Milwaukee Brewers option Tyrone Taylor

The Major League Baseball transaction freeze ended yesterday, allowing teams to make big league roster moves for the first time since March. For that reason, the relatively minor transaction that the Milwaukee Brewers executed yesterday afternoon is still notable.

Taylor is a talented outfielder who has seen his stock within the organization improve thanks to solid performances in Triple-A during the past two seasons, getting added to the 40-man roster in advance of reaching minor league free agency in 2018 then making his MLB debut in September of 2019. He recorded four hits — including a pair of doubles — in 10 at-bats down the stretch last season. But Taylor underwent wrist surgery this past offseason and was a non-participant in the first camp back in March, so it is not really surprising that he will not make the Opening Day roster, even as it expands to 30.

What’s notable about this move is the new verbiage that MLB fans will have to get used to this year. There is no minor league baseball to option players to, just an “alternate training site roster” that for the Brewers, is located up in Appleton at the Timber Rattlers’ field. David Stearns has said previously that the team would invite 45 players to the “main” camp at Miller Park before eventually settling on a 30-man Opening Day roster (as well as a three-man taxi squad on the road).

The Brewers will keep a contingent of roughly 30 players — give or take — at their alternate site during the regular season, the players who are on the “60-man” roster that are available for play, but who aren’t on the active roster with the big league club. Each MLB franchise needs to submit their initial 60-man roster designation list by this afternoon, though teams will be able to make 60-man roster moves to change that group during the course of the season. These moves won’t be able to be made freely, however, meaning their would be risk of losing that player in order to remove him from the 60-man roster. Once a player is removed from the 60-man roster, he cannot be re-added by his original team. He can be added to a new team’s 60-man if he is traded, however. These new rules in place for 2020 seem rather complicated, but you can learn more thanks to this helpful primer written up by MLB Trade Rumors.