Quote:
Originally Posted by JTSMOOTH
All players on the 40 man roster should have to be "optioned" to the minor leagues if they fail to make the big league 25 man roster. If they are out of options, they have to clear waivers in order to be assigned to the minor leagues. No minor league player on the 40 man roster, who is out of options should be allowed to play at the minor league level, without clearing waivers first.
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Just to restate the above in a different way that might make the rules involved more clear to those not familiar with them:
The ONLY way a player on the 40-man roster can be in the minor leagues is if he's on an optional assignment (meaning the major league club can recall him to the 25-man active list). If the player is out of options, then he CANNOT be on the 40-man roster AND in the minor leagues at the same time. He can only be on the 25-man active list if he's has no option years left.
To assign a player out of options to the minor leagues, this means removing him from the 40-man roster. This is called an outright assignment, which means the major league club no longer has any title to the player and cannot recall him to the majors like they can with a player on an optional assignment. Whenever a player is being outrighted, he first must clear waivers (outright assignment waivers to be precise) which gives all the other clubs in the majors the chance to claim him if they want. If no club does, then the player is assigned to the minor league club and removed from the 40-man roster.