Aroldis Chapman, the Rays and Exploiting the K-Rod Loophole

With the deadline for postseason eligibility coming up on Tuesday, there is plenty of speculation about what last-minute promotions teams may make to get players on the big-league roster in time. Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweeted that the Reds planned to call up Aroldis Chapman on Monday or Tuesday to make him eligible for the postseason roster, even though general manager Walt Jocketty told FanHouse last week that Chapman would come up on or after Sept. 1.

It's a move that the Reds confiremd they would make, but not one they had to.

The reason Jocketty doesn't have to worry about Chapman's postseason eligibility is because the Reds are in good position to take advantage of a loophole in the rules, the one most famously used to get Francisco Rodriguez on the Angels postseason roster in 2002.

The rules allow for an injured player to be replaced by anyone who was in the organization on Aug. 31, even if that player wasn't in the majors. The replacement must be pitcher-for-pitcher, or position player-for-position player.

In 2002, Rodriguez didn't make his big-league debut with the Angels until Sept. 18. When it came time for the playoff rosters to be finalized, the Angels had Rodriguez replace injured pitcher Steve Green. Steve Green? Yes, there's a great bit of trivia. Green pitched exactly one big-league game, on April 7, 2001, and he spent the next two years on the disabled list.

In the case of the Reds this year, they have two pitchers, Mike Lincoln and Russ Springer, who are on the DL and out for the season. When it comes time to set the playoff rosters, the Reds could simply ask to have Chapman replace one of them, regardless of whether Chapman is in the big leagues on Aug. 31, as he will be.

Most teams have at least one position player and one pitcher on the DL, out for the season, so that gives them flexibility. The Rays, however, have only one position player on the DL, Gabe Kapler, and he is expected to be back in September. So unless the Rays are planning on someone else getting hurt, or planning on Kapler's injury being "extended" to the end of the season, they will need to promote Brad Hawpe by Tuesday to make sure he is eligible for the postseason roster.

Because the player must be in the organization on Aug. 31 -- and still there at the end of the regular season, by the way -- trades must be completed by that time for players to be postseason eligible.

It was a weekend in Major League Baseball that saw a replay-aided walk-off homer, a new NL MVP candidate emerge and the end of "Mannywood." FanHouse TV's Steve Phillips tells us what he learned. Click to watch: