RosterResource Roundup: March 29

by
March 30, 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

Atlanta Braves
•C Sean Murphy (strained oblique) will be placed on 10-Day IL.

Murphy injured himself on a swing in the 7th inning of Friday’s game against the Phillies. He’s never been on the Injured List in his 4+ seasons in the majors. Chadwick Tromp will be promoted to take his spot on the roster. Travis d’Arnaud will be the primary catcher until Murphy returns.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Playing Time Projections

New York Yankees
•2B Gleyber Torres left Friday’s game after being hit by a pitch. He had an x-ray on his thumb and it was negative for a fracture. He hopes to return on Saturday.
•OF Juan Soto suffered a sprained ankle in the 2nd inning, but remained in the game. He says he’ll be in the lineup on Saturday.

It sounds as if Torres dodged a bullet, although his thumb is sore. Jon Berti was already scheduled to make his Yankees’ debut on Saturday, likely at third base. He could play second base if Torres isn’t in the lineup. Jahmai Jones is the team’s other second base option.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Playing Time Projections

San Francisco Giants
•OF Mike Yastrzemski placed on the Paternity List; OF Luis Matos recalled.

Wilmer Flores took Yastrzemski’s lineup spot on Friday, playing 1B with LaMonte Wade Jr. moving to RF. He should return no later than Monday. With the Giants facing two tough right-handed starters on Saturday and Sunday (Dylan Cease, Michael King), it’s possible that Matos will return to Triple-A without getting a start.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Playing Time Projections

Starting Pitching

Arizona Diamondbacks
•Jordan Montgomery officially signed his contract on Friday and was optioned to the minors.

The 31-year-old lefty is hoping to make his Diamondbacks debut on April 19 at San Francisco. That would give Tommy Henry three starts before he’d likely be sent to Triple-A.

Roster/Depth Chart  |  Projected Payroll  |  SP Probables Grid

 

Late-Inning Relievers

Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers’ three options for save chances with Devin Williams on the Injured List were obvious. Who would get the majority of the save chances was not so obvious. There were four likely scenarios … 1) Trevor Megill will be the closer. 2) Joel Payamps will be the closer. 3) Abner Uribe will be the closer. 4) Some combination of those three will form a closer committee.

After Friday’s win over the Mets, we have some clarity. At the least, we can eliminate options 1 and 2 for now.

Clinging to a 3-1 lead, manager Pat Murphy opted for Megill in the 7th inning, Payamps in the 8th inning, and Uribe to close it out in the 9th. All three did their jobs.

Now, it’s quite possible that he thinks they are interchangeable and could go Payamps -> Uribe -> Megill or Uribe -> Megill -> Payamps. And it’s also possible that he’ll just stick with what earned him an Opening Day victory and Uribe will have a chance to hold the job until Williams returns later in the season.

Roster/Depth Chart

Philadelphia Phillies
Speaking of committees, the Phillies have one of the most talented and deepest bullpens in baseball and would seemingly be capable of distributing save chances between at least 3-4 different relievers. However, Craig Kimbrel and José Alvarado accounted for 73% of the team’s saves in 2023 and no other pitcher had more than three. Kimbrel is now the closer for the Orioles and it’s a mystery who the Phillies will utilize for save chances.

While Alvarado is the likely frontrunner to lead the team in save chances, it’s not clear whether he can be trusted as the primary closer. After his first appearance of the season on Friday, it’s probably even more unlikely. He entered in the 8th inning with a 2-2 tie against the Braves., meaning someone else was going to get a save chance if there was one later in the game. Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto were still available. But they weren’t needed in this one because Alvarado allowed three hits and two walks while recording only two outs. All five runs scored and the Phillies ended up losing 9-3.

One bad outing isn’t going to cause manager Rob Thomson to overreact. Alvarado’s track record is terrific. But the most likely reliever to separate himself from the potential committee isn’t likely to do that anytime soon.

On a related note, Orion Kerkering is expected to return from the 15-Day IL once he’s eligible (4/9) or soon thereafter. Once he does return, he’ll have a chance to move quickly into a high-leverage bullpen role.

Roster/Depth Chart

Pittsburgh Pirates
•Unavailable on Thursday, David Bednar was warming up in the 9th inning of Friday’s game as Josh Fleming closed out a 7-2 win over the Marlins. So, it’s probably safe to say that he is finally recovered from the lat injury that caused him to miss most of spring training.

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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Jack Murphy
1 year ago

Not sure why you failed to mention the Phillies best right handed reliever: Jeff Hoffman. They brought him in early because the Braves rallied to tie the game 2-2 in the 7th, and Acuna Albies and Riley were due up with one out and a guy on 2nd. He put out the fire.

I think Hoffman has just as good of a chance for saves as anyone else in that bullpen. But it will certainly be annoying at times with the way Thomson deploys them.

4
Jason MartinezFanGraphs Staff
1 year ago
Reply to  Jack Murphy

I mentioned Dominguez and Soto in regards to yesterday’s game because they would’ve been the likely options had the Phillies taken a lead into the 9th. Hoffman had already pitched.Seems like too many good options is what makes them unpredictable. And they all have been setup men. Different than Kimbrel in 2023, who had the track record and reputation so it was expected that he’d pitch in save situations.

Not sure if they go with a primary closer this year. Kerkering is an intriguing option. I’m sure Hoffman can do the job and would love to do it since it would boost his free agent value.

3