Every spring at MLBTR, we publish a list of players who are out of minor league options and cannot be sent to the minor leagues without first clearing outright waivers. Option status is particularly relevant as teams set their rosters prior to Opening Day. A lack of minor league options is often a key reason a certain player will make the roster over another who had a superior spring performance, and it’s a frequent factor in March trades.
The following is a list of all 40-man players throughout the league with fewer than five years of service time — players with more than five years of service can refuse an optional assignment — and no minor league options remaining. We’ve included players who have signed extensions or multi-year deals, even though they’re often less likely to be optioned.
Angels
- Jo Adell, OF
- Brock Burke, RP
- Mickey Moniak, OF
- José Quijada, RP
- José Suarez, RP
Astros
- Bryan Abreu, RP
- Shawn Dubin, RP
- Mauricio Dubón, IF/OF
- Cooper Hummel, C/OF
- Kaleb Ort, RP
- Isaac Paredes, IF
- Tayler Scott, RP
- Jon Singleton, 1B
- Taylor Trammell, OF
- Forrest Whitley, RP
Athletics
- Luis Medina, SP
Blue Jays
- Ryan Burr, RP
- Ernie Clement, IF
- Tyler Heineman, C
- Tommy Nance, RP
- Zach Pop, RP
Braves
- Nick Allen, IF
- Ian Anderson, SP
- Grant Holmes, SP/RP
- Angel Perdomo, RP
- Chadwick Tromp, C
- Eli White, OF
- Luke Williams, IF/OF
Brewers
- Vinny Capra, IF
- Eric Haase, C
- Nick Mears, RP
- Joel Payamps, RP
Cardinals
- Iván Herrera, C
- JoJo Romero, RP
Cubs
- Miguel Amaya, C
- Vidal Bruján, IF/OF
- Julian Merryweather, RP
- Tyson Miller, RP
- Justin Steele, SP
- Keegan Thompson, RP
Diamondbacks
- José Herrera, C
- René Pinto, C
- Pavin Smith, 1B/OF
Dodgers
- Anthony Banda, RP
- Evan Phillips, RP
Giants
- Jerar Encarnación, OF
- Sam Huff, C
- Heliot Ramos, OF
- David Villar, IF
Guardians
- Gabriel Arias, IF/OF
- Sam Hentges, RP
- Ben Lively, SP
- Triston McKenzie, SP
Mariners
- Eduard Bazardo, RP
- Luke Raley, 1B/OF
- Collin Snider, RP
- Gabe Speier, RP
- Trent Thornton, RP
- Carlos Vargas, RP
Marlins
- Jonah Bride, IF
- Edward Cabrera, SP
- Ronny Henriquez, RP
- Derek Hill, OF
- Otto López, IF/OF
- Seth Martinez, RP (currently in DFA limbo)
- Jesús Sánchez, OF
- Jesús Tinoco, RP
Mets
- José Azocar, OF
- José Buttó, RP
- Alexander Canario, OF
- Sean Reid-Foley, RP
- Jose Siri, OF
- Tyrone Taylor, OF
- Luis Torrens, C
- Mark Vientos, IF
- Danny Young, RP
Nationals
- Riley Adams, C
- Luis García Jr., 2B
- Keibert Ruiz, C
Orioles
- Bryan Baker, RP
- Roansy Contreras, SP/RP
- Cionel Pérez, RP
- Albert Suárez, SP/RP
- Ramón Urías, IF
Padres
- Eguy Rosario, IF/OF
- Brett Sullivan, C
Phillies
- Kody Clemens, IF/OF
- Buddy Kennedy, IF/OF
- Rafael Marchán, C
- Tyler Phillips, SP
- José Ruiz, RP
- Cristopher Sánchez, SP
- Edmundo Sosa, IF
Pirates
- Joey Bart, C
- Oneil Cruz, OF
- Bailey Falter, SP
- Joshua Palacios, OF
- Dennis Santana, RP
- Peter Strzelecki, RP
- Joey Wentz, RP
Rangers
- Josh Sborz, RP
- Leody Taveras, OF
- Jacob Webb, RP
Rays
- Garrett Cleavinger, RP
- Alex Faedo, RP
- Christopher Morel, IF/OF
- Manuel Rodríguez, RP
- Ben Rortvedt, C
- Edwin Uceta, RP
Red Sox
- None
Reds
- Stuart Fairchild, OF
- Tony Santillan, RP
Rockies
- Thairo Estrada, IF
- Jimmy Herget, RP
- Sam Hilliard, OF
- Nolan Jones, OF
- Justin Lawrence, RP
Royals
- Carlos Hernández, RP
- Sam Long, RP
- Nick Pratto, 1B/OF
- Nelson Velázquez, OF
Tigers
- Zach McKinstry, IF/OF
Twins
- Brock Stewart, RP
- Michael Tonkin, RP
White Sox
- Jacob Amaya, IF
- Lenyn Sosa, IF
- Mike Tauchman, OF
- Matt Thaiss, C
- Miguel Vargas, IF
- Bryse Wilson, SP/RP
Yankees
- Yoendrys Gómez, SP/RP
- Mark Leiter Jr., RP
- Oswald Peraza, IF
What about Jay Groome for the Padres? The Red Sox protected him from the Rule 5 draft after the 2020 season and he hasn’t touched the majors yet.
He’s still suspended.
Which has no bearing on him being or not being out of options.
I believe Groome is out of options, but he’s also no longer on the Padres 40-man roster. I don’t think his suspension would qualify him for a 4th option season (sometimes teams are granted a 4th year for players who missed significant time with injuries). That means that Groome would have to clear waivers when the suspension ends if the Padres want to send him back to AAA.. But that’s a dilemma for June.
They already burned a fourth option year, that being 2024. He spent more than 20 days optioned to the minors in 2024 before he got suspended.
Groome would have all his options, they don’t start coming into play until a player makes their MLB debut and is then sent down,
Wrong. It’s when a player get placed on the 40-man roster. All 40-man roster players are invited to MLB spring training by default. If they don’t make the team out of spring training they are “optioned” to the minors.
The main point is that he’s suspended so he’s not currently on the 40 man roster. This list is comprised of players on 40 man rosters with no options remaining. If you went through every team’s camp, there is probably 5 non roster invites who are out of options but it doesn’t matter because they’re not on the 40 man.
The difference is the day Groome’s suspension expires the Padres have to either reinstate him to the 40-man roster or expose him to outright waivers. That is not the case with the NRI’s you mentioned.
you are correct. my bad. the suspension then would be my guess as why he’s not included, because he’s not currently on the 40 man
But he will have to be either reinstated to the 40-man roster or exposed to outright waivers the day his suspension expires.
Yes, obviously but this list is of CURRENT 40 man players…not sure why you’re arguing so hard. It literally says, “The following is a list of all 40-man players throughout the league with fewer than five years of service time — players with more than five years of service can refuse an optional assignment — and no minor league options remaining.” And it’s about players coming out of spring training…not throughout the season.. AND Jay Groome still has one option remaining. Check Roster Resource.. At least get your facts straight if you’re going to fight so hard to be right.
Groome is a current 40-man player. He’s just on the restricted list. So basically he’s the same as a player who is on the 60-day IL as far as that category goes. Once his suspension ends they have to either reinstate him to the 40-man or DFA him. He is not the same as the NRI’s to spring training who also happen to be out of minor league options because they don’t have to be added to the 40 or DFA’d at any point.
Joemo pointed out that he still has one more option year according to Fangraphs, but now I wonder how that can be seeing as the Red Sox and later the Padres burned option years on Groome in 2021, ’22, ’23 and ’24.
Lfg – Fangraphs is showing as one option remaining.
fangraphs.com/players/jason-groome/sa917925/stats?…
Now I’m not saying they’re wrong. But I would like to know how they figure that. In theory, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 should all qualify as option years for Groome. I’ve heard of fourth option years but not fifth option years.
There this an additional stipulation to consume an option year: Once an optioned player has spent at least 20 days in the Minors in a given season, he loses one of his options.
So could be a timing thing? Going through his MLB page for the transactions, I don’t see how he still has that option, but maybe it has something to do with the 20 days things.
As a Red Sox fan, I have spent far too long thinking about Jay Groome in 2025 due to this, so thanks ha.
Like I said above, he spent more than 20 days optioned to the minors in 2024 before he was suspended.
I know he is suspended. That is not what this thread is about.
I know the Padres are probably going to DFA him once the suspension expires. That is not what this thread is about.
“The following is a list of all 40-man players throughout the league with fewer than five years of service time — players with more than five years of service can refuse an optional assignment — and no minor league options remaining.”
Groome is not currently on the 40-man. He would be placed on this list once activated.
They’re not going to come back and update this list when his suspension expires.
Likely not, but the point still stands. They should have included him with an asterisk.
there is a big difference between suspension and IL. IL can still go to facilities for rehab or meetings or whatever a suspended player is not allowed at the facilities or to be in contact with the team. This is probably why he is not on the 40 man list and because he is not on the 40 he wouldnt be on the list above regardless if he has options or not.
First thing you’ve posted that cant explicitly be proven correct. Had a good run.
I’m surprised the Yankees only have 3 players on the list. It’s now or never for Peraza
Can the Mets make a deal for Cubs Justin Steele ?
No
Almost any deal can be made. It’s the price that won’t be met.
He’s the Cubs best pitcher and they intend to compete this year. Why on earth would the Cubs trade him?
Shota Imanaga is statistically the Cubs’ best pitcher, Seamaholic/Seamaholic 2.
Imanaga is their best, imo. At least based off the most recent season.
Steele is seen by the Cubs as their ace. They are not considering letting him go. So this would be a pipe dream, jvent….Keegan Thompson, maybe.
steele is very good.im not sure id call him an ace.at least not yet.
I agree, but my point is that the Cubs think he is an ace, and they are not going to trade or release him under any circumstances.jvent, no doubt a Mets fan, is showing his ignorance–or indulging in a bit of wishful thinking. The other 29 teams don’t exist for the benefit of the Mets.
There’s a pretty high probability that since Steele is by far the best player on this list of 100+ that jvent was being sarcastic.
Maybe, but irony is not a characteristic possessed by most Mets fans. My guess is he was serious. He sees the Cubs as perennial patsies, and figures they would jump at the chance to trade one of their best pitchers to the Mets for a couple of minor-league stable ponies.
Cubs are trying to compete with NY. So, they wouldn’t want to do that unless they fleeced NY. Both teams need TOR SP anyway. They (either team) need to go after Alcantara, Cease, or someone of that ilk, if they’re even still available. I have a feeling SD isn’t even interested in dealing Cease anymore unless it’s something irresistible. By the way, I’m not saying Steele never will be an ace. He may turn into one, but he isn’t right now. Imanaga probably is at the moment, imo. And even he is probably a #2 on a championship team.
When it comes to the angels. I say the last two would be a easy decision. Saurez will not be picked-up. Mixed feelings on Q, but I rather go with Burke.
The Angels love Suarez for some reason. I’m just hoping Paris makes it difficult for the team not to put him on the opening roster and forces them to DFA Suarez.
@kellin. I think McDaniels will push him out. The angels will most likely add a vet righty. they have too many lefties in the pen. Paris is looking good, but i think they will take him off. Anderson or jd Davis will take a spot until neto comes back.
I wonder if it would be possible to quantify which teams burn the most option years. I see a ton of former Dodgers on that list. It could be that all teams option at the same frequency. But I’d be curious to see if there’s a correlation between option years used per team and team success.
Or maybe I’m just nuts. Totally possible.
An option year means 1 year = multiple options are available in that year so it depends if you are trying to quantify options or option years used.
But in general I would think more option years used = more depth which the Dodgers have utilized a ton the past decade. So with AAAA or useful but flawed bullpen arms that will get shuttled to give other players rest, I bet there is a logical possibility that there is correlation between usage and success.
For this post I was referring to option years used but I guess data on both option years used and options used would be interesting.
I think you could be right. But I also wonder if teams with more injuries would have to bring up more minor leaguers (and then send them back down to make room for players coming off IL). Or teams going through rebuilding trying out several younger players.
Lots of options are related to injury. Which would usually mean that they are underperforming.
Surprised to see the Sox with 0. I guess that’s a good problem to have
@rsox. Didn’t the redsox release all of them and do handshake agreements to minor league deals. I know Campbell was one. Not bad at all. Just saying that’s why it’s zero and smart
They forgot/missed Refsnyder
Ooops, 6yrs service, my mistake
Refsnyder still had options last year? Isn’t he like 34???
Seems like it. Years ago he was hyped endlessly as a Yankee prospect and subject of thousands of trade scenarios. Then he bounced around for a few years before finding his footing in BOS.
Yankees gonna attempt to pass Peraza and he will get claimed. Yet another untraded former prospect they got absolutely nothing for when they had value. Every year there’s a new Miguel Andujar/Clint Frazier.
@wrian. It’s always because of the east coast bias. Do they flame out or are they just overrated in the rankings. Not knocking it, and definitely helps in trades when they do. It’s probably comes out to being even in some weird way.
Over hyped or not they had real value at one point. The fans may have fantasized of a cheap, controllable young infield of Cabrera, Peraza, and Volpe but the FO knew for a years that wasn’t going to happen. Was it worth holding on to them for cheap depth as opposed to coughing up a couple bucks for platoon guys on the FA market and trading Peraza/Cabrera when they still had some potential as everyday starters?
Andujar and Frazier were both given opportunities to play, had some success and then were unable to maintain it for various reasons. Peraza was jumped by Volpe and Cabrera and also blocked by DJ and Donaldson. He had opportunity the last two years but got hurt and then struggled in AAA. He had a path but health and timing just wasn’t in his favor. If Stanton begins the season on the IL he’ll probably have one last opportunity unless DJ still stinks and they release him.
Peraza will easily win the 3B battle to break camp. Him holding onto the job long term is a different conversation but no chance he gets DFA’d.
The Red Sox have the chance to claim another Luis Garcia. There isn’t enough on their bench that would suggest that getting a laugh would take away from the team’s performance
Great list Darragh.
Lot’s of tough decisions. The Giant’s Jerar Encarnacion is an intriguing player.
Encarnacion will make the 26-man without question, regardless of his spring. His hard hit rate, his excellent batting eye and average defense despite his size. The guy has real upside.
PV,
I’ve seen him play a handful of times and he looks like he’s this close!
Eguy Rosario looks great and fills a IF/OF/DH need. Pads need to hang on
I really thought Eguy was gonna be an important bench piece last season, but Solano and Peralta really paid off. Hoping to see him get an opportunity this year and run with it.
Eguy is this year’s Solano only with more upside due to youth / potential and ability to play more positions, including SS and LF in a pinch. Just hope he develops and produces at mlb level and sticks around for 10+ years even if just a journeyman utility guy.
I have to wonder if that nasty ankle injury didn’t carry over to where SD felt the need to add Solano last year.
There is no logical argument that can be made to defend Jose Suarez still being a major league pitcher.
JERAR ENCARNACION IN 2025 IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST GIANT TO HIT 30+ HOMERUNS SINCE BARRY BONDS IN 2004.
Willing to put some money down on that bold assertion??
OKAY. YOU ARE RIGHT. YES.
Not even 1 Jo Adell trade proposa? WTH!
Maybe if Adell gets a hit this spring people might start talking about him.
Prov – for years he was the topic of many trade questions on Chats on this site.
I know because I started most of them.
@prov356. He got hbp. That’s has to count for something.
There you go – just increased his OBP and his trade value.
I think the beast in Adell woke up with that grand salami against the Dodgers tonight.
Yes, but then the beast got drunk, passed out, and went right back to sleep except to wake up for an all too frequent strike out.
@prov356. To be fair the team got drunk and fell asleep after the 2nd. Also it’s the dodgers team c is still decent.
@prov356. But for some reason I have a feeling they will sign him to a minor league deal. with McDaniels looking good it’s definitely putting the nail in his coffin since he needs to stay on roster or he goes back to the dodgers.
Bart had a great year for the pirates, he should be their starting catcher
Sure seems so, but this is the Pirates.
Triston McKenzie needs a change of scenery.
Perhaps Pickleball with JDM?
They forgot to put me on this list. Understandable.
Are you out of DickDollars or just options?
Otto Lopez was granted a fourth option year last year because he didn’t have 5 full professional seasons under his belt. It didn’t get used last year and roster resource says he still has one. But this list says he’s out of options. Is that because he now has 5 seasons as a pro so the fourth option disappears? That fourth option is a use it or lose it proposition? You can’t bank it like one of the first three?
Otto Velez nods.
Kody Clemens for Jo Adell, straight up. The Angels could use a right side INF’er after losing Brandon Drury, in addition to 3B A. Rendon. Phillies need a RH hitting OF’er and have 1 too many INF’ers.
Or how about Kody Clemens + lottery ticket pitching prospect for Evan Phillips (Dodgers) or Forrest Whitley (Astros). Kinda like the nostalgia of Clemens on the Stros. Phillies need a RH hitting OF’er and RHRP. Other than that, they are a complete team.
Seeing Miguel Vargas on this list caused me to check his stats from last year. He once was a potentially interesting prospect for the Dodgers, but his ChiSox stats in 2024 were beyond terrible. Did he just lose interest after going from a great to terrible team?