Dodgers' 40-man Roster is Rarely the Problem it's Made Out to Be

Dodgers' 40-man Roster is Rarely the Problem it's Made Out to Be

From late Sunday afternoon, when it was reported that the Dodgers' fresh deal-making had taken place until 4:24 p.m. Monday, when the club announced the trades as official, Los Angeles was said to have 42 players on its 40-man roster. Which is not only a mathematical impossibility, but a major source of angst for the home folks.

Forty-two men on the 40-man? What are we to do?! Well, panic, apparently. And I am here to tell you that not only was the surplus meaningless this time -- with the additions of Mookie Betts, David Price, Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley -- that is almost always the case with this particular front office.

In fact, Andrew Friedman is a master of the 40-man roster. If there are 37, 38 or 39 players listed on the official 40-man for a period of time, Friedman has a reason for it. If there are seemingly 41 or 42, he has a reason for that too. And it's an illusion, because there are never 41 or 42 players on the 40-man roster.

In this instance, with four players incoming and two (Alex Verdugo and Kenta Maeda) exiting Friedman had all kinds of guys he could trade or designate (see tweet below) to reset the 40-man roster at -- drum roll please -- 40 men.

Friedman chose to jettison Kyle Garlick and Tyler White, God bless em.

As of this moment, the 40-man roster looks precisely like this:

Pitchers: Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, Walker Buehler, Caleb Ferguson, Dylan Floro, Tony Gonsolin, Victor Gonzalez, Graterol, Kenley Jansen, Joe Kelly, Clayton Kershaw, Adam Kolarek, Dustin May, Jimmy Nelson, Price, Dennis Santana, Josh Sborz, Ross Stripling, Blake Treinen, Julio Urias, Mitchell White and Alex Wood.

Catchers: Austin Barnes, Keibert Ruiz and Will Smith.

Infield: Matt Beaty, Enrique Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Zach McKinstry, Max Muncy, Edwin Rios, Corey Seager and Justin Turner.

Outfield: Cody Bellinger, Betts, Joc Pederson, DJ Peters, A.J. Pollock, Raley and Chris Taylor.

The Dodgers could begin the season with this exact 40-man roster and not lose a minute of sleep over it. Barring injury, the group is capable of winning the World Series, long lenses and buzzers notwithstanding. With some injuries too.

If it's up to me Joc and Strip stay and we trust Dave Roberts to smooth over any hurt feelings. For Joc. Stripling's mellow without the hugs and kisses. Pederson would benefit from them.

For those still anxious about a neon no-vacancy sign on the 40-man roster, these players could be dispensed of this morning without affecting the standings one iota: Alexander, Ferguson, Floro, Gonzalez, Santana, Sborz, White, McKinstry, Peters and Raley. I'm not suggesting a DFA for any of those guys -- not a one -- but that's 10 potential openings for newcomers.

Of course, Pollock could hit the 60-day injured list pulling up his drawers the first day of camp, which would open up yet another spot on the 40-man. Nelson is a long-shot to make the team.

No executive in baseball manipulates a roster as effectively as Friedman. In every season of his time in Los Angeles, the president of baseball operations has acquired players and placed them on the 40-man roster only to trade or release them in a matter of weeks. Or days, in some cases. I call these acquisitions "placeholders." There are a couple on list right now.

So please don't be surprised if Raley (included in the 2018 Brian-Dozier-to Minnesota deal and re-acquired from the Twins Sunday) is moved by the end of business today.

And remember, glove conquers all.

Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him of Twitter.