00:00I do want to get to what potentially I was wrong about, but Brandon and Tyler, it looks
00:08like we got a little news that makes you wonder what the hell's going on.
00:12And speaking of being wrong about something, probably a guy I was wrong about.
00:16What the hell's going on?
00:17So we get the report from multiple sources, all of them, Karahara, McTaggart, Chandler
00:28Rome.
00:28We get the reports that Brian Abreu has been placed on the restricted list effective
00:36today.
00:37Right-handed pitcher Logan Van Way has been recalled from Sugarland to join the Major League
00:42Club.
00:42So during the break, I'm sitting there like, what is the restricted list?
00:48In my mind, I'm thinking maybe he's having a baby or something.
00:51We start hunting this down, Tyler.
00:53The restricted list is a roster designation for players who are under contract but unavailable
01:01to play for unexcused, personal, or non-baseball reasons.
01:07It effectively freezes a player's contract, removing them from the active 40-man roster
01:13while allowing the team to retain their rights.
01:17Key rules to this, no salary.
01:21Players placed on the restricted list are typically not paid by the team for the duration of their
01:27time on the list.
01:29No service time.
01:31Players do not accue Major League service time while on the list.
01:35Roster flexibility, it opens up a roster on the free-man roster, giving teams flexibility
01:43without losing players' rights to free agency.
01:46Duration, there is no minimum or maximum amount of time a player can remain on the list.
01:52Tyler looks confused.
01:55These are the main reasons why players are usually placed on the restricted list.
02:01Leave of absence, leaving a team without valid permission or need an extended time off beyond
02:09allotted bereavement or paternity leaves.
02:13Legal issues, unavailable due to trouble with the law or active investigations.
02:18Retirement or personal rehab, situations where players need extended break from the sport
02:26or specialized off-site rehabilitation.
02:30So whatever this is, as we've gone through everything that falls under the restricted list,
02:38whatever this is, Brandon, something that doesn't feel like it's a good thing has occurred here
02:47with Brian Abreu, obviously we're not going to speculate on exactly what it is,
02:52but just by being placed on the restricted list and no salary getting paid
02:58and what most people have been on the restricted list for,
03:03this makes you wonder what is going on with the Brian Abreu situation.
03:07Yeah, no, this is a major, major element question to the point where I wouldn't be surprised
03:12if we got that answer before we went off the air today,
03:15and I would be very surprised if we came back on the air tomorrow and didn't have the answer by
03:21then.
03:21So we should get, between the end of this show and the start of next show,
03:25we should get some sort of explanation on this.
03:28And just for the record, the Astros did send this over about 40 minutes ago in an email.
03:33You know, their game notes that they send out every game,
03:36Brian Abreu being placed on the restricted list effective today, as you mentioned,
03:40with no further explanation at all,
03:42which I feel like something like this does require an explanation, right?
03:47Like, you don't put a guy on the injured list without telling us what their injury is.
03:51So I don't feel like you put a guy on this list without at least giving some sort of explanation
03:56at some point.
03:57So I'm expecting to get that.
03:59But to your point, and we were talking about this as we found out about it during the break,
04:04is that whatever it is cannot be good and is not simply based on poor performance.
04:10Like, we know Brian Abreu ain't been worth a damn out there on the mound all season, right?
04:15We understand that, and they could make justification for doing really whatever they want with him,
04:20probably absent of outright cutting him.
04:22But if they wanted to lessen his role or do whatever they wanted to do,
04:26send him to the trip, whatever they wanted to do,
04:28they could probably do it and justify it just based off of his performance alone.
04:31But putting him on the restricted list and all of those caveats and details
04:36to why you go on the restricted list and the restrictions that come with it
04:39tell you that something is amiss beyond just him pitching poorly,
04:44something else went wrong, and I'm ready to figure out exactly what it is.
04:50Some who have been placed on this.
04:52Hugh Darvish was placed on this with the Padres.
04:54He preferred to step away from the team to rehab a major injury on his own
04:59and spend time with his family.
05:01Another player for the Pirates was placed on this list by the Pirates
05:07after expressing that he was not physically or mentally prepared to pitch immediately
05:11after being reassigned to the bullpen.
05:14I think one of the most famous ones was Josh Hamilton.
05:17He was placed on this with his battles with drug and alcohol addiction.
05:23Scott Spezio for treatment for substance abuse was also placed on this prior.
05:29It also says some players have this due to visa or travel delays
05:37that have been placed on this.
05:41That would also not be good.
05:42So everything that you just listed is either...
05:45Just given a context of people who have been placed on the restricted list before.
05:49So everything that you've mentioned is either like a health beyond injury thing,
05:53like addiction or something along those lines,
05:56or they're at odds with the team in some regard, right?
06:00They want to rehab away from the team,
06:02and whatever reason that brings that about,
06:06they're willing to be on the restricted list or put on the restricted list,
06:10not getting paid, not getting service time,
06:12because they want to be with their family.
06:13Like, you can't tell me that if you either voluntarily or involuntarily
06:18go on any kind of list where you're not being paid,
06:22that something is not amiss.
06:23Yeah, you're not, like I've seen some people in the text line,
06:26yeah, I don't think this is an issue of any kind of injury or sickness,
06:34or I don't think this would fall into you not getting paid.
06:38Yeah, and even if it did,
06:40that would mean that something went wrong beyond that, right?
06:43Like, even if there is an injury or a sickness,
06:45that means, hey, not only is there an injury or a sickness,
06:48but we disagree on how to move forward,
06:49because otherwise I would move forward with whatever the team recommendation is
06:54and get paid, because this is a job after all, right?
06:57I would do that as opposed to saying,
06:58all right, well, I'm going to go off on my own
07:00and not get paid and not get service time,
07:02which also does matter in the long run.
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