[WinterWillie]

Originally posted by Dakota
A similar question came up before in the context of a team that started, as yours did, with 10 and listed FLEX - DP on the lineup.

After an injury, they were reduced to 9 on defense and 8 on offense. A second injury reduced them to 8 on defense and 7 on offense. (I may not have the exact scenario right, but the end result was 7 batting, 8 in the field.)

The question was, could they continue - after all, they still did have 8 active players.

Answer: No.

The shorthanded rule is stated in terms of the offensive lineup, and always talks in the singular - "THE vacant position... "

Same concept here. The 9th player on defense does not "count" in the shorthanded rule when the team is on offense.

4-1D-2a covers this.

4-8C says the shorthanded rule cannot be used with an ejected player.

In your situation, they game should have been forfeited.

What if the Flex is substituted for the DP (or vice versa)? That would eliminate one of those positions giving you a substitute to re-enter.