Manipulation of 40-man rosters

[jaybird2001wi]

Discussing how the 40-man roster works and how players are added and subtracted from it has been discussed for quite some time, as are the amount of options a player has. But there have been cases where MLB General Managers have found nice loopholes to manipulatethe 40-man toward the end of the season. Post-July 31st waiver-wire trades and how players can be added to the 40-man roster post-August 31st has been intriguing.

I recall the Angels did not have Francisco Rodriguez on the 40-man roster after August 31, but were able to add him due to an injury of one of their players on the 40-man roster. It was later confirmed the guy was pretty much injured the entire season and served as a "decoy" so they can automatically add him to the Disabled List so they can add another player such as Rodriguez, who was a World Series hero that year. As discussed before, most GMs place their entire team on waivers after July 31 to see what players would be bitten. As form of punishment for teams claiming a high salary guy that is wasting space, some GMs just throw the guy on the claiming teams lap and say, "He's your responsibility now" (see: Randy Myers).

I have often wondered how many GMs have players who they never intended on actually adding to the active roster let alone sit on the bench once rosters are expanded. I seem to remember some guys on the Brewers 40-man roster that were never seen in September. How often are these occurrences?

[cubfan1126]

You're kidding, right?

 

Guys with hangnails have been going on the 60 day DL (60 day DL stays on the 40 man but doesn't count against it) since the beginning of the DL and GM's. You can option a guy to AAA 5 times in 1 year but it's only 1 option (options are annual). Teams have been doing it since, well since forever. I once knew a pitcher for the White Sox (70's) that I went down near the bullpen to talk to and I asked what's going on. He said, "Went on the DL today." "Really? What happened?" sidelong glance "Ankle!"