Why do teams wait to put players on IL?

[Sour Masher]

I think I used to know this, but I forget. I mostly want to know when guys like Carrasco and Gallen will be officially put on the IL so I can move them there. But larger picture, what rules dictate why teams game this in ST? When can we expect the official moves? What advantage to the team is it to hold off?

[Moonlight J]

Some of these guys won't even officially hit until the morning of opening day. I don't believe they can use the 10-15 day IL in spring training so only the 60 man is available to create spots on the 40-man roster.

[Sour Masher]

Some of these guys won't even officially hit until the morning of opening day. I don't believe they can use the 10-15 day IL in spring training so only the 60 man is available to create spots on the 40-man roster.

Ah, that explains it then. Very obvious. Thanks.

[joncarlos]

Yeah, the 15-day IL is only used to create a spot on the 26-man roster. Teams aren't maintaining their 26-man rosters yet.

[Sour Masher]

Yeah, the 15-day IL is only used to create a spot on the 26-man roster. Teams aren't maintaining their 26-man rosters yet.

But they should consider the fantasy ramifications .

[Ken]

But they should consider the fantasy ramifications .

I wonder how large the $ impact of fantasy is for mlb. I know it's huge for football.

[Sour Masher]

I wonder how large the $ impact of fantasy is for mlb. I know it's huge for football.

This may be changing with the emergence of daily, points, h2h, and other features to simplify and mimic fantasy football, but my old understanding was that fantasy football was orders of magnitude bigger than fantasy baseball. Which I really do not get. There are so many baseball games, it is so much more engaging and fun. It should be huge. I am curious if it has grown substantially lately. It certainly has grown more diverse, but I don't know if the increase variety has dramatically increased participation.