djoctagone

four more marlins players test positive. i've lost count.

no. morin must clear outright or release waivers if he is placed on either. the rule you're referring to only affects replacements at the alternate training site. morin has been outrighted before, which is different than having been designated for assignment before. the former allows a player to refuse any future outright assignment, the latter does not. designating a player for assignment is merely a step to immediately remove a player from the 40-man roster, and then as permitted, be traded, or placed on outright or release waivers.

we're aware of the heart issues with travis shaw's daughter. shaw was placed on the family medical leave list yesterday for an undisclosed reason. certainly hope things improve for the person(s) affected.

the club player pool is at 55 players. mike morin is in limbo as he's been designated for assignment. angel perdomo and luis urias are still on the covid-19 injured list and do not count against the 60-man limit for the cpp. it'd be interesting to hear david stearns' rationale for wanting to start the season with a less-than-capacity club player pool.

craig counsell is hopeful that anderson will be activated after his obligatory in-season seven days . . .

corey kluber is likely out for the season with a shoulder injury.

so, if you're the marlins, and your collective player pool has just been decimated, do you try to put in a claim for a guy with major league experience (and likely more experience than many in your cpp)? based on their 2019 record, they'd have first dibs on any national league player placed on outright waivers, including mike morin.

when there's an outbreak like this, not only does a club potentially recall or select the contract(s) of a number of players from the collective player pool at the alternate training site, but they also potentially invite more players to the collective player pool to replace those brought up from the alternate training site. that of course, has its own risks because each player invited to the ats has to clear intake, and then try to catch up to players who have been working out as a group for almost a month already. just as a player is removed from the 40-man roster when placed on the covid-19 injured list, he is also removed from the 60-man cpp.

taxi squad 1.0: ryon healy spotted. and jacob nottingham is still with the club. unclear if healy was part of the initial taxi squad or not, or if he was brought on as a substitute for an unidentified third player. it's possible that he's on hand to for getaway day in case brock holt or ryan braun is placed on the injured list.

mike moustakas has been placed on the injured list--presumably the special covid-19 list.

mike morin has been designated for assignment. the club has seven days to trade, release or try to outright morin to the alternate training site in grand chute. eric lauer has been activated from the special covid-19 injured list. the roster is at 40, with two players on the special covid-19 injured list.

mike morin has been designated for assignment to make room for the activation of eric lauer. the club has seven days to trade, release, or try to outright morin to the alternate training site in grand chute. morin has the right to refuse the assignment to grand chute.

i was incorrect. even though perdomo is on a major league injured list, he was placed on it during an optional assignment. thus, he is earning the minor league portion of his split contract, he is not earning major league service time, and the clock is ticking in burning his first option. now we know why clubs made a rush to option a bunch a players before the transactions freeze in march, in case they were rendered inactive because of covid-19. (the brewers trimmed their active roster to 29 players in march.)

luis urias has been cleared to work out at the alternate training site in grand chute.

taxi squad 1.0: jacob nottingham confirmed. this likely means they're carrying three players.

they're the buffalo blue jays. done deal.

looks like the phillies were the first team to take advantage of the potential transaction exemptions by apparently putting four players on the special covid-19 injured list, and then adding others to their player pool. the media is referring to this as "an outbreak". when a player is placed on the injured list, it's common for fans to know what the injury is. with the covid-19 injured list, we may not formally know because of privacy laws, but astute persons will be able to draw reasonable conclusions--especially after the fact (i.e. a replacement player isn't subjected to normal outright waivers when removed from the 40-man roster and returned to the player pool, and/or a player is activated from the injured list before the minimum 10 days has passed). this may be an advantage for players not on the 40-man roster with major league experience when there is "an outbreak", because they can be added to the 40-man roster and then returned to the player pool without outright waivers once the "outbreak" player returns to the active roster. again, a player doesn't have to test positive to be placed on the covid-19 list. if he has confirmed exposure to someone who tests positive, he can be placed on the covid-19 list. will clubs be able to abuse this rule by placing two or three underperforming players with no symptoms who were playing alongside or against a player who tested positive, and then activate keon broxton, shelby miller and drew rasmussen--knowing full well that none of them would have to be exposed to waivers to return them to the player pool? (i am assuming that a player previously outrighted to the minor leagues would not be able to refuse any subsequent outright assignment and become a free agent.) i expect grievances to be filed by players--especially those who happen to have played alongside or against a player who tests positive. what was the frequency and duration of contact? does that constitute placement on the covid-19 injured list? this could get ugly . . . and give lots of power to clubs regarding roster flexibility. i got this wrong, and i apologize. after re-reading the tweets referenced above, i realized i needed to do more digging, and found this excellent article written by a lawyer who's seen the 101-page manual outlining the 2020 mlb season and the collective player pool (cpp). this "outbreak clause" only affects players in the club player pool at alternate camp who are placed on the special covid-19 injured list: thus, the brewers do not have any roster management advantage because eric lauer, angel perdomo and luis urias were all placed on the covid-19 injured list simultaneously. my apologies again for misunderstanding this clause.

this article addresses quite a bit regarding the club player pool (cpp)--which is the official name of the 60-man roster we've been referring to. it does clarify a misconception that i've stated in the roster construction rules thread regarding the "outbreak clause", but it also reveals how a player sidelined by a non-covid injury (and not on the 45-day injured list) still counts against the 60 player limit in the cpp. bottom line, if a player lacking 40-man roster status suffers a lasting injury, don't be surprised if the team releases that player entirely from the organization.

for 2020, the requisite stay for a player on optional assignment (barring injury or need for a 27th man) is 10 days for all players. also, players burn an option after 20 days on optional assignment.

i reached out to the author of this article (he got a copy of the 101-page 2020 mlb operations manual). he confirms that the requisite stay (barring an injury or 27th man) for any player on optional assignment is 10 days. thus, the new rule of 15 days down for pitchers doesn't go into effect. he also confirms that players will burn an option after 20 days on optional assignment. the clock starts with opening day.

wow. 16 of 30 teams get a postseason spot. wow.

technically, these three players have been recalled from the minor leagues for the 30-man roster: j.p. feyereisen, bobby wahl and eric yardley. unless we hear otherwise, it's my understanding that the clocks on optional assignments for these players starts tomorrow, and presumably, each will burn an option if spending more than 20 days on the 40-man roster while at alternate camp in grand chute: david freitas (could burn final option in 2020) ryon healy (could burn first option in 2020) mark mathias (could burn first option in 2020) jacob nottingham (could burn final option in 2020) corey ray (could burn first option in 2020) ronny rodriguez (could burn second option in 2020) trey supak (could burn second option in 2020) tyrone taylor (could burn second option in 2020) angel perdomo was optioned in march, but because he's on a major league injured list to start the season, he is currently accruing major league service time, and from my understanding, not serving out his optional assignment like the others listed above. presumably, at some point, the club will have to place him on a minor league rehab assignment once he's cleared from the covid-19 injured list and then decide to recall him, option him, or designate him for assignment.

i was also hoping for keon broxton as the 30th man . . . especially as a pinch runner on second base in extra innings. it will be interesting how the brewers cut down to 28--especially if it coincides with the activation of a player from the covid-19 injured list (and his return to the 40-man roster). will they dfa a player on the 30-man roster, or dfa an optioned player?

30-man roster has been announced.

mike morin added to the 40-man roster and 30-man roster. the roster is at 40, with three players on the special covid-19 injured list.