Then again, he was the first watchlist player to be added to the 40-man roster prior to Opening Day since GM Mike Rizzo took the helm in 2009.
Perhaps less heralded, but still significant, Victor Robles made the club without a detour to AAA. That’s the first watchlist player to make the Opening Day roster since Steve Lombardozzi in 2012.
Noll’s time in DC is most likely tied to the health of Howie Kendrick, who was placed on the 10-Day IL (retroactive to March 25, i.e. until April 3) yesterday along with Michael Taylor and Koda Glover.
Next up: the release of four full-season rosters, which will be a brave new world given the logistics of team on the West Coast. Given what one commenter has reported, for that very reason, it will probably be Fresno first, though I would not be surprised if the reveals are timed to hit the “wires” (a.k.a. inboxes) on Tuesday morning. Media day for Potomac, for example, is Tuesday afternoon. I’d like to think that they’ll have the sense to not release anything on April 1.