PT Today

(*) PT TODAY: Shakeup in MIN bullpen as Taylor moves to SD

PT Today

BaseballHQ

Apr 8 2022 12:06am

(*) PT TODAY: Shakeup in MIN bullpen as Taylor moves to SD

BaseballHQ

Apr 8 2022

Team-by-team playing time allocation charts can be found in our Teamview pages.

American League \| National League

Twins \| Taylor Rogers headed to San Diego
Minnesota Twins LHP Taylor Rogers and OF Brent Rooker from the San Diego Padres in exchange for RHP Chris Paddack and RHP Emilio Pagán Thursday, April 7. Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal

BHQ take: Rogers' departure leaves the closer's job open in MIN. Tyler Duffey, newly acquired Emilio Pagán, Jorge Alcala and Caleb Thielbar are all in the mix. We're going to split saves among them, with Duffey and Pagan getting the lion's share, and adjust as we see how things play out. Alcala has the best BPV (149), followed by Pagan (115), Duffey (111) and Thielbar (111). Of note, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes, is that Mgr Rocco Baldelli prefers to go with the best matchup in the ninth and not a set player. If that plays out, this could be one of those bullpens that drives fantasy managers crazy in 2022. Two dark horses are Jharel Cotton and Jhoan Duran. The Twins still were searching for SP help on the eve of Opening Day and Paddack will address that need. He's coming off a disappointing 2021 in which he had a 5.07 ERA to go with 99 K in 108.1 IP. That's a far cry from his rookie campaign in 2019 in which he had a 3.33 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP, and he struck out 153 in 141 IP. The Twins think they can correct what went wrong between 2019 and 2021. He'll move into the No. 5 spot in the rotation. —Rick Green

Impact: High
Thielbar, Caleb	PT Loss: -1% SV Gain: 5%
Paddack, Chris
Pagan, Emilio	SV Gain: 25%
Cotton, Jharel
Duran, Jhoan	PT Gain: 1% SV Gain: 5%
Alcala, Jorge	SV Gain: 15%
Duffey, Tyler	SV Gain: 10%



Guardians \| Anthony Castro acquired by CLE
Toronto Blue Jays RHP Anthony Castro was acquired by the Cleveland Guardians Thursday, April 7, in exchange for OF Bradley Zimmer. Source: MLB.com

BHQ take: The emergence of rookie OF Steven Kwan made light-hitting, good glove Zimmer expendable as CLE sought to deepen its bullpen, particularly with setup RHP James Karinchak sidelined to the IL to open the season. Castro posted a 157 BPV and 3.55 xERA in 2021, though his subpar 52% FpK suggests his sub-3.0 Ctl could be unsustainable. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Med
Castro, Anthony	PT Gain: 3%
Karinchak, James	PT Loss: -2% SV Loss: -5%
Zimmer, Bradley	PT Loss: -20%
Kwan, Steven	PT Gain: 20%



White Sox \| Yoán Moncada to miss time
Chicago White Sox INF Yoán Moncada (oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday, April 7, because of a strained oblique. Source: MLB.com

BHQ take: The estimate right now is Moncada will miss about three weeks. The Sox have the flexibility to move players around to cover the injury, but Jake Burger should see extra time. He is expected to start at 3B and hit ninth in the team's season-opener. Burger, a former first-rounder from the 2017 draft, has above-average power, but there's no guarantee he'll get all the reps at the hot corner, so grabbing him as a free agent at this point is premature. —Rick Green

Impact: Med
Moncada, Yoan	PT Loss: -10%
Burger, Jake	PT Gain: 10%



Angels \| Taylor Ward put on IL
Los Angeles Angels OF Taylor Ward (groin) was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain Thursday, April 7. Source: The Athletic - Sam Blum

BHQ take: Mgr Joe Maddon had been making noise about Ward seeing significant outfield playing time off the bench. Now this, with no idea yet on when Ward will return. His roster spot and job as was taken by utility Jose Rojas, whose .208 BA (184 PA) looks overdone against a .243 xBA. A 131/127 PX/xPX says Rojas has some intriguing thump, which was on display this past spring (12-for-27 with 7 xBH including 3 HR). The versatile Rojas suddenly looks flyer-worthy in deep leagues for the next few weeks. —Jock Thompson

Impact: Low
Rojas, Jose	PT Gain: 10%
Ward, Taylor	PT Loss: -10%





National League \| American League

Reds \| Three join active roster
Cincinnati Reds RHP Buck Farmer, C Aramis Garcia and INF Brandon Drury had their contracts selected from Class AAA Louisville Thursday, April 7. Source: MLB.com

BHQ take: Injuries to LHB Infielder Max Schrock and RHB Infielder Donovan Solano paved the way for non-roster invitee Drury to make the Opening Day roster. Schrock and RHP Justin Dunn weres placed on the 60-day IL, opening 40-man roster slots for Farmer and Drury. Drury is likely to see action vs. LHP so long as he remains on the roster, as CIN seeks to platoon at several positions, though Drury has no appreciable career platoon splits. Farmer adds a versatile veteran bullpen arm who has pitched in a variety of roles, though his 2022 Ctl spike drove his Cmd below 2.0. Garcia won the battle among non-roster invitees for the backup catcher role, largely by crushing five HRs in Spring Training. —Tom Kephart

Impact: Med
Solano, Donovan	PT Loss: -25%
Schrock, Max	PT Loss: -20%
Dunn, Justin	PT Loss: -5%
Garcia, Aramis	PT Gain: 25%
Drury, Brandon	PT Gain: 30%
Farmer, Buck	PT Gain: 4%



Marlins \| Miami calls up two from minors
Miami Marlins OF Bryan De La Cruz was recalled and RHP Shawn Armstrong had his contract purchased from Class AAA Jacksonville on Thursday, April 7. Source: The Miami Herald - Jordan McPherson

BHQ take: De La Cruz was thought to have the inside track on the Marlins’ centerfield job at the start of spring training, but somewhat surprisingly was sent to the minors last month. It’s not clear precisely what his role or playing time will be, but the Marlins still don’t have an obvious centerfielder on their active roster. He’s worth watching to see if he gets playing time and, if so, how well he performs. Armstrong has spent his whole MLB career in the American League. He had a successful 2020 sprint season with the Orioles, but last year was a different season as he compiled a 6.75 ERA. His xERA, however, was two runs less, he had a K% of 27%, a K-BB% of 18%, and a BPV of 107. Were he to get some high leverage opportunities, he might be a candidate for the back of pitching staffs in deep leagues. —Phil Hertz

Impact: High
De La Cruz, Bryan	PT Gain: 5%
Armstrong, Shawn	PT Gain: 2%



Padres \| MIN lands Chris Paddack
San Diego Padres RHP Chris Paddack and RHP Emilio Pagán were acquired by the Minnesota Twins Thursday, April 7, in exchange for LHP Taylor Rogers and OF Brent Rooker. Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal

BHQ take: The lead here for the Padres was buried, as Rogers – 31% K-BB%, 9 saves in 2021 -- becomes the immediate closing favorite, followed by Robert Suarez, Pierce Johnson and others in what still looks like a versatile pen. Corner OF Rooker begins 2022 in the minors to wait for his first opportunity in SD as a bench outfielder. With Paddack gone, Nick Martinez gets first crack at the #5 spot, as Mike Clevinger begins 2022 on the IL with knee soreness. Waiting in the wings as the next man in is newly-resurgent MacKenzie Gore, who posted a 16/3 K/BB over 12 IP this spring. Just as newsworthy, the confirmation of uber-prospect CJ Abrams’ roster spot that has shuffled the SD playing time significantly. The left-handed-hitting Abrams wasn’t in the lineup last night against lefty Madison Bumgarner, and Mgr Bob Melvin seems likely to ease him slowly. Regardless of his inexperience, Abrams is up to play on most nights until he proves he can’t. He cuts into the early projected time of SS Ha-Seong Kim, who now projects as a utility infielder off the bench. Abrams was also seen in RF at the end of spring training, so anything can and probably will happen. Check the SD team page for our Opening Day playing time adjustments. —Jock Thompson

Impact: High
Abrams, CJ	PT Gain: 10%
Rooker, Brent	PT Loss: -5%
Rogers, Taylor	SV Loss: -5%



Phillies \| Mickey Moniak out for a while
Updating a previous report, Philadelphia Phillies OF Mickey Moniak (wrist) was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right wrist Thursday, April 7, that is expected to sideline him for at least six weeks. Source: USA TODAY Sports - Bob Nightengale

BHQ take: On the strength of a red hot spring training during which he had five homers and a 1.286 OPS, Moniak had played his way onto the Phillies Opening Day roster and at least a platoon role with Matt Vierling in center. That, in turn, had made him a candidate for fantasy rosters in deep leagues. With Moniak out until May, his chances of having significant playing time in 2022 is diminished considerably. Vierling now is likely to get more of a chance in center although Odubel Herrera is due back in a couple of weeks and could eventually get the bulk of at bats in center. —Phil Hertz

Impact: Low
Moniak, Mickey	PT Loss: -5%

News feed provided by: Fantasy.USATODAY.com

Playing Time Key

The playing time percentage changes at the bottom of most news items correspond to BaseballHQ.com's Teamview pages. The percentages approximate changes in AB, IP and Saves in the following manner:

For batters, each 5% of PT% ~ 31 AB (100% total for each position = 618 AB)
For pitchers, each 3% of PT% ~ 44 IP (100% total for a team's entire pitching staff)
For relievers, each 5% of Svs ~ 2 saves (100% of a team's total = about40 saves)

A complete explanation of BaseballHQ.com's playing time allocations can be found in the article "How the Projections are Created."