Minor League Rule 5/Reserve Lists

That said, he's likely been assigned to AAA. He's still Rule 5 eligible and if he weren't on the AAA roster he'd get taken in the AAA portion of the draft.

Assignment is a technical term when a player is placed on the reserve list of a minor league club, or a new major league club.

Blair was on the AAA reserve list a year ago because he was Rule 5 eligible. It does say something that they were willing to give him a spot considering his track record.

The AAA roster consists of any players who are not eligible to be drafted under rule five yet played in AAA last year, I think that was just Owens, plus any Rule five eligible players that they want to protect, like Jason Garcia for example. I believe they can only keep 37.

I would have to examine it but I think it's possible they could have a bit of a crunch here. What that would mean is that some of the fringier prospects at AA who aren't rule five eligible this winter. Mike aguiliera comes to mind, might have a tough time getting on the AAA active roster this year.

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Look at it differently. Take all 26 players on the projected AAA roster. Say they keep all 26 because someone will be on the DL likely. Subtract players on the major league roster and you get 12. Virtually the entire AA projected roster is rule five eligible. Only, Krauss, Heller, Gunkel, Mercedes, and Aguliera are not, so that's around another 20 players. There are guys below AA that I am sure they would like to keep from the draft like Garcia and Jerez. So they easily get to 37.

Now does this mean that if Simon Mercedes dominates in AA that he can't be promoted? Of course not. But what it does mean is that all else equal guys like Mercedes and Aguliera are going to be behind guys like Luis Diaz when promotion decisions are made. This could easily affect a guy like Aguliera who's is likely never going to be an obvious choice when a spot opens up due to injury or promotion.

You have to be placed on the AAA reserve list to be placed on the AAA active roster. Just as a player already on the 40 man major league reserve list stands a better chance of a major league promotion than one that is not, a player who is on the AAA reserve list stands a better chance of being promoted than someone who is not. Of course just as is true of the major leagues, it's not a firm barrier.

Virtually all players placed on the AAA reserve squad who are rule five eligible are prospects of some stripe. That Blair was placed on that roster means they thought he was a prospect. The reason most players in the organization who are eligible are placed on the AAA reserve list is because most non-prospects are released by the time they are rule five eligible. Just as being drafted is meaningful as it means that someone stood up for the player. Being protected is too because it means the organization feels you have enough talent to keep.

Temporary assignments have different rules but in general the organizatio can't just put whomever they want on the AAA active roster anymore than they can put whomever they want on the major league active roster.

If the AAA reserve list becomes full and they wish to add Augliera next July, somebody must come off. Not sure how that works. Any repercussions on removing somebody mid-season?

No one ever noticed.  Man this is the kind of stuff I'd have to be paid to care about.

I am sure it happens as players are picked in the Triple A portion of the draft and you would assume that if the team had room on it's AAA roster they would have protected that player.  Usually players who are removed from the AAA roster due to a lack of space are just given their release.  In most cases, a guy who isn't one of the top 78 players in the organization after 4 or 5 + years of trying, should probably find another profession.  Though I am sure there have been players who have been released from AAA who went on to play in the majors, though no one comes to mind.

I am not under the illusion that the Red Sox would lose a top prospect this way, but they might very well lose a player from the organization.  In my opinion it's the scouting staff's job to fill as many of these organizational slots as possible with players who have at least a modicum of talent that has at least the off-chance of playing in the majors.  If a player doesn't have the talent to ever play in the majors especially after four or five years of minor league play, then the player should probably be released in favor of someone with more talent.

The Red Sox have done a pretty good job of looking high and low for such players and such may lose somebody with talent in the AAA portion of the draft or be forced to release such a player.  However, keep in mind I have a pretty broad definition of such a player.  Mario Alcantarra, for instance has had awful results, but he is someone with talent that I would prefer not to give away for nothing.

This topic may seem esoteric to some, but some may find it interesting.  But I would request, if you "don't care" about the topic being discussed, then don't post.  Comments that you have to be "paid to care" about the topic are rude and not productive.  I don't post about topics I don't care about.

I'm going to have lots of spare time flying tomorrow. I may try to reconstruct last year on the AAA reserve list to see if this is something that ever becomes an issue. Like James, I assume it doesn't, but it's interesting (to me, you, and a select few, but hey, why not?).

I guess it depends on what you mean by issue. There are some players who if released some would care about and some would not. Remember too they are going to sign 3-4 minor league free agents.