JotCast | RosterResource Chat

RosterResource Chat - 9/11/25

Jason Martinez

2:01

Welcome to the RosterResource Live Chat! This will be the final chat of the regular season. Thanks to everyone who has asked questions and joined us along the way in the first season of this feature. We'll resume before the end of the playoffs when we will be 100% focused on the 2025-26 offseason. Here we go ...

Matt W.

2:01

Does Ryan Ward have a chance for playing time with the Dodgers in 2026 or is he just a trade chip? How does his trade value compare to Michael Busch two years ago?

Jon Becker

2:04

I don't see much of a chance of him getting playing time with the Dodgers next year. Ohtani has DH, Freeman has 1B, Pages and Teoscar are locked into the outfield and Edman or Kim could end up back there. As for his trade value, he's really not in a similar situation to Busch a couple years back. Busch was entering his age-26 season and graduated as the 74th overall prospect, and Ward hasn't even made the Dodgers' list since 2023 and will be entering his age-28 season. He's had a great year but it's also his third year in Triple-A.

Dan

2:05

What is the projected Marlins rotation next season?

Jason Martinez

2:08

I think there's a decent chance they shop Alcantara just in case someone is going to meet the asking price for an ace with 2 more seasons of club control at a reasonable price. But assuming he stays ...

Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Edward Cabrera (if the elbow ligaments hold up), Ryan Weathers, Braxton Garrett, Max Meyer (returning from hip surgery). Robby Snelling and Thomas White will force their way into the rotation early on. Karson Milbrandt is another prospect on the rise. Janson Junk has made a strong case but he's out of options so Marlins might try to sell high.

Opifijikl

2:10

In the morning, I like to look at the Box Scores on Fangraphs and see what happened in games I wasn't watching the night before. I'm always looking for new, interesting features of this site though. Are there any other Fangraphs dashboards, pages, or features that you think are worth looking at frequently? What do you all do?

Jon Becker

2:11

On days when I'm not updating the roster moves it's easy to miss the smaller transactions, so I like to review the Transaction Tracker to make sure there's not anything I missed. Outside of RosterResource I love checking the Playoff Odds every day this time of year, especially the graphs.

2:13

Do you think the padres will make any roster moves for the playoff push? I am far less confident in the 98 percent playoff odds.

Jason Martinez

2:17

If you pay attention to this team, I think it seems very unlikely. Schildt doesn't like to shake things up too much. They're lacking a right-handed batter who can help against LHP. Campusano could be that guy but seems like they're more comfortable with keeping all their lefties in the lineup no matter what.

Would be interesting to see if someone like Bradgley Rodriguez could give them another high-leverage arm out of the bullpen with Jason Adam out for the season and Estrada struggling since the trade deadline. But it's kind of late in the season to audition guys for the post-season. I doubt they do anything. The 2024 team was so much better in every way so it would be crazy if the 2025 team can get further in October.

Opifijikl

2:17

Do any teams stick out to you for their unorthodox yet successful big league roster? And why?

Jon Becker

2:19

I think the Brewers have been my answer to this for a few years now. They've been slugging more lately (thanks Brice Turang!) but it's definitely against type to load up the roster with a bunch of guys who are pesky more than sluggers, and also have a pitching staff that's set up to be pretty malleable in the playoffs. Was thinking about their potential playoff rotation yesterday and I think it's possible Woodruff and Peralta are the only true starters and then they piggyback with everyone else.

Troy

2:20

Do you think leo rivas should be playing over cole young as everyday, second basement, or at least against righties, as Polanco sometimes plays 2nd and Garver is C or DH against lefties? His walk off non-withstanding, numbers are strong this year and he was one of the very best overall hitters in AAA.

Jason Martinez

2:22

At this point of the season, they have to go with the hot hand. And that's Rivas. Young is in a 2-for-43 slump. He sat for 6 consecutive days and then was back in the lineup yesterday. Could've been more of a reset to see if he could back on track. But he went 0-fer and Rivas hit the walk-off. My guess is they go with Rivas (mostly) vs RHP the rest of the way.

Opifijikl

2:23

Thanks for the responses! The whole "loading up with pesky guys" sounds like it should be easier for more teams to do than finding sluggers, like other teams should be able to do it too. Cleveland seems to try it a lot. Any ideas on the secret sauce the Brewers have?

Jon Becker

2:26

So I think the key to being pesky isn't just making a lot of contact (they're third in the majors with an 80.6% contact rate), it's also making contact with the right pitches, and only the Yankees swing at fewer pitches outside the zone than the Brewers do, and that's by fractions of a tenth of a percentage point. What's unique with the Brewers is that unlike the Yankees they make contact with pitches outside the zone too, which isn't always a good idea, but when you have a bunch of guys who can really run (Turang, Chourio, Perkins, Frelick, etc.) it's not an automatic out to roll over one to the shortstop.

Jay v

2:26

What's Davis Schneider's ceiling? I feel like he is capable of being more than a RH platoon/PH option.

Jason Martinez

2:30

He's only 26 and has shown flashes of being a really good hitter. The biggest question is how consistent a player will be with everyday at-bats. He was amazing in a small sample as a rookie. And then terrible with 450 PAs in 2024. Back to a very limited role in 2025, he's been amazing again. If we go off of that, we could assume he's just better when his manager can pick the best spots for him. He's probably earned a bigger role. Whether he gets that with the Jays in 2026 is TBD.

2:30

Can the Phils afford to re-sign Schwarber at market value? What other offseason roster moves might be needed to get that done and pay the man?

Jon Becker

2:32

I always caution against rushing to believe reporting that says stuff like "won't be outbid," which I think was the latest on the Phillies re: Schwarber, because it's not open bidding and at the end of the day we don't really know if there's a team that's gonna jump in and offer something crazy, but at the same time there's just not a better team/vibes/ballpark fit for him, and he clearly loves Philly as much as they love him.

Ronny

2:34

Seems like a few of the Mets top prospects will be ready in 2026. What is the outlook for guys like Carson Benge, Jett Williams, and Ryan Clifford?

Jason Martinez

2:39

As bad as things are going at the moment, the Mets have a lot going for them in 2026 and beyond. Not only have McLean, Tong, and Sproat already arrived, they have more pitching help on the way. And, yes, Benge, Williams, and Clifford could all force their way into the picture in 2026. Let's assume Pete Alonso opts out, this is likely the projected Opening Day lineup to begin the offseason ...

Lindor, SS
Soto, RF
Nimmo, LF
Vientos, 1B
McNeil, 2B
Alvarez, C
Baty, 3B
Mauricio, DH
Siri/Taylor, CF

We know they have the resources to make some big moves and the 3 aforementioned prospects haven't quite gotten to the point where the Mets will just pencil them in to a starting role. Clifford's best shot is if they don't re-sign Alonso and at-bats could be available at 1B/DH. Williams might have to start in more of a SS/2B/CF utility role. Benge is the one I'd expect to take over at CF at some point in 2026. So they'd probably lean more on Siri/Taylor in CF early on and give the job to Benge once he's ready.

Expansion soon?

2:40

Now that we have new owners coming to TB, we will see expansion before 2030? Or will MLB use Nashville, Portland, Salt Lake, Sacramento, Charlotte as leverage for a new White Sox, Brewers, etc stadium?

Jon Becker

2:42

Sounds like the league is shooting for 2030-2032ish, though it's still pretty up in the air. It doesn't seem like relocation for anyone is on the table anymore with the Rays probably staying in the Tampa market and if the White Sox get a new stadium it'll still be in Chicago, so I think any new ballpark negotiations can get made independently. Based on who has actual potential ownership groups and money lined up I'd guess Nashville and SLC but there's a lot of time for things to change.

Jeff

2:43

Not disputing you, but can you elaborate on the '24 Pads being better in every way than the 'w5 edition?

Jason Martinez

2:46

Late-inning heroics (mostly Profar, Merrill, Higgy) were a big part of 2024. Mostly non-existent in 2025. Profar's season was almost MVP-ish. 2024 Manny was way better than the current version. Same with Merrill. By a lot. They really miss David Peralta and Donovan Solano. As bad as he was against the Dodgers in the post-season, 2024 Cease was way better than 2025. Michael King was an ace in 2024. Has barely pitched in 2025. Bullpen might be close, but I'd take Scott, Adam, Suarez, etc. over Suarez, Morejon, Miller (especially if Suarez is the closer over Miller).

drplantwrench

2:47

what do you think of Angels being a name for Murakami, Bregman, Bieber?

Jon Becker

2:48

I could see Murakami, though I really have no idea what he'll sign for because reports on him even now that he's been raking are still all over the map, and he's probably a 1B/DH more than anything. Bregman strikes me as too expensive for Arte and I don't know about his willingness to give out a multi-year SP contract to a guy coming off Tommy John (even though he looks great).

Ricky T

2:49

Any hope for Rockies fans any time soon? Seems like they're so far behind the other teams in the division and not much help is on the way.

Jason Martinez

2:53

Probably not. But I actually think it could make for a unique situation if ownership would acknowledge that they don't really have a chance. If we can't build a winning team, let's at least build an entertaining team. And the way to do that is to do everything possible to re-create the Blake Street Bombers. Let's get 4-5 guys capable of hitting 30+ bombs. They already have a catcher who can do that, which is rare. Maybe a bit crazy to think they could sign Bo Bichette to be their 2B or 3B but that would be super fun. And then just go get a bunch of dudes who rake, even if they have flaws in their game. When an opposing team plays at Coors Field, I'd want them to feel nervous no matter what the score because the powerful Rockies lineup has the last at-bat.

Unabashed Cubs Fan

2:54

Hey guys, Dan made me feel sad saying the Cubs won’t resign Tucker this offseason. Any chance you two can offer any hope?

Jon Becker

2:55

The hope I'd offer is that it's certainly possible that they will re-sign him! A lot of teams should be interested and despite his up-and-down-and-now-hurt year, there's no reason for the Cubs not to be looking to bring him back, especially considering how much they gave up for him. That said, it would have to be the largest contract in team history by over $100M, so ownership is going to have to enter a new level of comfort.

Jason Martinez

2:57

That will do it for today. Thanks again for joining us throughout the regular season. Enjoy the rest of the regular season. We'll be back in October for some offseason talk.

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