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Amed Rosario

Yankees Place Amed Rosario On 10-Day Injured List

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The Yankees have placed utility player Amed Rosario on the 10-day injured list with a left SC joint sprain. The team announced the move this morning, ahead of their afternoon matchup with the Astros. To replace Rosario on the active roster, they recalled catcher J.C. Escarra from Triple-A.

The 29-year-old Rosario signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the Nationals over the offseason, and Washington sent him to New York ahead of the trade deadline last month. While he slashed a respectable .270/.310/.426 (104 wRC+) in 47 games with the Nationals, he hit the ground running with his new team, going 3-for-7 with a double over his first four games. The Yankees acquired him to help against left-handed pitching, and that’s precisely what he did, taking six of his seven plate appearances against southpaws.

Rosario is no longer an everyday player like he was during his years with the Mets and Guardians, but he remains a productive short-side platoon bat. He has a career .801 OPS and 121 wRC+ against opposite-handed opponents, and he’s only improved those numbers in 2025, with an .838 OPS and 132 wRC+ with the platoon advantage. Rosario also offers value through versatility. Once an everyday shortstop, he now sees more time at second and third base and can also cover a corner outfield spot.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, Rosario is the second of their recently acquired righty bats to hit the shelf this month; outfielder Austin Slater suffered a hamstring strain and won’t be back for about four to six weeks. As for Rosario, he injured his non-throwing shoulder running into the outfield wall on Friday, but the sprain does not seem to be serious. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Rosario does not expect to be out for any more than the minimum of 10 days.

In his place, the Yankees will have to rely a little more heavily on fellow righty-batting utility player José Caballero. Escarra is a lefty bat (of which the Yankees already have many), but with Aaron Judge leading an offense that also features Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, Caballero, and the switch-hitting Jasson Domínguez, it’s not as if the team is devoid of right-handed bats. In fact, the Yankees lead the majors in OPS and wRC+ against left-handed pitching.

Yankees Acquire Amed Rosario

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The Yankees are poised to acquire infielder Amed Rosario from the Nationals, per a report from Jack Curry of YES Network. New York will send right-hander Clayton Beeter and outfielder Browm Martinez to the Nationals in exchange for Rosario’s services. Both clubs subsequently announced the deal. Both Rosario and Beeter were already on their club’s 40-man roster, meaning no further roster maneuvering was necessary to complete the transaction.

A former top prospect who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Mets, Rosario returns home to New York but will now suit up for the Bronx down the stretch. The 29-year-old has now been moved at the trade deadline in three consecutive seasons and figures to offer the same value to the Yankees that he offered to the Dodgers and Reds in recent years: a versatile, right-handed bat capable of crushing left-handed pitching. Rosario’s overall slash line of .270/.310/.426 (105 wRC+) this year is solid but not especially exceptional, but a look under the hood reveals an excellent 126 wRC+ in 93 trips to the plate against southpaws this season. That’s par for the course for Rosario, who has posted a 120 wRC+ against lefties for his career across nine seasons in the big leagues.

A Yankees team that ranks as the best offense in baseball against left-handed pitching (120 wRC+) this year may not seem like an obvious candidate for a lefty masher like Rosario, but a great deal of that production comes from Aaron Judge and his absurd 219 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. Even setting aside the fact that Judge is headed for the injured list due to a flexor strain in his elbow, lefty hitters in the lineup like Trent Grisham (78 wRC+), Ben Rice (89 wRC+), and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (76 wRC+) all have below-average numbers against same-handed pitching this year. Rosario has handled every position on the diamond except for first base and catcher during his career, so he should be able to spell a number of those players against lefties as needed.

His most likely platoon partner appears to be fellow deadline acquisition Ryan McMahon, however. McMahon appears ticketed for a regular role as the club’s third baseman, but has an anemic 58 wRC+ against left-handed pitching. Plugging Rosario (who has spent parts of nine seasons at shortstop in addition to 30 career starts at the hot corner) into the lineup at third in McMahon’s place against lefties would afford the Yankees an extremely effective platoon at the position, turning a longtime soft spot in the club’s lineup into a clear strength. The moves to add McMahon and Rosario seem likely to take the Yankees out of the market for further infield help. They had been tied previously to prominent names on the trade market like Eugenio Suarez and Willi Castro, but now seem much more likely to focus their deadline efforts on improving a pitching staff beleaguered by injuries over the final days leading up to the deadline.

As for the Nationals, the club makes its first sell-side trade of the summer and in doing so adds a pair of prospects who could contribute in the future. Clayton Beeter is the bigger name of the two, a top 20 prospect in New York’s system according to MLB Pipeline who has already made five career appearances in the big leagues. A second-round pick by the Dodgers in 2020, Beeter has surrendered eight runs on nine hits and five walks while striking out six across 7 1/3 innings of work in the majors so far but has looked impressive at Triple-A for the Yankees over each of the past two seasons, with a 2.56 ERA over 56 1/3 innings of work at the level since the start of the 2024 campaign.

Beeter has struck out a very impressive 35.1% of opponents at the level this year, although his 17.0% walk rate suggests some serious issues with Beeter’s command. Even so, a controllable relief arm who’s already on the cusp of the big leagues and is capable of throwing multiple innings is an intriguing addition for a Nationals club that has the worst bullpen ERA in the major leagues this year. In addition to Beeter, the Nats have also acquired Martinez. The 18-year-old outfielder signed with the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic and made his pro debut last year. He’s yet to make his stateside debut but has slashed an incredible .404/.507/.632 in 18 games in the Dominican Summer League this year. Browm is surely years away from the majors and is unranked within the Yankees’ system, but could be an exciting prospect for the Nationals if he can continue to prove himself after he begins his stateside career.

Going forward, the Nationals figure to continue listening on a number of other trade candidates on their roster. Right-handers Kyle Finnegan and Michael Soroka are perhaps the most noteworthy potential rentals the club could move, but Josh Bell and Andrew Chafin are also pending free agents. Perhaps the Nationals will listen on some more controllable pieces like first baseman Nathaniel Lowe as well, although it would be a shock to see the club move someone more valuable like prized left-hander MacKenzie Gore.

Yankees Pursuing Righty-Hitting Infielder, Bullpen Help

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The Yankees made one of deadline season’s biggest moves so far, acquiring third baseman Ryan McMahon from Colorado for a pair of pitching prospects. That addressed their most glaring need on the position player side. It nevertheless might not be their only acquisition on the dirt.

Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports that the Yankees are looking to add an infielder who can hit from the right side. Kirschner specifically adds that New York is interested in switch-hitting Twins utilityman Willi Castro. He also floats Washington’s Amed Rosario as a player whom the front office has liked.

They’re two of a number of potential options. Old friends Thairo Estrada (Rockies) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (Pirates) are short-term pieces on bad teams. The A’s Luis Urías and Baltimore’s Ramón Urías (Luis’ older brother) should each be available. The Angels could listen on switch-hitting rentals Yoán Moncada and Luis Rengifo.

Castro is the best of that group — and consequently, the one who should draw the most interest from various teams. He entered play tonight with a .257/.346/.429 slash line with 10 homers across 319 plate appearances. Castro has been a slightly above-average hitter in three consecutive seasons. He’d be a particular boost versus left-handed pitching, against whom he’s hitting .284/.341/.519. His .246/.348/.392 slash against righties is closer to average but hardly unplayable.

Minnesota is four games below .500 and five games out of a Wild Card spot. They’re open to offers on rentals. The 28-year-old Castro is playing on a $6.4MM salary for his final arbitration season. He’s not a great defensive player at any spot, but he’s able to move between second base, third base, and the corner outfield positions. He has plenty of shortstop experience as well, though he shouldn’t be playing there regularly.

If Castro fits the superutility mold, Rosario is more of a short-side platoon bat. He hits lefties well, including a .299/.333/.483 showing this season. He makes contact against right-handed pitching but almost never walks and doesn’t hit for power off righties. Rosario was a shortstop earlier in his career but is now mostly limited to second/third base. He’s playing on a $2MM salary and is an impending free agent.

The Yanks will give the majority of playing time between second and third base to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and McMahon. They each hit from the left side. Chisholm is a career .224/.286/.354 hitter against southpaws. McMahon has a lifetime .231/.307/.378 line without the platoon advantage. Oswald Peraza is their right-handed complement for now, but he hasn’t shown he can hit MLB pitching of either handedness. He’s a superior defender to Castro and Rosario but hasn’t provided anything with the bat. Peraza is out of options, so the Yankees would need to expose him to waivers before they could send him to the minors. If they acquire a right-handed hitting infielder, that’d almost certainly squeeze him off the roster.

Kirschner adds that the Yankees — like virtually every contender — are also pursuing bullpen help. He lists Pittsburgh’s David Bednar and the Minnesota trio of Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax and Danny Coulombe among the presumably dozens of bullpen options whom the Yanks are considering.

Durán and Jax are each questionable to move; the Twins are reportedly demanding multiple top prospects for either controllable late-game weapon. Bednar, who is playing on a $5.9MM salary and arbitration-eligible for one more season, is likely to go but would require a big return in his own right. Coulombe would come with the lowest prospect cost of that group. He’s a rental playing on a $3MM deal. Pittsburgh and Minnesota are surely getting calls from a number of teams on those pitchers (as well as the likes of Dennis Santana and Brock Stewart).

Nationals Sign Amed Rosario

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The Nationals announced Wednesday that they’ve signed infielder Amed Rosario to a one-year contract. Right-hander Joan Adon was designated for assignment to make space on the roster. Rosario will earn $2MM on the deal, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He’s represented by Octagon.

Rosario, 29, was a solid regular in Cleveland from 2021-22, serving as the Guardians’ everyday shortstop and posting a combined .282/.316/.406 batting line (106 wRC+) with terrific baserunning but subpar defense at his position.

In 2023, however, Rosario fell into a prolonged slump and was eventually designated for assignment and traded to the Dodgers, for whom he filled a utility role down the stretch. He signed on with the Rays on a $1.5MM deal to hold down a similar multi-position role in 2024 before again being traded to the Dodgers at the deadline. His second stint in L.A. lasted only days, however, as he was designated for assignment and landed with the Reds thereafter.

Over the past two seasons, Rosario has still managed to hit .270 thanks to his speed and bat-to-ball skills, but it’s been a hollow batting average accompanied by paltry marks in on-base percentage (.305) and slugging percentage (.379). He’s essentially been a singles hitter who does most of his damage against lefties while contributing shaky defense at multiple positions. Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have both panned his work at shortstop for some time, and he’s since dabbled at second base, third base and in all three outfield positions. Second base is the only position at which he’s drawn passable grades by measure of those two public metrics.

Though it’s been a lackluster couple years for Rosario all around, he still possesses plus speed (91st percentile of MLB players, per Statcast) and showed improved life on his throws last year (72nd percentile arm strength). He draws poor grades for his range despite that footspeed. Rosario has fanned in 19.3% of his plate appearances since 2023 — right in line with his career 19.6% mark. He’s all but allergic to drawing a walk, evidenced by a career 4.3% rate and a career-low 2.6% mark in 2024. However, he makes enough contact and runs so well that he’s capable of sustaining quality batting averages at the very least.

With the Nats, Rosario again figures to slide into a utility role. Washington has Luis Garcia Jr. at second base and CJ Abrams at shortstop. Rosario could factor into the competition at third base, where Jose Tena and Trey Lipscomb are also in the mix for the Opening Day job. However, prospects Brady House and Cayden Wallace are both in the upper minors. House, a former first-round pick and consensus top-100 prospect, hit well in Double-A last year but struggled in his first exposure to Triple-A pitching. Wallace, acquired at the deadline in the trade sending Hunter Harvey to the Royals, topped out in Double-A and is a bit further behind House in his minor league progression. With a strong start to the season, either could plausibly find his way to the majors and earn a look at the hot corner.

It’s also plausible that Rosario could be deployed in a straightforward platoon with Garcia. He’s a career .298/.337/.460 hitter against southpaws compared to Garcia’s lifetime .250/.269/.356 slash against lefties. Garcia has been far better against righties, hitting .277/.313/.428 in his career — including a personal-best .288/.326/.469 during last year’s breakout season.

Washington’s signing of Rosario will come at the expense of the 26-year-old Adon, who’s pitched for the Nats in each of the past four seasons. A 2016 international signee out of the Dominican Republic, Adon has logged 132 1/3 innings in the majors but never found consistency; he carries a career 6.66 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate, 11.3% walk rate and 45.3% ground-ball rate. He ranked as highly as No. 7 among Nationals’ prospects back in 2022, per Baseball America.

Adon averages nearly 95 mph on his heater and has been a durable rotation member in the upper minors, but he’s never replicated the strong 2019 season that put him on the prospect map in the first place. He’s had some work as a reliever in the minors recently, and he has enough velocity as a starter to create some intrigue about how he’d work as a power-armed bullpen piece. Command has been a consistent issue for the big righty, however, and he’s out of minor league options — meaning the Nats would’ve had to carry him on the Opening Day roster or else designate him for assignment a few months from now anyway.

Washington will have five days to trade Adon. At that point, he’d need to be placed on waivers (a 48-hour process). If he clears, he could be retained as non-roster depth. Within a week’s time, he’ll know the outcome of today’s DFA.

Reds Designate Brandon Leibrandt, Amed Rosario For Assignment

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The Reds announced that infielders Christian Encarnacion-Strand and Matt McLain have been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. To open 40-man roster spots for those two, they designated left-hander Brandon Leibrandt and infielder Amed Rosario for assignment. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer relays on X that the moves were necessary because McLain and Encarnacion-Strand are technically on rehab assignments in the Arizona Fall League and they reached their maximum rehab time, therefore needing to retake spots on the 40-man roster.

The Reds suffered a large number of significant injuries in 2024, with McLain and Encarnacion-Strand two of the biggest losses. McLain underwent left labrum surgery in March and was hoping to come back around August. But he suffered a stress reaction in his rib cage while trying to make his way back and ended up missing the entire season.

Encarnacion-Strand played 29 games but may have been playing hurt as he put up a dismal .190/.220/.293 line in that time. He was hit by a pitch on his hand in April and an X-ray revealed an old fracture that CES couldn’t figure out how he suffered. He went on the IL in May with a right ulnar styloid fracture and eventually underwent surgery in June. That procedure came with a three-month timeline and he wasn’t able to return in the remainder of the regular season.

Both players missed significant time in 2024 but apparently got healthy as the season was ending, so the Reds sent both to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League to get some reps before the winter sets in. The Dogs played their first game on October 8 and rehab assignments come with a 20-day maximum for position players. It seems that MLB views their time in the AFL as a rehab assignment, so they had to be reinstated from the 60-day IL today with their rehab window closing.

The moves are largely technicalities, as both players would need to be reinstated from the injured soon regardless. There’s no injured list from five days after the World Series until spring training begins, so all players on the 60-day IL need to be reinstated soon anyway. This rehab formality just forced the Reds to do it slightly ahead of schedule.

Of the two players they bumped off, Rosario was slated to be off the roster soon anyway. He signed a one-year deal with the Rays for 2024, eventually getting traded to the Dodgers before landing with the Reds via waivers. There’s no reason for any club to claim him now, as 28 of the 30 clubs are eliminated. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible with the Yankees or Dodgers since it’s after the September 1 cutoff date. As a veteran with more than six years of service time, he has the right to reject an outright assignment. He’ll soon hit free agency, a few days earlier than anticipated.

Leibrandt, 32 in December, could have been retained for next year as he has less than a year of service time but seemingly wasn’t in Cincinnati’s plans. He signed a minor league deal with the club in May and got added to the roster at the end of August. He stuck on the 40-man for the final month of the season but was mostly on optional assignment. He only got into two major league games this year, allowing seven earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.

He was fairly serviceable in the minors this year, with a 4.41 ERA in 17 Triple-A starts. He had a 22.7% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. However, he was pitching independent leagues last year and at the start of 2024. As a journeyman sliding towards his mid 30s, he was surely viewed as a temporary option on the club’s roster this year as they dealt with numerous pitching injuries.

As a player with a previous career outright, he has the right to elect free agency as opposed to accepting another outright assignment. Most clubs are facing roster crunches in the coming days, so he’ll presumably clear waivers and return to the open market shortly.

Jeimer Candelario Placed On Injured List With Toe Fracture

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The Reds announced that infielder Amed Rosario, recently claimed off waivers from the Dodgers, has reported to the team and been added to the active roster. In a corresponding move, fellow infielder Jeimer Candelario has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left great toe fracture.

It hasn’t been officially relayed by the club when Candelario suffered this injury or how long they expect him to be out. In Sunday’s game against the Royals, he was hit by a pitch on his foot in the second inning, just before the umpires decided it was time for a rain delay. He did finish that game and also served as the designated hitter against the Blue Jays last night, but perhaps he didn’t realize he was playing through a fracture, or maybe did realize it but was just waiting for Rosario to join the club before heading to the IL.

Either way, it’s the latest in a remarkable series of events that have subtracted from the Cincinnati infield this year. The Reds signed Candelario to a three-year, $45MM deal in the offseason, which seemed unnecessary at the time. The Reds already had an infield mix consisting of Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain, Jonathan India, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Noelvi Marté and Spencer Steer. That was arguably already a surplus and Candelario made the picture even more crowded.

But that surplus quickly evaporated before the season even started. In March, Marté was hit with an 80-game PED suspension and McLain required shoulder surgery. Marté has since returned after serving his suspension but McLain has yet to make his season debut. Encarnacion-Strand struggled out of the gate and hit the injured list in May, eventually requiring surgery for an ulnar styloid fracture in his right wrist. With all of those injuries in their infield, and some in the outfield as well, the club only has four players who currently qualify for the batting title: De La Cruz, India, Steer and Candelario.

But now Candelario is set to miss some time as well, putting his first season in Cincinnati on pause. It’s been a bit of a disappointing year for him, despite his 20 home runs. He’s hit .225/.279/.429 overall for a wRC+ of 88, a noticeable drop from last year’s line of .251/.336/.471 and 118 wRC+. It’s possible some bad luck could explain the drop-off, as his .257 batting average on balls in play this year is well below the .290 league average and his own .292 mark from last year, but his Statcast metrics are all a bit less potent than last year’s.

It’s also possible that injuries have played a role there. On June 21, members of the club’s beat indicated Candelario has been battling knee tendinitis, with Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer among those to pass it along. Candelario had a .255/.310/.506 batting line and 118 wRC+ on that date but has hit just .182/.233/.318 for a 45 wRC+ since. If there’s a silver lining of this toe fracture, perhaps it will give Candelario a breather to get his knee back in good shape so that he can come back in good form.

Due to the club’s various issues around the dirt this year, they have picked up Santiago Espinal, Ty France and now Rosario as the season has gone along. Those three will help fill out the infield alongside De La Cruz, India, Steer and Marté as the Reds try to keep their season alive. They are currently 5.5 games out of a playoff spot but would have to leapfrog five different clubs to get into postseason position.

Reds Claim Amed Rosario Off Waivers From Dodgers

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The Reds have claimed infielder Amed Rosario off waivers from the Dodgers, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The move was subsequently announced by both clubs. Cincinnati had a vacant spot on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was necessary to claim Rosario although one will be necessary to make room for him on the active roster once he’s activated.

Rosario, 28, was designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week to make room for Mookie Betts when the latter returned from the injured list. The utilityman is now on to his third team of the season. The versatile hitter began the season with the Rays after signing a one-year deal with the club this past offseason but was dealt to the Dodgers ahead of the trade deadline last month to provide the club with positional depth amid injuries to Betts, Max Muncy, Chris Taylor, and the newly-acquired Tommy Edman that had left the club scrambling for infield depth.

Despite the Dodgers’ decision to part ways with Rosario, however, he’s been an above average offensive contributor overall this year. In 287 trips to the plate this year between Tampa and Los Angeles, Rosario has slashed a solid .305/.331/.415 (114 wRC+) this year while splitting time between second base, shortstop, third base, and right field. For the Reds, Rosario could offer an alternative to Noelvi Marte at the hot corner, as Marte has struggled badly with a .181/.217/.292 slash line in 40 games since returning from an 81-game PED suspension earlier this year. That said, Rosario’s versatility could also allow him to act as a right-handed complement to the club’s lefty outfield bats like Jake Fraley and Will Benson or perhaps even spell Jonathan India and Elly De La Cruz up the middle as necessary.

While Rosario’s numbers are solid enough to warrant playing time as a regular, he’s been particularly effective against left-handed pitching both throughout his career and this season. In 110 trips to the plate against southpaws this year, Rosario has posted a fantastic 134 wRC+ compared to roughly league average numbers against right-handed pitching. It’s a similar story for his career, as Rosario is a career 122 wRC+ hitter against lefties but has posted just an 85 wRC+ against same-handed pitching. Of course, it’s worth noting that the Reds already have Stuart Fairchild (122 wRC+ against southpaws this year) available as a lefty-mashing outfield option, which could give the club more incentive to instead utilize Rosario as a regular on the infield in place of Marte.

As for the Dodgers, the return of Mookie Betts and the impending returns of both Tommy Edman and Max Muncy leave them flush with quality infield options, even as they face some level of uncertainty regarding the status of first baseman Freddie Freeman. The Reds have agreed to take on the infielder’s remaining salary by claiming Rosario, but that’s unlikely to have a significant impact on either club. After all, Rosario is only due around $350K for the remainder of the 2024 campaign. That relative minor sum is practically a rounding error in a big league team’s budget, and neither the low-budget Reds nor the big-spending Dodgers are close enough to a luxury tax threshold for that figure to have a significant impact.

MLBTR Podcast: The White Sox Fire Their Manager, Víctor Robles Extended, And The Marlins’ Front Office

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

We had some technical difficulties during this recording, so the audio is of a lower quality than usual. Apologies for that, but the source has been discovered and everything will be back to normal next week. This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Will Camilo Doval pitch again this season (or ever) for the Giants? (25:10)
  • What ever happened to Archie Bradley this season? (29:20)
  • Well, if your offense stops failing you, let the pitching failures take the spotlight! As a Braves fan, I am feeling quite trampled after all the high expectations that this season came with. Should I forget any postseason hopes? (31:00)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Dodgers Designate Amed Rosario For Assignment, Activate Mookie Betts

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The Dodgers announced Monday that they’ve reinstated Mookie Betts from the 60-day injured list and created space in somewhat surprising fashion: infielder/outfielder and trade deadline acquisition Amed Rosario has been designated for assignment.

Rosario, 28, was acquired in a trade sending 28-year-old minor league reliever Michael Flynn back to the Rays. It wasn’t a steep price to pay necessarily, but it’s nevertheless unexpected to see Los Angeles move on in such quick fashion. The versatile Rosario received only 12 plate appearances in his second stint with Los Angeles — the Dodgers also acquired him at the 2023 deadline — and has hit well all season. In 287 plate appearances between Tampa Bay and L.A., he’s slashing .305/.331/.415 — about 14% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+.

Dodgers brass was largely choosing among Rosario, Enrique Hernandez and Nick Ahmed when determining who would be the odd man out to clear way for Betts’ return. Hernandez has struggled badly in 2024 overall, but a well-timed hot streak has ostensibly saved his spot on the roster. He’s hitting .333/.405/.545 in 37 plate appearances this month. Ahmed has posted an empty .268 batting average in 42 plate appearances (.268/.286/.341, 77 wRC+), but he’s a high-end defender at shortstop. With Betts returning to right field, keeping an elite middle infield defender like Ahmed apparently won out over keeping a more productive but less valuable defensive piece in Rosario.

The veteran Rosario signed an eminently affordable one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Rays over the winter, looking to rebound from a career-worst showing with the Guardians and Dodgers last year. After spending years as the primary shortstop in Cleveland, he’s moved to a utility role that’s seen him log time at shortstop, second base, third base and in right field this season. He’s drawn poor defensive grades in general and has never been regarded as a high-quality glove at shortstop at the big league level. Rosario has been productive at the plate, however, and that’s particularly true against lefties, who he’s tagged for an impressive .327/.355/.462 line in 2024.

Between his light contract, offensive production and his growing experience at multiple positions, Rosario stands a far greater chance of being claimed by another team than most veterans who are designated for assignment this time of year. The trade deadline has passed, so the only option the Dodgers will have is to place Rosario on outright waivers or release waivers. It’d be another, more modest surprise if he passed through unclaimed.

With that in mind, it’s worth noting that outright waiver order is determined by the reverse order of the MLB-wide standings and is not league-specific. That’s a common misconception, but league-specific waivers pertained to the now-defunct August trade waiver process. (MLBTR has confirmed this with league sources on multiple occasions.) Since Rosario is a free agent at the end of the year, it’s likely that rebuilding clubs and others whose postseason hopes have faded will allow him to pass through.

At the moment, waiver priority among postseason hopefuls (using an admittedly arbitrary criteria of fewer than six games back in either a division race or Wild Card chase) would be ranked: Pirates, Reds, Cubs, Rays, Giants, Cardinals, Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Mariners, Astros, Royals, Padres, D-backs, Twins, Brewers, Guardians, Phillies, Yankees and Orioles. As of this writing, Rosario is still owed $387K of this year’s salary. Any team that claims him would be on the hook for the full sum, whereas the Dodgers would be spared that sum plus the 110% tax as a third-time luxury payor. Overall, waiving Rosario could save the Dodgers about $813K — assuming he’s claimed.

As for Betts, he’ll return to his customary right field and add another former MVP to the top of the Dodgers’ lineup, slotting into between fellow former MVPs Shohei Ohtani (leadoff) and Freddie Freeman (No. 3 hitter). Betts gives manager Dave Roberts a right-handed bat to break up that pair of imposing lefties, and Betts of course is among the more feared hitters in the sport when healthy.

Prior to the fractured hand that cost him the past eight-plus weeks, Betts was hitting .304/.405/.488 with 10 homers, 16 doubles, three triples, nine steals (in 10 tries), a 14.2% walk rate and just a 10.3% strikeout rate. With Betts now back in right field, the Dodgers will play Miguel Rojas regularly at shortstop and Gavin Lux at second base, with the aforementioned Hernandez an option to back up Lux (especially against lefties) and Ahmed providing a glove-first backup at shortstop.

Dodgers Notes: Rosario, Betts, Freeman, Yamamoto

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TODAY: Chelsea Freeman posted the great news on Instagram that Maximus has returned home from the hospital.

AUGUST 3: For the second time in as many years, the Dodgers have acquired Amed Rosario ahead of the trade deadline. Coming off a down season in Cleveland last year that left him as a below-average hitter overall, Rosario was used almost exclusively against left-handed pitching during his time with L.A. last season. Despite the fact that he’s hit both righties and lefties quite well with the Rays this year, however, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that Rosario’s role with the club will be similar to last year.

“Honestly, to be quite frank, he’s not on this team, and we didn’t acquire him, to be an everyday player — he didn’t play every day in Tampa — and to hit righties,” Roberts said (as relayed by Plunkett) when asked about Rosario’s role this year.

Rosario has improved considerably in terms of both his overall slash line, which sits at .308/.332/.421 (116 wRC+) in 277 trips to the plate, and in boosting his slash against righties to a respectable .299/.324/.395 (107 wRC+). Even so, it’s worth noting that the 28-year-old is still hitting lefties better than same-handed pitching. With lefty-swinging Gavin Lux at second base, Shohei Ohtani locked into everyday at-bats at DH, and a trio of lefty-swingers in James Outman, Jason Heyward, and Kevin Kiermaier all part of the club’s deep outfield mix, it’s fair to wonder where exactly Rosario would fit into the club’s lineup against right-handed pitching.

Rosario has plenty of experience at shortstop and played a bit of third base for Tampa this year, but the club seems satisfied with Kiké Hernández at third base and Nick Ahmed at shortstop for the time being. Perhaps more importantly, each of those pieces are only stopgap options to begin with. Plunkett goes on to note that Roberts indicated the club hopes to see superstar Mookie Betts return to the lineup on August 12 or 13. Betts has been sidelined since mid-June after an errant pitch fractured his left hand.

Betts was in the midst of a MVP-caliber season prior to his injury, slashing an incredible .304/.405/.488 in 72 games that’s made all the more impressive by the fact that he was simultaneously making a relatively seamless transition to becoming the everyday shortstop in L.A. this season. While it seemed at one point that veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas had staked his claim to regular starts at short in Betts’ absence, a forearm issue sent him to the shelf as well and seemingly leaves the position for Betts to slide back into upon his return.

While third base figures to be an option for a while longer with Max Muncy still out due to a strained oblique, Freddie Freeman’s impending return from the restricted list could lessen opportunities for Rosario at the hot corner as well. Freeman has been out for about a week now as he tends to his family following the hospitalization of his son, Maximus, due to Guillain-Barré syndrome but Roberts notes that he could return to the club as soon as this week when they face the Phillies in a three-game set that starts on Monday. Freeman’s return to action would free up Cavan Biggio from regular reps at first base, giving the club a left-handed infield option with plenty of experience at third base the club may prefer to utilize over Rosario against right-handers.

Sticking with news regarding currently-unavailable stars, Plunkett notes that right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw a 20-pitch bullpen session today in his first time taking the mound since being sidelined with a strained rotator cuff back in June. Roberts told reporters (including Plunkett) that the bullpen was a “big step forward” and that Yamamoto is slated to throw another bullpen on Tuesday as the club angles for a return to action for the righty sometime next month. The right-hander received the biggest pitching contract in MLB history before throwing a single pitch in the big leagues this past winter and immediately made good on it with a 2.92 ERA and 2.68 FIP in 14 starts for the Dodgers before being shelved due to the injury. Injuries to Yamamoto and Walker Buehler led the club to fortify their rotation at the deadline by adding right-hander Jack Flaherty, but it seems possible that Yamamoto and Flaherty could join forces down the stretch and into the postseason at the front of L.A.’s rotation alongside Tyler Glasnow.

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