He is demanding a MLB contract over 3 years.  If I offer him the MLB deal he can still be assigned to the minors right?

Yes

Thanks for the quick answer

The catch is he has to occupy a spot on the 40 man, and will burn an option year unless removed from the 40 man.  He can only be removed from the 40 man if he clears waivers.

For many that I've seen asking for a major league contract, this isn't an issue as they're ready for full time in the majors by year 4 anyway.  At that point minor league options become less important.

A player can stay on your 40 and in the minors for an eternity.    It's really not an issue unless you want to bounce him up/down from the bigs.   A lot of my older BL players have 2-3 options left because I never sent them back down.

Once they hit 6 years in the minors, they can just opt for free agency instead of remaining in the minors.  Or choose to take the assignment and ride on a bus until they feel like retiring.

Incorrect.

Right, they can choose to stay in the minors or go to free agency.  Mikey Huckaby (I didn't know you could be heavy in politics and play professional baseball) chose to play instead of "test the waters" of free agency.  From the FAQ...

"Once his options are gone, he must go through waivers before he may be demoted or removed from the 40-man roster. Once a player has 6 years of big league experience, options are meaningless because he can opt for free-agency rather than accept a trip to the minors."

yeah, except Mike's guy has 0 years of big league service time.  Unless he gets the call up to the show, Mike can leave him on the 40 man roster in AAA for the rest of his career.

Exactly.   I'm not removing him from the 40 or demoting him from the bigs.   He's in AAA and on my 40 until he retires if I never promote him.

Right.  My point is he can CHOOSE to go to free agency (or retire).

http://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2641036


http://www.whatifsports.com/HBD/Pages/Popups/PlayerProfile.aspx?pid=2454006

Neither of your examples is on the 40.   Trust me, you can keep a player in AAA forever if you keep him on your 40.    I don't think the same is true in MLB but it is in HBD.   For-ev-er.

They were before opting for free agency.

In my 66 completed seasons, I have never had a minor league player on the 40 opt for free agency.   I'm forced to believe these players were removed from the 40 by their owners.