What is the bereavement list and what qualifies a player to be put on it?

Question

I noiced LaTroy Hawkins was put on the bereavement list and I had never heard of it before.

Does it allow a player to be called up from the minors as well?

Answer 1

You have to have permission of your team to be put on it. It's basically there for when a player has a close relative (parent, grandparent, sibling) die and needs to attend the funeral. If used, a player must be on it for at least 3 days.

Answer 2

i'm pretty sure it means that he has something else to do... like something is wrong with his family or something and he needs to take a leave of absence to be with them instead of playing baseball.