How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

[ktd1976]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

Okay thanks again for straightening this out - although I guess my problem now is that I am not sure how to handle this properly while running my franchise.

If I have a couple of stud "A" potential 18-19 year olds that I want to leave in AA and AAA for a couple of years while they develop, is it unwise to put them on the 40-man roster? Because once I do that, they will burn through those 3 years of options by the time they are 21-22 years old just from September call ups, right?

So I guess the solution is to NOT put very young talented prospects on the 40-man roster, am I right? I think I was under the impression that the 40-man roster "protected" them from being poached by other teams, but based on someone else's earlier comment, that doesn't seem likely as long as I make fair contract offers.

So I guess I'm fairly clear on the rules, just looking for advice on how to manage the 40-man roster in franchise mode without losing all my options too quickly.

The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to NOT put them on the 40 man roster, until such time as you think they are ready to be called up to the Show, OR, you have a need at their position, and you want to take a look at them in Spring Training, OR they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.


Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft who are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster and:

– were signed at age 19 or older and have been in the organization for four years; or

– were signed at age 18 or younger and have been in the organization for five years.

So, you have at least 4 years after signing a player before he has to be put on the 40 man roster to be protected.

[Austin Hawk]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

Players are not available to other teams until they have been 6 years in the minor leagues(not on the 40 man)
OR
On the 40 man for 3 years(using 3 options) AND you try and send them down at some point(with 0 options left)
There is no need to have your 18-24 year old prospects on the 40 man to protect them unless you plan on bringing them up to the MLB.
Also...just for your own peace of mind....look at the player card...flip through the pages and it tells you his Rule V status(which is where he can be lost if he is NOT on the 40 man and no longer under team control(which is when you can give him a contract renewable contract)
Also be aware that some players who are under team control...and you offer regular multi-year contracts in the off season....won't accept your contract. If you see he is not "SIGNED".....in the last week of the off season...you must offer him a 1 year contract renewable contract to retain him.(he doesn't "like" your multi-year deal for whatever reason)



M.K.
Knight165

One of the most helpful responses I've seen - thank you so much. And your comment about the 1-year renewable definitely applied to me with Smoak in my first offseason. Now I can relax and let my young guns develop.

[HechticSooner]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

I

The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to NOT put them on the 40 man roster, until such time as you think they are ready to be called up to the Show, OR, you have a need at their position, and you want to take a look at them in Spring Training, OR they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.


Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft who are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster and:

– were signed at age 19 or older and have been in the organization for four years; or

– were signed at age 18 or younger and have been in the organization for five years.

So, you have at least 4 years after signing a player before he has to be put on the 40 man roster to be protected.

THIS. The end of the quote being the most important. MLB roster rules are a little difficult at times (which is why the game doesn't actually use them, just a modified version for simplicity) but basically you just have to remember that until the player has got to the time of either A) being eligible for the rule 5 draft (see the end of the quote), or B) earning minor league free agency he is always under team control and this is represented by the contract renewable contract.

[zippy2212]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

Players are not available to other teams until they have been 6 years in the minor leagues(not on the 40 man)
OR
On the 40 man for 3 years(using 3 options) AND you try and send them down at some point(with 0 options left)
There is no need to have your 18-24 year old prospects on the 40 man to protect them unless you plan on bringing them up to the MLB.
Also...just for your own peace of mind....look at the player card...flip through the pages and it tells you his Rule V status(which is where he can be lost if he is NOT on the 40 man and no longer under team control(which is when you can give him a contract renewable contract)
Also be aware that some players who are under team control...and you offer regular multi-year contracts in the off season....won't accept your contract. If you see he is not "SIGNED".....in the last week of the off season...you must offer him a 1 year contract renewable contract to retain him.(he doesn't "like" your multi-year deal for whatever reason)



M.K.
Knight165

What he said.

This is basically what I was trying to explain earlier but Knight did a way better/thorough job than I did.

[Knight165]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

What he said.

This is basically what I was trying to explain earlier but Knight did a way better/thorough job than I did.

Ha...we all said it correctly, I just wanted to also note to him(and others) that there is something else that could go wrong, which would lead to losing young players early(and you wouldn't even know it until the following season!)....
Like I stated in the last part of my post......for a player who is contract renewable, HE may ask for a multi year contract and even though you offer him one....he may decline it. At that point...you really should be prompted by the game that he says no thanks OR the game should automatically re-sign him to the one year contract renewable contract...but it doesn't. YOU have to look and see that he is not signed and then you can offer him one(you don't have that option when he is asking you for a multi year deal) If you don't...he becomes a FA.
Basically, in the final week of the off season, just make sure you have everyone you want signed...signed.

M.K.
Knight165

[major major]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

Very good back and forth on this topic.

Way to go OS Team and thank you for the questions and insights!

[zippy2212]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

Ha...we all said it correctly, I just wanted to also note to him(and others) that there is something else that could go wrong, which would lead to losing young players early(and you wouldn't even know it until the following season!)....
Like I stated in the last part of my post......for a player who is contract renewable, HE may ask for a multi year contract and even though you offer him one....he may decline it. At that point...you really should be prompted by the game that he says no thanks OR the game should automatically re-sign him to the one year contract renewable contract...but it doesn't. YOU have to look and see that he is not signed and then you can offer him one(you don't have that option when he is asking you for a multi year deal) If you don't...he becomes a FA.
Basically, in the final week of the off season, just make sure you have everyone you want signed...signed.

M.K.
Knight165

That's a good point. I have always gone in that last week and kind of done by second nature. So I didn't even think about passing that info along.

[l3ulvl]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

I found this thread very helpful. I've been doing my franchise all wrong and now I understand where I screwed up. Here's the thing, I don't want to start over, I like the players in my system and want to continue, but I have too many young players on the 40 using up options. I was like sweet, I can solve this problem by removing them from the 40, but then I have to risk sending them through waivers.

So since I'm just going to trudge ahead with this flawed franchise, I have to ask the experts, which is a more likely way to retain a player, trying to send him through waivers or exposing him to the rule 5 draft?

Also, if I have used 2 options from previous years, and I remove that player from the 40 and he clears waivers, does he still keep his final option? (This action occurring in the off season, involving a player in the minors & currently on the 40man).

[nag5115]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

I found this thread very helpful. I've been doing my franchise all wrong and now I understand where I screwed up. Here's the thing, I don't want to start over, I like the players in my system and want to continue, but I have too many young players on the 40 using up options. I was like sweet, I can solve this problem by removing them from the 40, but then I have to risk sending them through waivers.

So since I'm just going to trudge ahead with this flawed franchise, I have to ask the experts, which is a more likely way to retain a player, trying to send him through waivers or exposing him to the rule 5 draft?

Also, if I have used 2 options from previous years, and I remove that player from the 40 and he clears waivers, does he still keep his final option? (This action occurring in the off season, involving a player in the minors & currently on the 40man).

I have found that if you start sending guys from your 40 down to AAA or AA during the spring it helps. Even with the guys that are out of options and subject to passing through waivers, so far haven't lost any of them. My thought is that since the CPU teams all have a full 40 man roster, they can't add one of the players you have passed through waivers. This way you get full control of who makes your 25 man roster by the time spring ends.

[l3ulvl]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

I have found that if you start sending guys from your 40 down to AAA or AA during the spring it helps. Even with the guys that are out of options and subject to passing through waivers, so far haven't lost any of them. My thought is that since the CPU teams all have a full 40 man roster, they can't add one of the players you have passed through waivers. This way you get full control of who makes your 25 man roster by the time spring ends.

Good thinking, thanks! and now that I think of it, I don't recall anyone claiming the players I send through waivers after S/T either.

[bobloblah1980]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

another option (no pun intended) is especially on the very last day of the off season ( make sure you save 1st ), is to take them off the 40 man then

I have found that cpu teams are fully stocked & 40 man rosters set you have a better chance of them getting through waivers and you don't use an option on that player!

I have found this method effective especially to get players through the rule 5 draft. the cpu seems to make some rule 5 player picks that are a bit of a stretch because the are nowhere near mlb ready but because they are A or B potential players the cpu is all over them.

[Cavicchi]

Re: How do I avoid having guys on 40-man roster use option before each season?

Control all 30 teams, 40-man roster and Waivers on Manual, and not a bad idea to also have free agent signing on Manual. In Season mode, and I assume it's the same for Franchise mode, when you take someone off the 40-man roster and he has to pass through waivers, no other team can sign him because you control all 30 teams, and then he goes to AAA off the 40-man roster.