Is 40 Still Enough?

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Increasingly, Major League Baseball’s seasons are “all hands on deck” affairs. Over the weekend, however, the Brewers were down to their last hands. 

Infielders Andruw Monasterio and Jon Singleton came up big in their Brewers debuts over the weekend and outfielder Blake Perkins’ first MLB home run was a grand slam on Saturday, but that trio represents the last of the Brewers’ easily available depth. When they placed first baseman Darin Ruf and outfielder Tyrone Taylor on the injured list on Saturday it brought them to 14 unavailable players, and every healthy position player on the 40-man roster is on the active MLB roster. To make room for anyone else the Brewers would either have to move another player to the 60-day injured list, as players on that list don’t count against the 40-man limit or expose a player on waivers to make room.

The Brewers have reason to hope this roster crunch will be temporary. Shortstop Willy Adames started a rehab assignment on Sunday and should be available to be activated soon. Infielder Luis Urías, who hasn’t played in an MLB game since Opening Day, has now played in nine games on a rehab assignment with AAA Nashville and should be ready to be activated soon. They’re the only two Brewers position players with scheduled return dates, however, so this issue could continue for the foreseeable future. It could even get worse: Monasterio left Sunday’s game after getting hit in the face during a play at second base.

Major League Baseball’s complicated roster rules, with an “expanded roster” of players eligible to be added to an active roster, have been tinkered with over the years but have largely remained within their current form for more than a century. The 40-man limit was put into place to prevent organizations from stockpiling more players than they can reasonably use: Players who accumulate enough minor league service time without being added to the 40-man roster can be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft or minor league free agency, giving them an opportunity to seek out a team that’s more likely to promote them to the majors.

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Hard Cap on Players

With limited and brief exceptions, however, the maximum number of players on an expanded roster has been 40 since 1921. The hard cap on available players has remained the same through countless rule changes, including active roster expansion (currently 26, and 27 on the days of doubleheaders), and many more strategic shifts, like the advent of modern bullpen usage. 

Navigating these roster rules as more and more players churn through a major league clubhouse has become increasingly challenging. During their expansion 1969 season the Seattle Pilots used 53 players, but from 1970-2010 the Brewers averaged less than 40 players used per season. In 2021 they set a new franchise record with 61, however, and they’re on pace to blow by that mark in 2023 with 44 players already used in their first 59 games.

Limited space on expanded rosters has unintended and sometimes unfortunate consequences. For a player on the fringe of a roster staying in the majors can sometimes mean frequently bouncing between teams, like when former Brewers reliever Oliver Drake was purchased or claimed off waivers seven times in eight months in 2018 and 2019. It can also create pressure for teams to move a player onto the 60-day injured list to create temporary space, limiting their ability to return to the field when they’re healthy.

Any change to MLB’s roster rules would have to be accomplished through the league’s collective bargaining process, which is often contentious enough without adding additional topics. The 40-man roster limit, however, seems like a case where making some adjustments and modernizations would benefit both sides.