Cristian Pache (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves announced their initial 60-man player pool ahead of the 2020 season.
The 2020 MLB season features several odd quirks, including the general roster, which has been upgraded to 60 if you include the so-called taxi-squad, which will be available should a player become infected by COVID-19, or suffer another potential injury.
The MLB’s COVID-19 policy includes a two-week quarantine for any player who tests positive, even if they’re asymptomatic, which stays linear to the recommendation nationwide. While several MLB rosters have already been ravaged by the virus, the league remains steadfast in preparing for the 2020 season. The Braves, like every MLB team, had to finalize their initial 60-man squad by Sunday night.
Atlanta Braves 60-man player pool includes a mix of regulars and prospects looking to make an impact.
Without a minor league baseball season, many of these initial rosters include some of the top prospects in all of baseball. The Braves are no exception.
Three of Atlanta’s top prospects per MLB.com, Cristian Pache, Drew Waters and Ian Anderson, all made the roster in one way or another. Pache has previously been a non-starter in trade talks, while Waters would be the most-coveted prospect in nearly any organization but Atlanta.
Overall, this roster includes only 56 players, which will allow the Braves to add at least four reinforcements should they make a trade by August 31, or wish to sign a free agent with the freeze lifted as of last Friday. Such moves wouldn’t be surprising if COVID-19 runs rampant in any MLB locker room, especially once the regular season begins.
The Braves have seven catchers on the camp roster for now, which isn’t necessarily surprising given the need to ready pitchers, of which Atlanta included 39. The team has a very short period of time to prepare for an expedited season, and plan for a 2020 league year none of us anticipated in the first place.