League rules
MLB Injured List Explained — 10-Day, 15-Day, 60-Day and 7-Day IL
“Placed on the IL” is one of the most common phrases in baseball news. IL stands for Injured List. Until the 2019 season it was called the disabled list (DL); MLB changed the name before that season after disability advocates raised concerns about the old term. This guide covers the different lists, how each one affects a team’s roster, and the finer points such as rehab assignments and retroactive placement.
The four lists at a glance
| List | Who it is for | Minimum stay | Stays on 40-man roster? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-day IL | Concussions | 7 days | Yes |
| 10-day IL | Position players | 10 days | Yes |
| 15-day IL | Pitchers and two-way players | 15 days | Yes |
| 60-day IL | Any player with a long-term injury | 60 days | No |
The number is a minimum, not an expected return date. A player on the 10-day IL becomes eligible to come back after ten days, but a serious injury can keep him on that same list for weeks or months. The clock runs in calendar days, not games.
Why pitchers get 15 days instead of 10
For the 2017 season MLB shortened the old 15-day list to 10 days for everyone. Teams soon found a way to use that flexibility: a club could put a starting pitcher on the 10-day list, knowing he would miss only about one turn in the rotation, and call up a fresh arm in his place. Critics saw it as roster manipulation rather than genuine injury management.
To discourage that, the minimum for pitchers and two-way players went back to 15 days, so a pitcher placed on the list now misses at least two starts. The change was announced for 2020, but the pandemic and the 2021–22 lockout delayed full implementation until 2022. Position players kept the 10-day minimum.
Players on the 10- or 15-day IL leave the 26-man active roster but remain on the 40-man roster. The team can promote a minor leaguer to fill the open active spot.
The 60-day IL and the 40-man roster
When an injury is expected to be long, a team can move the player to the 60-day IL. Its defining feature is that the player comes off not only the active roster but also the 40-man roster, which frees a spot the club can give to someone new.
A few conditions apply:
- A club can only use the 60-day IL when its 40-man roster is full — the whole point is to create room.
- A player can be transferred from the 10- or 15-day IL to the 60-day IL, but not back the other way.
- Time already spent on the shorter list counts toward the 60-day minimum.
So a “transferred to the 60-day IL” headline usually signals a major injury that will cost a large part of the season, and often means the club is about to add a new player to its 40-man roster.
Backdating and rehab assignments
Retroactive placement lets a team start an IL stint up to three days in the past, as long as the player did not appear in a game during that window. If a team waits a few days to see whether a minor injury settles down, those idle days can count toward the minimum. That is why a player placed on the 10-day IL is sometimes activated only a week after the move was announced.
A rehab assignment lets an injured player play in minor league games to rebuild game sharpness before returning. The length is capped:
- Position players: up to 20 days
- Pitchers and two-way players: up to 30 days
Fans often read the start of a rehab assignment as a sign that a return is near. Setbacks do happen, though, so an assignment does not guarantee a specific return date.
The 7-day concussion IL
Concussions are hard to see from the outside and heal at different speeds for different people. Since the 2011 season MLB has had a dedicated 7-day IL for them. The shorter minimum is meant to make it easier for clubs to take a player out and run him through the required evaluation, instead of rushing him back.
If a player on the 7-day list is not cleared within the allowed time, he is transferred automatically to the standard list for his position (10-day for position players, 15-day for pitchers). A move from the 7-day IL to the 10-day IL therefore tells you that recovery is taking longer than hoped.
On Daily IL
Daily IL shows every MLB player on the 7-, 10-, 15- or 60-day list with the IL status, along with the body part and type of injury. Once a player is activated, the status changes to RETURNED. The other statuses we use are OUT, DOUBTFUL, QUESTIONABLE, PROBABLE and SUSPENDED, for seven in total. Baseball also has many day-to-day players who never go on the IL; depending on the situation we list them as QUESTIONABLE or another fitting status. See our status guide for the exact definitions.
Sources
- Injured list — Wikipedia
- 10-day Injured List — MLB.com Glossary
- 60-day Injured List — MLB.com Glossary
- MLB pitchers will have minimum 15-day injured list stints — CBS Sports
- Injured Lists — The Cub Reporter (MLB Roster Rules)
- Minor League Rehabilitation Assignment — The Cub Reporter
Rules can change with each season and collective bargaining agreement, so check each league’s official announcements for the latest details.