Famous Braves called up as part of the largest rosters since 1990 in September
Prior to last season, MLB had a regulation that permitted all 40 members of the organization to be activated if desired, but beginning of September 1, clubs are only permitted to call up an additional two players (doubleheaders excepted).
Reducing the active roster restriction to 28 sounds excessive, even if a 40-man roster caused problems as modern baseball expanded to include more specialists. In order to provide teams greater flexibility over the last four weeks of the season and to enable more players to see MLB action, maybe in the future the September 1 rosters will rise to 32 or 34 players, even if game-day active rosters are implemented.
In ten years, Braves fans won’t likely recall much about the 2024 season’s roster expansion, as John Brebbia and Eli White were added on September 1 of this year.
However, things haven’t always been like that. Here’s a look at some of the major Atlanta Braves roster acquisitions that took place after September 1, starting in 1990.
The 1990s
1990: On September 1, pitcher Paul Marak made his debut in the major leagues. From then until the conclusion of the season, he made seven starts for the Braves and never again pitched in the major leagues. In case you were wondering, Steve Avery made his pitching debut earlier in the season and started five games in September, but he only threw three innings on average each outing.
1991: Mike Bielecki and Damon Berryhill. Late in September, as the Braves were drawing closer to the conclusion of their historic worst-to-first season, they dealt starting pitcher Bielecki and catcher Berryhill for prospect Turk Wendell and fellow pitcher Yorkis Perez. Both players contributed to the 1992 squad, but neither was eligible for the playoffs because the trade was made just a few days before the regular season ended. Vinny Castilla made his debut as an infielder on September 1.
1992: In the early 1990s, the Braves possessed a strong minor league system. While Castilla made his debut in 1991, pitchers Armando Reynoso, Pedro Borbon, Jr., infielder/outfielder Ryan Klesko, and catcher Javy Lopez made their debuts in 1992.
