[MrWorkrate]

I figured I'd put this together with the pending arrival of the 6.1 update which introduces the "designated for assignment" area. It's a FAQ, so if you can think of any transaction-related question not here, feel free to ask and I'll answer as quickly as possible and add it to the FAQ.

NOTE: Not all these senerios are available in OOTP 6 nor are they exactly followed. This is MLB's rules, gathered from various sites and information (since MLB doesn't seem to like to release it themselves).

--

- What is the 25 Man Roster?

A team's major league roster is limited to 25 players from opening day to September 1st of that season. On September 1st, the major league roster is expanded to 40 players. A player cannot play in the major leagues without being on the 25 man roster.

- What is the 40 Man Roster?

A major league team's 40 man roster consists of an "expanded" major league roster. This allows for teams to sign additional backup players for their 25 man roster and have some sort of roster flexability over the course of a season.

- Must a player on the 25 Man Roster be on the 40 Man Roster?

Yes. Any player on the 25 man roster must be on the 40 man roster as well. However, a player on the 40 man roster does not have to be on the 25 man roster.

- When must a player be placed on the 40 man roster?

A team must place a player on the 40 man roster if he is signed to a major league contract by the club. That player does not have to be on the 25 man roster, but must be placed on the 40 man roster. In addition, any player that the team wishes to place on the 25 man roster must be placed on the 40 man roster. Players aquired via trade or waivers who were previously on the 40 man roster with their previous team must also be placed on the aquiring team's 40 man roster.

- How can a player be removed from the 40 man roster?

A team wishing to remove a player from the 40 man roster places the player on waivers first. If the player clears waivers (no claims are made), the team then outrights the player to the minors. A team can only do this once to a player without the player having a choice. If the team does this an additional time, he can refuse assignment and elect to become a free agent. If a player has 5 years of service time, he can also elect to refuse assignment and become a free agent.

- What happens to a player's contract/salary when they are sent to the minors/outrighted?

When a team signs a player to a major league deal, he is placed on the 40 man roster. If he then is outrighted or otherwise demoted, his contract remains intact unless he elects to become a free agent. If the player elects to become a free agent, if his contract is guaranteed (which MLB contracts are), he will receive the remainder of his contract.

- What about player options? Where do they come into play?

A player who is signed to a minor league contract who later gets placed on the 40 man roster (but not the 25 man roster) is considered to be on "optional assignment". While on the 40 man roster, he can be called up and sent down form the majors and minors for three seasons. These are the player's three option years. These years start immedately once the player is placed on the 40 man roster. After these three seasons have passed, a team needs to place the player on waivers before he can be sent down to the minor leagues. This player is then "out of options".

- What are waivers? Who can claim a player on waivers? What team is responsible for their salary?

A player placed on waivers becomes available to every other team in the league. Teams may place a claim on that player, and in case multiple teams claim the player, the team with the worst record in their league gets the player. If the only claiming teams are in the other league, then the player goes to the team with the worst record in that league.

Claiming teams take over all financial responsibilities of the player claimed, with the waiving team no longer having any financial responsibilities.

- When does a team put a player on waivers?

A player needs to clear waivers (pass through the three day waiver period without being claimed) under the following circumstances:

*The player is being removed from the 40 man roster (outrighted)
*The player is being demoted to the minor leagues from the major league club and is out of option years
*The player is being released

In these senerios, the player is placed on waivers before the transaction can be processed. If the player is not claimed by any team for three days, then the tranaction can take place. If the player is claimed by another team, that player is asssigned to the level he was previously at (25 man roster, 40 man roster, etc). Waivers here are irrevocable, meaning that the waiving team can not change their mind and remove the player from waivers.

A team may also wish to place a player on waivers to trade him after the trading deadline has passed. This waiver period, which takes place from August 1st to August 31st, allows teams to place players on "revocable" waivers for the purpose of being allowed to trade them after the trade deadline. Players who clear waivers during this time can be traded after the July 31st trade deadline that season. However, if a player is claimed during this time, a team has two options. They can pull the player back off of waivers and keep the player, or they can negociate a trade with the claiming team ONLY. If the team does not want to trade the player to the claiming team, they can elect to pull the player back off of waivers and keep him on the roster (revoke the waiver). A team may only do this once to a player a season. If the player is placed on waivers again after having been pulled back, those waivers are irrevocable and the player cannot be pulled back if claimed.

- What's the difference between the 15 day disabled list and the 60 day disabled list (outside of 45 days?)

Players on the 15 day disabled list are still on the 40 man roster. They are removed from the 25 man roster when they're put on the DL, but they retain their spot on the 60 day DL. A player placed on the 60 day DL is removed from the 40 man roster as well. This does not affect a Rule 5 draftee's status with the team. When a player is activated off the 60 man DL, they must be placed back in the same roster status that they were on when they were originally placed on the DL (ie. on the 25 man roster in most cases). Players can be moved from the 15 day DL to the 60 day DL without resetting the time already spent on the DL (ie a player who was originally on the 15 day DL has not played for 30 days. If he is moved to the 60 day DL, he can be activated in 30 days). A player cannot be moved from the 60 day DL to the 15 day DL. Retroactive assignments to the DL are also available for up to 10 days after the player last played. This allows a team to place a player on the DL retroactively a few days previous so that they can be activated more quickly. A retroactive assignment can go back as far as ten days previous, as long as the player did not play at all during that time.

- When is a player designated for assignment?

A player is designated for assignment, he's removed from the 40 man roster for a small period of time while the club figures out what to do with him. A team designating a player for assignment has 10 days to either trade him to another team, outright him to the minors, or release him. The team has 10 days to make the decision, however after those ten days are completed, that player must have some action taken on him, whether it be releasing him, trading him, or assigning him to the minors. Teams wishing to place a player on waivers (either because he needs to clear before being sent down, trading after the deadline, or just attempting to see if someone will pick up his contract) should do so as soon as possible, as three days must be allocated for the waiver process. A player who has been designated for assignment cannot be returned to the 40 man roster (or "undo" the designation) unless he can prove that he was injured, and the player can then be put on the DL. Basically, a player designated for assignment is in limbo for 10 days while the club figures out what to do with him.

- Why are some players called up from the minors, while others have their contracts purchased?

Players currently on the 40 man roster belong to the major league team, so they are just being assigned to a different team. However, a player who isn't on the 40 man roster technically is the possession of the minor league franchise he plays for - not the major leauge team. So when a player is needed on the major league roster, the major league team has to "buy" his contract from the minor league team.

- When can a veteran player refuse assignment to the minors or a trade?

Any player who has five full seasons of service time cannot be assigned to the minors without concent from the player. That player has the option of accepting the assignment to the minors, refusing the assignment to the minors (and therefore forcing the team to release him or keep him on the 25 man roster), or becoming a free agent. If the player elects to become a free agent, he may not be eligible for termination pay. Any player who has ten years of major league service (five of which are with the same team) cannot be traded without the player's concent (the 10/5 rule).

- Can a player be pulled back off of waivers before he has cleared if no team has claimed him yet?

No. A player can only be pulled off of waivers if he has been claimed, and only when the player has been placed on revocable waivers.