RosterResource Roundup: March 28

by
March 29, 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.

Lineup Regulars

Colorado Rockies
Elehuris Montero started at DH and batted 8th vs RHP.

While Michael Toglia earned the final roster spot over Sean Bouchard, it wasn’t clear how the at-bats would be divided between Montero, Toglia, and Jake Cave. Facing Diamondbacks’ ace Zac Gallen on Opening Day, it was Montero (0-for-3) who got the start while Kris Bryant played 1B and Charlie Blackmon played RF. I’d still expect some sort of committee between Montero, Toglia, and Cave until one of them can separate themselves.

Roster/Depth Chart     Playing Time Projections

Minnesota Twins
3B Royce Lewis, my pick for AL MVP, left Thursday’s game with a quad injury after hitting a homer and single in his first two at-bats.

MRI were not available after the game, although Lewis called it a “cramp”. It’s never a good idea to take a player’s word on their injury status, though. Kyle Farmer and Willi Castro are candidates to fill in if Lewis misses any time.

Roster/Depth Chart     Playing Time Projections

San Francisco Giants
OF Mike Yastrzemski will be placed on the Paternity List before Friday’s game.

The Giants had only 12 pitchers on their Opening Day roster so they may replace Yastrzemski with someone who can help out the bullpen. Austin Slater is the leading candidate to start in RF until Yastrzemski returns.

Roster/Depth Chart     Playing Time Projections

Washington Nationals
3B Nick Senzel was scratched from Thursday’s lineup after suffering a fractured thumb prior to the game. He’ll be placed on the 10-Day IL and will miss approximately 3-4 weeks.

Trey Lipscomb, who nearly made the team out of spring training (20-for-50, HR, 2 2B), is expected to take Senzel’s roster spot. While he outplayed Rule 5 pick Nasim Nuñez, the 23-year-old Lipscomb would’ve been relegated to a bench role with the Nats. Instead, he was headed for Triple-A to play regularly. Those plans have quickly changed and he could now make his MLB debut on Saturday against the Reds and Hunter Greene.

Roster/Depth Chart     Playing Time Projections

Starting Pitching

Chicago Cubs
Justin Steele (strained hamstring) will likely be placed on 15-Day IL.

Steele had allowed just 1 ER against the Rangers when he exited with two outs in the 5th. His spot in the rotation comes up again next Wednesday. If he can’t make the start, Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski are options to fill in until either Steele or Jameson Taillon are healthy. Brown has yet to make his MLB debut, but he was very good in spring training (14 IP, ER, 10 H, 5 BB, 12 K) and could get an early call to the big leagues in 2024.

Roster/Depth Chart     SP Probables Grid

Chicago White Sox
No. 5 SP will be promoted to pitch on either Tuesday 4/2 or Wednesday 4/3.

The expectation is that Nick Nastrini will be called up to make his MLB debut. Garrett Crochet (6 IP, ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 87 pitches on Thursday) could pitch on four days rest on Tuesday, although giving him an extra day wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Roster/Depth Chart     SP Probables Grid

San Francisco Giants
Game 4-5 starters (Sunday and Monday) are TBD.

Blake Snell will pitch in a minor league game on Friday and could slot into the rotation sometime next week if the Giants think he’s ready. Keaton Winn is a possibility for Sunday or Monday. It’s likely that either Landen Roupp, who is currently available out of the bullpen, and possibly Daulton Jefferies or Spencer Howard (both have been reassigned to minors) could be counted on to pitch one of those games.

Roster/Depth Chart     SP Probables Grid

 

Late-Inning Relievers

Boston Red Sox
Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless 9th (0 H, BB, 2 K) to close out a 6-4 win over the Mariners and pick up his 421st career save.

Roster/Depth Chart

Chicago Cubs
Adbert Alzolay (IP, ER, H, BB, K, BS) allowed a game-tying solo homer to Travis Jankowski in the bottom of the 9th in an eventual 4-3 loss to the Rangers.

The 29-year-old had a terrific season in 2023 (2.67 ERA, 22 Sv) and should continue getting save chances despite the Opening Day hiccup. If he does struggle at some point, Héctor Neris and Julian Merryweather are waiting in the wings.

Roster/Depth Chart

Detroit Tigers
With a 1-0 lead over the White Sox, nobody on base, and two outs to go in the 9th, the Tigers went with Jason Foley and not Alex Lange to close things out. He struck out both batters he faced to pick up the save. We’ll have to keep a close eye on how manager A.J. Hinch uses Lange in his first few appearances.

Roster/Depth Chart

Minnesota Twins
Griffin Jax pitched a scoreless 9th (0 H, BB, K) to preserve a 4-1 lead over the Royals and pick up his 1st save. He has been the leading candidate for save chances with Jhoan Duran on the 15-Day IL to begin the season.

Roster/Depth Chart

New York Yankees
Pitching with a 5-4 lead, Clay Holmes was able to pick up the save against the Astros with a scoreless 9th innings. It wasn’t easy, though. He allowed three singles, but was bailed out when Juan Soto threw out the would-be tying run at home.

Roster/Depth Chart

Pittsburgh Pirates
David Bednar avoided a trip to the Injured List despite missing most of spring training with a lat injury. But he’s not quite ready to pitch, however, as he was unavailable on Thursday.

After taking a 6-5 lead in the top of the 12th, the Pirates called on lefty Jose Hernandez to close out the win against the Marlins. Aroldis Chapman would’ve been the likely choice for an earlier save chance, but he pitched in the 9th inning with the game tied.

Roster/Depth Chart

San Diego Padres
Robert Suarez allowed a solo homer to Michael Conforto, but nothing else as he picked up his 2nd save of the season in the Padres’ 6-4 win over the Giants. Yuki Matsui has been very impressive thus far, but Suarez seems to have a firm grasp on the closer’s role.

Roster/Depth Chart

 

Click HERE to view our Closer Depth Chart.

 

Minor League Report

Major League Debuts 

Promotions: Top 101 Prospects





 

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markjdMember since 2016
8 months ago

super freaking awesome thank you

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