Chicago Cubs: What expanded rosters mean for this year’s club

The Chicago Cubs have benefitted from expanded September rosters in the past – and seem likely to do so again this season, even with a loaded 25-man.

In the middle of the 1989 season the Chicago Cubs entire Opening Day outfield was injured. Dwight Smith, Lloyd McClendon and Doug Dascenzo filled in so well that a Smith/McClendon platoon took over for Mitch Webster in left field. And Smith finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to teammate Jerome Walton.

But Dascenzo was unceremoniously sent back to the minors when Walton and Andre Dawson returned from injury. There wasn’t a spot available for him on the 25-man active roster. Then on Sept. 1, the team had no trouble finding an available roster spot for Dascenzo. No, no one became newly injured.

The active roster expanded to up to 40 players. Even though Dascenzo was unlikely to play in the postseason, he could spend the last month of the season helping the ’89 Cubs get there. It wasn’t as if he was missing out on anything at Triple-A. Most minor league teams end their seasons around that time anyway. That was my personal introduction to the strange quirk of Major League Baseball’s expanded September rosters.

Chicago Cubs: Understanding how rosters expand

Every Sept.1 Major League Baseball allows teams to expand their active rosters from 25 to as many as 40 players. Teams don’t necessarily activate a full 40 players. But in September, nearly every team’s roster is bigger than the 25 players from the rest of the season. There have been a few cases of cheap teams not calling up any extra players to save money, but that is rare.

Teams also can’t just add anyone to their big league roster. The player must be on a team’s 40-man roster to be called up to the Major Leagues. Before I understood all of the intricacies of the expanded roster rules, I didn’t understand why teams didn’t at least call up some fast guys to be extra pinch runners and good fielders to be defensive replacements. Teams are unlikely to call up a speedy Class-A center fielder due to other roster considerations.

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If Dascenzo is in Triple-A and he already was up in the Major Leagues earlier in the year, then you call him up again in September when rosters expand. If he was just drafted and is in Rookie-level ball, then he won’t be one of the up to 40 players looking for space in a crowded dugout. Even if you have a need, an obvious role for such a player, you wouldn’t want to prematurely add a player in Rookie ball to your 40-man roster.

The rest of the year, the 40-man roster consists of all of the players on the 25-man roster plus some other players who have been added to the 40-man roster for a variety of reasons.

If a player goes on the 10-day disabled list, he stays on the 40-man roster even as he is removed from the 25-man active roster. A player that gets called up from the minors either must already be on the 40-man or be added to the 40-man roster before he can be called up to the majors.

If a player is placed on the 60-day disabled list, he is removed from the 40-man roster. This effectively saves the team a spot on the 40-man. When the player comes back, he must then be added to both the 40-man roster as well as the active 25-man. This year Eddie Butler went through this entire transnational process. Since Yu Darvish is out for the year and is on the 60-day disabled list, he isn’t taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. Drew Smyly is also currently on the 60-day disabled list and hopes to be added to both the 40-man and active rosters soon.

The 10-day disabled list effectively becomes a little silly in September, since the it doesn’t save a spot on the 40-man roster. The only functional reason to put someone on the 10-day DL in September would be to send them down to the minors for a rehab assignment. However, since most minor league seasons end around the beginning of September, it can be difficult to find minor league opportunities for rehab assignments. In 2016, Kyle Schwarber famously had to play his rehab assignment in the Arizona Fall League to get ready for the World Series.

In order to be eligible for the playoffs a player must be on a team’s 40 man roster before Sept. 1. This is rarely an issue, but last year the St. Louis Cardinals added Juan Nicasio after Sept. 1.

Chicago Cubs: Another young impact player

Each year of this current competitive window the Cubs have had a batter come up from the minor leagues and make significant offensive contributions. In 2015 it was Kyle Schwarber. In 2016 it was Willson Contreras. Last season it was Ian Happ. At the beginning of this season it seemed unlikely that trend would continue.

Yes, each of those players were a bit of a surprise because it seemed that each player wouldn’t quite be ready for the Major Leagues that season. But each one of those players were supposed to be part of the Cubs’ future plans. Schwarber and Happ were first round draft picks drafted out of college. It was predicted that both of them would quickly progress through the minors. Contreras famously went from being left unprotected for the Rule 5 draft, to winning the Southern League’s Double-A batting title and then being considered the top catching prospect in all of baseball.

This season, there wasn’t a first round draft pick ready to be called up to the Major Leagues. It was a bit of a surprise when David Bote was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5. But just like Schwarber, Conteras and Happ’s contributions in successive seasons, the Cubs would have been in real trouble this year if a rookie didn’t make a big impact.

However, in past years, there has been enough room on the 25-man roster for a rookie to stay on the major league club. This year, Bote has proven he belongs in the big leagues. But he has had to depend on other position players, mostly Kris Bryant, to go on the disabled list in order to maintain his roster spot. Once the calendar turns to September, that won’t be a concern any longer.

The next roster issues for Bote will be bigger than just finding room for him on the roster in the middle of the season. Should he be included on this season’s playoff roster? Does the front office plan on Bote occupying on spot on next year’s Opening Day roster?

Chicago Cubs: Big league pinch hitter waiting at Iowa

Mark Zagunis is the only position player who is in the minor leagues and already on the 40-man roster. So calling him up will probably be a no-brainer. He was briefly up toward the beginning of the season. He played in five games and only had six plate appearances.

In Triple-A this season he has done a good job getting on base (.272 average and .395 on-base percentage). But Zagunis hasn’t hit for as much power as we would like to see (.376 slugging percentage on seven home runs and 16 doubles).

He might get a few pinch hitting opportunities or maybe a start against a left-handed starting pitcher, but I expect his at-bats to be minimal. If he doesn’t get called up, it will probably be because the Cubs decided to remove him from the 40-man roster to make room for other hitters. If the front office decides to do that though, they will have to waive him. At that point another team will probably claim him.

Chicago Cubs: A guy who has one job – run

The Cubs front office likes to have at least one pinch running specialist on the 40-man roster in September. It’s a handy weapon to give a manager in September and usually makes good use of a roster spot. In 2015, they acquired both Quintin Berry and Austin Jackson. Last year, Leonys Martín was acquired to fill that role. This year the front office traded for Royals outfielder Terrance Gore.

If you’ve never heard of Gore, don’t feel bad. Over the course of the last four seasons, Gore only has 14 plate appearances. He hasn’t played in the Major Leagues yet this season. However, he does have 21 stolen bases in just 25 attempts. Yes, that’s right, Gore has more stolen bases than plate appearances.

Gore isn’t currently on the 40-man. So the front office will have to find a way to make room to add him in order to call him up to the bigs.

Chicago Cubs: Taking some weight off Contreras

Another handy weapon to give a manager in September is an extra catcher or two. Last season the Cubs had an almost ridiculous five catchers (Contreras, Alex Avila, Victor Caratini, Rene Rivera Taylor Davis) in September. This season I suspect that at least one more catcher will be called up in September.

Chris Gimenez was supposed to be the Cubs veteran back-up catcher this season. It helped that he was Yu Darvish’s favorite catcher. Unfortunately Gimenez’s offense was terrible even for a defensive specialist. He had the option of becoming a free agent when the Cubs demoted him to Triple-A, but he opted to stay with the organization. Its possible that the Cubs will reward his loyalty by calling him back up to the majors to be that veteran catcher.

Davis was one of the catchers the Cubs called up last season. He’s best known for his viral videos where he stares back into the camera. But Davis is more than just an Internet star. He hits a decent amount. In addition to catcher he can play both corner infield spots. As the primary Triple-A catcher this season he has personally worked with all of the Cubs pitching depth. It makes it seem like the Cubs are sure to call back up in September.

Neither Gimenez nor Davis are currently on the 40 man roster. So if one or both of them are going to get called up in September, the front office will have to make room for them.

Chicago Cubs: Making spots for guys on the 40-man

I’m not sure how the front office is going to make room on the 40-man roster for anyone who isn’t currently on there, given it’s full at the moment.

There are several players who are currently injured. If any more of them are ruled out for the rest of the year, they can transferred to the 60=day disabled list. That would open up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Adbert Alzolay was shut down for the season awhile back. However, minor league disabled lists don’t work exactly the same way, so I’m not sure if Alzolay can simply be transferred to a disabled list that frees up a spot on the 40-man roster.

The Cubs might want Tyler Chatwood‘s season to be over, but I’m sure Major League Baseball would frown if there isn’t a legitimate injury bad enough to justify putting chatwood on the 60-day disabled list. He’s currently on the 10-day DL.

Beyond those two players, Cubs fans should be hoping the other injured players return from the disabled list this season. That leaves the possibility of removing other players from the 40-man roster.

Anthony Bass already cleared waivers and was removed from the 40-man roster earlier this season. However, the Cubs probably prefer him over other pitchers who are still on the roster. I’ll break down pitchers for the expanded roster in an upcoming piece.