I'm sure this subject has been tackled here somewhere but I'd like someone with a better understanding of transaction rules to clear it up for me. It is my understanding that a player must be on the 25 man roster on 8/31 in order to be eligible for the postseason, or be on the 15-day or 60-day dl at that time. A player on the 60-day dl may be replaced by anyone in the organization and be eligible for the postseason, ala Frankie in '02.
The only player currently on the 60-day dl is Escobar, but he is not on the 40 man roster. The only players currently on the 15-day dl are Howie, Aybar, and Shane Loux. Barring any other set-backs, our middle infielders will be on the postseason roster. My question is, since Shane Loux was on the 25-man before the deadline, and is currently on the dl, can the team transfer him to the 60-day dl in order to replace him with Bulger or Jepsen and take one of those fireballers to the playoffs instead of Walk-off Spier? Would there need to be further medical clearance in order to place him on the 60-day? Obviously if the two of them sputter the rest of the month this is a non-starter, but its not too unusual to catch lightning in a bottle with hard-throwing rookie relievers.
Finally, with both of those guys pretty much dominating AAA all year, do you think the team purposely kept them down there to catch the contenders off-guard come playoff time? If so, do you think this is a wise move? Or would the two have been better off getting their big league reps before hitting the big stage in October?