If a club wishes to remove a player from its MLB Reserve List (40-man roster) and send the player to the minors, the club must first secure Outright Assignment Waivers. For all players on an MLB Reserve List (40-man Roster) other than Rule 5 players, Draft-Excluded players, and injured players, Outright Waivers can generally be requested anytime in a given waiver period, and they are always irrevocable. The waiver price is $25,000 for Rule 5 and Draft-Excluded players, and $20,000 for all other players.
Once secured, Outright Assignment Waivers remain in effect for a set period of time:
1. Seven days or until the end of the waiver period (whichever comes first) for Outright Assignment Waivers secured September 1st through the 30th day of the regular season:
2. The entire waiver period for Outright Assignment Waivers secured starting on the 31st day of the regular season through August 31st.
3. 72 hours if the player is on Optional Assignment to the minors or on a Disabled List.
If a player on an MLB or minor league Disabled List is placed on Outright Assignment Waivers, he must be reinstated from the DL within 72 hours after the conclusion of the Claiming Period and/or after waivers have been secured.
A club does not have to outright a player to the minors after securing Outright Assignment Waivers.
A player who has "no trade" rights (full or partial) must waive his "no trade" rights before he can be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers.
A player who has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time cannot be sent outright to the minors without his consent. The player can waive this right, but the player's waiver (consent) cannot be granted more than ten days prior to MLB Opening Day, the player has the right to choose which minor league team to which he can be assigned, and the player's waiver (consent) automatically expires if the player is not outrighted to the minors within 45 days or by the 45th day of the MLB regular season (whichever is later).
A player on an MLB 40-man roster who has been outrighted previously in his career and/or who has accrued at least three years of MLB Service Time can elect to be a free-agent if he is sent outright to the minors. The outrighted player can elect to be a free-agent immediately upon being outrighted, or he can accept the Outright Assignment and defer his option to elect free-agency until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. However, a player eligible to be a free-agent if outrighted who accepts an Outright Assignment and defers his option to elect free-agency until after the conclusion of the MLB regular season forfeits his right to elect free-agency if he is added back to an MLB 40-man roster prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season.
If a player eligible to be a free-agent if outrighted elects to be a free-agent immediately, his contract is terminated and he receives no termination pay. But if the player accepts the Outright Assignment and defers his right to be a free-agent until the conclusion of the MLB regular season, the player continues to get paid, receiving the balance of his salary through to the end of the season. And then if the outrighted player is not subsequently added back to an MLB 40-man roster prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season, the player can elect free-agency anytime beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season through October 15th.
A player who has not previously been outrighted to the minors or who has not yet accrued three years of MLB Service Time but who qualified for salary arbitration as a "Super Two" player after the conclusion of the previous MLB regular season can elect free-agency if he is outrighted to the minors, but an outrighted "Super Two" player cannot defer free-agency until the conclusion of the MLB regular season. To become a free-agent, the outrighted "Super Two" player must elect free-agency immediately.
Once an outrighted player eligible to elect free-agency becomes a free-agent, the player can sign a major league or minor league contract with any club, including the player's previous club.
The club must advise the player in writing when it has decided to outright the player to the minors (the club can notify the player up to eight days in advance of the assignment during the off-season or if the player is out of minor league options, and up to four days in advance if the assignment is contemplated during Spring Training or during the MLB regular season). Once notified, the player must make his decision whether to accept or decline the assignment within three days if he is outrighted during Spring Training or during the MLB regular season, or within eight days if he is outrighted during the off-season.
1. A player cannot be outrighted to the minors on the two days prior to the Rule 5 Draft.
2. A "Rule 5 Player" cannot be outrighted to the minors any earlier than 20 days prior to the start of the MLB regular season.
3. A "Draft-Excluded Player" can be outrighted to the minors only if Outright Waivers are requested no later than the 4th day following the conclusion of the World Series, and if a "Draft-Excluded Player" is not outrighted to the minors prior to the Rule 5 Draft, the player cannot be sent to the minors any earlier than 20 days prior to the start of the MLB regular season (same as a Rule 5 player).
4. An unsigned player who is eligible to be an Article XX-D minor league free-agent if outrighted can be outrighted to the minors anytime during the off-season, but an unsigned player who would have been eligible to be an MLB Rule 55 minor league free-agent if the player had been on a minor league reserve list cannot be outrighted to the minors after 5 PM (Eastern) on October 15th or after 5:00 PM on the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series (whichever is later).
5. If a player accrues at least one day of MLB Service Time in a season and then is outrighted to the minors prior to being tendered a Major League contract for the following season, the player's minor league monthly salary for the following season must be at least 80% of his final monthly salary from the previous season.
An injured player cannot be outrighted to the minors during the regular season, but most injured players can be outrighted to the minors at certain times during the off-season:
1. An injured "Rule 5 Player" cannot be outrighted to the minors at any time.
2. An injured player with less than three years of MLB Service Time who has not been outrighted to the minors previously in his career and who did not accrue any MLB Service Time the previous season can be outrighted to the minors during a period of time beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up until the 15th day prior to the start of the next MLB regular season.
3. All other injured players can be outrighted to the minors only during a period of time beginning on the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season up until reserve lists are filed in November, and an injured "Draft-Excluded Player" can be outrighted during this period only if Outright Waivers are requested by the 4th day following the conclusion of the World Series.