"playing in majors" vs "bench player / bullpen"

[shaf34]

I haven't been able to find an explanation for the difference between these expected roles. My best guess is that "playing in the majors" means being on the 40-man while the others mean being on the 25-man. Is this correct or do they just mean the same thing? Thanks.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by shaf34

I haven't been able to find an explanation for the difference between these expected roles. My best guess is that "playing in the majors" means being on the 40-man while the others mean being on the 25-man. Is this correct or do they just mean the same thing? Thanks.

"Playing in majors" means just that. You may see a recently demoted player in Triple-A who is still on the secondary roster but feels he should be playing in the bigs (25-man roster). Others may be saying this if they think they have the tools to move up to the majors, roster or not. More modest minor leaguers will show "No expectation" instead.

Once on the 25-man roster, however, players have one expectation or another: Position players may be realistic enough (for now) to expect to be bench players while others expect to be in the starting lineup or even more specifically, top or middle of the lineup. Pitchers will expect to be starters or serve in the bullpen.

You will not see these expectations in the minor leagues, however. There, it's either playing in the majors or no expectations.