He's already on the 25-man roster. I believe those are relavent even during the offseason, and he won't be on the DL in the off-season. The Cubs can't just give him a non-roster spring training invitation. I don't know how the 25 man roster would be relevant in the offseason-what happens if 5 people end up on the DL at the end of the season? Does that mean 30 people are on the 25 man roster? I think that the 40 man roster is the only one that is needed during the offseason. I don't believe teams get a DL exemption for the roster in the offseason. I'm pretty sure that at some point early in the offseason the Cubs have to have the 25 man roster set, which might mean sending some guys with options back to minor league rosters, officially, and not offering arbitration to unsigned veterans they want to get rid of. Given that Rusch is signed through next year, is out of options and has enough service time to refuse a minor league assignment, he will count against both the 40-man roster and 25-man roster throughout the offseason, affecting other moves that could theoretically be made. A release would change all that. "Each Major League Baseball team maintains both a 25-man roster and a 40-man roster of players, year-round. The 25-man roster is the list of eligible players who may play in a game. The 40-man roster includes the 25-man roster plus players in the minor leagues as well as players on the 15-day disabled list (see below). From September 1 through the end of the regular season, active rosters are expanded to a limit of 40 players; thus, clubs may freely add any of these 15 players to its active roster, giving them the opportunity to play in the major leagues near the end of the season." Options aren't burnt on September callups, so even if there is a need for a 25 man roster in the offseason,(I don't believe there is, I think year round refers to season round.) options are not burnt.