Angels Designate Niko Kavadas For Assignment In Series Of Moves
The Angels announced a series of moves prior to their game at T-Mobile Park this evening. The club has designated infielder Niko Kavadas for assignment and transferred reliever Reid Detmers to the 60-day IL, allowing them to select the contracts of catcher Chad Wallach and reliever Connor Brogdon. Additionally, veteran backstop Travis d’Arnaud is headed to the 7-day concussion IL, while southpaw reliever Andrew Chafin was placed on the 15-day IL retroactive to yesterday for triceps inflammation.
Kavadas, 27 next month, was drafted by the Red Sox in the 11th round out of Notre Dame back in 2021. He was draft-eligible in 2020, but that one only went five rounds. As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe put it when Kavadas signed with Boston the following year, “The Red Sox considered his power potential too great to ignore.”
Prior to the 2023 season, Kavadas cracked Baseball America’s top 30 prospects for the Red Sox, with a 45/high risk grade. He was described as “unabashed about his desire to hit a homer every time he bats,” but BA noted he didn’t have much of a hit tool or a defensive home. He reached Triple-A that year and conquered it in ’24 with 17 home runs and a 153 wRC+ in 335 plate appearances prior to being traded, but he also whiffed a third of a time.
At least year’s trade deadline, Kavadas was part of a four-player package of minor leaguers sent to the Halos by Boston for veteran reliever Luis Garcia. The Angels selected Kavadas’ contract a few weeks later, giving the righty slugger some run as a DH/first baseman against right-handed pitching.
Kavadas wasn’t able to do much with his limited opportunity in late ’24, and failed to make the Angels out of Spring Training. This year, he had a brief May call-up that lasted all of one pinch-hit plate appearance. He got another brief bump to the bigs in early August and didn’t get any playing time at all. Kavadas made it up once again on August 12th, failing to get into a game until the 20th. He only managed seven starts before the Angels demoted him again on September 4th.
Now, the Angels have seven days to trade Kavadas or place him on outright or unconditional release waivers. Though the trade path isn’t currently an option since the deadline has passed. He spent most of this year in Triple-A, slumping to a 101 wRC+ with a strikeout rate near 31%.
Detmers, who has been throwing 96 out of the bullpen this year with a 30.1% strikeout rate, hit the 15-day IL yesterday with elbow inflammation. He was out for the season regardless, according to the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher, who notes that the Angels “still don’t have any news to report on the results of Detmers’ MRI.” Yesterday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com wrote that the Angels “remain optimistic it isn’t a major injury.” Detmers’ comments indicated the same.
Detmers will receive a raise on this year’s $1.825MM salary for 2026 due to his second trip through the arbitration process. He’s under team control through 2028.
Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe hit the 7-day IL as a victim of a Jacob Wilson backswing earlier this week, and now d’Arnaud joins him after being struck by a Julio Rodriguez swing yesterday. Those two swings have moved Sebastian Rivero and now Wallach into the Angels’ Major League catching slots. O’Hoppe should be back Tuesday, according to Fletcher.
Wallach was a fifth round pick by the Marlins out of Cal State Fullerton back in 2013. He hasn’t quite matched his dad Tim’s career, as the longtime Expo and Dodger smacked 260 home runs , made five All-Star teams, and snagged three Gold Gloves at the hot corner.
Remember when the Marlins were doing things like giving Giancarlo Stanton a record extension, locking up Christian Yelich, and adding Dee Gordon via trade? In that same active winter, they shipped Wallach to the Reds along with Anthony DeSclafani for Mat Latos. Latos was only 27 at the time, and most observers were unaware he was nearing the end of his career as a useful Major Leaguer. Wallach was still a 45 grade/high risk catching prospect at the time of the trade.
Wallach failed to establish himself with the Reds, allowing Marlins GM Michael Hill to simply swipe him back off waivers three years later. Wallach caught 72 games for the 2018-21 Marlins before being claimed off waivers by the Dodgers. He never appeared with the club, as the Angels grabbed him a week later. Wallach played in a career-high 65 games in 2023 as a 31-year-old. He joined the Rangers on a minor league deal in January this year but found his way back home to the Angels organization in June. If the 33-year-old gets into a game for the Angels, it’ll be his first time in the Show in nearly two years.
With the veteran lefty Chafin out with triceps inflammation, Brogdon joins the Angels’ bullpen. The 30-year-old righty signed a minor league deal with the Angels in January, saw his contract selected in May, elected free agency after rejecting an outright assignment in August, re-signed with the club, and now has returned to the 40-man and active rosters.
Brodgon is hardly the best big league pitcher to ever come out of Idaho’s Lewis-Clark State College – that honor clearly goes to Keith Foulke – but he put himself in the top ten with some credible work out of the Phillies’ bullpen a few years ago. Though Brogdon has struggled in his 37 1/3 scattered relief innings for the Angels this year, he did at least restore two miles per hour on his fastball to reach 95.5 miles per hour. That’s still a bit shy of his Phillies’ heyday, but it’s a start.
Twins Outright Brooks Kriske
Right-hander Brooks Kriske has been sent outright to Triple-A St. Paul, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Since he has a previous career outright, he has the right to elect free agency, though the log doesn’t indicate he will exercise that right.
Kriske, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Cubs in early August. The Twins had just traded away Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe at the deadline and needed some extra arms.
Between that claim and being designated for assignment, Kriske threw 12 innings for the Twins, allowing 15 earned runs. He has a 7.50 earned run average on the year, between his time with the Cubs and Twins. That makes it fairly unsurprising that no one claimed him this time.
Though he made his major league debut back in 2020, his big league track record is still fairly small, with a 9.53 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. He had some decent results in Japan in 2022 and 2023, tossing 35 innings with a 2.31 ERA. He has also generally had decent results in Triple-A, with a 3.81 ERA, 36.3% strikeout rate and 12.1% walk rate in 148 2/3 innings dating back to 2021.
If he accepts the assignment, he can make a few more Triple-A appearances before the winter and then could elect free agency at season’s end. Though he could also exercise his right to elect free agency now and start the offseason early if he so chooses.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
Mariners Designate José Castillo For Assignment
The Mariners announced today that they have recalled right-hander Casey Legumina from Triple-A Tacoma. In a corresponding move, left-hander José Castillo has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Castillo, 29, was just claimed off waivers from the Mets earlier this month. Since that claim, he has given the Mariners three scoreless innings. This move is likely more a result of circumstances than his performance. The Mariners are seven games into a stretch of ten in a row. The bullpen has been leaned on heavily in recent days. Five different relievers pitched on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, six relievers were used in a game which went to 13 innings. Three of those six pitchers tossed more than an inning. Last night, the club had another long one, using six relievers in a 12-inning game.
Every reliever in the bullpen pitched at least twice in that three-day span except for Emerson Hancock, who logged two innings on Wednesday. Castillo himself pitched in each of the last two games and has seemingly been nudged out to get a fresh arm into the bullpen.
It’s been that kind of year for Castillo, who has generally pitched well. But since he’s out of options, he has been forced into DFA limbo numerous times. He started the year with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal. He was added to the big league roster at the start of May. Less than two weeks later, he was designated for assignment and traded to the Mets. The latter club designated him for assignment three times. The first two resulted in him clearing waivers and later getting added back to the roster, but the M’s claimed him on the third.
He’s now back in DFA limbo yet again. Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be back on waivers in the coming days. Around all the transactions, he has tossed 24 2/3 innings with a 4.38 earned run average, 19.5% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 55.7% ground ball rate. He has also thrown 16 Triple-A innings this year with a 1.69 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 50% grounder rate.
At this time of year, he wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming club, though perhaps some team is in need of a fresh arm for the stretch run. As mentioned, Castillo just appeared in the past two games but will have a chance to rest for a few days while on waivers. He could also be retained for next year via arbitration if he’s on a roster somewhere at the end of the season.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Pirates Reinstate Justin Lawrence From 60-Day IL
The Pirates announced that right-hander Justin Lawrence has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Fellow righty Colin Holderman has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a couple of vacancies and the count moves from 38 to 39 with this transaction. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported the moves prior to the official announcement.
Lawrence, 30, was claimed off waivers from the Rockies in March. He tossed 11 1/3 innings for the Bucs, allowing just one earned run, before elbow inflammation put him on the 15-day IL in late April. He was quickly transferred to the 60-day IL in early May, suggesting the club didn’t expect him back before July. While he has missed most of the season, he has gotten healthy in time to perhaps log a few more innings before the winter arrives.
Prior to being claimed by the Pirates, he had spent his entire career with the Rockies. He gave Colorado 194 innings with a 5.43 earned run average, 21.3% strikeout rate, 12.5% walk rate and 50.9% round ball rate. The Rockies put him on waivers in March, when the Bucs decided to grab him, perhaps hoping that his upper-90s velocity could translate to better results away from Coors Field. The initial results were encouraging but the injury got in the way.
Lawrence qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player last offseason. He and the Rockies agreed to a salary of $975K. The Bucs will have to decide whether or not to tender him a contract for 2026. Since he has missed most of the season, he won’t be in line for a massive raise. He is out of options and therefore can’t be easily sent down to the minors.
Photo courtesy of Albert Cesare, Imagn Images
Tigers Reinstate José Urquidy From 60-Day IL
The Tigers announced have reinstated right-hander José Urquidy from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding active roster move, fellow righty Sawyer Gipson-Long has been placed on the 15-day IL due to neck stiffness. To open a 40-man spot, righty Beau Brieske has been recalled and placed on the 60-day injured list with a right forearm strain. Chris McCosky of Detroit News relayed the moves prior to the official announcement.
Once Urquidy gets into a game, he will be pitching for the first time in almost two years, in addition to suiting up for a team other than the Astros for the first time. He tossed 405 innings for Houston over the 2019 to 2023 seasons, allowing 3.98 earned runs per nine. His 19.6% strikeout rate was below average but he limited walks to a 5.8% pace. He also logged 46 1/3 postseason innings in that span with a 4.08 ERA.
But in 2024, he couldn’t get on the mound due to elbow/forearm issues. He eventually required Tommy John surgery in June. The Astros could have retained him for 2025 via arbitration but instead put him on waivers. Urquidy cleared and elected free agency. The Tigers signed him to a one-year deal with a $1MM guarantee and a 2026 club option worth $4MM plus escalators. Urquidy started a rehab assignment in early August and appears to be in good form. He has tossed 19 2/3 innings with a 3.20 ERA, 21.6% strikeout rate, 6.8% walk rate and 49.1% ground ball rate.
It doesn’t appear as though Urquidy will be inserted into the rotation, since he’s not fully stretched out. He didn’t throw more than three innings in any of his rehab appearances. In his most recent outing, he threw 28 pitches over two innings. He will therefore presumably jump into a multi-inning role in the Detroit bullpen.
Gipson-Long had been in the rotation, so his neck injury drops the team from five to four. They have Tarik Skubal going tonight and Charlie Morton tomorrow. They don’t have a starter listed for Sunday. Manager A.J. Hinch tells Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic that Sunday will be a bullpen game. The club is off on Monday. Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty will go on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by Skubal on Thursday. Urquidy, Chris Paddack and Keider Montero could perhaps pitch in multi-inning roles on Sunday.
The club never plays more than six games in a row the rest of the way, so perhaps they will get by with four traditional starters and some bullpen games. They have a fairly comfortable lead of 8.5 games over the Guardians in the Central. They are also five games up on the Astros/Mariners for the second first-round bye.
As for Brieske, it was reported a few weeks back that his season was essentially over, so this move isn’t a shock. The one benefit for him with this move is that he will receive big league pay and service time for the next few weeks. He is making $1.025MM this year and will be due a raise in arbitration. However, since he posted a 6.55 ERA in 22 innings this year, he won’t have much ability to push that salary up.
Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images
Astros Select Zach Cole
3:15pm: The Astros have officially selected Cole, per Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle. Salazar has been optioned to Triple-A as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, righty Luis Garcia has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Garcia just landed on the 15-day IL this week due to elbow discomfort, so his season is over. It was already ominous that he landed on the IL at all since he missed over two years due to elbow issues and just recently returned. This quick move to the 60-day IL doesn’t do anything to improve the outlook.
9:57am: The Astros are calling up outfielder Zach Cole for tonight’s series opener in Atlanta, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Houston will need to select his contract and make corresponding moves for both the active and 40-man rosters.
Cole was a 10th-round pick out of Ball State in 2022. He had a rare power-speed combination for a hitter selected that late in the draft, especially one out of college. That reflected significant trepidation on the part of scouts about Cole’s pure hitting ability. He has posted alarming whiff rates throughout his minor league career, but his bottom line production has been strong at every stop.
The left-handed hitting Cole has a .249/.357/.469 slash over parts of four minor league seasons. That includes a .279/.377/.539 showing with 19 homers and 18 stolen bases in 97 games this year. Cole has spent the bulk of the year in Double-A. Houston just promoted him to Triple-A two weeks ago. He was then slated to head to the Arizona Fall League but instead forced his way to the majors by hitting .353 with five homers in his first 15 Triple-A contests.
Cole’s breakout season has still come with a strikeout rate above 35%. It’s very difficult to find consistent success with that level of swing-and-miss, which will presumably only increase against big league pitching. Houston won’t need to play him on an everyday basis though. Cole can cover all three outfield positions and brings an intriguing toolset to Joe Espada’s bench.
Houston called up César Salazar a couple weeks ago when Victor Caratini was down with a concussion. Salazar has stuck on the active roster since Caratini returned but isn’t playing much. Cole could provide more speed and pop off the bench. Taylor Trammell hasn’t hit well (.202/.302/.349 in 48 games) as a lefty-hitting fourth outfielder, so the Astros could also swap him out for Cole. They’d need to designate him for assignment to do that, as Trammell is out of minor league options.
Twins Select Cody Laweryson
The Twins announced that right-hander Justin Topa has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, retroactive to September 9th. Fellow righty Cody Laweryson has been selected to take Topa’s place on the roster. The Twins had just 37 men on their 40-man, so no other corresponding move is required as this brings their count up to 38.
It’s unclear how serious Topa’s injury is but this presumably ends his season. Even with the backdating of the move, he could only come back for the final few days of the schedule. With the Twins buried in the standings, there’s not much motivation for him to rush back. Assuming he’s done, he finishes the year with a 3.90 earned run average in 60 innings. His 18.3% strikeout rate was subpar but his 6.7% walk rate and 47.7% ground ball rate were good figures.
The Twins will have to decide whether or not to trigger a $2MM club option for 2026 or go for a $225K buyout. Even if they go for the buyout, they could still keep Topa for next year via arbitration. Assuming they want Topa back next year, the decision would simply come down to which path they expect to be cheaper.
His injury allows Laweryson to get up to the majors for the first time. Now 27, Laweryson was drafted with a 14th-round pick back in 2019. He worked both as a starter and a reliever as he climbed the minor league ladder but has been working exclusively out of the bullpen in recent years.
On the most recent FanGraphs list of top prospects in the system, Laweryson got an honorable mention, with the report noting that his deception helps him get better results than one would expect from his middling stuff. He has thrown 44 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.86 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 46.3% ground ball rate. Laweryson will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Since this is his first time cracking a big league roster, he has a full slate of options.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Phillies To Select Walker Buehler, Place José Alvarado On IL
The Phillies are going to select right-hander Walker Buehler to the roster to start tonight’s game. Left-hander José Alvarado will be placed on the injured list to open an active roster spot, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The nature of Alvarado’s injury is unclear. The Phils will also need to open a 40-man roster spot.
Buehler signed a minor league deal with the Phils a couple of weeks ago, after he had been released by the Red Sox. It was a bit of a surprise that Boston let him go, if only because they had made a notable $21.05MM commitment to him this year, but the move was also justified by Buehler’s poor performance.
Earlier in his career, Buehler was arguably an ace. While pitching for the Dodgers, he twice finished in the top ten in National League Cy Young voting, including a fourth-place finish in 2021. But he missed the 2023 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career, and hasn’t looked the same since. From the start of 2024 until the present, he has logged 187 2/3 innings with a 5.42 earned run average, 17.4% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 45.1% ground ball rate.
Despite his recent struggles, he was a sensible pick-up for the Phils. They recently lost Zack Wheeler due to a blood clot/thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis. Even without Wheeler, they had a solid rotation group consisting of Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Jesús Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez and Taijuan Walker. But bringing in Buehler added another arm at no extra cost. Since the Sox released him, they are on the hook for the majority of his remaining salary. The Phils will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster.
At this point, it’s unclear exactly how long he will spend on the roster. The Phils are currently in the midst of a stretch where in they play 15 days in a row. After today, there are five more games in that span. They then only play three times in the following five days, before finishing out the schedule with six in a row.
It’s possible this is just a spot start to give the starters some extra rest during a tough part of the schedule. After today, it would make sense to go back down to five guys. The Phils are cruising to a playoff spot and also to a bye through the Wild Card round. They have an 11-game lead over the Mets in the East and will surely win that division. They are two games behind the Brewers for top spot in the National League but 4.5 games clear of the Dodgers.
That comfortable position could entice them to rest some of their starters. But on the other hand, since they are likely to be sitting out the first round, the pitchers are already looking at having almost a full week off between the regular season and the Division Series round. In order to avoid rust build-up, they may want their pitchers to keep throwing all the way through the end of the schedule. Time will tell if Buehler sticks around with the aim of making another start, gets moved to a long relief role or bumped back off the roster entirely.
As for Alvarado, his absence shouldn’t be too consequential, especially in the short term. He’s been putting up good numbers this year but isn’t eligible for the postseason due to the PED suspension he received earlier this year. His absence hurts the bullpen for the final few weeks of the regular season but, as mentioned, the Phils are in a pretty comfortable position in the playoff picture.
If it’s a long-term injury, then that would be more notable. The club has a $9MM club option for his services in 2026 with a $500K buyout. Naturally, a serious injury that would extend into next year could impact the club’s decision on that option.
Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images
Mets Outright Wander Suero
The Mets announced earlier today that they’ve assigned right-hander Wander Suero outright to Triple-A. The move comes after he was designated for assignment earlier this week to accommodate the return of outfielder Jose Siri.
Suero, 33, has pitched in parts of seven MLB seasons but departs the Mets’ roster without making an appearance. The righty made his big league debut with the Nationals during the 2018 season and enjoyed a solid three-year run where he pitched to a 4.10 ERA (108 ERA+) with a 3.20 FIP and a 26.1% strikeout rate across 142 2/3 innings of work from 2018 to 2020. That stretch included the franchise’s 2019 World Series championship, which saw Suero make the postseason roster and post three scoreless appearances during the World Series against the Astros.
Unfortunately, the good times came to an abrupt halt in 2021. Suero turned in a brutal 6.33 ERA with a FIP of 5.80 in 45 appearances that year. While his 23.2% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate were hardly disastrous, he allowed a ridiculous 11 home runs in 42 2/3 innings as 19.3% of his fly balls left the yard. Between that massive spike in home runs and the fact that he stranded just 59.7% of the base runners he allowed, Suero racked up runs in a hurry and was non-tendered by the Nationals during the 2021-22 offseason.
In the years since he departed the nation’s capital, Suero has bounced around the league as a journeyman. A minor league deal with the Angels in 2022 didn’t lead Suero back to the majors, as he struggled to a 6.08 ERA at Triple-A thanks in part to the Pacific Coast League’s inflated offensive environment. He seemingly mastered the level after his first season in the PCL, however, as subsequent stints with the Dodgers and Astros yielded much better results. Posting ERAs of 3.26 and 2.66 at Triple-A for each of those clubs earned call-ups to their respective big league teams, though between the 2023 and ’24 seasons Suero posted a brutal 7.88 ERA in eight innings of work for Los Angeles and Houston.
Entering 2025, Suero signed a minor league deal with the Braves and got called up to the big leagues in July after posting a 1.50 ERA with a 33.6% strikeout rate for Triple-A Gwinnett. Suero surrendered eight runs on ten hits (three homers) and four walks while striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings of work for Atlanta before being designated for assignment earlier this month. The Mets claimed him off waivers to offer some bullpen depth, but optioned him to Triple-A before he could make an MLB appearance and designated him for assignment shortly thereafter.
Assuming Suero accepts his outright assignment, he’ll finish the year at Triple-A for the Mets and have the opportunity to elect minor league free agency this offseason if not added back to the 40-man roster. In free agency, the right-hander figures to continue getting attention on minor league deals given his dominant results at Triple-A in recent years, and he’ll continue to search for an organization that can help him get back to effectiveness at the big league level. Suero has a previous outright on his resume and could also choose to elect free agency early and get a head start on the open market, if he so chooses.
Angels Outright Chad Stevens
The Angels have assigned infielder Chad Stevens outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to the transactions tracker on Stevens’s MLB.com profile page. Stevens was previously designated for assignment by the Angels over the weekend.
Stevens, 26, was an 11th-round pick by the Astros in the 2021 draft. He steadily climbed the minor league ladder in Houston until he reached the Double-A level in 2023. He hit a middling .220/.333/.397 in 122 games with Corpus Christi that year, and made a return to the level in 2024. Repeating a level for the first time in his career did not go especially well, as Stevens hit just .153/.242/.235 in 95 plate appearances before the Astros decided to release him in May of last year. Stevens didn’t linger on the market long after being cut by Houston, however, as he was signed to a minor league deal by the Angels later that same month.
Upon joining the Angels organization, Stevens went back to High-A in order to regain his footing after his struggles at Double-A. After putting up fantastic numbers in 44 games, Stevens was promoted and hit a much stronger .316/.359/.491 in just 17 games with Double-A Rocket City. That small sample was enough to convince Angels brass to promote Stevens to Triple-A Salt Lake, though he did end up scuffling to finish the year with a .238/.289/.345 slash line at the highest level of the minors.
Fortunately for both Stevens and the Angels, he returned to Salt Lake at the start of the 2025 and quickly proved he was up to the challenge Triple-A had to offer. In his first 72 games at the level this year, Stevens hit .302 with a .389 on-base percentage and slugged .542. That was enough, in the organization’s mind, to earn the 26-year-old his first big league call-up. He arrived in Anaheim on July 3 and made it into five games, though he went 2-13 with a 50% strikeout rate in his limited time in the majors before being sent back down the minors. After returning to Triple-A, Stevens’s hot start to the 2025 season had faded. He hit a more pedestrian .258/.348/.403 in 44 games down the stretch before he was designated for assignment last week in a move that made room for left-hander Sammy Peralta on the 40-man roster.
Because Stevens does not have the requisite service time or prior outright on his record to reject the assignment, he’ll return to Triple-A and serve as non-roster depth for the Angels through the end of the season. If not added back to the 40-man roster before the start of the offseason, however, he’ll have the opportunity to head back into minor league free agency and test the open market this winter. Stevens has experience all over the infield but has overwhelmingly played shortstop and third base during his time as a professional, and players like Zach Neto, Kyren Paris, Christian Moore, and even Oswald Peraza all figure to be prioritized on the Anaheim depth chart over someone like Stevens. That could mean he’d be better off looking for a role elsewhere, perhaps in an organization with less controllable infield depth on the roster.