Atlanta Braves Phantom Players (and Almost Phantom Players) Since 2013

The Braves called up Charlie Culberson on May 19, but at the time of this writing over two weeks later, the fan favorite still hasn't appeared in a game. If he doesn't, he could be a rare instance of a player making the major league roster for a team, while never actually appearing in a game in that season.

Of course, Culberson has played for the Braves in the past, but there have been seven players in the last decade who the team called up and spent at least a day on the active roster, and never got into a game. So, if you look up their Baseball-Reference pages, it appears that they were never actually on the team.

This is what's known as a phantom player, and we're going to find the Braves' version of a phantom player.

What is a phantom player?

A phantom player in baseball is a player who is called up to an active major league roster, but never actually appears in a game. There have been several examples of phantom players, including a few players on this list, but Brian Jeroloman holds the record for the most time spent on an MLB roster without appearing in a game, spending 37 days without entering a game.

In August of 2011, the Blue Jays called up the catcher and kept him on the roster for the remainder of the season, but Jeroloman never actually appeared in a game. It was revealed after the season he was dealing with an injury, and even though the catcher played five more minor league seasons, he never made his major league debut.

For the purpose of this article, we'll be looking at players who the Braves called up to their active roster, but never actually got into a game for the team. Some might have gotten into MLB games on other teams, but others are true phantom players, with the Braves being their one shot at the bigs.

This list only includes players who were on the active roster during the season, so no Bronson Arroyo here.