That refuses to die………….

We also made a deal with the M’s. But that’s it.

The Cubs wouldn’t take him back under those conditions.

1. The trade must be completed within six months.

2. The PTBNL cannot have played in the same league (I think both NL and AL count as one for this) as the player for whom he is traded. This largely comes into play in deadline deals when the receiving club doesn’t have 40 man roster space so they want the other team to keep the prospect until November. The “to be named” prospect cannot be called up in September by his original team.

3. Even if two teams agree on a particular player, the player is still Rule 5 eligible (if he is otherwise).

Major reasons for using PTBNL rather than naming everyone immediately:

1. The PTBNL is not eligible to be traded immediately. A player cannot be traded for one year after signing his first professional contract (the Incaviglia rule), but he can be a PTBNL after six months and one day. The trade is completed at his one-year date.

2. 40 man roster crunch.

3. To give the receiving team additional scouting time. Sometimes the teams agree on a list of players from which the receiving team can select one or more. The receiving team can then scout those players more heavily. Note that this doesn’t always help; the Rangers eventually chose Joaquín Árias instead of Robinson Canó in the A-Rod trade.

4. A gentlemen’s agreement to make the quality of the player conditional on the success of the major leaguer.

5. So that the receiving team can avoid putting a Rule 5 eligible onto his 40 man roster before the draft. If the player is claimed by another team, the two teams agree to substitute someone else or cash.

Generally, the teams agree either to a single player or to a list of players from which one team or the other can choose at the time of the trade, but occasionally they agree simply that it will be a “low level prospect” or something similar. Baseball rules stipulate a cash payment (or “future considerations”) must be made to complete the trade if the teams don’t come to an agreement, or if the receiving team prefers it that way.

Note also that sometimes “future considerations” are traded instead of (or in addition to) a player or cash. Future considerations usually take the form of the receiving team asking the trading team not to claim a certain player who is on waivers — a handy thing during the August trading period.

Also, gentlemen’s agreements are very strong among GMs in baseball. They take great pride in being honest with one another about a player’s injury history, about not revealing sensitive data about another team to the media, and about agreeing to trade whichever PTBNL was previously agreed on.

Hope this clears it up a bit.