You may be wondering why some of the smartest EFL owners are already DFAing people. Here’s my guess:
- If you have a veteran on a long-term contract, you can always cut them. But if you want to get relief from their contract, you have to cut them before they sign a new deal in MLB or the EFL. If you do that, their new deal will offset your obligations to the player. So our clever colleagues are making very sure they’ve cut the long-term players they plan to cut BEFORE those players sign new deals (including extensions).
- They are using the DFA (Designated for Assignment) tool because it gives them all the benefits of cutting the player immediately, plus it gives them the option of trading the player t0 another EFL team or as part of an MLB trade they can horn in on. This option persists until either a) they turn in their Opening Day roster next spring, or b) the player is put up to be drafted in next spring’s Free Agent draft, or c) the player signs a new MLB contract — whichever comes first.
So you might want to think about your veteran players on ongoing contracts. If they are up for free agency, or for an extension from their current MLB teams, and you would like to shed them and their contracts, DFA them before that extension or new MLB contract is announced.
But be careful: you can’t pull a player back from DFA. Once DFA’d the player is no longer eligible to play for you. So if you DFA a player and they don’t get a new contract (but don’t officially retire or die), you are stuck paying them until they retire, die or sign another contract.