2020 MLB Questions

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,745
There are so many unusual things happening, including an entirely new postseason system agreed upon and put in place on Opening Day (!!!) so I thought we could use a thread where people could ask questions they can't find the answers to.

My first one is if a team needs a 40 man spot and they need to drop someone (the David Hale annual tradition), in a normal season that would be a DFA and all other 29 teams would get to claim him if they would put him on their 40 man, and only if he makes it through that can he be sent down. But is that still the case this season, or can someone like David Hale (yet again) just be sent straight down to NY's hopeful crew waiting in Scranton, and remain a part of the 60 man list? Or is is a claim/quarantine/report situation?

The brand new postseason also brings up lots of questions, I know how the 8 qualify (all 3 1st and 2nd places plus two WCs past that) but I am not sure how they are seeded, strictly 1-8 on record? Or the 3 1sts in order, then the 3 2nds, then the last two? I would prefer the first one although the entirely non-overlapping schedules make it confusing.

Also at one point there was something about the top 3 teams being allowed to pick their first-round opponents, but maybe that didn't make the final cut? That sounds bad but otherwise you are going to end up with way too many first round same division matchups in a year where they already played 10 of 60 against each other, so hopefully that is still in there. I liked the playoffs better when the wild card winner couldn't play a team from the same division in the first round.

Sorry if any of these answers are easy to find, I have looked periodically for all of them.
 

DeadlySplitter

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 20, 2015
33,260
as far as weird roster rules, there's this MLBTR article:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/06/explaining-the-2020-mlb-roster-rules.html
I believe your answer here is it's still DFA exposure for someone like Hale. The Sox have gotten a couple dumpster dive pitchers this weekend based on 40-man DFAs.

Once a player is placed on the active roster, standard rules apply. Players eligible to be optioned can be sent back to camp just as if it were a minor-league affiliate. An optioned player must stay on optional assignment for ten days, unless called back owing to an injured list placement. Players who are not eligible to be optioned must be designated for assignment (and then traded or exposed to outright waivers) to be removed from the active roster.
the seeding is the second option you listed. Olney spread something the morning of the 23rd about a selection show, but that did not pan out at all, no byes, 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc.

View: https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1286416569262891009
 
Last edited:

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,745
Very helpful, thank you! Yeah, David Hale is going to be in BOS within a month.