Column: Keep baseball rosters at 25 players

Rosters expanded all around Major League Baseball on Sept. 1.

Teams could have as many as 40 players active for every game, as opposed to the 25 who are active during the regular reason — until September.

The September call-ups are often overrated, with some of the most talked-about prospects finally coming up to the big leagues after months of speculation.

Far too many players sit on the bench, with the chance of playing in the game later.
Dugouts can get full of position players, and bullpens can get full of pitchers.
 
If you were to check out a box score from this month, especially from a team with many good prospects or a team out of the race, you might notice all of the position players were taken out of the game and replaced with backups once the game was beyond salvageable.

Some of the players are only up to be a pinch-runner or to be another arm in the already deep bullpen.

It’s understood teams want their prospects to get playing time at the end of the year, but the game-day limit of active players should be 25 for each game, not up to 40.

Though it allows teams a look at the up-and-coming players, calling up the prospects and playing them a lot can be viewed as tanking — giving up on the season.

As many as 40 players should be able travel with the team, but once the game starts, only 25 should be active.

Also, it’s understood that managers want to give their players time off, some because the playoffs are starting in less than a month and others to give the aging veterans a break.

During the playoffs, the rosters are kept at 25.

The month of September should be no different than the other six months that baseball is being played.

Former Chicago Cubs second baseman Ernie Banks was all for playing two games in a day, and now some players are barely playing five innings and taking every other day off, with the manager knowing he has multiple backups on his roster.

MLB should keep the rules the same and fair for the whole season. They need to change the September call-up rules.

Baseball has backups for the backups, which is diminishing America’s pastime.

­— jayljohn@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Jaylen Johnson on Twitter @nelyaJohnsonIDS.