May 21st, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 When the 2020 Major League Baseball season finally arrives, games will be played as they never have before, and hopefully never will again, under the dark cloud of a worldwide pandemic. Huge stadiums built to hold tens of thousands of people will be devoid of fans as the sounds of the game echo amongst the vacant bleacher seats, the concrete colonnades, hallways, and the locked refreshment and souvenir kiosks. No vendors hawking their refreshments, no cacophony of fans simultaneously cheering and jeering, depending upon which team they are rooting; only the sounds of the game.
Empty stadiums will be the most noticeable change to a 2020 MLB game, but other changes will have a greater impact on those involved, including significant safety and health protocols, eliminating the home plate meeting to exchange lineup cards, players conforming to social distancing requirements while playing the game, coaches and perhaps players wearing masks when in the dugout. Fans watching on television will notice that each team has more players than previous seasons, as active rosters are projected to have 30 players for each game; some of whom may be sitting in the seats normally occupied by paying customers in order to maintain safe distancing.
Reportedly, MLB and the Players Association are close to agreement on a 30-player active roster, plus an additional 20-player taxi squad (using the National Football League terminology) for the 2020 season. The reason for a taxi squad is two-fold; first, to reduce the possibility of injuries to players in a condensed season, which may include multiple doubleheaders and fewer off days; and second, the possibility that there will not be a minor league baseball season at all.
Ten of the 20-taxi squad players will come from the team’s 40-man roster, which presently includes 22-pitchers, three catchers, eight infielders, and seven outfielders. Of the 18 position players, all but one (catching prospect Keibert Ruiz) is able to effectively play multiple defensive positions, which provides Dodgers manager Dave Roberts tremendous flexibility with lineups and in-game changes.
So, which 10 players might the Dodgers select to be on a game-ready taxi squad?
Considering that Ruiz has yet to play an inning of major league baseball, at least one catcher will be included, most likely 32-year old minor league journeyman Rocky Gale, who has previously demonstrated that he is a quality defensive catcher. Another option is 37-year old Russell Martin, who remains an unsigned free agent. Depending on Martin’s salary requirements, he could be a tremendous addition to the team for his leadership and ability to play multiple positions.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
Although the team has exceptional infield depth on its 40-man roster, eight of those players hit left-handed (Matt Beaty, Cody Bellinger, Gavin Lux, Zach McKinstry, Max Muncy, Luke Raley, Edwin Rios, and Corey Seager). The Dodgers currently have three right-handed-hitting infielders on minor league rosters who may be included on the taxi squad: 29-year old first baseman/left fielder Tyler White, 22-year old middle infield prospect Omar Estevéz, and 27-year old Connor Joe. With a .914 OPS in Triple-A, Joe’s bat may get him some consideration, but defensively, he is limited to first base, thus making him a long shot for the taxi squad. White was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on February 10, 2020 to help make room on the roster for Mookie Betts and David Price. The Dodgers were delighted when White cleared waivers and accepted an assignment with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. Although Estevez has yet to play above the Double-A level, he has demonstrated very good bat-to-ball skills, with developing power.
For the outfield, the Dodgers have three players deserving of consideration: 29-year old journeyman outfielder Terrence Gore – a right-handed hitter with plus-plus speed – and left hand-hitting outfielders Cody Thomas (25-years old) and Zach Reks (26-years old), both of whom crushed the ball during the pre-coronavirus abbreviated 2020 spring training. It would not be surprising for the Dodgers to add all three to their taxi squad; or perhaps 24-year-old right-handed-hitting Glendora, CA native D.J. Peters
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
One catcher, possibly two; two infielders; and three or four outfielders leave room for either three or four pitchers.
The team has several pitchers under contract who will compete for those spots: 26-year old left-hander Tyler Gilbert, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Kyle Garlick in February 2020; 28-year old left-hander Reymin Guduan, who can reach triple digits with his fastball but has yet to demonstrate the consistent ability to throw that pitch in the strike zone; 27-year old right-hander Edubray Ramos, another ex-Phillies pitcher who has had some success at the major league level; and at the top of the list, highly regarded 22-year old Dodgers prospect Josiah Gray, whom they acquired in the mega-trade with the Cincinnati Reds on December 21, 2018 (the Puig trade).
Once the restriction is lifted from major league roster moves, the Dodgers will probably tweak their 40-man roster, which, of course, will also affect their taxi squad. We will revisit the candidates when Spring Trading-2 (hopefully) gets underway, presumably in early to mid-June.
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GREAT piece, Jesse. Thanks!
Changes include, “significant safety and health protocols, eliminating the home plate meeting to exchange lineup cards, players conforming to social distancing requirements while playing the game, coaches and perhaps players wearing masks when in the dugout”.
Where is the home plate umpire going to be positioned? Still breathing down the neck of the catcher?
As always, very good question(s). Having home plate ump wear a full face shield (catcher too) and an N-95 mask? Perhaps rotate umpires after each inning to minimize exposure time, and reduce amount of time for wearing face shield and N-95 mask?
There was talk earlier about using electronic pitch calling. That would allow the plate umpire to position himself farther back from the catcher, or even offset a bit. They’d have to decide during ST2 what would give them the best ability to make the calls they still have to make.
I guess this Is leading the way towards having robot umpires
Not all change is good, but I am fully on board with removing the human element from calling balls and strikes. As pitchers continue to pitch with greater velocity and movement I believe it is beyond a human’s ability to consistently determine whether or not a pitch is in the strike zone as defined in the rules of the game. Home plate umpires are still needed for checked swings, plays at the plate, fair / foul calls, interference, et al — but get balls and strikes right every time as there is no more important part of the game.
Loved the article Jesse, thanks. Question….where does Zack McKinstry fit into this roster, or does he? Rooting for him and feeling sad for all the minor players who will not have a season.
McKinstry is on the 40-man roster, so I believe he will be part to the taxi squad. He has become one of my favorite prospects.
Mine too, Jesse. Thank you.
Always good to see your uplifting positive comments. You are a terrific Dodgers fan!
What will a lost season do to the development of highly touted minor league prospects such as Kody Hoese and Michael Busch? They are not ready for MLB in 2020, but they need to play somewhere.
I have been mulling that over for a couple of weeks, but there has been nothing mentioned anywhere. Dodgers are loaded with top level prospects whose development will be set back at least one year if there is no minor league seasons. One option; when major league season starts the spring training facilities in AZ and Fl open up for minor league ball. For example, at Camelback Ranch the Dodgers have five minor league fields plus the stadium used for Cactus League games (the White Sox have a similar number of minor league fields). In theory, there could be 11 games played in the morning and another 11 games played at night just at that facility. Games could be extended well into November both in FL and AZ.
I’d put Reverend Jim [Iggy], Tony Banta, and Elaine Nardo on the Taxi squad, but definitely not Alex Reiger, Latka, or Louis DePalma.
Heck, my first thought was the taxi squad would be responsible for transportation to and from games.
You guys need to get out more – No, wait … Nevermind.
Does the taxi squad travel a the team? Are they and the active roster players just one big group with only the active players eligible?
For several reasons I think the taxi squad members would not travel with team. First, with 30 (likely) on the active roster there would be no reason for the extra 10 to travel with team, crowd the clubhouse and bench/bullpen, and on longer trips have to stay in hotels. I look at the taxi squad as the equivalent of calling up a player from Triple-A, or Double-A when needed; no more than 24 hour turnaround. Taxi squad members would continue to practice at Dodger Stadium when the team is traveling. If teams play regionally the longest plane ride would be a couple of hours to Dallas, Denver, Houston, or Seattle.
Or maybe they would stay at Camelback so they could workout and scrimmage to stay ready?
Certainly an option, especially if team wants to keep those 10 players separate from the others in case there are positive test results for covid-19 amongst the 30 active roster players. The downside, is that they are not practicing with the team and major league coaches. Will be interesting to see what the Dodgers will do.