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, whcih 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.
This article first appeared on MLB Trade Rumors and was syndicated with permission..
