While Major League Baseball continues to adapt to the unusual circumstances of the 2020 season, it is considering a notable change to the current 60-man player system. Per Josh Norris of Baseball America, a proposal would be considered to add something like 15 more slots to each team’s alternative training site.
It does not sound like this evolution is a done deal, or even a solidly hammered system under consideration. But developments have come much faster than normal during this ad hoc, covid-addled campaign. If the league needs to implement it, we would probably see things come together in rather short order.
As with the alternative plan for sharing site information that is set to go into effect, this latest development reflects observations of the early functioning of a custom season and an attempt to anticipate that problems will arise. First and foremost, as Norris explains, the current approach has left too few players around participating in alternative side-games. And teams would certainly rather have more flexibility to get players into action, both to improve development of younger players and build veteran depth.
There is also an interesting potential trading deadline tie-in here, as with the improved scouting that would come from video and statistical parts. Larger player pools would give much greater flexibility to teams looking for deals for mid-season. (Remember, only players in the 60-man pool may be traded.) Teams would have more room for prospects in their pools, making it easier to put trade candidates in the game without the ability to attack the active roster follow as needed.
With just over two weeks to go until an unintentionally bizarre trading date, this can be quite the wild card. It will be particularly interesting to see how quickly the changes are agreed upon and implemented. As teams roll and go around everything at their typical levels, they will want something ahead to hash potential deals.
There is a link to a broader issue within the landscape of baseball operations. In recent decades, so to speak, about the very existence of MLBTR, we have seen analysts (in the broadest sense) grow from a niche element of the metro game of grid construction to a more-or-less universal , rather uniform philosophical framework. Thinking about the game thinking and applying clever analytical resources is the basic state for today’s front office. Doing more and better remains the goal, but the returns necessarily decrease. What we are seeing now is something completely different: a whole new set of challenges with human dimensions; ever-changing regulatory regimes and economic conditions; information holes that technology cannot really solve.
Navigating this world to build a winning MLB team presents a new – or at least severely changed – challenge. Especially for those of us who have observed the evolution up to this point, it will be fun to sit back and see what drivers flourished in this new era of the hot stove.
