Every Spring Training, managers discuss how nearly every player on the 40-man roster is necessary for a team to make a long playoff run, with many more that will be added later in the season.
The issue facing the Philadelphia Phillies in 2024 is that very few of the players who were anticipated to be on the 26-man roster on Opening Day still have minor league options. As a result, Manager Rob Thomson and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski may have to make some difficult choices during the season.
Without their permission, no player with more than five years of MLB service time may be optioned to the minor leagues.
It’s not very typical for a veteran to consent to being demoted to the minors, though RHP Brett Myers famously accepted a demotion to Triple-A during the 2008 season.
The demoted player or another player on the 40-man roster must be designated for assignment and exposed to waivers if you wish to bring up a player who is not on the roster to replace the one who was optioned. The player who has been DFA’d can then be claimed by any of the remaining 29 teams. The player has the option to become a free agent even if they clear waivers or accept being optioned to Triple-A. A player will choose free agency and if there isn’t a clear route back to the majors shortly, they will deal with a company that offers a greater opportunity to get back to the top of the sport more quickly.
Players who are out of options, which means they have been optioned to the minors three or four times, depending on their situation, cannot be sent to Triple-A without being subject to waivers, in addition to those who have accrued five years of MLB service time.
While all of this may seem technical, it’s crucial to comprehend that teams work hard to rotate players throughout the 162-game regular season and, in the Phillies’ case, the postseason.
- For the sake of better understanding the obstacles the Phillies will encounter in 2024, we have divided each player currently on the 40-man roster into one of five groups.