OnlyBucs

The Pirates have signed catcher Tony Wolters to a minor league contract.

Actually, a good signing.

Creates some competition at backup catcher. Not sure how the taxi squad works re: 40-man roster, but Wolters has a clear path to one of the top 3 catching spots.



I expect that the Bucs will be waving goodbye to some of their organizational soldiers at catcher.

113B30003721212D420 wrote: Creates some competition at backup catcher. Not sure how the taxi squad works re: 40-man roster, but Wolters has a clear path to one of the top 3 catching spots.



I expect that the Bucs will be waving goodbye to some of their organizational soldiers at catcher.
I read that MLB is permitting teams to carry 5 additional players on a taxi squad during road trips. I will assume one of the 5 players will be a catcher.

525E5F040D040C01061903340 wrote: Creates some competition at backup catcher. Not sure how the taxi squad works re: 40-man roster, but Wolters has a clear path to one of the top 3 catching spots.



I expect that the Bucs will be waving goodbye to some of their organizational soldiers at catcher.
I read that MLB is permitting teams to carry 5 additional players on a taxi squad during road trips. I will assume one of the 5 players will be a catcher.
No question, fjk. The 5-man taxi squad allows for an extra catcher, infielder, outfielder, righty pitcher, and lefty pitcher, though one of each is not required. I want to know if the members of the squad have to be on the 40-man roster, I'm guessing that they do.

765C57675046464A250 wrote: Creates some competition at backup catcher. Not sure how the taxi squad works re: 40-man roster, but Wolters has a clear path to one of the top 3 catching spots.



I expect that the Bucs will be waving goodbye to some of their organizational soldiers at catcher.
I read that MLB is permitting teams to carry 5 additional players on a taxi squad during road trips. I will assume one of the 5 players will be a catcher.
No question, fjk. The 5-man taxi squad allows for an extra catcher, infielder, outfielder, righty pitcher, and lefty pitcher, though one of each is not required. I want to know if the members of the squad have to be on the 40-man roster, I'm guessing that they do.
A Club is permitted to carry up to five additional Taxi Squad players on all road trips with the Major League team. If the Club elects to carry five additional players, at least one must be a player whose designated position prior to the season is catcher. Players on the Taxi Squad are permitted to workout with the Major League Club but are not permitted to be in uniform and in the dugout during games. Upon the conclusion of each road trip, players on the Taxi Squad will return to the Alternate Training Site.



https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press ... 021-season

755855444352450506370 wrote: Creates some competition at backup catcher. Not sure how the taxi squad works re: 40-man roster, but Wolters has a clear path to one of the top 3 catching spots.



I expect that the Bucs will be waving goodbye to some of their organizational soldiers at catcher.
I read that MLB is permitting teams to carry 5 additional players on a taxi squad during road trips. I will assume one of the 5 players will be a catcher.
No question, fjk. The 5-man taxi squad allows for an extra catcher, infielder, outfielder, righty pitcher, and lefty pitcher, though one of each is not required. I want to know if the members of the squad have to be on the 40-man roster, I'm guessing that they do.
A Club is permitted to carry up to five additional Taxi Squad players on all road trips with the Major League team. If the Club elects to carry five additional players, at least one must be a player whose designated position prior to the season is catcher. Players on the Taxi Squad are permitted to workout with the Major League Club but are not permitted to be in uniform and in the dugout during games. Upon the conclusion of each road trip, players on the Taxi Squad will return to the Alternate Training Site.



https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press ... 021-season




Thank you sir for clarifying that matter.

Just looking at some stats and Tyler Anderson who is still on the free agent market pitched with the Rockies. I wonder if by the Pirates signing Wolters, Anderson would want to sign with Pittsburgh. He would be another lefty starting pitcher.

Why will there be need for the alternate training site in 2021? Is this in preparation for the possibility that the minor leagues won't be playing? If the minor leagues do play, why would there be these training sites?

1F495F4B445E4E45485F6D4A404C4441034E2D0 wrote: Why will there be need for the alternate training site in 2021?  Is this in preparation for the possibility that the minor leagues won't be playing?  If the minor leagues do play, why would there be these training sites?
Excellent question and even MLB does not know the anmswer.



https://deadspin.com/mlb-safety-s-plan- ... 1846235095



The Alternate Training Site remains part of the framework of the 2021 protocol, with the plan being that players from the ATS will be used to fill out the Taxi Squad when teams go on the road. Teams are responsible for ensuring safe travel for players between the ATS and where they meet their teams, but this is where the non-geographic schedule comes into play.



The rule on the ATS is that it must be “located sufficiently close to the location where the club will play its home games during the championship season that commercial air travel is not required.” So, while the Yankees could keep their ATS last year in Scranton, where they have their Triple-A team a two-hour drive from the Bronx, the White Sox, whose top affiliate is in Charlotte, needed to use the facility of an independent league team in Schaumburg, Ill.



Further complicating things is that there is no minor league schedule yet, minor league spring training won’t start until the major league season is underway because its trying to keep the spring training facilities uncrowded, and the Alternate Sites from last year were a mix of minor league stadiums, independent league facilities, and colleges. MLB plans to continue with the ATS program because there’s no guarantee that the minor league season will go smoothly, but MLB could not provide clarity on how Triple-A and an ATS program could exist simultaneously, other than that the plan is to have both.