MLB Players In DFA Limbo: Who’s at Risk This Offseason

This article takes a look at how Major League Baseball’s transaction calendar shifts during the holidays. The result? A strange “DFA limbo” that can stall both players’ careers and front office plans.

The rules for these moves seem clear on paper. But in late December, reality gets a lot messier, and some recent cases have really highlighted that quiet, seasonal slowdown.

What Does Designated for Assignment Really Mean?

When a team designates a player for assignment, or DFA, it’s making a quick—and sometimes harsh—roster move. The player gets bumped from the club’s 40-man roster, and a short, crucial clock starts ticking that could change his career in a hurry.

Normally, the DFA process follows a tight routine. The idea is to keep roster shuffling moving fast, even in the offseason.

The Standard DFA Timeline and Process

Once a team DFAs a player, it gets up to seven days to decide what’s next. During that period:

Waivers usually resolve in about 48 hours. That leaves around five days for a team to shop the player in trades before a waiver decision comes down.

In the thick of a normal baseball year, that timeline can feel pretty unforgiving, especially for fringe players just trying to stay in the majors.

The Holiday Slowdown: DFA Limbo in Late December

But once late December rolls around, everything slows down. Around Christmas and New Year’s, MLB transactions often crawl, and DFA cases get hit the hardest.

Teams still face the seven-day rule, at least technically. But in practice, there’s an informal, seasonal pause that can stretch that window well past what the rulebook says.

The Unofficial “Holiday Freeze”

MLB has never sent out a memo announcing a holiday waiver freeze. Still, the patterns are obvious. Players designated just before or during the holidays often stay in limbo much longer than a week, so it’s clear an unofficial slowdown is at play.

Take catcher Sam Huff, for example. He was designated for assignment on December 23, 2024, but didn’t get claimed until January 8, 2025. That’s more than two weeks—way past the usual seven-day limit.

Huff’s situation isn’t unique. MLB Trade Rumors pointed out a couple of players DFA’d on December 17 who were supposed to clear quickly. Instead, they just vanished into the holiday haze, with no timely updates—a familiar sight for anyone tracking rosters this time of year.

Why the DFA Clock Appears to Pause

Officially, nothing changes in the rulebook between mid-December and early January. But the sport drops into a sort of low-power mode. Front offices thin out, agents vanish for a bit, and league operations clearly adjust to the holiday schedule.

Two main reasons seem to explain the delays:

Whatever’s really going on, the pattern’s so consistent that nobody’s surprised when a December DFA drags on longer than the rules suggest.

The Growing List of Players Stuck in DFA Limbo

This offseason has brought a new batch of examples where the holiday slowdown is obvious. Several players designated in the past week are still stuck in limbo, long past what you’d expect during a busier time.

Here are some of the names still waiting for resolution:

For these players, the holidays just stretch out the uncertainty that comes with a DFA. Instead of a week of waiting, limbo can last two weeks or more, with careers and roster spots just hanging there, unresolved.

Why This Matters for Teams and Players

For front offices, these delays throw a wrench into offseason planning. A club trying to finalize its 40-man roster or line up trade chips faces a stretch where everything just drags out.

For players, things get even more personal. A DFA already means you’re on shaky ground, and when the process drags, it turns what should be a quiet offseason into weeks of uncertainty.

 
Here is the source article for this story: Players In DFA Limbo