TRANSACTIONS 101

Minor League Baseball teams make dozens of moves every season. Here’s a breakdown of how it’s done.

By David Taub
VSP Contributing Writer-

There is something poetic about this time of year. A new baseball season coincides with the new spring season. Everything is full of optimism. Leaves and grass return to their lush greenness. Weather is sunnier, warmer. And, the Giants still have a chance!

The Giants, like all other teams, comprise of 25 Major League baseball players, rookies and veterans; those who are on their way up, as well as those who are just hanging on. Undoubtedly, the Giants will be dipping into their minor league system throughout the year to replenish the roster as needed.

The Fresno Grizzlies have been the Giants Triple-A farm club since the team came into existence in 1998. A player is always a slump or injury away to make the approximate 250 mile car trip to AT&T Park. Last season, 24 rookies played for the Giants, 16 of those making their Major League debuts. Fresno sent 18 players up to the big club as well.

So, how does the world of transactions work? Who gets selected to go to the Majors, while others wait for “September call-ups” if ever to play in the bigs?

It starts with the draft. Held annually in June, amateur players are selected by the clubs in order to replenish their farm systems. The draft consists of 50 rounds.

After a player is drafted (or signed as an undrafted free agent), he is “protected” in the club’s system for three seasons (if he was 19 or older when signed) or four (18 and younger when signed.

When that time limit expires, other clubs can select unprotected players through the Rule 5 draft (more on that later).

Assuming the player progresses well in the minors, there are a few steps to become a part of the Major League roster.

All rosters are comprised of the 25-man limit. These are the players are active and eligible to play in any given Major League game. There are also 15 additional players on the 40-man roster, who are not on the active list, but can be put onto the 25-man roster freely. They usually include players on the 15-day disabled list and the top minor league prospects.

Once placed on the 40-man roster, he has three years (sometimes four under certain circumstances such as spending one season less than 20 days in the minors) to be freely moved up and down from the 25-man roster. The term is “optional assignment” or optioned. In the transaction page, it will say “Eugenio Velez optioned to Fresno,” also known as being sent down.

The opposite of being optioned, is “called up,” or recalled.

The player is under a team’s control for his first six professional seasons (then he becomes a “six-year minor league free agent”). So, if he never does make the 40-man or Major League rosters, the player automatically becomes a free agent in six years.

Being on the 40-man roster is a zero-sum game: anytime someone joins, another has to leave (the only exemption is players on the 60-day disabled list). And removing a player from the 40-man opens him up from other teams from claiming him.

Once the player his in his fourth year on the 40-man roster, he must remain on the active 25, or be available to other teams to claim him. For example, Nate Schierholtz is in his fourth season on the 40-man. He is out of option years. If the Giants want to send him back down to the minor leagues, he must be removed from the 40-man roster.

Schierholtz would have to be placed on waivers in order to be “designated for assignment.” Four things then could happen:

-the player is on the waiver wire. Teams in order of the standings, from worst to best, can make a claim on him to bring him to their roster.

-the player clears waivers, but refuses his minor league assignment. The big club then has ten days to either trade or release him.

-the player clears waivers and accepts his minor league assignment.

-the player is released outright.

When a player is designated, the team has 10 days to decide his fate.

If on the waiver wire, any team, from one to 29, can make a claim on the player. If multiple teams do, the team currently with the worst record (if before May, the prior season’s standings are used), has the claim. If the teams are from different leagues, then the league that is the same as the club trying to send the player down has priority.

Once the team making the claim has been established, they can either arrange for a trade, purchase the contract outright, or drop their claim, returning the player to the team.

When a player is not already on the 40-man roster, he must be placed their by having his “contract purchased.” When a player is removed, he is “designated for assignment,” (see above).

A player on the 40-man roster is protected from other teams drafting him in the yearly off-season Rule 5 draft.

In the Rule 5 draft (Rule 4 is the June draft), teams may select players from organizations not on the 40-man roster (there are versions of the Rule 5 draft among minor leaguers as well).

However, if selected, that player must remain on the active 25-man roster of his new team all year. If not, the player must be returned to the original club (if not traded to a different team altogether. Then, that team must keep the player on the 25-man).

Grizzly Roster Rules

The Grizzlies, and Triple A baseball, also adhere to a 24-man roster limit for active players (Giants on rehab assignment are exempt from the limit). They do see plenty of roster moves, with players being sent up to San Francisco, and sometimes, players being sent down to a lower minor league.

There is one trick the Grizzlies use to remove a player from the active roster, but still keep him around. It is known as being sent to “extended Spring training.”

Even though it is often used, it does not literally mean the player is sent back to Arizona. It is just a trick to shelve a player for a few days. So, if the team wants an extra player for a given game, it can send the previous days’ starting pitcher (who wouldn’t pitch again for 4-5 days anyway) to “extended spring training,” and call up someone else to take his place.

Confused yet? Usually, knowing all the rules falls under the head of player personnel or baseball operations. For the Giants, Bobby Evans gets that duty. There have been rare occasions when a Major League team’s transaction is voided because of not following the rules.

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