Re: Colt, Sinisi, Antonelli demoted

> OK, I have a question: what's the difference between being "optioned" to
the
> minors and being "reassigned" to the minors?

Options:
If a player is on the 40-man roster but not on the active major league
roster, he is said to be on optional assignment--his organization may
freely move him between the major league club and the minor league
club. If a player is on the 40-man roster and not the active 25 man
roster for any part of more than three seasons, he is out of options
and may not be assigned to the minors without first clearing waivers.
However, if a player has less than 5 years of professional experience,
he may be optioned to the minors in a fourth season without being
subject to waivers. If a major league player is ineligible for free
agency and "has options" remaining, his team may option him to a minor
league team without consequence. This is usually what is meant when
players are "sent down" to the minors. Likewise, when a player on the
40-man roster is added to the active major league roster, he is
"called up" to the majors.

Designated for assignment:
A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from
the 40-man roster. This gives the team time to decide what to do with
the player while freeing up a roster spot for another transaction, if
needed. Once a player is designated for assignment, the team has ten
days to do one of the following things: the player can be traded, the
player can be released, or the player can be put on waivers and,
provided he clears, outrighted to the minors. A player who is
outrighted to the minors is removed from the 40-man roster but is
still paid according to the terms of his guaranteed contract. A player
can only be outrighted once in his career without his consent.

Source: Wikipedia. Hope this helps :)