To Be a Free-Agent, or Not to Be (at least not right away...)

Beginning tomorrow (Monday 10/5) and extending through Thursday 10/15, four Cubs minor leaguers with ARTICLE XX-D or ARTICLE XIX-A status will be able to elect free-agency, as long as the player is not added back to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) prior to making the election. 

Each of the four players spent time on the Cubs MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) during the 2015 season. 

POST-2015 ARTICLE XX-D MINOR LEAGUE FREE-AGENT ELIGIBLE
Mike Baxter, OF
Brian Schlitter, RHP
Taylor Teagarden, C 

POST-2015 ARTICLE XIX-A MINOR LEAGUE FREE-AGENT ELIGIBLE
James Russell, LHP

Minor league players with Article XX-D or Article XIX-A status almost always elect to be a free-agent as soon as possible after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. The earlier a minor league player can enter the free-agent market the better, since a much larger wave of minor leaguers (MLB Rule 55 minor league players, also known as "six-year minor league free-agents") will be declared free-agents at 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series. 

But it's a bit different for Article XX-D and Article XIX-A players with organizations participating in the post-season.

In the case of the four Cubs minor league players eligible to elect free-agency beginning tomorrow, each of the players (especially Taylor Teagarden, and perhaps  even Mike Baxter and James Russell) could at least theoretically be a replacement for an injured Cubs post-season eligible player at some point over the next couple or three weeks, and so it is not necessarily automatic that all four of the player(s) will opt to elect free-agency by 10/15.  

Besides, if a minor league player with Article XX-D or Article XIX-A status does not elect to be a free-agent by 10/15, the player would automatically become an MLB Rule 55 player after the World Series anyway, as long as the player has accrued seven minor league seasons and/or has been released or non-tendered previously in his career (which is the case for all four of the Cubs minor leaguers eligible to elect free-agency starting tomorrow).

So it will interesting to see how many of the four Cubs eligible to elect free-agency will opt to jump ship ASAP (I'm betting on Brian Schlitter for sure), or perhaps decide to stick around and see what develops.     

ARTICLE XX-D: Any MLB player who has accrued at least three years of MLB service time, or who was eligible for Salary Arbitration as a "Super Two" after the previous season, and/or who has been outrighted previously in his career, has the right to be a free-agent if the player is outrighted to the minors. The player can exercise this right upon being outrighted, or (but only in the case of a player who has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time and/or has been outrighted to the minors previously in his career) he can opt to defer the right until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season (he is given three days to decide if he is outrighted during Spring Training or the MLB regular season, and he has eight days to make up his mind if he is outrighted during the off-season). If a player eligible to be a free-agent under Article XX-D elects to be a free-agent immediately after being outrighted, the player's contract is terminated and the player receives no termination pay. (Because unsigned players do not receive termination pay, players eligible to be minor league free-agents under Article XX-D who are outrighted during the off-season before being tendered a contract for the following season almost always opt for free-agency immediately). But if the outrighted player accepts the Outright Assignment, the player's existing contract remains in force, and the player can elect free-agency beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up through October 15th. (A player who had the option to elect free-agency upon being outrighted only because he had been eligible for Salary Arbitration as a "Super Two" after the previous season does NOT have the right to defer free-agency until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season). However, an outrighted player who deferred the right to be an Article XX-D minor league free-agent until the conclusion of the MLB regular season is NOT eligible to be a free-agent if the player is added back to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season.

ARTICLE XIX-A: Any MLB player who has accrued at least five years of MLB service time (or any international player with Article XIX-A contractual rights) has the right to be a free-agent if the player is optioned or outrighted to the minors. The player can exercise this right upon being optioned or outrighted to the minors, or (in the case of being outrighted to the minors) he can defer the right until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season (he is given three days to decide if he is optioned or outrighted during Spring Training or the MLB regular season, and he has eight days to make up his mind if he is outrighted during the off-season). If a player eligible to be a free-agent under Article XIX-A elects to be a free-agent immediately after being optioned or outrighted, the player's contract is terminated and the player receives no termination pay. (Because unsigned players do not receive termination pay, players eligible to be minor league free-agents under Article XIX-A who are outrighted during the off-season before being tendered a contract for the following season almost always opt for free-agency immediately). But if the player accepts the Optional or Outright Assignment, the player's existing contract remains in force, and (in the case of an Article XIX-A player who is outrighted) the player can elect free-agency beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up through October 15th. However, an outrighted Article XIX-A  player who deferred the right to be an Article XX-D minor league free-agent until the conclusion of the MLB regular season is NOT eligible to be a free-agent if the player is added back to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season. 

MLB RULE 55: Sometimes called a "Six-Year Minor League Free-Agent," an unsigned minor league player is automatically declared a free-agent per MLB Rule 55 if the player has had his first contract renewed six times and has spent all or any part of at least seven separate seasons on a minor league roster (including all or parts of any season spent on Optional Assignment to the minors), and/or if the player has been previously released or non-tendered in his career and his present contract (known as a "second contract" even if it's his third or fourth minor league contract) has expired. For purposes of determining eligibility to be a free-agent, a player does not accrue a minor league season if the player spends the entire season on an MLB Active List, MLB Disabled List(s), and/or other MLB Inactive List, or if the player spends an entire season on the Restricted List, Disqualified List, Suspended List, Ineligible List, Voluntarily Retired List, and/or Military List. Also, participation in a post-season instructional league or winter league and/or the Arizona Fall League (AFL) does not count toward a minor league season if the player otherwise did not accrue a minor league season that year. Note that a player who ordinarily would have been declared a Rule 55 minor league free-agent is NOT eligible to be a free-agent if the player is either added to an MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) or agrees to a minor league successor contract with his previous club by 5:00 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series. (The deadline is 5:00 PM Eastern on October 15th if the World Series is canceled). The deadline for an MLB club to tender a contract to an unsigned minor league player who had previously agreed to a successor contract is January 15th. If an unsigned minor league player is not tendered a contract by January 15th, the player becomes an unrestricted free-agent.

A minor league free-agent can sign a contract with any major league or minor league club (including the player's former club) without any restrictions. A club receives no compensation for losing an Article XX-B, Article XX-D, Article XIX-A, or MLB Rule 55 minor league free-agent.