RosterResource Roundup: April 1

by
April 2, 2024

Below you’ll find a roundup of notable moves and roster notes from the past day, as well as future expected moves and a Minor League Report, which includes a list of recent major league debuts and top prospect promotions. For this column, any lineup regulars, starting pitchers, or late-inning relievers are considered “notable,” meaning that middle relievers, long relievers, and bench players are excluded. You can always find a full list of updated transactions here.

RosterResource News: Earlier this week, we moved our RosterResource pages into regular season mode and introduced a new feature that allows you to view all 30 projected lineups (vs RHP and vs LHP) on one page.

Lineup Regulars

Arizona Diamondbacks
•CF Alek Thomas (strained hamstring) placed on 10-Day IL. OF Jorge Barrosa recalled.

There is no timetable as of yet, but Thomas’ injury is considered somewhere between a grade 1 and grade 2 strain. Corbin Carroll played CF on Monday with Jake McCarthy taking Thomas’ lineup spot and playing RF. He was 1-for-3 in his first start of 2024.

The switch-hitting Barrosa, who hit a pinch-hit double in his first MLB at-bat against Yankees’ lefty Victor Gonzalez, will likely platoon with McCarthy.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Playing Time Projections

Chicago White Sox
•DH Eloy Jiménez (strained adductor) was not placed on the 10-Day IL, but he was unavailable for Monday’s game.

Results of an MRI were not revealed. For now, he is considered day-to-day so there’s a chance he can return within a few days. Gavin Sheets started in his place on Monday and went 0-for-2 in the team’s 9-0 loss to the Braves.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Playing Time Projections

Oakland Athletics
•INF/OF Tyler Nevin claimed off waivers from Baltimore Orioles. OF Esteury Ruiz optioned.

In what was considered a huge surprise, Ruiz was sent to the minors as the corresponding move to add Nevin (out of options) to the 26-man roster. While it’s not great optics to demote someone who had a single, double, triple, and stolen base in his first two starts of the season, it’s also important to note that he was in a platoon (vs LHP) and the A’s aren’t likely to face another lefty starter until April 13 (MacKenzie Gore).

In addition, the only other alternatives would’ve been to option Darell Hernaiz or designate Abraham Toro for assignment. Not having a backup shortstop isn’t ideal, nor is giving up on an offseason acquisition after four games. Sure, not claiming a player who is out of options would’ve been the other option. But part of a rebuilding season is finding value in players who have not had enough of an opportunity to prove themselves elsewhere. See Brent Rooker.

Ruiz will be back. Whether he’ll ever be more than a 4th or 5th outfielder is still to be determined. He had a .619 OPS and 78 wRC+ in 348 plate appearances versus right-handed pitching in 2023. He can still be valuable to your fantasy baseball team with that type of production because of the stolen bases. But not getting on base enough while not offering much power or the ability to play an above-average center field — Ruiz was playing mostly LF in the spring — was eventually going to lead to a bench role or a demotion to Triple-A.

Fun fact: The A’s are Nevin’s fourth MLB team (COL, BAL, DET). His father, Phil, didn’t have a breakout season until he joined his fourth MLB team. I’m not saying Tyler will post an .879 OPS and hit 147 homers over the next six seasons like his dad did with the San Diego Padres from 1999-2004. But his chances of getting some actual playing time are decent now that he’s with one of the worst teams in baseball.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Playing Time Projections

Texas Rangers
•3B Josh Jung (fractured wrist) will be placed on the 10-Day IL. UPDATE: Justin Foscue will be recalled to take Jung’s roster spot.

Jung was injured on a pitch by Phil Maton, who had hit the previous two batters. The 26-year-old third baseman already had a homer, two singles, and four RBIs in this game, but couldn’t finish this at-bat. He’s out indefinitely with Ezequiel Duran the leading candidate to be the primary third baseman. Foscue started 35 games at 3B in Triple-A last season, but how much the Rangers trust him there is to be determined.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Playing Time Projections

Starting Pitching

Chicago White Sox
•Mike Clevinger agreed to a 1-year contract.

The news that Clevinger had agreed to re-sign with the White Sox came during Monday’s 9-0 loss to the Braves. Chris Flexen, who could be the odd man out once Clevinger is ready to join the team, allowed 4 ER in 4.1 IP in his White Sox debut.

The 33-year-old Clevinger had a 3.77 ERA , 2.7 BB/9, and 7.6 K/9 in 131.1 IP for the White Sox in 2023. He allowed 2 ER or less in 14 of his 24 starts. He’ll make $3MM in 2024 with the potential to make an additional $3MM in incentives.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Projected Payroll

Houston Astros
•Ronel Blanco pitched a no-hitter in his first start of 2024.

The 30-year-old Blanco, who is only in the rotation because Justin Verlander and José Urquidy are on the 15-Day IL, was masterful in a 10-0 win over the Blue Jays. He walked two batters and struck out seven while throwing 105 pitches.

With Verlander making progress and expected to begin a rehab assignment in the near future, the Astros will have to make a decision in a few weeks. Moving Blanco back to the bullpen seemed like a no-brainer. Now, not so much. Blanco and J.P. France should each get a couple more starts to prove that they should remain in the rotation.

Roster/Depth Chart

New York Mets
•Tylor Megill (strained hamstring) placed on 15-Day IL. RP Reed Garrett recalled.

Because they are on the 40-man roster and were optioned at the end of spring training, José Buttó and Joey Lucchesi cannot be recalled until 4/12 unless they are replacing a player going on the Injured List. Therefore, the Mets will have an interesting decision to make when the No. 5 spot in the rotation comes up early next week. Dominic Hamel, Christian Scott, and Mike Vasil could all be in the mix for a spot start. Or the Mets can opt for the boring ol’ bullpen game.

Roster/Depth Chart

San Francisco Giants
•Blake Snell will make his first start on Monday, April 8.

The two-time Cy Young winner will pitch a simulated game on Wednesday and then make his Giants’ debut at home against the Nationals.

Roster/Depth Chart

 

Click HERE to view our Starting Pitcher Probables Grid.

 

Late-Inning Relievers

Baltimore Orioles
Craig Kimbrel’s debut with the Orioles didn’t go all that great — he couldn’t hold a one-run lead in the 9th inning versus the Royals — but it really was about as cheap of a blown save as you can get. He allowed a one-out single to Kyle Isbel. Pinch-runner Dairon Blanco stole second and third base and scored on a sacrifice fly by Maikel Garcia. He finished the inning by striking out Bobby Witt Jr. on three pitches and then picked up his 50th career win after Jordan Westburg hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 9th.

Roster/Depth Chart

Seattle Mariners
It’s not a new thing for manager Scott Servais to use his best reliever before the 9th inning if it’s a high-leverage spot. With Matt Brash and Gregory Santos both on the Injured List, maybe it was less expected. But that was still his strategy on Monday as Andrés Muñoz got the call in the 8th inning to protect a two-run lead over the Guardians with José Ramírez and Josh Naylor due up. He got Ramírez to fly out, but Naylor hit a home run to cut the lead to 5-4 before Muñoz retired the next two batters to preserve the lead heading into the 9th inning.

Next in line would be Ryne Stanek, who pitched a perfect 9th against the bottom of the Guardians’ order to pick up his 1st save. Whether this strategy continues once Brash and Santos return is to be determined. It really could go either way. Servais could be more comfortable holding back Muñoz until the 9th because his bullpen is so deep. Or he could just consider them all interchangeable.

Roster/Depth Chart

 

Click HERE to view our Closer Depth Chart.

 

Minor League Report

Major League Debuts 

  • Jorge Barrosa, PH, Arizona Diamondbacks: 1-for-1, 2B  4/1/24
  • Shota Imanaga, SP, Chicago Cubs: 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 9 K, W  4/1/24
  • Nick Avila, RP, San Francisco Giants: 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K  4/1/24
  • Matt Sauer, RP, Kansas City Royals: IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, K  3/31/24
  • Kai-Wei Teng, RP, San Francisco Giants: 3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K  3/31/24
  • Justin Slaten, RP, Boston Red Sox: 0 IP, 0 R, H, 0 BB, 0 K  3/30/24
  • Ben Brown, RP, Chicago Cubs: 1.2 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, K  3/30/24
  • Jordan Leasure, RP, Chicago White Sox: IP, 0 R, H, BB, K, Hold  3/30/24
  • Cade Smith, RP, Cleveland Guardians: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, BB, 5 K  3/30/24
  • Oliver Dunn, 3B, Milwaukee Brewers: 1-for-4, K  3/30/24
  • Austin Martin, PR, Minnesota Twins: 0-for-0  3/30/24
  • Jared Jones, SP, Pittsburgh Pirates: 5 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 10 K, W  3/30/24
  • Austin Shenton, PR, Tampa Bay Rays: 0-for-1  3/30/24
  • Trey Lipscomb, 3B, Washington Nationals: 1-for-4, SB 3/30/24
  • Clayton Beeter, RP, New York Yankees: IP, 0 R, H, 0 BB, 0 K  3/29/24
  • Mitch Spence, RP, Oakland Athletics: 3 IP, ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K  3/29/24
  • Landen Roupp, RP, San Francisco Giants: IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K  3/29/24
  • Blaze Alexander, DH, Arizona Diamondbacks: 2-for-5, RBI, 2 K  3/28/24
  • Anthony Molina, RP, Colorado Rockies: 0.1 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, BB  3/28/24
  • Colt Keith, 2B, Detroit Tigers: 1-for-4  3/28/24
  • Darell Hernaiz, PH, Oakland Athletics: 0-for-1  3/28/24
  • Victor Scott II, CF, St. Louis Cardinals: 0-for-3, SB, K  3/28/24
  • Jung Hoo Lee 이정후, CF, San Francisco Giants: 1-for-3, RBI, K, CS  3/28/24
  • Erik Miller, RP, San Francisco Giants: IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, K  3/28/24
  • Wyatt Langford, DH, Texas Rangers: 1-for-3, RBI, BB, K  3/28/24
  • Yoshinobu Yamamoto, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers: IP, 5 ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K  3/21/24
  • Stephen Kolek, RP, San Diego Padres: 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 0 H, BB  3/21/24
  • Jackson Merrill, CF, San Diego Padres: 0-for-3   3/20/24
  • Graham Pauley, PH, San Diego Padres: 0-for-1, K  3/20/24
  • Yuki Matsui, RP, San Diego Padres: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, K  3/20/24

Promotions: Top 101 Prospects





 

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Crazyhurdlers
8 months ago

This is an awesome format. About 2x a week would be great! Sundays (pre-FAAB deadline) and Wednesdays or Thursdays would work well.

Last edited 8 months ago by Crazyhurdlers
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Jason MartinezMember
8 months ago
Reply to  Crazyhurdlers

Thanks! Glad to hear. The plan is 5-7 days/week, including Sundays. Only issue with last week was that I combined Saturday/Sunday and that was a beast to write up. So I didn’t publish until almost 12:00 AM PT. The plan will be to normally publish much earlier Sunday evening since most games are over by 4PM PT.

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Crazyhurdlers
8 months ago
Reply to  Jason Martinez

Hey even more is better but didn’t want to seem demanding!

1