WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN WITH NEW ROSTER LIMITS

No one can fully predict what will happen with the reduced 165-player minor league roster limits, but baseball officials weighed in with predictions for 2024, some of which we heard repeatedly.

- JJ Cooper

SURPRISE PITCHERS EMERGE

Almost everyone we asked said they believe that some pitchers will benefit from the reduction in the total number of arms each team can carry. A later-round pick or less-touted international signee who would have been slotted into a low-leverage relief role in the past will get to either start or jump into a tandem-starter role under the new roster restrictions, because teams will need them to handle more innings.

Given a chance to start and work more consistently, some of those pitchers will prove they are worthy of a larger role. Some may develop a pitch that they wouldn’t have gotten a chance to work on in a smaller role. Others will stand out because of their ability to shoulder a heavier workload without seeing their stuff diminish.

The change should give some pitchers a chance to shine.

MORE TANDEM STARTERS

Using piggyback starters in Class A has become more popular in recent years. The idea is to have two pitchers each work four to five innings an outing and usually alternating who starts and who enters in the middle innings. Using tandem starters keeps any young pitcher from logging too many pitches in a start, but it allows a team to keep more pitchers on a starter’s development track.

This year, it will also be a potentially useful way to cover innings.

PARTNER LEAGUERS IN DEMAND

Pretty much everyone expects the partner leagues will become a robust source of stretched-out and available arms if a team gets crushed by injuries. Less charitably, some also admit that these are the pitchers who will most likely be asked to carry heavier work loads to fill necessary innings to ensure the team’s best prospects aren’t overworked.

VERSATILE POSITION PLAYERS