26 man roster

[Careless]

I was thinking about this tonight. With pitchers going shorter and shorter and relievers being more important than ever, these trends will force baseball to go to a larger roster at some point, will they not? So I wonder, what do people here think about it? Would they support/object/be neutral if MLB changed its rules to a 26 player roster?

And, of course, the increases in money means that a rookie-type player is essentially free even for the poorest team

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I think the move to a 26 man roster could be the compromise that gets rid of the DH.

[chuckywang]

More mediocre players will be in the league .. not too excited about the prospect.

[SouthSideRyan]

26 man roster would make 13 man staffs the norm.

 

Vance touched on it, though sadly I don't think the DH will ever go away. But the owners won't pay another major league for a full season without getting something in return.

[Clem Fandango]

I think we should start on a path back toward the dead ball era and reinstate 4-man rotations. I wanna see some guys get 40+ starts a year, damnit.

 

j/k

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

One option that has been tossed around is to expand rosters, but still only allow 25 men to be active for a particular game. So, teams could deactivate the starting pitchers who weren't going to be used or players who might be a little dinged up but not on the DL.

[chuckywang]

One option that has been tossed around is to expand rosters, but still only allow 25 men to be active for a particular game. So, teams could deactivate the starting pitchers who weren't going to be used or players who might be a little dinged up but not on the DL.

 

What's the point of that? Starting pitchers aren't going to play anyways.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

One option that has been tossed around is to expand rosters, but still only allow 25 men to be active for a particular game. So, teams could deactivate the starting pitchers who weren't going to be used or players who might be a little dinged up but not on the DL.

 

What's the point of that? Starting pitchers aren't going to play anyways.

 

Yeah, I have had the same thought when I've heard people discuss it. Every team would just have their SP who aren't starting be the inactive players.

 

But I don't think you will see a 26 man roster unless the players give something up. Teams will just have to adjust or pitchers will have to go deeper.

 

There are a number of things that could be bargained for the extra spot..ie giving up the DH, lower minimum salary, some for of salary cap...etc.

[CuseCubFan69]

One option that has been tossed around is to expand rosters, but still only allow 25 men to be active for a particular game. So, teams could deactivate the starting pitchers who weren't going to be used or players who might be a little dinged up but not on the DL.

 

What's the point of that? Starting pitchers aren't going to play anyways.

 

Yeah, I have had the same thought when I've heard people discuss it. Every team would just have their SP who aren't starting be the inactive players.

 

But I don't think you will see a 26 man roster unless the players give something up. Teams will just have to adjust or pitchers will have to go deeper.

 

There are a number of things that could be bargained for the extra spot..ie giving up the DH, lower minimum salary, some for of salary cap...etc.

 

Giving up the DH for 26 players on the active roster would be fine by me.

[Jake]

I don't see the players union giving up the DH for an extra player on the roster. Too many old players have made too much money extending their careers as DHs. Aggregate Salary will fall.

 

Actually, I don't see the players union giving up the DH for anything.

[cheapseats]

I think we should start on a path back toward the dead ball era and reinstate 4-man rotations. I wanna see some guys get 40+ starts a year, damnit.

 

j/k

 

Why not? All the research I've seen indicates that a 5-man rotation offers no health benefits over a 4-man rotation.

 

The Dodgers began the 5-man rotation because they had five good starters, not because they wanted to prevent injuries.

[BigbadB]

Yes. Anything to find regular jobs for guys like Jose Macias, Neifi Perez and Lenny Harris.

[SouthSideRyan]

Yes. Anything to find regular jobs for guys like Jose Macias, Neifi Perez and Lenny Harris.

 

That would ideally be the best part, that bums like Macias there for his versatility wouldn't be needed anymore. Of course, teams are terrible at managing their roster, so that wouldn't happen.

[BaseballBob]

I think we should start on a path back toward the dead ball era and reinstate 4-man rotations. I wanna see some guys get 40+ starts a year, damnit.

 

j/k

 

Why not? All the research I've seen indicates that a 5-man rotation offers no health benefits over a 4-man rotation.

 

The Dodgers began the 5-man rotation because they had five good starters, not because they wanted to prevent injuries.

No-can-do 4 man rotations any more. Ever since the Pitcher's Mound was raised, pitchers have had to throw more breaking stuff and fewer fastballs. The breaking stuff is harder on the arm, so you can't do the 40+ starts like they did before the mound was raised.

 

Studies have shown that the higher mounds of today lead to more injuries among pitchers (http://www.eyedoctornewsletter.com/pitchersmound).

[BigSlick]

I think we should start on a path back toward the dead ball era and reinstate 4-man rotations. I wanna see some guys get 40+ starts a year, damnit.

 

j/k

Theres evidence that shows that it may be healthier on pitchers anyway, and since no team can ever really field 5 quality starters, we can get rid of the Jason Marquis' and Shawn Estes' of the world.

 

Which would be great.

 

EDIT: Wow didn't even notice the post above mine. I am speaking off of Baseball Between the Numbers research.

[chuckywang]

I think we should start on a path back toward the dead ball era and reinstate 4-man rotations. I wanna see some guys get 40+ starts a year, damnit.

 

j/k

 

Why not? All the research I've seen indicates that a 5-man rotation offers no health benefits over a 4-man rotation.

 

The Dodgers began the 5-man rotation because they had five good starters, not because they wanted to prevent injuries.

 

Then that rotation can be even better if they only use the best 4 out of those 5.

[Garwilly]

I think we should start on a path back toward the dead ball era and reinstate 4-man rotations. I wanna see some guys get 40+ starts a year, damnit.

 

j/k

 

Why not? All the research I've seen indicates that a 5-man rotation offers no health benefits over a 4-man rotation.

 

The Dodgers began the 5-man rotation because they had five good starters, not because they wanted to prevent injuries.

No-can-do 4 man rotations any more. Ever since the Pitcher's Mound was raised, pitchers have had to throw more breaking stuff and fewer fastballs. The breaking stuff is harder on the arm, so you can't do the 40+ starts like they did before the mound was raised.

 

Studies have shown that the higher mounds of today lead to more injuries among pitchers (http://www.eyedoctornewsletter.com/pitchersmound).

 

After the 1968 season, the mound was lowered from 15 inches to 10 inches.

[erik316wttn]

I think the move to a 26 man roster could be the compromise that gets rid of the DH.

 

I don't think it would be enough.

 

In all likelihood, the 26th man would be another utility man or middle reliever. With the DH, aging sluggers can add several years onto their careers and add millions of dollars into the player's union, which would be the very body that the owners would have to negotiate with in order to eliminate the DH. I don't think the DH will ever go away.

 

Are the owners even all that willing to get rid of the DH, seeing as it potentially gives them another big bat in the lineup?

[AlwaysaCub]

I think we should start on a path back toward the dead ball era and reinstate 4-man rotations. I wanna see some guys get 40+ starts a year, damnit.

 

j/k

 

Why not? All the research I've seen indicates that a 5-man rotation offers no health benefits over a 4-man rotation.

 

The Dodgers began the 5-man rotation because they had five good starters, not because they wanted to prevent injuries.

No-can-do 4 man rotations any more. Ever since the Pitcher's Mound was raised, pitchers have had to throw more breaking stuff and fewer fastballs. The breaking stuff is harder on the arm, so you can't do the 40+ starts like they did before the mound was raised.

 

Studies have shown that the higher mounds of today lead to more injuries among pitchers (http://www.eyedoctornewsletter.com/pitchersmound).

 

After the 1968 season, the mound was lowered from 15 inches to 10 inches.

 

And MLB began to check mound heights, which often varied widely from 15 inches. Dodger Stadium in the 1960s was probably closer to 20 than 15 inches.