OOTP18

[JudgeDredd]

Got a question for you gurus

I have a player I want to keep on the DL and he's available to come off the DL.

He's on the secondary roster and has the right to refuse minors assignment. But I wouldn't want him to move to minors anyway.

Point is - he's on the DL and on the 40 man roster. What do I do with him. So he's eligible to come off the DL - but how do I take him off the DL? When a player is coming off the DL, do they HAVE to be either given an Active Roster assignment OR be demoted to the minors?

I get if he was off the 40 man roster (60 day DL) then I would have to put him on waivers and DFA. But as I said, he's on the 40 man roster and I want to keep him in my team.

So I think I have to demote another player to the minors and put this player on the active rosters, right?

Thanks

[sandman2575]

You gotta make room for him somehow, if you intend to keep him in your organization. You can activate & "designate him for assignment" which will buy you an additional 10 (?) days before you have to put him on an active roster -- but if he's on the 40 man *and* can refuse minor league assignment -- you pretty much have to put him on the 25-man active roster or put him on waivers (or outright release him).

[JudgeDredd]

Thanks sandman

Wow. That's some complicated s*** there. Why is it like that? I presume safeguarding something? The player? The "competition" by not being able to freely swap in and out players?

I can't DFA because he's on the 40 man roster - I think he was on the 15 day DL list iirc. So I think - as I said and you confirmed - I have to make a slot in the 25 man roster. Or put him on waivers and hope he clears - which he won't (because waivers effectively offers him to other teams for free, right?). His stats are too good to allow him to go on waivers.

The problem I have with that system is if a player on the 25 man roster gets injured, then he's out the team until fixed. However, you NEED 25 men to play - so you HAVE to promote another player to take that place. That leaves you having to demote that player when the injured player is back. Also - from what I gather, that can only happen a few times then the players are "out of minor league options"

Kind of sucks (but also one of the things that intrigues me about the game)

[sandman2575]

Wow. That's some complicated s*** there. Why is it like that? I presume safeguarding something? The player? The "competition" by not being able to freely swap in and out players?

Yes, it sure is complicated. I guess the way I understand the incredibly convoluted rules about baseball rosters today, is that it's an evolutionary product (and reaction to) baseball's long history of treating players like commodities to be dealt with willy nilly however ownership wanted. In some ways, the pendulum has swung very far in the opposite direction: now players (via free agency, collective bargaining, the very powerful Baseball Players Association (essentially a powerful labor union) have considerable leverage over the teams they play for, provided they have sufficient veterancy. A lot of the systems -- the 'optioning' rules for sending players between majors and minors, waivers rules, the Rule 5 draft -- are essentially in place to protect the player -- and to ensure some parity among large and small-market teams -- more than to make life easy for the team they play for.

I can't DFA because he's on the 40 man roster

My bad then -- I guess if you DFA, you're necessarily removing that player from the 40-man roster. As you know, putting a player on waivers is the only way to get a player without any option seasons remaining off the 40-man roster. Personally, I disable the "right to refuse minors assignment" rule, because it's a little too inflexible in OOTP than in real life. Teams in real life can manage to persuade a player who has the right to refuse minor-league assignment to bite the bullet anyway.

- I think he was on the 15 day DL list iirc. So I think - as I said and you confirmed - I have to make a slot in the 25 man roster. Or put him on waivers and hope he clears - which he won't (because waivers effectively offers him to other teams for free, right?). His stats are too good to allow him to go on waivers.

When you put a player on waivers, you remove him from the 40-man and offer him up to all other teams for 3(?) days -- if he clears, he's yours to do with as you please, provided he doesn't have the right to refuse minors assignment, in which case you'd have to release him.

Remember though, a team that picks up a player off waivers *now owns his contract* -- so, if you have a highly paid veteran who is performing terribly and you really need to demote him to the minors, it's possible other teams wouldn't bite, seeing him on the waiver-wire, because it would mean swallowing his contract (which could have multiple years left on it).

The problem I have with that system is if a player on the 25 man roster gets injured, then he's out the team until fixed. However, you NEED 25 men to play - so you HAVE to promote another player to take that place. That leaves you having to demote that player when the injured player is back. Also - from what I gather, that can only happen a few times then the players are "out of minor league options"

Bingo. Players in OOTP have 3 option seasons, meaning, you have 3 seasons in which you can move them at will between minor and major leagues. Once they're out of options, the 'fun' begins, in terms of making headaches for your roster management. So, it's not a problem just you have with the system -- it's a problem all managers have! Fun, right!

Kind of sucks (but also one of the things that intrigues me about the game)

I totally agree there's a perverse kind of enjoyment that comes from managing rosters, with all the bizarre rules in place. Kinda like a puzzle. If you're a slight cheater like me: disable the right to refuse minor league assignment -- dealing with that can really be infuriating in some cases.

[JudgeDredd]

That's a good idea to disable the right to refuse minors...especially as there's no mechanic in there to "persuade" the player to do so - perhaps with sweeteners or promises etc.

I might just do that - thanks.