Some of the rules regarding baseball transactions can be a little rough to
understand. One of those rules that's often misunderstood is the rule of
"optioning out a player". Many fans know that players have three options, but
they don't fully understand what that means. The basic explanation is that once
a player is added to the 40 man roster, he can be optioned out in three separate
seasons. Where the misunderstanding comes in is that a lot of fans understand
the rule to mean that he can be optioned out three times, when in fact,
he can be optioned out countless times over three seasons.
A player who is "out of options" can't be sent to the minors without first
clearing waivers. Players with five years of Major League service also can not
be optioned to the minors without their consent.
For some unknown reason, Major League Baseball and their teams don't
publicize how many options players have remaining. Using baseball rules and
doing some investigative work, it's possible to figure out where players stand.
We've read over the rules and done the leg work for you to figure out where the
players on the Phillies 40 man roster stand in regard to their remaining
options. We'll keep updating this list as time goes on, options are used and
players are added to the 40 man roster. We've done our best to compile this
list, but can't absolutely guarantee that this list is 100% correct; after all,
who do you think we are, Bud Selig?
Players with five years or more experience, who can not be optioned to the
minors:
Pat Burrell, Adam Eaton, Tom Gordon, Wes Helms, Geoff Jenkins, Brad Lidge,
Brett Myers, Jimmy Rollins and J.C. Romero.
Players out of options:
Clay Condrey, Greg Dobbs, Chad Durbin, J.D. Durbin, John Ennis, Chris Snelling, So Taguchi, Jayson Werth.
Rule 5 Players: (Can not be optioned to the minors without first being
offered to the team that they were drafted from and clearing waivers)
Travis Blackley, Lincoln Holdzkom
| PLAYER |
REMAINING OPTIONS |
| Joe Bisenius |
2 |
| Eric Bruntlett |
2 |
| Fabio Castro |
2 |
| Chris Coste |
2 |
| Cole Hamels |
3 |
| J.A. Happ |
2 |
| Brad Harman |
3 |
| Ryan Howard |
1 |
| Jason Jaramillo |
3 |
| Kyle Kendrick |
3 |
| Ryan Madson |
2 |
| Scott Mathieson |
1 |
| Carlos Ruiz |
1 |
| Chase Utley |
1 |
| Shane Victorino |
1 |
| Mike Zagurski |
2 |