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Per Article XIX-A of the CBA, any player on an MLB 40-man roster who has accrued at least five years of MLB Service Time (as well as an international player with Article XIX-A contractual rights) has the right to refuse an Outright Assignment to the minors, or the 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, an Article XIX-A player 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 (as an Article XIX-A minor league free-agent) if he is added back to an MLB 40-man roster prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season.
If a player with Article XIX-A rights refuses an Outright Assignment but does not elect free-agency, the club must either retain the player on the club's MLB Reserve List (40-man roster), trade the player, or give the player his unconditional release.
If a player with Article XIX-A rights does not refuse an Outright Assignment but then elects to be a free-agent immediately after being outrighted, 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 with Article XIX-A rights can waive his right (in advance) to refuse an outright assignment or elect free-agency if outrighted, but the waiver cannot be signed more than ten days prior to MLB Opening Day, the player has the right to designate in advance which minor league team to which he can be assigned, and the waiver 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).
CUBS ARTICLE XIX-A PLAYERS (last updated 2-20-2023):
Tucker Barnhart, C
Cody Bellinger, OF
Brad Boxberger, RHP
Michael Fulmer, RHP
Yan Gomes, C
Ian Happ, OF
Kyle Hendricks, RHP
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Drew Smyly, LHP
Marcus Stroman, RHP
Seiya Suzuki, OF (International player with Article XIX-A rights)
Dansby Swanson, INF
Jameson Taillon, RHP
Per Article XX-D of the CBA, 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. (An international player with Article XX-D contractual rights also has the right to elect free-agency if outrighted). The outrighted Article XX-D 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 (as an Article XX-D minor league free-agent) if he is added back to an MLB 40-man roster prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season.
CUBS ARTICLE XX-D PLAYERS (updated 2-17-2022):
Nico Hoerner, INF
Edwin Rios, INF-OF
Michael Rucker, RHP
Adrian Sampson, RHP
Rowan Wick, RHP
Patrick Wisdom, INF-OF
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 Article XX-D 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 Article XX-D 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 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.
CUBS ARTICLE XX-D "SUPER TWO" PLAYERS (updated 10-6-2022):
Nick Madrigal, INF
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 an Article XIX-A or Article XX-D 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 the off-season, or within two days if he is outrighted during Spring Training or during the MLB regular season.