What's the rule on minor league options?

Great question

Is that why Hanson got sent down? Doesn’t make sense otherwise.

by Patriotreign3 on Jul 11, 2009 1:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If your talking about Tommy Hanso he got sent bc the braves need another reliever and his next start isnt for 10 days which is the time you have to spend in the minors (without an injury) to be called back up

by Heyward is the next crime dog on Jul 11, 2009 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Players begin their option years

when they are added to the 40 man roster. When a player is placed on the 40-man, his first option year is used and he may be moved to and from the MLB squad as many times as needed while using just one option. There are lots of other stipulations that determine if a player uses an option year, but in terms of Hanson (since I assume that is who you are referring to) he can be sent to the minors so that he stays on a 5 days schedule and can be recalled to the big club once 10 days have passed without any consequence.

"A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide." -- Mickey Mantle

by JD McCubbie on Jul 11, 2009 1:10 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This is wrong

A player whose contract is purchased and who is immediately added to the big-league roster does not use an option year. Trevor Cahill still has 3 option years remaining (although he could still end up using one for 2009 if the A’s send him down, which— digressing for a moment here— they really ought to).

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 11, 2009 2:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There is nothing wrong about that post

The post cites that there are other circumstances that dictate whether or not an option is used. You named some good examples of those. In the case of Hanson, since he was on the 40-man and wasn’t on the 25 man roster, then an option is used. He can be shipped wherever without consequence. The only restriction to him moving back to the 25 man roster is that he has to wait 10 days or he has to replace a player who is going to the DL. I think the rest of this thread adequately outlines option years in general, but my post only pertained to the OP’s questions about sending a player down just to recall them after the break. Perhaps I should have been clearer about the context of my answer.

"A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide." -- Mickey Mantle

by JD McCubbie on Jul 11, 2009 12:34 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

There IS something wrong with the post.

Namely the first sentence. That’s not true. Option years don’t start when a player is added to the 40-man roster. Option years start when a player is first optioned (after being added to the 40-man roster).

by thejd44 on Jul 11, 2009 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right...

and as long as we’re getting technical (noobies – earmuffs), a fourth option year can occur if a team never actually calls up a player to the 25 man, but adds him to the 40 and then options him down in the Spring 3 times…

by alskor on Jul 11, 2009 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

Guys run out of options once they have had 3 years on the 40-man roster – IE they have three option years. During that time, they could be called up and sent down 5 times or 50 times and there’d be no difference.

http://rswanzey.blogspot.com

by rswanzey on Jul 11, 2009 2:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Also wrong

It’s not “3 years on the 40-man roster”— it’s “3 years in which the player has actually been optionally assigned to the minors”. If a guy spends the whole year on the 25-man roster, he doesn’t use up an option year. Barry Bonds still officially has all three of his option years remaining.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 11, 2009 2:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

...

Well, right, I thought that was implied given the discussion, though…guess you can’t be too specific with this since obviously they can be confusing rules.

http://rswanzey.blogspot.com

by rswanzey on Jul 11, 2009 5:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's a common misconception that once a player has been in the bigs for 3 seasons, he can't be optioned

I just wanted to clear it up.

Another fact worth noting: Options become semi-moot once a player has 5 years of big-league service time, because the player can reject any option he doesn’t want to go on. Barry Bonds might have 3 options, but you can’t just put him on a bus to Fresno. But technically they’re still there to be used if the player is willing to.

About the only situation I can think of where this might happen is if a pitcher with a long-term contract totally loses his command and wants to go to the minors to rebuild his throwing motion. I thought the Giants might do that with Zito at one point last year, but eventually he regained a modicum of effectiveness anyway.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 11, 2009 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The stuff people get stuck on

- “Option” refers to “Option YEAR.” You “burn an option” when you send someone on optional assignment to the minors. You have three option years. Once you “burn an option” you may then send the player up and down as much as you like (with some restrictions). You do not “burn an option” each time you send a guy down.

- When a player starts the year on the 40 man and breaks camp in the minors HE HAS STILL USED AN OPTION. Sometimes people assume a guy hasnt used any options because he’s never been in the majors and consequently never been sent down. Not true.

by alskor on Jul 11, 2009 2:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's really pretty simple

A player can spend part or all of 3 seasons on the 40-man roster but not on the 25-man roster through optional assignment. Those 3 seasons do not have to be consecutive, although it’s rare to see players optioned to the minors after their first few years in the major leagues. (Not unheard-of, however— Cliff Lee was sent down more than five years after he first came up to the bigs.)

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 11, 2009 2:40 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Also, to option a player with more than 5 years of Major League Service, you need his approval I think

There might be quirks to this – and the real may not even exist anymore – but I do know something like this was in effect at one point.

by thejd44 on Jul 11, 2009 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No, it exists

Bobby Crosby used it to reject being sent to the minors this spring.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 11, 2009 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Options

While the minor league season is going on, you have a 25-man active roster, and can have up to 15 additional players on the 40-man roster who are “optioned” to the minors. As others have mentioned, once a player is optioned that year, he may be recalled and sent down again for the year without using options.

A player generally gets 3 option years. A wrinkle here which some miss is that if a player has less than 5 years service, and uses his 3 option years, he is allowed a 4th option year. This generally only happens with players who make it to the majors quickly. For example, you will often see it with high draft picks who get big league contracts. Otherwise, there usually isn’t cause to add a player to the roster so soon and start using options.

Somewhat related issues for roster management are the rule 5 draft and minor league FA. Players who aren’t on the 40-man roster are eligible for the rule 5 draft after 3 or 4 years, depending on whether they were under 19 when signed. So for December 2009, for the most part, players drafted out of college in 2006 or HS in 2005 would first be eligible. So if a player is good enough to protect, he will get added to the roster before that, and then have to start using options next season if he is not ready for the majors.

Finally, if a player has not been added to a 40-man roster after 6 full seasons, he becomes a minor league FA.

by acerimusdux on Jul 11, 2009 8:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Very important clarification

A wrinkle here which some miss is that if a player has less than 5 years service, and uses his 3 option years, he is allowed a 4th option year.

This is five years’ time in the minor leagues, NOT five years’ worth of service time in the majors.

To make it even more confusing, not all minor leagues count toward that 5 years’ service time. I know the DSL and VSL don’t, I think the complex R leagues (AZL, GCL) don’t, and I think short-season leagues (Pioneer, NWL, Appy, NY/P) don’t. As a result, some international free agents get 4th option years as well.

However, it is certainly true that the vast majority of guys with 4th option years are players (your Rick Porcellos, Wily Mo Penas, etc) who sign major league contracts as amateurs.

Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving

by PaulThomas on Jul 11, 2009 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs