What are the pros and cons? As far as I can tell it allows you to have more propsect cash if you have room in your salary budget.

It doesn't do much for you-- the guy will only sign a 3 year deal for the ML minimum, so you'll be substituting only about a million dollars of player cash for prospect cash. Basically you're getting paid a million dollars to have a guy who will be out of options 3 years into his pro career; doesn't sound like much of a tradeoff to me. I stupidly signed an IFA to a major league deal a couple seasons ago and managed to pawn him off for a guy I could actually develop in the minors for a while. One of the best trades I've ever made; the guy I dealt will be a free agent at 28 I believe.

You can remove him from the 40 immediately so he only uses 1 option year.

I think the option clock keeps ticking even after he's taken off the 40. I thought they closed that loophole in an update.

Are you sure?

From the 3/8/2008 update:

This change also impacts how minor league options are tracked. Once a player is added to the 40-man roster, his option clock starts ticking and he will consume an option that season. Any future season in which he spends a day or more on optional assignment in which his days aren't considered part of his big league service time (example above), he will burn an option year.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but what about this guy:

http://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=1943904

He was given a ML deal straight out of the draft. Spent 3 years in the minor leagues, and still has 3 options .

He wasn't even removed from the 40-man. Is there a loophole because he never actually had an added to/removed from the 40 man event?

Perhaps. It does seem to circumvent the rule.

If a guy runs out of options in the minors (let's say he reaches AA when his options run out), is that even a big deal? For example, a new year starts in which he has no options, but he's rostered at AA. The only time I think it would matter would be if you wanted to demote him once he's in the ML down to AAA for whatever reason. But if you're signing a guy to a ML deal, he should be ready to stay in the ML once he arrives.

Quote: Originally Posted By soursurfer on 10/21/2009If a guy runs out of options in the minors (let's say he reaches AA when his options run out), is that even a big deal? For example, a new year starts in which he has no options, but he's rostered at AA. The only time I think it would matter would be if you wanted to demote him once he's in the ML down to AAA for whatever reason. But if you're signing a guy to a ML deal, he should be ready to stay in the ML once he arrives

This is exactly correct. A lack of options only matters if you want to remove him from your big league roster.

However, it will come into play once they close that loophole... assuming they ever do.

Quote: Originally Posted By tecwrg2 on 10/20/2009
From the 3/8/2008 update:

This change also impacts how minor league options are tracked. Once a player is added to the 40-man roster, his option clock starts ticking and he will consume an option that season. Any future season in which he spends a day or more on optional assignment in which his days aren't considered part of his big league service time (example above), he will burn an option year.

The wording is the key because a player on optional assignment is on the 40-man roster. They don't say anything about a player being removed from the 40.

Quote: Originally Posted By iain on 10/21/2009However, it will come into play once they close that loophole... assuming they ever do

yea, these guys (on the 40 but out of options) should have to either be on the big league team the next season or pass through waivers at the start of the season.

He'll use an option year when you take him off the 40 man roster the first year, but won't use option years after that til you put him back on the 40 man roster.

You only use an option year if you are 1. taken off the 40 man roster or 2. demoted from the major leagues to the minors. That's why the guy who was signed to a Major League contract after being drafted hasn't lost an option.