Eddie Rosario elected free agency on Friday, according to his transaction log on MLB.com (h/t . The Dodgers designated the veteran outfielder for assignment last weekend when they activated Shohei Ohtani from the paternity list. After Rosario cleared waivers, the Dodgers sent him outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, but he exercised his right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency.
The lefty-batting Rosario made it into two games during his brief stint with the Dodgers while Ohtani was away, starting at DH against a pair of tough right-handed pitchers: Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. Both times, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter after two plate appearances when a left-handed reliever entered the game. He went 1-for-4, knocking a single against Eovaldi. While he ultimately didn’t make much of an impact in either game, Rosario put the ball in play in each of his four trips to the plate. All four batted balls registered as hard-hit, and three had an expected batting average above .500, per Statcast.
Rosario has played in 11 big league seasons for the Twins, Guardians, Braves, Nationals, and Dodgers. As recently as 2023, Rosario was a perfectly capable major leaguer, putting up a .755 OPS and a 100 wRC+ in 142 games for Atlanta. However, that season was sandwiched between two abysmal performances; Rosario ranked among the bottom five players in FanGraphs WAR in both 2022 and ’24. His 2024 season was so rough that he lost jobs in three separate organizations (Nationals, Braves, and Mets).
Rosario is still just 33 and not so far removed from a 1.3 fWAR season in 2023. The best team in baseball saw enough to like in his bat to bring him into the organization and let him take his hacks against a pair of high-end starting pitchers. He also put up impressive numbers in 14 games for Oklahoma City, batting .339 with a 137 wRC+. That’s a tiny sample size (and his .419 BABIP was hardly sustainable), but eight of his 20 hits went for extra bases, and his 8:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio was solid. That should be enough for Rosario to land another minor league deal, provided he’s willing to be flexible about where he ends up.
Rockies should give Rosario a call
Rockies are giving some young players a look. They are already being quickly buried in standings. Rosario arguably does not improve the team now let alone going forward.
Angels
White Sox can hit him #4 behind their new #3 hitter Gage Workman
Maybe the Padres should take a flier. They’re not getting much out of their OF depth pieces right now.
Yuli Gurriel has an OPS of .378, he can’t be worse than that.
Gurriel does not play OF he’s backup corner IF. As far as OF depth tho he’s obviously not displacing Merrill or Tatis. I’m not sure hes an improvement over Joe, Heyward, or Sheets either.
They have to get rid of Gurriel ASAP, he doesn’t play even with all the injuries, what use is he? Sheets has been at DH and 1b a lot. Joe has looked completely lost. Merrill, Heyward and Lockridge are on IL may not be back soon. Meanwhile the Pads have been rolling with AAA guys Gonzalez, Tirso Ornelas and Tyler Wade in the OF without much success. Not sure Rosario would help but they’re one more injury away from having to bring in someone else.
Take a look at who they’re currently playing in the OF while Merrill and Heyward are down. I’m not saying he could displace Tatis, I’m saying Tirso Ornelas and Oscar Gonzalez are not getting it done. Heyward wasn’t hitting before he went out either.
That roster spot is totally wasted on Gurriel. Backup DH who can’t hit. They need to find a way to get a bat in there.
Did he not play for the reds?
Nvm
Interesting that the article predicts a minor league deal for him, when this is exactly what he just rejected.
He’s likely looking for best opportunity to get playing time and he doesn’t view Dodgers as being the path.
Or he wants a little bit of a signing bonus and an upward mobility clause from the Dodgers.
A veteran signed to a minor league contract, no matter the team, is waiting for the same event: an injury or other player’s absence on the major league team. Since these events are impossible to predict, to me it seems unlikely that Rosario is looking for another minor league contract. Maybe that is what he will get, but it can’t be what he is after.
He can not predict with any certainty. What can be weighed is teams vurrwnt depth at this point in season and where opportunities are more likely.
And, Rosario signs a major league contract with the Braves. I guess that makes me wrong again!
I stand corrected. I wonder what this says of Acuna’s recovery. If it has nothing to do with Acuna’s recovery I find this an off move for Rosario. White, Verdugo, and Harris seem to be entrenched in their roles and a returning Acuna would seemingly put Rosario back in same position.
Maybe Rosario just looking for any MLB playing time to prove himself til he finds a more stable suitor. I guess time will tell.