[quote]Originally posted by ScottVib:
<strong>Its not mandatory in fact very few MLB teams fill up to the 40 man limit in real life... normally for the not starting the clock reasons (unless the player is really close to the big leagues (like will be there next year, why start the clock if you don't have too), although they'll sometimes reward a non-prospect for a decent season (often before the player is released to the wolves of minor league free agency).</strong><hr></blockquote>
OK, this is getting off-topic for the board, but the last statement isn't quite true: in order to play for the major league team, one has to be on the 40-man "major league" roster -- which is different from the "active" roster (which is 25 before 9/1, and 40 after). So, any non-prospect in that situation will have their contract bought by the parent club and placed on the major league roster -- so they won't be minor league free agents, technically (since minor league free agency is a different animal).
Baseball's transaction rules are really fascinating, but a lot of them are "sekrit". I've only gotten a peek once at the actual manual book; it was kind of cool.
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