MLB Rosters 2025

The 40-man roster for each MLB team is broken down into position players and pitchers. Each team has a 25-man roster that is made up of players that will be in the dugout or bullpen for each game. We tend to see about 13-14 position players per 26-man roster, while the rest is filled out with starting and relief pitchers. However, different teams might take their own approaches for those 26 roster spots. Each year, the roster will be cut down after Spring Training when teams decide their full 40-man roster for the season. Players can be added at that time, while the remaining 14 players are eligible for easy moves to the MLB due to injuries or transactions.

Each roster page is broken down into position names, numbers, our lineup ratings, and a few other basic columns. Every roster change is quickly updated to show off the current members of each team. If you're looking for today's MLB starting lineups, we have those too.

The 40-man roster for each MLB team is broken down into position players and pitchers. Each team has a 25-man roster that is made up of players that will be in the dugout or bullpen for each game. We tend to see about 13-14 position players per 26-man roster, while the rest is filled out with starting and relief pitchers. However, different teams might take their own approaches for those 26 roster spots. Each year, the roster will be cut down after Spring Training when teams decide their full 40-man roster for the season. Players can be added at that time, while the remaining 14 players are eligible for easy moves to the MLB due to injuries or transactions.

Each roster page is broken down into position names, numbers, our lineup ratings, and a few other basic columns. Every roster change is quickly updated to show off the current members of each team. If you're looking for today's MLB starting lineups, we have those too.

MLB Roster Rules are One of the Most Complex

Betting on MLB Rosters

Offseason roster changes can have a major effect on the regular season and beyond. Every analyst will have their opinion on who will overperform, underperform, and which teams will be competing for a World Series. If your state has legalized sports betting, you can place futures bets on what will happen during an MLB season. Team futures bets are wagers on specific outcomes like win totals, World Series champion, division winners, and much more. BetMGM, which fully launched in the Ohio sports betting market, has tons of these bets.

As legal betting grows in the U.S. and more states begin to legalize, the number of New Betting Sites with their own unique new user bonuses will only continue to grow. If you are ever on the hunt for more new user promos, keep an eye out for these New Sportsbook Sites.

There are plenty of different mobile sportsbooks to choose from when it comes to betting on pro baseball. Our top recommendations for MLB sports betting are DraftKings Sportsbook & FanDuel Sportsbook. These two companies have clearly established themselves as leaders in the U.S. sports betting market, and we expect this trend to continue.

The construction of a Major League Baseball roster is one of the most complex in professional sports. An MLB team operates as part of an organization, branching to component pieces known as the minor leagues, summer leagues, and other developmental programs. The vast majority of minor leagues are utilized to develop future talents, presenting opportunities for draft selections to work their way to a big-league team. The many different levels of minor league play also call for deep rosters and vast player collections. Therefore, the total cap space an MLB team has to work with is loosely defined. This is mainly because there are different contract types for each level and different payout structures for higher drafted prospects who begin their Low Class-A leagues journey.

Most major league teams use Spring training as the start to roster trimming. An MLB team can have up to 40 men on the major league roster. This makeup gives the team their active roster. While not all 40 players will be found on the bench or in the bullpen, it represents teams' opportunity to make quick call-ups from their farm teams. Most teams will keep 6-7 starting pitchers on their active roster, 5 starters, and some back-up in case of injury. The fielders are usually classified as infield or outfield players, allowing some flexibility in the number of shortstops a team wishes to have over the first baseman and vice versa.

The MLB holds the softest cap among professional organizations, allowing ownership to make major offers to free agents. Unlike smaller market teams, most of the successful franchises in the history of the sport (i.e. Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers) don't have to worry about revenue streams. This makes the development of talent much more important for smaller market teams. While the organizational giants can buy their talents, smaller budgeted teams have to grow it. That means farm team management is a crucial role for an organization.

Betting on MLB in Michigan

Michigan sports betting has fully launched, and Detroit Tigers fans can place bets on the MLB season. This can be done on a desktop computer or even on the go with mobile sportsbookscsuch as DraftKings Michigan or FanDuel Michigan During the season, there are plenty of games to wager on. The standard lines for an MLB game are the money line, total, and run line.

You will be able to find Tiger's futures throughout the year across various sportsbooks like BetMGM Michigan. Sportsbooks offer an over or under on season wins that will update throughout the year. The best odds are usually before the season starts, and those numbers will adjust throughout the season. The Detroit Tigers roster page showcases ratings so fans can see how the team will perform. A stacked roster will usually indicate a higher total listed. This is a great spot to go over some of the rosters with our Lineups.com ratings to point out their strengths and weaknesses. The roster page will also show you the top players within their teams, and a higher rating could mean a bigger potential for those award futures.

If you are a new user in Michigan, all sportsbooks offer up unique bonuses and specials. This is a great way to get your feet wet and test out some of the sports betting apps and see which one you like the most. It is also a great way to take advantage of the promo offers. There are plenty of no sweat first bet offers, which means you will get a bonus bet back into your account if you lose your first bet. Other offers can include deposit bonus matches and bet and get promos. With so many MLB futures up for the upcoming season, you can wager on World Series teams to MVP winners. There is seemingly an endless amount of futures to wager on.

Building An Ideal MLB Roster

One of the plus sides for baseball general managers is that they don’t have to deal with a salary cap. However, most are encouraged to stay under the luxury tax cap. Most small-market teams also don’t have the big cash to spend compared to teams like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. We have seen many different strategies, from spending big on players to the Moneyball approach.

Sometimes, teams bring in a few elite players that leave them with limited depth and production at other positions. Overall in recent winners, depth and strong production spread across multiple positions has been the ideal build. Having a balance of young and veteran talent is also a fairly important. In an ever-growing age of analytics, baseball has transitioned into a numbers game and relied less on simple talent on the field. This ties into how general managers are building rosters. For those stuck in the past, we have seen them begin to struggle.

When building a balanced lineup, teams can use stats such as WAR (wins above replacement) to balance out how to pay the starting players. WAR has become a popular method for valuing a player, especially in free agency. Looking throughout the last few decades, teams have found themselves taking plenty of different approaches in terms of building a lineup.

Having a solid base is extremely important for a number of reasons. It gives you the flexibility of trading and working deals with other teams. Prospects are sought after for some teams, especially for those who don’t have the luxury of spending a ton of cash in free agency. Teams that also build through free agency and will spend money still need some depth. Neglecting Minor League depth is going to catch up with a team eventually.

Pitching is where a team definitely needs some depth, with a strong bullpen and starting rotation essential for competing in the MLB. A lack of pitching depth puts more of a strain on your offense, while the opposite can happen if pitching is made a priority.

What’s More Important, Hitting or Pitching?

In other sports you hear “defense wins championships," but what about baseball? Defense plays a big part, but hitting and pitching are the two categories of strength teams want to really key in on.

Past World Series winners have had dominating offenses, but we have also seen winners with strong pitching rotations. There have also been powerhouse teams that have both. Howeverm having consistent pitching is generally seen as a major factor in winning championships.

MLB Rosters Frequently Asked Questions

What Is 40-Man Roster?

A 40-man roster is a set of players that can be added to the active 25-man roster at any point during the season. A Minor League reliever could be on the 40-man roster and be called up whenever needed, but doesn’t have a set spot on the roster.

What Is 25-Man Roster?

The 25-Man roster is the active 25 players who are currently playing for the Major League team. They are also on the 40-man roster, but are more active with the team and able to appear in MLB games.

How Many Players Can Be On An MLB Roster?

A MLB roster is broken down into 40- and 25-man rosters. The 25-man roster is going to be a group of active players that are playing for the Major League team. The other 15 are on the Minor League teams but can be called up.

How Many Players Can An MLB Team Call Up In September?

While this rule has gone through plenty of changes in the past, MLB teams can now have 28 roster spots in the month of September.

Why Do MLB Rosters Expand in September?

The rosters expand in September because the Minor Leagues wrap up, giving teams some extra depth in key areas like catcher and the bullpen. Teams will also use expanded rosters to get young players experience at the Major League level.

When Are MLB Rosters Finalized?

Before Opening Day arrives, teams will finalize their 25- and 40-man rosters. Moves can be made throughout the season between both rosters. Players can also be added to the 40-man roster throughout the season.

When Do MLB Rosters Expand?

MLB Rosters expand after August 31st, when teams use the last month of the season to add some depth to their teams and get a look at some of their younger players. This is expanded until the beginning of the postseason.

MLB Rosters and Betting Strategy

Although knowing MLB rosters can be important for casual fans, more dedicated fans will want to be aware of the ins and outs of each team's construction. This is also true with sports wagering, as someone will want to look at a roster's strengths and weaknesses before placing a wager. With the growth of sports betting legalization, many areas let you bet on the MLB and other sports right from a smartphone.

Although mobile sports betting isn't available in every U.S. state, many major markets with MLB teams have legal wagering. However, not too many of those states also allow for online casino apps. One of the few is the state of Pennsylvania, whee someone can wager on the Pittsburgh Pirates and also sign up for Pennsylvania online casinos.