Still learning a few nuances of the game. I have someone on my bl I want to demote before the roster freeze and see if I find a viable replacement in the Rule 5. If I don't find a viable replacement and bring the player back to the bl before the end of spring training will he still burn an option year. In other words, will a player who is in the minors for some of the preseason, but all of the bl season, still burn an option year?

From the FAQ:

Arbitration eligibility and minor league options are two different things, although most of the time they coincide.

Arbitration eligibility is simple in HBD: anybody with between 3 and 5 years of big league experience is arbitration eligible.

Minor league options are trickier. When a player is added to the 40-man for the first time, his options begin ticking. Each season that he is demoted from the big leagues or removed from the 40-man will result in the loss of an option year. If he doesn't get sent down in a season, he doesn't lose an option.

As you have added him to your 40 man (because he's on the ML team), you will lose an option year by sending him down. If his patience his above 60 (to avoid a possible ratings drop upon demotion), I would wait to demote until after the Rule 5 and see if you are better off keeping him up vs. dropping any potential draftee.

Thanks tarvanites. It's the "in a season" part. I wouldn't be demoting him during the season, but before spring training, and so I am wondering if I do that but then bring him back up before the regular season starts, if he still will lose the option year.

Because he was already on your ML club, every year that he doesn't play on the ML club from that point forward, you would be "optioning" him to the minors. It doesn't matter if it's before the season or during it... If you promote him up and then demote him down again, it will only count as the one option.

It's why I would wait until the R5 draft... You aren't gaining anything by doing it before, except potentially avoiding the ratings hit if his patience is low.

Minor League Options

Definition

Players on a 40-man roster are given three Minor League "options." An option allows that player to be sent to the Minor Leagues ("optioned") without first being subjected to waivers. Players who are optioned to the Minors are removed from a team's active 26-man roster but remain on the 40-man roster.

A player who is on the 40-man roster but does not open the season on the 26-man roster or the injured list must be optioned to the Minor Leagues. Once an optioned player has spent at least 20 days in the Minors in a given season, he loses one of his options. Only one Minor League option is used per season, regardless of how many times a player is optioned to and from the Minors over the course of a given season. (Players may only be optioned five times per season; after that, it requires outright assignment waivers to assign the player to the Minor Leagues.)

Out-of-options players must be designated for assignment -- which removes them from the 40-man roster -- and passed through outright waivers before being eligible to be sent to the Minors.

Players typically have three option years, but those who have accrued less than five full seasons (including both the Major and Minors) are eligible for a fourth if their three options have been exhausted already. For the purposes of this rule, spending at least 90 days on an active Major League or Minor League roster during a given season counts as one full season. Players also earn a full season if they spend at least 30 days on an active Major League or Minor League roster AND their active-roster and injured-list time amounts to at least 90 days in a given season.

Upon being optioned to the Minor Leagues, a position player must remain there for a minimum of 10 days before he is eligible to be recalled to the Major League roster. For pitchers, the minimum is 15 days. If a player is serving as the 27th man for a doubleheader or replacing a player who has been placed on the injured list, there is no minimum number of days for which the optioned player must remain in the Minors.

A player's option years do not need to be used in succession. Any player with fewer than five years of Major League service time and an option year remaining can be optioned to the Minor Leagues. Players with more than five years of service time must consent to being optioned.

Thanks tarvanites. That's from actual mlb rules, yes?
In there is actually the crucial point of my question:
"Once an optioned player has spent at least 20 days in the Minors in a given season, he loses one of his options."
Does this apply to Hardball? I would be keeping him down less than 20 days....

Any thoughts on the above?

From the help button, GM Basics on Edit Roster page regarding options: Indicates the number of minor league options the player has remaining. Once a player is added to the 40-Man Roster for the first time, his clock begins ticking and he has 3 option years remaining. Any future season in which he is assigned to a minor league team for 20 or more days (HBD days), he burns an additional option. Once he is out of options, he must then clear waivers before he may be removed from the big league team or the 40-man roster.

Hey thanks drummer.