With pitchers and catchers reporting in a few days, here’s a look at the option status for the players on the 40-man roster
With pitchers and catchers set to report in just a couple of days, competitions will soon begin for roster spots to start the season. One major factor that comes into play during these competitions is option status. While they aren’t the most important factor in these competitions, they can be the deciding factor between two players who are in a close competition in camp. Harrison covered most of this in his Opening Day roster projection a few weeks ago, but we’re going to take a deeper look into it here.
Here’s a quick reminder on how options work. Every player starts their career with three option years. When they are on the 40-man roster but not the active roster, they are considered on an “optional assignment” and must use an option year. The option year is only officially expended when they spend a minimum of 20 days in the minor leagues. A player can be optioned up to five times a year under the same option year. One exception to this is for doubleheaders when a player can be recalled to serve as a “27th man” without using up one of these options. Players can also be granted a fourth option year under certain circumstances. Once a player reaches five years of major league service time, they cannot be optioned without consent.
With that out of the way, here are the players on the 40-man roster and their current option status. (All data is from Roster Resource on FanGraphs.)
No Options
- Vinny Capra
- Eric Haase
- Nick Mears
- Joel Payamps
Players without options available on the 40-man roster are in the tightest position in camp. They either have to be added to the active roster at the end of spring training or be removed from the 40-man roster: either through trade, release, or a pass through waivers and outright assignment to the minors. A player can also only be outrighted to the minors once in their career without consent. This is different from players who are in camp but not on the 40-man roster. Those players are usually on minor league contracts, so they are simply returned to the minor league team.
Of these players, the only one who is not currently in a position for a roster spot is Vinny Capra. He played in three games with the Brewers last season but spent most of the year in Triple-A. There is a chance for him to earn a bench spot in spring training, but he has a hill to climb if he wants to make the opening day roster.
The other three players (Haase, Mears, Payamps) are all projected to start the season on the roster. Haase is projected to be the backup catcher to open the season, while Mears and Payamps will be in the bullpen. Haase and Mears are players who might not outright win a spring training competition, but they are players who will likely make the roster because they can’t be optioned. Unless they have a bad spring training, or another player performs so well that they can’t be overlooked, they will make the roster.
One Option
- Aaron Ashby
- Grant Anderson
- William Contreras
- DL Hall
- Bryan Hudson
- Trevor Megill
- Elvis Peguero
- Brice Turang
- Abner Uribe
The difference between a player without options and one with even one option is big. These players don’t have to be added to the roster this season and can play out some more time in the minor leagues. They can also still split time between the minors and majors as needed for team flexibility. However, this is also where the crunch can begin to be felt. A player with just one option left is running out of time to prove themselves on the major league roster. Once those options are gone, so is that flexibility that makes many younger players valuable.
Several of these players are set for roster spots to start the season, but there are a few players to watch. Grant Anderson and Abner Uribe will be fighting for spots in the bullpen, though they might need a player to start the season injured to make the roster. Uribe also has a major league suspension to serve (six games) when he is next on the major league roster.
Aaron Ashby and DL Hall will also be players to watch, but mainly if they will be in the rotation or the bullpen. There will be at least one rotation spot that could be up for grabs. The most recent report on Brandon Woodruff is that he won’t be 100% at the start of camp. The comment from manager Pat Murphy is that “Woody’s probably a little more realistically down the road.” If the Brewers want to keep some starting depth, one could make the rotation while the other is optioned to keep rotation depth available.
Two Options
- Tyler Black
- Oliver Dunn
- Brewer Hicklen
- Jared Koenig
- Tobias Myers
- Joey Ortiz
- Blake Perkins
- Jeferson Quero
- Carlos Rodriguez
- Elvin Rodriguez
In the list of two option players, more of the minor league-bound players start to show up. These are players who the team wants to hold on to, but might not be ready for the majors just year. With two options, the team still has time to evaluate them while they provide some needed flexibility for the team. However, this can also feature players who have already proven their major league readiness.
Four of these players should be on the opening day roster (Koenig, Myers, Ortiz, Perkins). The rest are either playing for a job or set to start the season in the minors. Black and Dunn will have a chance in camp to earn a spot. Meanwhile, Hicklen, Quero, Carlos Rodriguez, and Elvin Rodriguez are all likely to begin the season in the minors.
Three Options
- Jackson Chourio
- Isaac Collins
- Caleb Durbin
- Sal Frelick
- Robert Gasser
- Logan Henderson
- Garrett Mitchell
- Andruw Monasterio
- Chad Patrick
- Grant Wolfram
Similar to the two-option list, these players are either set for a job or starting the season in the minors. Chourio, Frelick, and Mitchell are all in line for opening day spots. Durbin is in a strong spot as well, though maybe a little weaker than the previous three. While Monasterio has been on the roster the last couple of seasons, his performance in 2024 puts him in a position where he’ll need to earn a roster spot. The remaining players (Collins, Patrick, Wolfram) all will have to earn roster spots or start the year in the minors.
Gasser will start the season on the injured list and will be there for most (if not all) of the season. Should he remain on the injured list throughout 2024, he will not have to use an option year but will accrue a season of major league service time. He will have to start the season on the major league injured list since he was injured while in the majors. This is another aspect of the option system: If a player is injured while in the majors, they cannot be optioned down and placed on the minor league injured list. They have to remain on the major league injured list until healthy enough to come off of it. Once they have been activated from the injured list, they then can be optioned as normal. This allows a player to accrue major league service time without interference since they were injured while in the majors.
Should Gasser need to spend the full season on the IL, the Brewers won’t need to make a decision on using an option this season. However, if he’s ready to be activated before the end of the season, the Brewers will either have to add him back to the active roster or use an option year to send him to the minors.