Right to Refuse an Outright Assignment

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.