MLB Rules and Procedures

From SoSH

Contents 1 Rule 4 Draft 2 Rule 5 Draft 2.1 Minor League Phases 3 Sending to the Minors 3.1 Player Options 3.2 Exceptions 3.3 Designation for Assignment 4 Free Agency and Arbitration 4.1 "Indentured Servitude" 4.2 Free Agency Arbitration 4.3 Compensation 5 Trades 5.1 10-5 Rights (no-trade) 5.2 Player to be Named Later 6 Waivers 6.1 Revocable Waivers 7 Disabled List 8 Bereavement List 9 JBL-MLB Agreement (includes posting rules) 10 Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program 11 Gambling 12 Tampering Rule - Rule 3(g)

Rule 4 Draft

The Rule 4 draft is also known as the amateur draft. The system was established in 1965 as a way to organize the selection of baseball talent from a vast national pool. It takes place every June and lasts 50 rounds, with a sandwich round comprised of compensatory picks for losing free agents between the first and second rounds. The order of picks per round is determined by the won-loss record of the major league club. In 2005, it became irrespective of league for the first time (this does not, of course, include the possibility of lost draft picks for free agent compensation, which can bump teams out of certain rounds). Unlike the NBA and NFL drafts, the MLB draft moves at a fairly fast pace, with picks being made within minutes or even seconds of each other.

Players are eligible for the Rule 4 draft if they meet the following criteria:

• They have never signed a major or minor league contract before
• They are a resident of the U.S., Canada, or any U.S. territory
• They have graduated from high school and have not attended college or junior college
• They have attended college but are either juniors, seniors, or age 21

Teams who draft players retain their rights until a week before the draft of the following year. If the player has not signed by then and still retains eligibility, they may reenter the draft, but cannot be selected by the same club without their consent. Any draft-eligible player who is not drafted becomes a free agent and is allowed to sign with the team of their choosing. No players at all may be signed in the week prior to the draft.

Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft was created as a way to prevent teams from hoarding minor league talent. Without the Rule 5 draft, teams could hold minor leaguers in their farm system indefinitely, where that player may have a legitimate shot of making the big club with a different organization.

Under the Rule, teams must protect (by adding them to the 40 man roster) minor league players within three or four years of signing them. Three years for players who are 19 on June 5 preceding the signing of their first contract. Four years for players who are 18 at the same time. If a team does not add a player to the 40 man roster within the prescribed time period, that player can be drafted by another team.

There is a catch however. In order to discourage teams from drafting minor leaguers arbitrarily, the drafting team must keep that player on their major league roster for one complete season. If the drafting team does not meet this requirement, then the player must be offered back to their original team at one half of the $50,000 drafting price. Because the minor league players selected in the Rule 5 draft are usually marginal prospects or very raw, relatively few players are selected through the Rule 5 draft each year.

Minor League Phases

There are also two minor league phases to the Rule 5 draft: the AAA and AA phase. In addition to setting a 40-man roster, organizations are required to submit a AAA and AA roster of players eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Note that these rosters are larger than regular-season AAA and AA rosters and their composition during this phase is determined by the organizations evaluation of a player, not the player's current level; the organization will place players they value more highly on the AAA roster.

After the Major League phase, the AAA phase takes place, in which other organizations can pluck players on other teams' AA rosters. During the AA phase, organizations can take Rule 5-eligible players on neither roster. The minor league Rule 5 draft is primarily a roster-filling exercise and players taken rarely reach the major leagues, not to mention establish themselves as big-league players. Unlike the Major League phase, players drafted in the AAA phase are not required to play at AAA, nor are AA draftees required to play in AA. It costs $12,000 to select a player in the AAA phase and $4,000 in the AA phase.

Sending to the Minors

Player Options

Whether minor-league players are added to the 40-man roster to be protected during the Rule 5 draft or as an injury replacement or callup during the season, they often need to be sent back to the minor leagues. In order send a player back to the minors while retaining him on the 40-man roster, a team can send him down on an optional assignment (option for short). In general, a player has three options - this means he can be optioned down in three different years. If a player is optioned down twice in one year, it only counts for one option. After a player has used up all his options, he must be kept on the 25-man roster or passed through waivers.

Exceptions

• An option is not used when a player spends less than 20 days on an optional assignment in the entire season. So if a player spends only a few days down on the farm, it does not burn one of his three options.

• When a player is optioned down, he can't be recalled until 10 days have passed. However, he can be recalled sooner than that if a player on the major league roster is placed on the disabled list. The major leaguer does not have to correspond positionally to the minor leaguer (for example, if an outfielder was injured, you could call up a recently-optioned pitcher). A player can also be recalled prior to the 10-day minimum if he is traded or if the minor league season ends.

• In certain cases, players are granted four options. This is only the case if a player has (a)used all three options already and (b)does not have five full seasons of professional experience. Note that only full-season leagues count for a "season of professional experience" because short-season leagues aren't 90 days (the minimum) long. Also, DL time does not count. This rule protects players added to the 40-man roster long before they were eligible for the Rule 5 draft - they are not punished with less development time because their organization started their "clock" too soon. This rule applies to Abe Alvarez. A confusing aspect of this rule is that the rules for determining a year of service for a fourth option are different from the rule determining the number of years necessary for Rule 5 eligbility.

• If a player has accrued five years of Major League service time, he has the right to refuse an optional assignment and elect free agency.

Designation for Assignment

A major league baseball player is designated for assignment when his team wishes to remove him from the 40 man roster. The player is instantly removed from the 40 man roster and must be traded, waived, or released within 10 days. If the player clears waivers, the team can outright the player to the minor leagues. An outrighted player is no longer on the 40 man roster but still receives all money from a major league contract.

Free Agency and Arbitration

MLB players cannot choose their employer until they have reached six full years of Major League service time, at which point they can declare free agency. At that point, they are free to sign with whomever they wish.

"Indentured Servitude"

Prior to the six years of service time, players are bound to whichever team controls their rights. During this period, there is a cutoff date in the winter at which the controlling team can offer or not offer a contract to the player. For the first three years, the team usually offers a contract at or slightly above the major-league minimum (roughly $300,000). However, there are some measures built into the six-year period that increase the players' earning potential: this is called salary arbitration. For each successive year after three full years of service time, the player gains some leverage. The team submits a contract to the player, who can then either accept the contract or submit a sum of his own. The case then goes to MLB arbitrator Shyam Das who selects one or the other contract during the hearing. However, players and teams often come to an agreement ahead of time, thus avoiding arbitration. After each successive year of arbitration, players usually get pay raises whether their performance improved or not. At any winter cutoff date in the six year period, a team can opt not to tender a contract to a player, allowing the player to sign with any team. However, once signed, the player has to go through the same service time/arbitration rules until he reaches six years.

Often better players will sign multi-year deals avoiding arbitration. This allows the organization to potentially save money versus the year-by-year increases of arbitration if the player develops into a star, and gives the player security of a several years' salary, even if he flops.

Free Agency Arbitration

Free Agency arbitration is different from the reserve-clause arbitration. When a player reaches free agency, there is a cutoff date at which the team can offer or not offer arbitration to its free agents. If it offers arbitration to a player, it extends the negotiating window. If it does not offer arbitration, the player cannot sign with that team until May 31. If a player is offered arbitration, he can choose to accept it, which will result in a one year contract decided by Shyam Das if not settled outside ahead of time. If the player declines to accept, he cannot sign with that team until the aforementioned May 31.

Compensation

The 2006 CBA changed the draft pick compensation for free agents substantially, including the elimination of "Type C" free agents. The current compensation system is as follows:

If a free agent is offered arbitration by Team 1 and instead signs with Team 2, then Team 1 may receive some form of compensation. The compensation is determined by the player - free agents are categorized as Type A, Type B, or nothing at all, and the players are ranked within these categories.

If the free agent is Type B, Team 1 receives what is known as a "sandwich pick" in the following year's amateur player draft. After round 1 (30 selections) in the draft, Team 1 will receive an extra pick. For more info on sandwich picks, please see the section on the amateur draft.

If the free agent is Type A, then:

• If Team 2 has one of the last fifteen draft picks in round 1, Team 1 will receive Team 2's first round draft pick and a sandwich pick after the first round of the draft.

• If Team 2 has one of the first fifteen draft picks in round 1, that pick is protected, and Team 1 would instead receive Team 2's second round pick and a sandwich pick after the first round of the draft.

• If Team 2 signs two Type A free agents, one from Team 1 and one from another team, the team whose free agent ranks highest by major league baseball would receive Team 2's first round pick (or second round pick if the first round pick is protected), and the other team would receive Team 2's pick for the second round (or third round if the first pick is protected). Both teams would still receive a sandwich pick after the first round.

• Once a team has acquired a draft pick by losing a Type A free agent, it cannot lose said pick by signing other Type A free agents; the only picks a team may lose are the ones which it had before the free agency period began.

Trades

In general, between the end of the World Series and the trade deadline at 4 p.m. EST on July 31, any players may be traded for one another provided they don't have a no-trade clause (contractually or as a result of being a 10-5 player) and were not drafted in the past year. A player with a no-trade clause may choose to waive said clause and will often be compensated for doing so. After July 31 and before the end of the World Series, players must clear waivers before being traded.

Trades that involve a transfer of more than $1 million must be approved by the commissioner's office, as must any trade which involves a player currently on the disabled list. In general, a commissioner may reject any trade which he feels is not in the "best interests of baseball".

10-5 Rights (no-trade)

If a player has been on an active major league roster for ten full seasons and on one team for the last five, he may not be traded to another team without his consent. Manny Ramirez is an example. He has been on a major league roster since 1995 without interuption, and has been playing with the Red Sox since the begining of the 2001 season. While there is not a no-trade clause in his contract, one is implied because of his 10-5 status.

Player to be Named Later

In many trades, one or both of the teams may agree to send "a player to be named later". A specific player must be agreed upon within six months of the initial trade; if this does not occur, the two teams may agree upon a cash amount to be sent instead. Often, the teams will agree to a list of players who can be used as the PTBNL; such an agreement would happen before the trade has been announced, and once the trade is final, the team receiving the PTBNL may take any of the players from the list within six months.

If a team receives a PTBNL, the player must not have been playing in the league to which he is being sent at the time of the trade (e.g. if the Red Sox receive a PTBNL, the player may not have been playing in the American League at the time of the trade). This rule was instituted after Harry Chiti was traded for himself in 1962 (he was traded from the Indians to the Mets for a PTBNL, which turned out to be himself). As a result, PTBNL's are usually minor leaguers. Sometimes, teams will use players on the disabled list as players to be named so as to avoid having to get special permission from the commissioner's office.

• How is Major League Service time calculated?

Waivers

Revocable Waivers

A player placed on waivers is offered to the other teams over a window of 47 hours (starting at 2 p.m. EST and ending at 1 p.m. two days later). After the trading deadline on July 31 and before the end of the World Series, players on the 40 man rosters must pass waivers before being traded.

• If another team makes a claim on the player, the team waiving the player may take him back or give him to the team making the claim.

• If two teams claim him teams in the same league have priority over those in the other league. After this consideration, the team with the worst record upon expiration of the waiver window is the team whose claim is considered valid. For all players waived in the first month of the season, the previous year's team records are used to determine waiver claim priority instead of the current year's records.

• If no team claims him, the player is said to have cleared waivers for the remainder of the waiver period, and the waiving team may keep, trade, or release the waived player, or they may send to the minors if he doesn't have five full years of service time.

• A team may only post a player and pull him back once during a waiver period, so if a player is posted for waivers twice by the same team in the same waiver period, the team which claims him the second time gets him with no possibility for the initial team to pull back. August is its own waiver period, so a team may only post and pull a player once between the trading deadline and September.

Disabled List

There are two Disabled Lists: the 15-day Disabled List and the 60-day Disabled List. To be put on a Disabled List, a doctor must certify a player as disabled. Players on the 60-day Disabled List do not count towards the 40-man roster. Players may be moved from the 15-day Disabled List to the 60-day Disabled List. Players may be put on either list retroactively up to ten days, beginning the day after they last played.

Bereavement List

Bereavement list

JBL-MLB Agreement (includes posting rules)

UNITED STATES - JAPANESE PLAYER CONTRACT AGREEMENT

(1) If a Japanese Professional Baseball Club (hereinafter referred to as a “Japanese Club”) wishes to contact and engage a baseball player, professional or amateur, who is currently playing or has played baseball in the United States or Canada, and/or is under contract with a Club that is a member ofthe National League or American League of Professional Baseball Clubs (hereinafter referred to as an “American Player”), the Japanese Club shall first request that the Office ofthe Commissioner of Japanese Professional Baseball (hereinafter referred to as the “Japanese Commissioner”) determine the status and availability of the American Player as hereinafter provided by communicating with the Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner (hereinafter referred to as the “U.S. Commissioner”). The U.S. Commissioner shall respond to a request from the Japanese Commissioner within four (4) business days. The Japanese Commissioner shall keep the identity of any Japanese Club(s) inquiring as to the status of an American Player confidential in his communications with the U.S. Commissioner.

(2) If the American player is on the Reserve, Military, Voluntarily Retired, Restricted, Disqualified, Suspended, or Ineligible List of any Club that is a member of the National League or American League of Professional Baseball Clubs (“hereinafter referred to as a “U.S. Major League Club”), as such Lists are described in the Major League Rules adopted January 20, 2000, the Japanese Club shall not contact or engage the American Player unless approval to do so has been given by such U.S. Major League Club through the U.S. Commissioner.

(3) If the American Player is not one concerning whom approval must be obtained under paragraph (2), the U.S. Commissioner shall so notify the Japanese Commissioner and the Japanese Club may then contact and engage the American Player. If approval is required under paragraph (2), the U.S. Commissioner shall transmit to the Japanese Commissioner the approval or disapproval of the U.S. Major League Club.

(4) If a U.S. Major League Club wishes to contact and engage a baseball player, professional or amateur, who is currently playing or who has played baseball in Japan and/or is under contract with a Japanese Club (hereinafter referred to as a “Japanese Player”), the U.S. Major League Club shall first request that the U.S. Commissioner determine the status and availability ofthe Japanese Player in the same manner that the status and availability of an American Player is determined hereunder. The Japanese Commissioner shall respond to the request from the U.S. Commissioner within four (4) business days. The U.S. Commissioner shall keep the identity of any U.S. Major League Club(s) inquiring ofthe status of a Japanese Player confidential in his communications with the Japanese Commissioner.

(5) If the Japanese Player is on the Reserve, Military, Voluntarily Retired, Restricted, Disqualified, Suspended, or Ineligible List of any Japanese Club, as such Lists are described in the Japanese Professional Baseball Rules as of February 1, 2000, the U.S. Major League Club shall not contact or engage the Japanese Player unless approval to do so has been given by the Japanese Club through the Japanese Commissioner and then only pursuant to the procedures set forth in paragraphs (8) through (12) below.

(6) If the Japanese Player is not one concerning whom approval must be obtained under paragraph (5), the Japanese Commissioner shall so notify the U.S. Commissioner and the U.S. Major League Club may then contact and engage the Japanese Player. If approval is required under paragraph (5), the Japanese Commissioner shall transmit to the U.S. Commissioner the approval or disapproval ofthe Japanese Club. If approval is granted, the procedures set forth in paragraphs (8) through (12) below shall apply.

(7) If, in response to an inquiry by a U.S. Major League Club or on its own initiative, a Japanese Club wishes to make a Japanese Player concerning whom approval must be obtained under paragraph (5) available to U.S. Major League Clubs, such Japanese Club may make such Japanese Player available to U.S. Major League Clubs only pursuant to the procedures set forth in paragraphs (8) through (12) below.

(8) With respect to a player covered by paragraph (5) whom a Japanese Club wishes to make available to the U.S. Major League Clubs, the Japanese Club shall request that the Japanese Commissioner notify the U.S. Commissioner of the Japanese Club’s desire to make the Japanese Player available. The U.S. Commissioner then shall post the Japanese Player’s availability by notifying all U.S. Major League Clubs of the intention ofthe Japanese Club to make the player available.

(9) All requests by Japanese Clubs for postings must be made during the period commencing on November 1 of a given year and ending on March 1 of the following year and must be accompanied by the Japanese Club’s medical records, i.e., trainers’ reports and doctors’ reports in the possession of the Japanese Club for the Japanese Player in question, which will be made available to the U.S. Major League Clubs. Within four (4) business days ofthe posting ofthe availability of the Japanese Player by the U.S. Commissioner, any interested U.S. Major League Club must submit to the U.S. Commissioner a bid, composed of monetary consideration only, to be paid to the Japanese Club as consideration for the Japanese Club relinquishing its rights to the player in the event that the U.S. Major League Club reaches an agreement with the Japanese Player. No direct or indirect contact may be made between a U.S. Major League Club and the Japanese Club concerning a posted player and/or the amount ofthe bid to be submitted by a U.S. Major League Club. The U.S. Commissioner shall have the authority, pursuant to paragraph (13) below, to take action that he deems appropriate in the event he concludes that a contact prohibited by the preceding sentence has been made concerning a posted player.

(10) At the conclusion ofthe bidding period, the U.S. Commissioner shall determine the highest bidder among the U.S. Major League Clubs and that determination of the highest bidder shall be conclusive and binding on all parties. The U.S. Commissioner then shall notify the Japanese Commissioner of the amount ofthe bid submitted by the successful bidder, and the Japanese Commissioner will have four (4) business days to notify the U.S. Commissioner of whether that bid is acceptable to the Japanese Club involved.

(11) Ifthe highest bid is not acceptable to the Japanese Club making the Japanese Player available, the Japanese Player’s posting will be withdrawn and another request for posting with respect to that Japanese Player shall be prohibited until the following November 1. If the highest bid is acceptable to the Japanese Club, the U.S. Commissioner shall award the sole, exclusive, and non-assignable right to negotiate with and sign the posted Japanese Player to the U.S. Major League Club that submitted the highest bid. That U.S. Major League Club then shall have 30 days from the date of the notice by the U.S. Commissioner that the bid is acceptable to the Japanese Player’s Japanese Club in which to sign the Japanese Player. If the Japanese Player signs a contract with the U.S. Major League Club within 30-day period, the U.S. Major League Club shall pay the Japanese Club the amount of its successful bid within five (5) business days ofthe confirmation ofterms with the Major League Baseball Players Association in the case of a Major League Contract or within five (5) business days ofthe reporting ofterms to the U.S. Commissioner’s Office in the case of minor league contract.

(12) If the U.S. Major League Club, for any reason, fails to sign the Japanese Player within the 30-day period, the U.S. Major League Club’s negotiation rights shall lapse and the U.S. Major League Clubs shall have no obligation to pay the Japanese Player’s Japanese Club the amount of its successful bid (or any other obligation whatsoever). Further, another request for posting with respect to that Japanese Player shall be prohibited until the following November 1.

(13) The U.S. Commissioner shall have the authority to oversee the bidding procedures set forth in paragraphs (8) through (12) above to ensure that they not been undermined in any manner. Among other actions that he may deem appropriate and in the best interests of baseball, the U.S. Commissioner shall have the authority to revoke a U.S. Major League Club’s exclusive negotiation rights with respect to a Japanese Player (and, subject to the Japanese Club’s approval pursuant to paragraph (11) above, to award such rights to the next highest bidder, if any) and to declare null and void any contract between a Japanese Player and a U.S major League Club that the U.S. Commissioner deems was the result of conduct that was inconsistent with this Agreement or otherwise not in the best interests ofprofessional baseball.

(14) U.S. Major League Clubs and Japanese Clubs are free to enter into working agreements. Such working agreements, however, cannot provide a U.S. Club with exclusive or preferential rights to contract with Players on the Reserve, Military, Voluntarily Retired, Restricted, Disqualified, Suspended, or Ineligible Lists of a Japanese Club. All working agreements must be filed with the U.S. and Japanese Commissioners, and either Commissioner may take action to require modifications ofterms deemed to be inconsistent with this Agreement or otherwise not in the best interests of professional baseball in that country. The U.S. Commissioner shall be advised immediately of any negotiations or transactions between Clubs and/or Players of the United States and Japan.

(15) This Agreement is subject to current and future legal restrictions in the United States and Japan.

(16) If either party to this Agreement has a material change in its reserve rules or any other rule identified in paragraph (2) or (5) herein, that party shall have an obligation immediately to notify the other party of the change, and the other party shall have the right to seek renegotiation of and/or void this Agreement upon ten (10) days’ written notice.

(17) Subject to paragraph 16 above, this Agreement shall have a term of two (2) years commencing on December 15, 2000, and ending on December 15, 2002 (“the Initial Termination Date”). One hundred and eighty (180) days prior to the Initial Termination Date, either the U.S. Commissioner or the Japanese Commissioner shall have the right to give notice of his intention to modify or terminate this Agreement and, promptly after the issuance of such notice, the parties shall commence discussions concerning the extension or amendment of this Agreement. If neither the U.S. Commissioner nor the Japanese Commissioner gives notices of his intention to modify or terminate this Agreement 180 days prior to the Initial Termination Date, this Agreement shall continue, from year-to-year until either the Japanese Commissioner or the U.S. Commissioner gives notice of his intention to modify or terminate this Agreement one hundred and eighty (180) days prior to any anniversary of the Initial Termination Date.

Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program

This is a 2006 attachment to the Collective Bargaining Agreement that includes regulations on different types of drugs, including performance enhancers and drugs of abuse.

Suspensions are as follows:

• 1st violation results in a 50-game suspension
• 2nd violation results in a 100-game suspension
• 3rd violation results in lifetime banishment

List of Banned Substances

MLB Players Suspended for Performance Enhancing Drugs

Gambling

Gambling will result in lifetime banishment. This includes association with gamblers and betting on games of which the player is not a participant.

Lifetime Baseball Bans

Tampering Rule - Rule 3(g)

Rule 3 (g) TAMPERING. To preserve discipline and competition, and to prevent the enticement of players, coaches, managers and umpires, there shall be no negotiations or dealings respecting employment, either present or prospective, between any player, coach or manager and any club other than the club with which he is under contract or acceptance of terms, or by which he is reserved, or which has the player on its Negotiation List, or between any umpire and any league other than the league with which he is under contract or acceptance of terms, unless the club or league with which he is connected shall have, in writing, expressly authorized such negotiations or dealings prior to their commencement.

Source: [1].