One of Mack's Mets founding writers sent the following to me regarding MLB's Roster size and Pitcher's Health:
"With MLB being so focused on COVID protocols you would think
that that bodes well for how they feel about the long-term health of their
players. However, that does not seem to be the case because what they are doing
is keeping the rosters at 26 and making pitchers hit after a year of not doing
that.
You would think that they would have at least kept the
roster at 28 like they did last year but one could even make a case for
extending it to 30 for the season considering that the pitching staff of every
team is going to have to throw three times as many innings as they did last
year and the minor leaguers basically threw no competitive innings so they have
not been in a game condition for over a year and a half and you know that
injuries on the mound are going to get out of hand very quickly.
It would behoove them to extend the rosters to 30 so each
team can carry four more arms on their active roster - NOT on a Taxi squad- and
avoid potential injuries that could be crippling to many teams and many
players. And at this point, forget about how you feel about the designated
hitter, it would seem to be a necessity as well in order to keep pitchers
further protected from injury.
Once again, IMO, MLB & Rob Manfred have blown it big
time and the additional injuries that I suffer this season as a result will all
be on his head!!"
Thanks Dave - Now it's your turn Mack's Mets readers. What do you think?
A Rubin Rant is worth a king's ransom.
ReplyDeleteYes, pitchers absolutely should not be hitting, and I would be all for keeping the roster at 28, not 30.
Protect those arms - paying an extra million for 2 more roster spots could save a deGrom.
Which other league extended their rosters or changed their rules, not just last year, but especially this year?
ReplyDeleteJust enjoy baseball.
I understand and agree with the essay as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with Tom that 28 would be a better limit, just for effective use and management of the staff.
I don't know if this would work, but what if you have 30 players but for a game only make 24 allowed for a game. So your starting pitcher the day before is not on the game roster the next day. You can fill it with a reliever or a bat. So your make up for your 30 could be 14 bats and 16 pitchers. On a game day, you aren't going to use 4 of your 5 starting pitchers so that creates 4 spots. If you have a reliever that has thrown 3 days in a row, he isn't on your roster and you save him. The way it goes now, there are some games where you have 5 spots not being used because pitchers need rest. I don't know if the owners would like it cause it would cost money but other sports do it.
ReplyDeleteShawn - that is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think this will be a very unique year. Rules should be established to allow teams the flexibility to make the necessary moves to keep player healthy. Instead they are doing what they always do - argue over $.
MLB network had a comment the other day that there are only two teams in baseball - owners and players. The sooner they realize they in the same business, the better.
Shawn B, I concur that yours is a great idea, but in what owners will view as a revenue-challenged second straight year, they will not want to incur the extra few million per team. Bottom Line Blues.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea Shawn. I think it would work if they established a salary cap or had the same tax structure today that owners don't want to mess with.
ReplyDeleteThis would give the young (cheap) guys a chance a cracking the line-up to be used in non-pressure situations to bring them along. Great spot for guys like Drew Smith or Zamora.
Sith Lord Manfred's New World Oder. You speak sense, and that's no longer allowed.
ReplyDelete