Player to be named later

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The concept of the "player to be named later" is most often associated with Major League Baseball, and specifically trades between teams. The "player to be named later" (PTBNL) is generally used to postpone a trade's final conditions or terms. This is often done for two reasons. First, the team receiving the PTBNL might not be certain which position they want to fill, so this type of deal gives them more time to figure it out. Second, this type of arrangement gives the team receiving the PTBNL more time to evaluate the available talent on the other team. When one of these PTBNL transactions occurs, the negotiating teams usually agree on a list of 5-10 players (typically minor leaguers) that the PTBNL will ultimately be chosen from. If the teams can't agree on who the player will be, then they will agree on a price to be paid instead of a player.

There are two rules to a PTBNL transaction. The deal must close within a six-month timeframe following the conclusion of the rest of the trade, and the player must change leagues. Because of these two rules there have been some interesting circumstances. In 1962, when Harry Chiti was traded by the New York Mets to the Cleveland Indians for a PTBNL, and the teams could not agree on a final deal within the six-month timeframe, the PTBNL was, oddly enough, Harry Chiti. The New York Mets traded him back to Cleveland for himself, in essence to negate the trade altogether with neither side losing or gaining anything. Another interesting circumstance involves the second rule: players must change leagues. Generally to work around this rule minor leaguers are chosen, and thus very few PTBNLs are of star quality. However, some minor league PTBNLs who have turned out to be productive in the majors include Jeremy Bonderman, Scott Podsednik, Coco Crisp, Moises Alou, Jason Schmidt, and David Ortiz.