Chafin, Luis García, Moncada, Hendricks, Rengifo.

Rick

3:30

Think Locklear can be long-term 1B for AZ?

Jason Martinez

3:32

It's possible but still way too early. I think Dbacks just need to decide whether he's going to be part of the 2026 team and they will have two good months to see him play every day. My guess is they'l probably go into 2026 with Locklear and Pavin Smith the main options at 1B/DH.

Tom M

3:33

How Can we get a 2026 estimate payroll roll forward early with just a basic arbitration calc? I want to see how bad the Pirates payroll looks as we look to the offseason

Jon Becker

3:34

I've wanted to look into the feasibility of this for a while, but unfortunately there's no such thing as a basic arbitration calculation because there's a bunch of variables there. So we just wait until the MLBTradeRumors estimates come out since the folks there are nice enough to let us use theirs. We'll be in 2026 mode a week or so after the World Series.

gonyr

3:35

What does the future hold for Lawrence Butler? Seems like a big step back from last year.

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