Some smart person elsewhere asked what happens if the Red Sox try to assign Manny to the minors if he passes through waivers, and he refuses.
[Disclaimer : "Ask Craig About the CBA" is not legal advice. If this information is of any use to you, get an agent!]
The answer is, he can just refuse the assignment, but he also has the option of tearing up his contract and becoming a free agent. I think he would just refuse the assignment though. If Manny terminates the contract, no further money is due him, except of course deferred compensation and the like.
He'd have to be given eight days' written notice by the Sox.
There's actually a cool catch in the CBA. If Manny accepts the assignment to the minors, so long as he's there he can declare himself a free agent at any time he chooses, between the end of the season and the *following* October 15. So as long as he's not on the roster, he has the option of declaring himself a FA. But at any rate, he's unlikely to do that.
Now a corollary to this is whether passing through irrevocable waivers means Manny's contract is automatically termianted.
It doesn't. Manny's contract *could* be terminated if he passes through irrevocable waivers, but that doesn't mean it happens automatically. Passing through irrevocable waivers (and only irrevocable waivers) does *allow* the Red Sox to terminate the contract. But they are then on the hook for any guaranteed money (i.e. all of it).
Also, if another team claims Manny, he has the right to refuse that assignment. He would be a free agent but the contract would be torn up.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20031030095123999