Spring coaching is underway and rosters are getting crammed up. We’re now all the way down to the a part of the offseason the place veterans whose current performances have left them unable to discover a assured spot signal minor league offers with non-roster invitations. In the present day we’ll break down the signings of Rhys Hoskins with the Guardians, Michael Conforto with the Cubs, and Thairo Estrada with the Orioles. All three have seen their manufacturing drop off over the previous two years, however all three have a viable path towards sticking on the roster and even touchdown a beginning spot.
We’ll begin in Cleveland, the place Hoskins will obtain $1.5 million if he makes the roster. This transfer makes loads of sense, nevertheless it’s essential to notice that the Guardians aren’t as determined for a participant like him as they might have been in years previous. From 2021 to 2023, the one crew with fewer than their 454 residence runs was the Pirates (441). Cleveland’s 82 wRC+ in opposition to left-handed pitching was additionally the second-worst mark in baseball over that interval. Again then, including a giant right-handed slugger who strikes out and hits homers would have been simply what the physician ordered. Nevertheless, the Guardians are in a unique spot proper now. Over the previous two years, they’ve ranked proper across the center of the league in residence runs total and in wRC+ in opposition to left-handed pitching. That is nonetheless match, however Hoskins is now not the slam dunk he would have been a pair years in the past.
Hoskins was a reliably nice hitter with the Phillies, operating a 126 wRC+ and averaging 25 residence runs a 12 months throughout his first six seasons. He missed your complete 2023 season with a torn ACL, and he wasn’t the identical hitter throughout his two-year stint with the Brewers. In Milwaukee, he had a 104 wRC+ and added 4.5 proportion factors to his strikeout fee. Nevertheless, Hoskins’ 2025 marketing campaign was shortened by a thumb sprain, and it actually looks as if he would possibly’ve come again a bit too early. He returned for eight video games on the finish of the season and went 1-for-10. In case you ignore these video games, his wRC+ was 114. Hoskins is about to show 32, he’s coming off one other injury-shortened season, the strikeouts are scary, and he doesn’t appear like the lefty-masher he as soon as was. Our projections are in very sturdy settlement that he’ll put up a wRC+ from 102 to 104. I can’t recall such a small vary of anticipated outcomes, so perhaps they’re seeing one thing we will’t. Nevertheless, even in that state of affairs, Hoskins continues to be an above-average hitter with energy, and for what it’s value, he simply ran the very best hard-hit fee of his whole profession.
The Guardians have Kyle Manzardo at first base, they usually’ll have some mixture of David Fry and CJ Kayfus at DH. Hoskins represents an improve over Fry, who put up a 63 wRC+ in 2025. Kayfus is an thrilling younger participant who carried out effectively in his 44-game debut in 2025, and most of our projections see him as an above-average hitter proper now. Nevertheless, he put up a wRC+ of 67 in opposition to lefties, and Eric Longenhagen has him tagged him as a platoon participant.
The Guardians don’t essentially have room for all of those guys. Their RosterResource web page exhibits platoons at a number of different positions, and there are solely so many bench spots to go round. At one level, Fry was a productive hitter who ran a 124 wRC+ over his first two seasons and supplied Cleveland with immense roster flexibility, as he may play catcher and all 4 nook positions. Nevertheless, he hasn’t performed the sphere since he harm his throwing elbow in the summertime of 2024, an harm that in the end required him to endure his second Tommy John surgical procedure that offseason. He’s getting reps at catcher this spring, nevertheless it’s unclear how effectively he’ll be capable to throw. Apart from, the Guardians introduced again Austin Hedges to again up Bo Naylor at catcher, so it appears unlikely that Fry will see a lot enjoying time behind the plate. If he’s able to throwing, he would in all probability warrant a roster spot even when he isn’t a league-average hitter. But when he can’t throw effectively sufficient to play the sphere aside from in a pinch, and if he isn’t contributing at DH, he doesn’t actually have a spot anymore. Manzardo goes to play every single day, and Kayfus is younger sufficient that the Guardians could no less than need to give him an opportunity to hit lefties earlier than deciding he’s a platoon participant perpetually. Nonetheless, if Kayfus struggles, Hoskins may discover his approach into an on a regular basis position. Both approach, $1.5 million for a short-side platoon and veteran insurance coverage coverage is sweet deal for any crew, even one with Cleveland’s restricted monetary assets.
We now transfer to Michael Conforto, who had a perplexing 2025 season. Conforto put up an 83 wRC+ with the Dodgers, and since his protection graded out terribly, he ended the season with -0.6 WAR. He ran the bottom batting common and ISO of his profession, and he struck out slightly below 1 / 4 of the time. Nevertheless, his 95 DRC+ wasn’t fairly so unhealthy, and his .330 xwOBA was downright good. Then once more, Confroto has unperformed his xwOBA in every of the previous 4 seasons. Perhaps we must always count on him to take action going ahead. Was the left-handed Conforto no less than good in opposition to right-handed pitching? No! He was not! One way or the other he ran a 120 wRC+ in opposition to lefties and a 76 wRC+ in opposition to righties. What’s even occurring right here?
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Conforto will flip 33 in a pair weeks, so it’s not like he’s historical, however there’s no assure that he’ll bounce again to the above-average hitter he as soon as was with the Mets. The most secure guess is that Conforto shall be one thing approaching a mean bat in 2026 (although that could be arduous to consider in the event you watched a whole lot of Dodgers video games final 12 months). Whereas that’s sufficient to earn him an opportunity, it doesn’t make him a very helpful piece, contemplating that he’s a below-average nook outfielder and a below-average runner.
Chicago’s roster actually provides Conforto a lane to get enjoying time. The Cubs have Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ within the corners, and RosterResource initiatives no. 84 total prospect Moisés Ballesteros to platoon at DH with Tyler Austin. It appears extremely unlikely that Conforto would displace the up-and-coming Ballesteros because the left-handed aspect of that platoon. Nevertheless, the fourth outfielder spot positive appears prefer it’s up for grabs. The highest contenders are Conforto, Dylan Carlson, and Chas McCormick. Carlson’s offense has been worse than Conforto’s in recent times. So has McCormick’s, however McCormick has the benefit of offering glorious protection, which you type of need out of your fourth outfielder. If Conforto can impress the Cubs, particularly together with his glove, he could effectively have an opportunity.
The information of Estrada’s signing with the Orioles broke on Monday morning, filling a fairly fast want. Second baseman Jackson Holliday is recovering from hamate bone surgical procedure, and third baseman Jordan Westburg was simply identified with a partially torn UCL that will or could not require surgical procedure. He’ll be out till the tip of April on the earliest. Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías are gone. Gunnar Henderson goes to be on the market turning double performs all by himself! Blaze Alexander, whom the Orioles acquired from the Diamondbacks by way of commerce a pair weeks in the past, appears like he’ll be the crew’s beginning second baseman to open the season. If nothing else, Estrada can no less than make sure that there are sufficient our bodies within the infield all through spring coaching.
Estrada simply turned 30, and after averaging a 105 wRC+ and a pair of.5 WAR for the Giants from 2021 to 2023, the underside fell out of his offense. Over the previous two years, Estrada put up a mixed wRC+ of 65 in San Francisco then Colorado. On the similar time, DRS and DRP have began grading his protection poorly in recent times (although FRV nonetheless likes it some).
Estrada’s stat line is a monument to the ability of a excessive contact fee on pitches within the zone. He chases an excessive amount of to run a excessive contact fee total, however making a lot contact within the zone permits him to keep away from each walks and strikeouts. And but, he’s not essentially what you consider whenever you suppose contact hitter. He’s bought a small quantity of pop, which has allowed him to achieve 14 residence runs in a season twice, however he doesn’t run nice squared-up charges. Personally, I’m not too bullish on Estrada, however he’s the youngest of those three gamers, and whenever you put the ball in play as a lot as he does, you’ve all the time bought an opportunity to place collectively an excellent stretch of BABIP-aided hitting. In case you’re inclined to consider that anyone may repair Estrada at this level in his profession, you would possibly as effectively decide the Orioles, who have an app that provides gamers every day suggestions on their swing choices.
Furthermore, it’s not inconceivable that Estrada may find yourself on this roster for some time. Say Westburg finally ends up needing surgical procedure on his elbow, and say Alexander disappoints in his stint because the crew’s beginning second baseman. Let’s assume that Holliday will come again and lock down the beginning second base job and Coby Mayo finally ends up beginning at third base. In the event that they play effectively sufficient, that would go away Jeremiah Jackson within the backup infield position and block Estrada’s path. Nevertheless, if any of these three ought to falter, or if – and it pains me to even counsel this – Henderson ought to come down together with his personal harm, then Estrada actually appears like the following man up.