Taxi squad

A taxi squad is an informal name for the group of substitute players who shuffle between the major league team and its AAA affiliate depending on short-term needs. The term is also used to refer to the 26th Man Rule.

In 2020, it became an official part of the rules, as every team was asked to have three players not on their 30-man roster accompany the team at all times to serve as ready substitutes should a player be unavailable. That group, which had to include at least one catcher, was known as the taxi squad. When rosters were reduced to 28 players on August 6th, the taxi squad was in turn increased to five players. With players at risk of being sidelined at very short notice by a positive test for COVID-19, it was felt necessary to have such a pool of players readily available to step in with little notice. Since there was no minor league baseball being played, the players on the squad were not losing any playing time or development time with this status. The rule was still in effect at the start of the 2021 season.