Major League Baseball is days away from a quick summer workout, which will set the stage for a crazy 60-game run for the postseason position, followed by a typically wild October … all while trying to handle the many challenges posed by the still- A furious pandemic that disrupted the 2020 season in the first place. It sounds a lot when you put it that way.
Unsurprisingly, typical roster rules for an MLB season would not work well in this scenario. Among other things, there is a need for a reserve corps of players actively committed to the minor league season still on ice. Teams need a way to protect players who are injured or who have COVID-19. The problem is even more pressing in the early stages of the season.
MLBTR has learned and clarified many of the key details regarding the new listing rules. This is how things will work for the 2020 campaign:
- Each team can establish a maximum player group of 60 men, with the initial roster due Sunday at 3 p.m. CST. Teams are not required to fill all sixty spaces.
- No other player may participate in the camp. Teams can operate two separate camps if they wish. All teams will operate an alternate training site once the season begins.
- Players on the 40-man roster need not be included in the 60-man player group. Similarly, of course, pool players don’t need to be on the 40-man roster, unless and until they are added to the active MLB roster.
- If a player is removed from a 60-man player group, he cannot be re-added to that team’s group, but may be added to another team’s group. Players cannot be freely removed from the 60-man player pool without roster implications. Put another way: aside from the injured roster’s location, suspension and some other infrequent designations, teams will be forced to relinquish (or risk surrendering) control over a player (trade, release, DFA, total, etc.) to remove it from the 60-man billiard player.
- Otherwise, teams can add already controlled or newly acquired players to their 60-man player pool. Players can sign up for the 60-man player pool without being added to the 40-man roster, but that requires a 60-man player pool space (just like a typical minor league deal requires space on a particular affiliate ).
- The active MLB roster will consist of up to 30 players (and at least 25 players) at the beginning of the season. After two weeks of play, that number drops to 28. After two more weeks, it drops back to 26, with a 27th player available for double headers.
- The teams will travel with an unofficial 3-man taxi squad, the identity of which does not need to be revealed. A player must be a receiver. There is no official designation or roster status associated with being a member of that group.
- As usual, a player must be on a 40-man roster to be added to the active MLB roster.
- Once a player is placed on the active roster, the standard rules apply. Players eligible for the option can be sent back to camp as if they were a minor league affiliate. An optional player must remain on an optional assignment for ten days, unless called back due to an injured roster location. Players who are not eligible to be selected must be designated for assignment (and then exchanged or exposed to direct exemptions) to be removed from the active roster.
- The business deadline is August 31. ONLY the players in the 60-man player pool can be traded. Any player who exchanges must go to the group of players of the acquiring team. (As a practical matter, there seems to be nothing stopping teams from adding prospects to the 60-man player pool specifically for swapping them. The acquiring team should be able to transport those players into their own 60-man player pool while following featuring an active roster of 26 men of great capable players.)
