Q&A on the News

By Lori Johnston

For the AJC

Q: Does the Triple A baseball club for the Braves have a limited number of players on their roster? If so, do they have to release a player or send one to AA when the parent club sends a player to their team?

—Bryant C. Mitchell, Atlanta

A: The total number of players on a Triple-A roster is 38, the number of contracts that can be assigned during the offseason, said Bill Blackwell, assistant general manager-operations for the Gwinnett Braves. During the season, there can be only 24 active players, excluding players on the disabled list. Major League players on rehabilitation assignment also may participate in games without impacting the roster. "If a Major League player has his contract assigned to the minor league affiliate and we are at the 24-player limit, then a corresponding move must be made to clear the roster spot, meaning that someone must be released, traded, demoted to another team in the organization or placed on the disabled list," Blackwell said. During the past season, Tom Glavine, Tim Hudson, Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson, Omar Infante, Buddy Carlyle and Greg Norton played in Gwinnett on rehab assignments. These are limited to a certain number of games. "At the end of the rehab, the player must go back to the Major League team or be assigned to our roster," he said. Carlyle and Norton were placed on Gwinnett’s roster, and space had to be cleared by sending someone to AA.

Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).