It's important for fans to understand the basic MLB concepts if we are going to approach the game intelligently.  
We keep stressing this.  So, we are presenting a short primer this week.  Let's take a look at "options" as they operate 
in Major League Baseball.  This will help everyone understand how and why general managers make the moves they 
make.  It explains the "inside game" just a little more clearly.

     A player does not get options until he is placed on his team's 40-man roster. That's why when a non-roster invitee 
to Spring Training gets sent to the Minor League side, he's "reassigned" and not optioned.  Once a player is put 
on the 40-man roster, the option countdown begins. A player is assigned three options as a rostered player. Each 
year, when a player who is on the roster gets sent to the Minor Leagues for a stint of more than 20 days, it counts 
as an option.  A player can go up and down several times in one season, but it would only count as one option for 
the year. In other words, a player can ride the proverbial shuttle up and down numerous times over the course of 
one season and it will still only count as one option.  If a player hits the magic number and the third option is up, 
that's when the term "out of options" comes up.  Once the three options are used up, the Major League team 
cannot send the player down without trying to put him through waivers.  That, in turn, exposes the player to the 
other 29 teams, who are all given an opportunity to claim him. Once a player has been placed on a team's 40-man 
roster, a team has three option years on that player. A player is considered to have used one of those three option 
years when he spends at least twenty days in the minors in any of those 3 seasons

     Let's look at waivers a bit closer.  Any player under contract may be placed on waivers ("waived") at any time. 
After MLB's July 31 trade deadline and through to the end of the season, a team must place a player on waivers if that 
player is to be traded.  If a player is waived, any team may claim him. If more than one team claims the player from 
waivers, the team with the weakest record in the player's league gets preference. If no team in the player's league 
claims him, the claiming team with the weakest record in the other league gets preference. In the first month of the 
season, preference is determined using the previous year's standings.  If a team claims a player off waivers and has 
a viable claim as described above, his current team (the "waiving team") may choose one of the following options:
arrange a trade with the claiming team for that player within two business days of the claim; or rescind the request
and keep the player on its major league roster, effectively canceling the waiver; or do nothing and allow the claiming 
team to assume the player's existing contract, pay the waiving team a waiver fee, and place the player on its active 
major league roster.  If a player is claimed and the waiving team exercises its rescission option, the waiving team may 
not use the option again for that player in that season, a subsequent waiver would be irrevocable with a claiming team 
getting the player essentially for nothing.  If no team claims a player off waivers after three business days, the player
has cleared waivers and may be assigned to a minor league team, traded (to any team), or released outright.  The 
waiver "wire" is a secret within the personnel of the Major League Baseball clubs; no official announcement of a waiver 
is made until a transaction actually occurs, although information sometimes does leak out. Players are often waived 
during the post-July "waiver-required" trading period for teams to gauge trade interest in a particular player.  Usually, 
when the player is claimed, the waiving team will rescind the waiver to avoid losing the player unless a trade can be
worked out with the claiming team.

     A common misconception, based on the phrase, "out of options," is that a player may only be moved between the major
and minor leagues a restricted number of times. On the contrary, a player has a finite number of option years in which he 
may be moved between the major and minor leagues an unlimited number of times. If a player is on the 40-man roster 
but not on the active major league roster, he is said to be on optional assignment, his organization may freely move him 
between the major league club and the minor league club. The rules for this are as follows. (In all cases, an assignment 
of a player on a major-league disabled list to the minors while on a rehabilitation assignment does not count as time 
spent in the minors.)  Once a player has been placed on a team's 40-man roster, a team has 3 option years on that player.
A player is considered to have used one of those three option years when he spends at least 20 days in the minors in any 
of those 3 seasons.  A team may have a fourth option year on a player with less than five full seasons of professional 
experience, provided that both conditions below are met.  A player has not spent at least 90 days on an active professional
roster in a season. Minor leagues that play below Class A Advanced have seasons that are shorter than 90 days, and as 
such, any player who spends a full season in a rookie or Class A (short-season) league will receive a fourth option year.
A player has not spent at least 60 days on an active professional roster AND then at least 30 days on a disabled list in a 
season. Only after 60 days have been spent on an active professional roster does time spent on the disabled list count 
towards the 90-day threshold. As with the prior example, this cannot occur with players who spend a full season in a rookie 
or Class A (short season) league.  Once all of the options have been used up on a player, a player is considered "out of 
options" and a player must be placed on and clear waivers prior to being sent down to the minor leagues (there is also the 
"veterans' consent" rule.  Specifically, if a player has 5 years of major-league service, he may not be assigned to a minor-
league team without his consent. This exclusion applies regardless of whether he has not yet been outrighted once, has 
remaining options, or has cleared waivers. If the player withholds consent, the team must either release him or keep him 
on the major league roster. In either case, the player must continue to be paid under the terms of his contract. If he is 
released and signs with a new team, his previous team must pay the difference in salary between the two contracts if the 
previous contract called for a greater salary.

     Lastly, let's take a look at what it means to be designated for assignment.  A player who is designated for assignment 
(DFA) is immediately removed from the 40-man roster. This gives the team time to decide what to do with the player while 
freeing up a roster spot for another transaction, if needed. Once a player is designated for assignment, the team has ten 
days to do one of the following things: the player can be traded, the player can be released, or the player can be put on 
waivers and, provided he clears, outrighted to the minors. A player who is outrighted to the minors is removed from the 40-
man roster but is still paid according to the terms of his guaranteed contract. A player can only be outrighted once in his 
career without his consent.

          So, befor we make our opinions known when the Phillies make moves, it's important to understand what and
why they are doing what they do.   We're going to see the Phillies make numerous moves during the general managers 
meetings this week, and we willcontinue to see them as the season progresses.  It makes good sense to understand 
why these moves are being made, and if ther are being made intelligently.  We'll be discussing more next week.  Until then:

How do you fan?.......With knowledge and understanding!!