An "option" is a year
Raymond - I'm never in this section, but this caught my eye for some reason and I'll share some of my knowledge on this topic.
Bill's technical recap is correct, but to put it in a nutshell, once a player is called up from the minors (having his contract "purchased" or "selected"), his clock starts as far as his service time and his option status.
It's a common misperception that a guy can only be optioned and recalled three times. An option lasts for an entire season. A player can be called up (recalled) and sent down (optioned) as often as a team wishes during any given season (as long as it doesn't violate the "10-day rule", DL status, etc).
So your examples on the Braves players demonstrate that a guy can come up and down over and over during a season as long as they haven't done it beyond three seasons.
I won't bore you with DFA, outrighting, etc., but once a player is beyond those three years, the club has to go through a different route to send a player out and still keep him in the organization.
Regards,
Brad
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