it will be interesting to note what defines an optional assignment. we know that under the previous cba, a player sent on optional assignment was required to physically report to the club he was being optioned to. (remember being puzzled in 2018 when keon broxton was optioned to class a wisconsin in late august? it was actually a courtesy move as broxton had an expected childbirth, and all he had to do was drive to grand chute to make the optional assignment official.) so, let's assume that physically reporting to the minor league club makes the optional assignment official. mlb clubs are notorious for letting optioned players take some time to report back to their minor league club (much to the chagrin of minor league managers, whose players are whisked away on planes and in cars when they're needed by the big league club, but can take days to return--forcing the affiliate to play shorthanded). we saw last year where an optioned player would finish out the rest of the road trip with the brewers before heading to where ever his minor league club was, or given a day to get his affairs in order in milwaukee, only to be conveniently recalled because another player was put on the injured list or the special covid-19 injured list. curious if mlb clubs will be able to get away with this slowpoke return to the minor leagues if an optional assignment only counts if the player physically reports to the minor league club, and be able to yo-yo him back without eliminating one of his five options. my guess is no--that once you're optioned, it counts, even if you happen to be recalled a day later to replace an injured player.