What does Restricted List mean in MLB? Explaining eligibility and status details

Jorge Lopez has been placed on the restricted list by the Minnesota Twins owing to mental health issues.

In MLB, a restricted list is a situation in which a player despite being a member of the team is not active. It is different from the injury list. A player is placed on the restricted list for the following reasons:

• Might be unavailable for non-baseball-related purposes (mainly due to personal or legal issues)
• Thinks about retiring but is still capable of playing or making a return.
• Leaves the team without authentic reasons.

When a player is on the restricted list, the team fills up his place with another player. The team owns the rights to the player. During this time, another team may express an interest in acquiring the player. In such a case, a deal can be worked out between the two teams regarding compensation.

Players can be removed from the restricted list. Once removed, they can either become active members of the team or join the other team that acquired them.

In the case of Jorge Lopez, the team has placed him on a 15-day mental health injured list, following which his condition will be reassessed. He will be unpaid for the time.

Players who have been previously placed on the restricted list in MLB

MLB players have been placed on the restricted list

Players getting placed on a restricted list are not uncommon in the MLB. In 2022, several teams placed their players on restricted lists because they were unvaccinated before entering Canada for games against the Toronto Blue Jays. These players were:

• James Karinchak (Cleveland Guardians)
• Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Romine (St.Louis Cardinals)
• Andrew Benintendi, Whit Merrifield, M.J. Melendez, Hunter Dozier, Brad Keller, Brady Singer, Michael. A. Taylor, Kyle Isbel, Dylan Coleman, and Cam Gallagher (Kansas City Royals)
• Alec Bohm, Bailey Falter, Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson and J.T. Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Brooks Raley and Ryan Thompson (Tampa Bay Rays)
• Keegan Akin and Anthony Santander (Baltimore Orioles)
• Max Kepler, Trevor Megill, Emilio Pagan and Caleb Thielbar (Minnesota Twins)
• Dylan Cease and Kendall Graveman (Chicago White Sox)
• Albert Almora, Brandon Drury, Joel Kuhnel and Tyler Mahle (Cincinnati Reds)
• Robbie Ray and Drew Steckenrider (Seattle Mariners)
• Jarren Duran and Tanner Houck (Boston Red Sox)
• Austin Allen, A.J.Puk and A.J. Snead (Oakland Athletics)

In 2023, four players were placed on the restricted list due to mental health reasons. They are:

• Austin Meadows (Detroit Tigers)
• Trevor May (Oakland Athletics)
• Danuel Bard (Colorado Rockies)
• Jorge Lopez (Minnesota Twins)

It is expected that no more players like Jorge Lopez will need to be placed on the restricted list for the rest of this MLB season.

On August 14, 2023, Tampa Bay Rays' 22-year old player Wander Franco was placed on the Restricted List after allegations of his romance with an underaged woman emerged. The MLB is still conducting its investigation on the matter.