So I wanted to clear a couple of spots on the 40-man roster for the Rule 5 draft... but I tried removing several players from the 40-man and was informed that each one has to clear waivers first.  So my questions:

1. Does every player need to clear waivers before being removed from the 40-man roster?

2. Is releasing players the only other way to take them off the 40-man roster?

I ask the second question because the Rule 5 draft is tomorrow, so there isn't time at this point for anyone to clear waivers in order to be removed ahead of the Rule 5 draft.  I could release a couple of guys on the 40 with no major league impact but would prefer to keep them in my minor league system as opposed to going out and signing a few more minor league players to fill out my AAA and AA rosters.

1.  Yes.

2.  You can Designate them with waivers.  That will remove them immediately from the 40.  If they clear waivers, you can then reassign them to the minor league roster.

1.  If they have options, designate without waivers.   

2.  If they have options, designate without waivers.

Thanks for the help!  I designated two guys to open up a couple of slots immediately instead of having to wait for them to clear waivers.

You'll find yourself using the DFA feature frequently in jams to clear 40 man space.  Just make sure you never DFA somebody you really, really want to keep unless you absolutely have no other options.

You can DFA anyone with options.   You won't lose him. 

I do this pretty much every season.    If I sign FA to multi-year deals, I do not assign them.   Then, once the R5 is over, I'll designate players with options to make 40 room for the FA to be assigned to the big league team.   This allows me to protect more than 40.