12U team with 12-14 players....how would you try and get some quality at bats and /or outs defensively without compromising teams competitiveness....I'm sure nobody has ever had this issue..lol
- BENCH ROLES: There are bench roles - warming up the pitcher between innings, helping the catcher gear up, stats keepers, lineup tracking, sign-stealer, etc, etc. If they are on the bench, give them a role for the team. Whatever you want. If there are players just sitting on the bench with no role that is your failure - not theirs. Give them things to do.
Plain and simple. You will not be able to keep 14 families happy at 12u. If the team was older this would be very possible.