MLB roster expansion: 10 most interesting additions including top prospects and former All-Star, batting champion

September 1 is an important date on Major League Baseball’s calendar. For most people, it represents the beginning of the end, the start of the final month of the regular season. However, for some players, it represents just the beginning. Active rosters across MLB expanded from 26 to 28 players on Sunday, creating 60 additional opportunities for players to take advantage of during the final four weeks of the season.

As such, we here at CBS Sports wanted to bring the roster expansion period to a close by highlighting some of Sunday’s most notable additions. For our purposes, we didn’t limit ourselves to traditional September 1 additions — partly because the calculation around promoting a prospect to the Minors has changed with the implementation of the Prospect Promotion Incentive System. Instead, we considered any player added to the roster, even if that means they’re a veteran returning from injury. Also, by “notable” we don’t necessarily mean the players most likely to have an impact on the postseason race — in some cases, we find the players featured here notable for other reasons.

Now that that’s all over, let’s take a look at the 10 notable players who were included in the September 1 team. (Players are presented in no particular order.)

Again, Eflin is not your traditional September roster addition — he’s a nine-year veteran whose roster spot was never in doubt. He did have availability, however, and was activated from the injured list after missing half a month with shoulder inflammation. Acquired from the Rays at the trade deadline, Eflin began his Orioles career with a four-start stretch in which he compiled a 2.13 ERA and a 12.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The presence of a hale and hearty Eflin gives the Orioles their best chance to either beat the Yankees in the East and/or make some noise once the playoffs begin.

There’s a lot of talk about the Yankees roster changes on Sunday. was not Including that – he’s outfield prospect Jayson Dominguez. We feel obliged to highlight Rizzo, a three-time All-Star who hasn’t seen big league action since June because of a fractured hand. Rizzo was in the midst of the worst effort of his career when he bottomed (.223/.289/.341 in 70 games). That’s not ideal, as he recently celebrated his 35th birthday, and his employment next season hinges on a club option, which seems very unlikely at this point. It’s at least possible that this is Rizzo’s last stand as a big league regular. If that’s the case, hopefully he makes the most of it.

3. Coby Mayo, 1B/3B, Orioles

Mayo made his Major League debut last month. He started his big-league career the way all young Orioles hitters do: plunged into a slump. Mayo was sent back to the Minors after going 1 for 17 with 1 run and 10 strikeouts. Phew. Rest assured, he’s a much better hitter than those numbers suggest — just look at his minor-league line this season: .299/.377/.604, with 25 home runs and 29 straight extra-base hits. Mayo has a chance to develop into a middle-of-the-order player for the Orioles.

Sunday is Wicks’ 25th birthday. He will celebrate in style by playing against the Nationals, which will mark his first return to the big leagues since Flag Day. He was out for more than two months with an oblique muscle strain. Wicks will make his 15th career big league appearance. In his first 14 games, he compiled a 99 ERA+ and a 2.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio. A solid final month would go a long way in securing Wicks a rotation spot next season.

The crazy ones out there may remember Iriarte as being part of the Dylan Cease trade with the Padres. He’ll be the second member of that deal to reach the majors with the White Sox, joining fellow right-hander Drew Thorpe. Iriarte previously spent the season in Double-A, where he racked up a 3.71 ERA and a 2.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. As bad as the White Sox are — and they are historically bad — at least they have some youngsters worth keeping an eye on.

Considered one of the better first-base prospects in the game this season, Manzardo had a disappointing start to the year in the majors, hitting .207/.241/.329 (59 OPS+) in his first 30 games. He’ll get another chance in September, though now with the added pressure of a tight division race. If Manzardo can somewhat reach his line in Triple-A this year (.267/.398/.548), he could give the Guardians a much-needed boost to their lineup.

It’s been a few seasons since Whitley was considered a top prospect. He’s now at the point in his career where he’s trying to keep his spot on the 40-player roster next spring, when he won’t have minor-league options. Whitley made one big-league appearance earlier this summer, but if he can find a way to put together some solid performances this month it’ll be a favor to his future.

8. Darren Baker, 2B/OF, Nationals

You’re surely familiar with Baker. Not only is his father Dusty a future Hall of Fame skipper, but he solidified his place in the MLB world at an early age when, during the 2002 World Series, his bat-boy responsibilities put him in danger and he needed to be rescued by JT Snow. Darren is now part of MLB history in a more traditional way, earning a call up to the majors at age 25 after hitting .285/.348/.340 in Triple-A. While he has split time between second base and left field this year, his platoon splits indicate that his at-bats must be micromanaged so that he only sees righties.

9. Jose Devers, INF, Marlins

Devers, in addition to being the cousin of Red Sox third baseman Rafael, is the last member of the Giancarlo Stanton trade who is still in the Marlins organization. We’re not sure how much more time he will have with the Fish. Although he’s not yet 25, Devers has failed to develop into the player the Marlins hoped he would become. (That is, he posted a .676 in the Minors this season.) This will be Devers’ second attempt in the majors, having appeared in 21 games in 2021. We think it’s possible he performs well enough to hold his spot for another winter — and, just as importantly, Seven-A year has passed since the trade was agreed upon.

The Royals got some bad news earlier this week when first baseman Vinny Pasquantino suffered a fractured thumb that will keep him from playing the remainder of the regular season. In response, the Royals made a minors deal to acquire Gurriel from the Braves on Saturday. (He was eligible to be traded because he didn’t spend any time on the 40-player roster.) Gurriel, 40, hit .292/.378/.485 in the Minors and won the AL batting title with Houston by hitting .319 in 2021. The Royals can only hope he carries that over to the Majors, where he hasn’t even been a league-average hitter since 2021. Note that the Royals also acquired outfielders Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off waivers. Will any of these additions make a difference in Kansas City’s favor? We’ll find out, but give them credit for trying.