Designated for assignment: Difference between revisions

[[File:Oliver Drake (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Oliver Drake (baseball)|Oliver Drake]] was designated for assignment multiple times during the 2018 season, during which he pitched for five different teams.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/the-adventures-of-oliver-drake-mlbs-record-setting-nomad-who-pitched-for-five-different-teams-in-2018/ |title=The adventures of Oliver Drake -- MLB's record-setting nomad who pitched for five different teams in 2018 |first=Jonah |last=Keri |website=[[CBS Sports]] |date=January 15, 2019 |accessdate=September 14, 2022}}</ref>]]
'''Designated for assignment''' ('''DFA''') is a contractual term used in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB).<ref>{{cite news |title=Talking baseball: What exactly does designated for assignment mean?|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20120220/SPORTS/302209996|newspaper=[[Providence Journal]] |access-date=July 26, 2016|date=February 20, 2012}}</ref> A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's [[40-man roster]], after which the team must, within 7seven days from the date of designation,{{efn|Prior to 2017, the time limit was 10 days.}} return the player to the 40-man roster, place the player on [[Waivers (MLB)|waivers]], trade the player, release the player, or "send outright" the player from the 40-man roster into [[Minor League Baseball]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brewcrewball.com/2009/1/4/703125/the-40-man-roster-how-does |title=The 40-Man Roster: How Does It Work? |publisher=Brew Crew Ball |date=2009-01-04 |access-date=2013-02-26}}</ref>

MLB player transactions are governed by ''[[The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book]]''.<ref name=topbrb>{{cite book |url=https://registration.mlbpa.org/pdf/MajorLeagueRules.pdf |title=The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book |publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Baseball |location=[[New York City]] |date=2019 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |via=mlbpa.org}}</ref>{{efn|This document governs MLB's business rules, not its playing rules.}} Rule 2(k), titled "Designated Players",<ref name=topbrb/>{{rp|15}} along with Rule 10(g), titled "Player Limit".,<ref name=topbrb/>{{rp|84}} govern the transaction known as "designated for assignment". It is not specifically named as such, although within Rule 10(b), titled "The Procedures for Obtaining Waivers",<ref name=topbrb/>{{rp|78}} the term "designate for assignment" is used. Media use of the phrase dates to at least 1976.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63715965/indians-continue-to-tinker-with-their/ |title=Indians Continue To Tinker With Their Pitching Lineup |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegram]] |location=[[Adrian, Michigan]] |page=6 |date=April 12, 1976 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |via=newspapers.com |quote=The Orioles had designated Mesa for assignment last week, meaning they had 10 days to trade him or release him.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63716212/bonds-might-have-surgery/ |title=Bonds Might Have Surgery |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |newspaper=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] |location=[[Fort Worth, Texas]] |page=2e |date=July 15, 1976 |access-date=November 21, 2020 |via=newspapers.com |quote=Adrian Garrett was put on the designated-for-assignment list to make room for Solaita. The club has 10 days to trade, cut him or send Garrett to the minor leagues.}}</ref>

Typically, a player is placed on [[Waivers (MLB)|waivers]] after being designated for assignment for the purpose of outrighting him to one of the club's [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] teams. A player who is outrighted to the minors is removed from the 40-man roster but still paid according to the terms of his guaranteed contract. A player can only be outrighted only once in his career without his consent. But a player must "clear waivers" (that is, have no other team place a waiver claim on him) to be sent to a minor league team. Also, if the player has five or more full years of major league service, he must consent to be assigned to the minors. If the player withholds consent, the team must either release him or keep him on the major league roster. In either case, the player must continue to be paid under the terms of his contract.

Once a player is designated for assignment, he may be traded. Some teams have been known to designate players for assignment to increase interest in the player, especially among teams that are not at the top of the waiver list (the order of which is determined by record). For example, in May 2006, [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] reliever [[Brian Shouse]] was designated for assignment and then traded to the [[Milwaukee Brewers]] four days later. The Brewers could have waited until Shouse was placed on waivers so as not to have had to give up a player in a trade, but according to the [[Waivers (MLB)|waiver rules]], they would have risked losing the claim if a team ahead of them in line had also put a claim in on him.

If a player is not traded, but has cleared waivers, he may be released from the team. The player is then a [[Major League Baseball transactions#Free agency|free agent]] and may sign with any team, including the team that just released him. The team that releasesreleased him is responsible for the salary the player is owed, less what he is paid by the team that signs him. (inIn practice, the amount paid by the signing team is usually a prorated portion of the Major League minimum salary).

If the player clears waivers when being designated for assignment, he is most commonly outrightedremoved outright from the 40-man roster and transferred to the roster of a minor-league affiliate of the parent club. Outrighting can also happen to a player who is already in the minors but occupying a 40-man roster space that the organization wishes to fill with another player. A player can only be outrighted without his consent once induring his career.

[[Category:Major League Baseball labor relations]]