When the 2020 MLB season begins next week, active rosters will open at 30 players instead of the new standard of 26, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. That means extra opportunities for pitchers who may normally have been battling for the final spot in their team’s bullpen, with room for 10 or more relievers instead of eight. Pitchers like Burch Smith.
The Oakland A’s acquired Smith from the Giants in February, in exchange for cash considerations. The deal itself was notable because it was the first MLB trade between Oakland and San Francisco in nearly three decades, since Darren Lewis went west across the bridge for Ernie Riles in 1990.