Most teams have full 40-man rosters at this point in the year, but one third of MLB clubs have at least one open spot. These teams could offer free agents Major League deals without having to cut another player (if they have enough money and projected 25-man roster space) or make a waiver claim at some point before Opening Day. Here’s the team-by-team breakdown:
- Braves – 36
- White Sox – 37
- Nationals – 38
- Yankees – 39
- Angels – 39
- Phillies – 39
- Cubs – 39
- Cardinals – 39
- Rockies – 39
Keep in mind that the 21 teams with full 40-man rosters could create roster space by moving a player to the 60-day disabled list or by releasing, outrighting or designating for assignment a rostered player.
Source: MLB.com and MLBDepthCharts.com.
Thanks for posting this! Any chance of this becoming a semi-regular update, or maybe even a sidebar link that updates?
As stated in the last part of the post, a few teams can free up a space with a 60-day DL move. Example: The Twins can move Zumaya to free a space at any time.
the braves have that many spots open because of the amount of NRI’s they will most likely add
The nationals could sign derrek lee and release adam laroche
I presume the Cubs’ spot will be filled once the Gerardo Concepcion deal becomes official?
I thnk you mean Jorge Soler and if/when the deal becomes official he most likely won’t be on the 40 man roster. They won’t bring him to the majors in 2012.
I’m aware of Concepcion, I wanted the White Sox to go after him… I was of the understanding he was officially signed by the Cubs. I could be wrong. Supposedly they are close with Soler too. Either way, neither of them will be in the bigs in 2012.
I can think of a few, namely Drew Sutton. Also, Durango has a shot at the 4th outfielder spot. While a few of the NRI relief pitchers could grab the final bullpen spot too.
Sutton and Durango would be my picks for bench spots should the season start today. Sutton if he keeps it up should be a lock with Jack Wilson injured to start the season, etc.
The Braves also could carry an extra bench player to start the season since they will only need a 5th starter a few games before Huddy’s expected return. This is actually what they ought to do IMO, esp. since their bench is rather weak.
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fredi does something else. I don’t trust him to do what he should in such situations.