Braves: What Happens to Minor League Taxi in Shortened Season?

If there is not going to be a Minor League Baseball season in 2020, what will the Atlanta Braves and other teams do with their minor league players during a shortened MLB season?

Assuming we will have baseball again this year, and I most certainly think we will, it could be very interesting to see how the Atlanta Braves handle their top Minor League prospects.

While I do think there will be an MLB season, I’m almost certain there won’t be a Minor League Baseball season in 2020.

While that certainly will impact the growth of Minor League players, it could also impact the Major League teams and how they compete during a shortened season.

There hasn’t been anything officially announced yet, so everything I’m going to talk about here is pure speculation. But I can’t help but wonder the impact this will have on some of the Braves top prospects.

Normally teams will taxi players back-and-forth during a season from the minor leagues to the MLB squad whenever there is an injury or trade.

How will that be handled during a shortened season when there is no Minor League season?

I have a couple of thoughts that I think could make sense.

First, rosters have to be expanded. This one is pretty obvious and has even been rumored. But I think in a shortened MLB season the active roster has to be expanded to at least 30 players.

Second, teams could use their full 40-man roster. Another thought is that teams would just carry their entire 40-man roster, but perhaps they settle on 26 active players for each game.

I think this is probably the best way to go about it as it gives teams plenty of freedom to keep guys healthy and it also helps give your Minor League guys some experience.

The issue with this is it just adds to the number of people in the locker room, which could increase the chances of someone getting the virus. And, it would also increase the number of COVID-19 test you’d have to use.

Third, they could hold Minor League seasons at the team’s spring training facility. This could also be a health concern, but teams could select 30-40 players to keep at their spring training facility in case a call-up is needed.

Those players could play intrasquad games to stay in shape and get the experience they need. Essentially you could just send your Double-A and Triple-A players there and let them practice and play each other every day.

This is kind of the best of both worlds as players still get the reps they need, and the Braves and other teams still have players they can call-up and activate if needed.

Even if they expand rosters to 30 players, a team is likely going to need more than those 30 guys to get through a potential 100-game season.

There will have to be some way they can call-up Minor League players. I think any of the scenarios I presented above could work. But let me know what you think in the comments below.