The Use of Baseball Rehab Assignments

When a baseball player needs to recover and get back into playing baseball after injury a rehabilitation assignment can be used. Baseball rehab assignments are among the most common baseball depth chart changes to that can be used. This is where the depth chart is changed for a baseball team so that the team will be able to have its recovering players be able to play before getting back into the major league club.

In various instances rehab assignments are used when players are coming off of the disabled list. In the major leagues players who are on the 15-day or 60-day disabled list but have recovered from their injuries before coming off the list can play in a rehab assignment with a lower level team in the system for a period of time.

These baseball depth chart changes are especially used for those who have been injured for a longer period of time. However, when the player ends up in a minor league program that player will generally have a limited time to play in a certain number of instances. For instance, a typical assignment will go on for only a week or two. This is so that the depth chart will be fully organized so that the team will end up having its chart fully filled out for all levels and so that it will have a plan to make some changes when the player's assignment is finished.

Also, when these baseball depth chart changes are made the level of play is not a factor when determining where a player will go on a rehab assignment. The place where a player will go is going to be based according to the location that the team is at. The parent club will want players to be closer to its major facilities and home location. For instance, the Florida Marlins would put their rehab assignment players in their Advanced A club in Palm Beach County than in their AAA or AA clubs in Albuquerque or suburban Raleigh.

Here's an example of how a rehab assignment works. In 2007 Cincinnati Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton (currently playing for Texas) was injured for a period of time. He spent two weeks in the minor league system playing for the team's AAA club, the Louisville Bats. Since Louisville is only a few hours from Cincinnati it was the best choice for the Reds to use in terms of geography.

Baseball rehab assignments are used by baseball teams to help with adjusting their depth charts when players are able to play again after injury. These assignments can help to get players to get ready to play again after a period of injury. They work to get players back into the swing of the game with ease.