Given – Quid Pro Quo

After a brief hiatus…Quid Pro Quo is back.

Q – Is this true? A player added to the 40-Man roster after august 15, has to be released in order to be removed from the 40-Man roster.
- Danny

A – Yes and no. How’s that for an answer?

A player who has been added to the 40-Man Roster for the first time after August 15 receives Draft Excluded status. This status protects them from being Outrighted off the roster before receiving a trial with the Major League Club lasting 20 days prior to opening day of the following season. Therefore, prior to this date, you would be required to release the player to remove him from the 40-Man.

However, once this date has past, you can Option or Outright a player to the Minors.

If you like, see my post on Important Dates: March 16 – Draft-Excluded Option Day for more information.

Q – Can a player on the 40-man (but not the 25-man) be placed on the 60-day DL? I ask this specifically referencing Ian Kennedy, who just had surgery for an aneurysm and will presumably be out for at least 60 days so could the Yankees theoretically make that 40-man move?
- JGS

A – Yes they can. Teams will often do this exact move prior to the playoffs. Having a player on the 60-Day DL provides more flexibility for playoff eligibility. The K-Rod Rule if you will… (I’ll write about this later in the season)

Q – This is the second time recently you have mentioned players’ fears of being beaned. (The other was with regards to simulated games.) How legitimate a concern is this? Obviously the consequences could be severe, but does it happen often? Do minor league players become better at dodging wayward pitches to the head as a result?
- John

A – This was in reference to a comment I made about position players on rehab assignments sometimes preferring to go to a higher level where pitchers have improved control.

The best answer I can provide is this, most players are not afraid of getting beaned at the Major League Level – it would be tough to excel this way. (although a few have) The mindset is more of – “I don’t want some kid with no control ruining my career while I’m on a rehab assignment…”

Q – I was at the Jays game on Saturday, and as the clouds started to blow in around the 5th inning, the roof began to close. Who within the organization makes that decision?
-Ryan

A – This decision is usually made by the Stadium Operations head honcho – in this case, Mario Coutinho. The Jays have tried very hard to open the roof as much as possible over the past few seasons, and because of this have pushed the envelope a bit.

Open the roof!

Mario will have a conversation with the President, General Manager and umpires prior to the game informing them of weather and roof status. If the roof is opened and poor weather moves quickly toward the stadium – he will inform the umps and close it.

Sometimes they will open the roof after the game has started. A MLB rule was passed a couple of seasons ago allowing this. Technically, this is only supposed to begin at the completion of an inning – to give teams “similar” playing conditions.