In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines Players are placed on the 10-day/15-day injured list or the 60-day injured list, usually depending on the severity and/or recovery time of the injury. By rule, position players must spend a minimum of 10 days on the injured list while pitchers must spend a minimum of 15 days on the IL. The 15-day period was the standard for all players prior to 2017 when the period was shortened to 10 days. The minimum period was restored to 15 days for pitchers for the 2020 season, though the full implementation of the rule was pushed back to May 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Placing a player on the injured list opens a spot on the active roster. Another player from the minor leagues, free agent pool, a traded player, or a recovered player coming off the injured list may be used to fill this spot. This allows a team to avoid the disadvantage of playing with an incapacitated player on the bench. A player on the 10-day/15-day injured list does not count toward the active roster, but does keep that player as part of the team's expanded 40-man reserve roster, whereas a player on the 60-day injured list does not count towards either the team's active roster or its 40-man roster; however, a team's 40-man roster must be full in order for the option of a placement on the 60-day injured list to be available. A player may be shifted from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list at any time, but not vice versa. The rule about rejoining the active roster only applies to eligibility to play in a game. Players are permitted to stay with the team and attend games, though players may leave the team to focus on treatment, to avoid traveling with the team on a road trip, or for short term minor league rehabilitation assignments to prepare for their return to the active roster. Alternatively, instead of placing a slightly injured player on the injured list, a team may elect to keep him on the roster but list him as 'day-to-day' to indicate that the medical staff is unable to determine