The New York Yankees used to be able to promote anywhere from one to 15 roster thickeners each Sept. 1, under MLB's old rules. That allowed some September games to become almost a mockery of fresh but untested arms. It also helped players like Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada get early tastes of stretch run action, even though the Yankees' intention was to bury them on the bench and request that they simply silently observe.
That is now a thing of the past. Every team is gasping for air, at this point, and nobody would dare use one of the limited two precious roster expansion spots on a non-entity.