Dear Dr. EFL Answer Man:
With the start of May allocations/standings delayed, what does that mean for a player who is DFAd before our allocations are due?
In this case I am talking about Anthony Varvaro, who was DFAd by the Red Sox on May 3rd, then claimed by the Cubs, who DFAd him on May 6. Since we are not officially started on this month, can I DFA him based on the Sox DFA of him, and then claim his money from the Cubs picking him up? Or do I need to DFA him now and hope another team picks him up?
— Sophomore EFL owner
Dear Sophomore:
Here are your scores and my comments on your paper:
Writing: 8.5 / 10 points. You write pretty well for a sophomore. Grammar is generally sound, meaning comes through clearly. You could polish this further with more ruthless self-editing. Notice how you use one word (DFA) six times in four sentences. That’s often an indicator of the need to tighten your writing. Also, look for opportunities to shift your writing toward a positive voice, using more vivid verbs and eliminating words or phrases that aren’t doing any work. So, as an example, consider whether anything is lost with the following re-write of your second paragraph:
“Since we are not officially started on May, can I weasel out of Anthony Varvaro’s wages by backdating my DFA to a date before the Cubs claimed him?”
This cuts the paragraph down to 28 words, a reduction of approximately 97&; eliminates all the repeated DFA’s; and rescues the reader from having to slog through long, repeated references to the Red Sox. Not everyone is as enamored as you are of the Junior Yankees. Also, note the verb “weasel”, both more accurate and more colorful than trying to verbize “DFA.”
Content: 8/10. You demonstrate intelligence and admirable curiosity with your question, as well as a solid intermediate-level grasp of EFL rules. Clearly you have the potential to develop into a fine EFL manager. However, in this instance, you miss some of the nuance of the subject. The calendar in the EFL is a flexible concept. Sometimes it refers to the actual calendar, as when we stopped doing updates for April on April 30. Sometimes it refers to an alternative space-time continuum, as when we make trades in the middle of April that cannot take effect until the end of the month. In fact, sometimes we refer to frayed time lines — that mid April trade takes effect for some purposes on May 1, and for others right after our end of April draft which could occur almost any time but this time happens Friday afternoon May 8, sometime after 4 pm PDT. So we even have events that occur simultanesouly on two different dates!
Understandably, to the underinitiated this can be disorienting. But here’s the rule: we count a DFA as occurring on the actual date and time you announce it. You thereby commit yourself to de-rostering the player by the end of the next manager’s meeting. You can trade the player away in the meantime — either to another EFL team, or in an MLB trade if you have all the major league pieces on one side of the MLB deal. But if you don’t trade the player before the end of the manager’s meeting, you will no longer hold any rights to him after the managers meeting.
However, you may still have to pay the player. Varvaro is on a veteran contract through the end of the year, so you would have to pay him — unless another team (EFL or MLB) signs him (or claims him off waivers) after you DFA’d him, in which case the amount the other team pays him would be set off against your ongoing obligation to him.
So — you’ve missed the train on both the Red Sox and the Cubs claiming Varvaro. But if you act quickly, perhaps you can beat the next waiver wire claim.
Thank you for your enthusiastic participation in class, Sophomore. Until next time,
— Dr. EFL Answer Man