Major League Baseball rosters

A Major League Baseball roster is a roster of players able to play for their respective Major League team. There are two types of rosters, the 25-man roster and the 40-man roster.

25-man roster

Also called the active roster, the 25-man is composed of 25 players who are playing for their Major League team. They are the starting eight position players, pitchers, and reserve players on the team. Players on the active roster are also on the 40-man roster. These players are generally the only ones who dress in uniform and are the only ones who may take the field in a game at any time. Typically, only players on the 25-man roster, and players who are on the disabled list but were on the 25-man roster, travel on road trips with the Major League team.

Typically, a 25-man roster will consist of five starting pitchers, seven relief pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, and five outfielders. In the American League a full-time designated hitter is usually classified as either an infielder or an outfielder, not a DH, because most DHs do play first base, left field, or right field from time to time.

Beginning in the 2012 season, teams were allowed 26-man rosters for scheduled "day-night" doubleheaders—two games scheduled on the same day, but with the stadium cleared between games, and separate tickets sold for each game.

40-man roster

Also called the expanded roster, the 40-man is composed of all the players in a Major League club's organization who are signed to a major-league contract. These are the players who are able to be called up to the 25-man roster at any given time. Also on the 40-man are any players on the 15-day disabled list and minor league players who are signed to a major-league contract but are on an "optional assignment" to the minors. (Each player has three "options" to be sent to the minors once on the 40-man before they must be placed on waivers to be sent there.) Players who were on the 40-man but are placed on the 60-day disabled list are taken off the 40-man until the time on the DL is over. The same applies to players who are suspended. Because players on the 60-day DL are taken off the 40-man with no risk of losing the player, MLB teams often transfer injured players from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL so that they can add another player to the 40-man without having to designate a player for assignment. Designating for assignment is the removal of a player from the 40-man, whereby the team has 10 days to trade the player, release him, or send him to the minors.

September call-ups

On September 1, the Major League team's roster expands from the 25-man active roster to the entire 40-man roster. At this point, any player on the 40-man roster can play for the Major League team. September call-ups are players from the minors who are playing in September to get Major League experience and, especially for teams in contention, to provide reinforcements down the stretch.

Postseason roster

This roster is in effect only if the team clinches for and plays in the postseason. The postseason roster is integrated and has no limit to a number of players on the roster. Any player regardless of spending time in the minor leagues of any class such as being optioned to, outrighted to, being called up or recalled to the majors will be eligible to participate in the postseason. The only restriction is that the player must not be designated for assignment before the postseason begins, have been on the team's 25-man roster or the disabled list, bereavement list, or suspended list as of August 31, and played or appeared in at least one game with the major league team in the regular season. If an eligible player is injured or otherwise physically unable to participate in postseason play, then the team may replace him with any player who was in the organization (at the major or minor league level) as of August 31. Players who participated in the minors for most of the season that have also played at least one game in the majors that season are eligible to get a championship ring after the team wins the World Series.

Non-roster players

All other professional players affiliated with Major League Baseball are signed to minor-league contracts. They can receive an invitation to spring training with their organization's Major League team without being on the 40-man roster. Two types of players generally receive a non-roster invitation: prospect players who are there to gain experience and face tougher competition as well as receive instruction from the Major League team's coaching staff; and veteran players who were not offered any major league contract by a club. The veteran player is usually signed to a "two-way" salary option—one for their time in the minors and another if they are placed on the 40-man during the season. All spring training invitees are under some sort of contract, to avoid liability if an injury were to occur to the player.

See also

• List of current Major League Baseball team rosters
• Major League Baseball transactions