Regarding MLB Transactions, please help!?

Question

I've never really understood the difference between these two transactions in MLB. Whats the difference between a Major leauge team purchasing the contract of a player from its minor league affiliate and a big leauge team calling up a player from a minor league affilitate?

Answer 1

I'm pretty sure it's something along these lines. But prior to their first time in the Majors, players have a Minor League contract. When a team wants to bring a player up, they purchase that contract and give them a Major League contract. From that point, the player has the Major League contract, and has a number of options that the team can exercise to move a player up and down. So they can then, call a player up since they already have that contract. I'd have to look for it again to make sure that's 100% correct, but I think that's the basic process.  

Answer 2

A player that is not on the teams 40 man roster does not have a contract with the big league instead their contract is through the minor league team so when they are first called to the Majors the Major league team must first purchase the contract of the player giving them a Major League salary instead of the minor league contract that they have been working with.  When the player is called up that means that they are already on the 40 man roster and their salary is part of the Major League teams budget.

Answer 3

In practice, there's no real difference.  "Purchasing the contract" essentially just means that the player isn't on the 40-man roster yet, while "calling him up" means that he is.  There are a few administrative differences, but nothing that matters to anyone outside of a team's lawyers and accountants.

Answer 4

Honestly, I don't understand why the word 'purchase' is used because the major league club pays the salaries of all their minor league players. It would seem to me instead of saying 'purchased the minor league contract' they would say 'signed to a major league contract'. Regardless, this is done because a minor league contract would not be valid in the major leagues. First of all the player will be paid more for being in the majors so that is one consideration. Second, there is a reserve clause in minor league contracts that states that the team 'reserves the rights' to the player's services after the season ends. The reserve clause is invalid in major league contracts. So the minor league contract becomes null and void and the player signs a new contract to play in the majors.

Answer 5

When a Major League Team purchases the contract of a player from it's minor league affiliate, it just means that they feel that that player can fit their needs, so they "purchase" the contract of the player and his services from the minors to the Major League Club. It is basically the same meaning when you call a minor leaguer up, but I think that the player you call up is someone who has been in the bigs before, and the Major League Team still owns their contract, so that means that they just call him up without buying his contract.