MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

[SirManBoy]

Hi all,

Instead of the standard Q&A format that some threads have where the discussion is stoked by newbies asking for help about their specific problems, I figured it would be helpful to have a thread where experienced wannabe GMs could just post whatever tips and tricks they have for running a franchise that crosses their mind.

I’ll start with this one:

Spend a little over asking price to sign players to depth. Exceeding those expectations will result in a morale boost so significant that you will see a noticeable difference in the number of players you keep in a happy or even excellent morale status. I have virtually no malcontents on my team. Of course, this only works as intended by keeping your contract extensions short because player role expectations change automatically over time. You’re really only able able to influence them in this manner for a season.

[SirManBoy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

Another one comes to mind...

Say you want to drop some late 20s, C-level guys from your minor league system who don’t have attributes you can utilize and who you know don’t have a viable future. Well, package them up and see what trade proposals come through for them. You might see that a team is willing to offer you a deal that involves a young A-potential player along with some other junk you don’t need or want on your payroll. Well, cancel the trade but don’t fully back out of the trade screen. You’ll notice that the guys in the trade proposal are still populating the other team’s trade box. If you want that A-prospect, but not the garbage they packaged with him, then simply remove those additional players from the deal. You almost always see that the other club still wants to make the trade. This method also gives you an opportunity to inspect the attributes of the players these teams are offering you, which isn’t possible any other way in the trade screen.

[Caulfield]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

I didn't do this for Show 20 but last year in Show 19, after pitchers and catchers reported for spring training, I arranged an emergency meeting that included my Orioles owner, myself (the Baltimore g.m.), 1B Chris Davis, and his agent. as everyone knew, there were two HUGE elephants in a room barely able to house one small baby elephant. the first elephant was Davis' on-field performance, the second, his exorbitant $92 mill remaining on the last 4 years of his contract. I asked Davis if really wanted to retire an Oriole, and if so, did he want to do that today, or in 4 years. I also told him if he was serious about going out a winner and not a wiener, we were going to have to rework his contract. the best I could do is still way overpay him $32.487,500 mill of that $92 million, and we would reinvest the remaining roughly $59.5 on surrounding him with better players. I also told him in no uncertain terms if he didn't play major league baseball for Baltimore, he sure as hell wouldn't play for any of the other 29 clubs. his agent immediately cried foul and wanted to end the discussion right then and there so to call the MLBPA. thankfully Chris Davis is a stand-up man and told his agent that wasn't necessary, he did indeed want to retire in 4 years (or later) an Oriole. so we reworked that albatross of a contract by releasing him, paying him $17.25 mill for 2019, $8.625 mill for 2020 and $4.3125 mill for 2021, then resigned him for 4 years for $2.3 million for a grand total of $32 mill plus change.



cut to the end of February we added Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez and Evan Gattis to bolster what previously was a sinking ship.

[SirManBoy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

Is there a broader tip here that applies to other situations? I mean, doesn’t The Show make you eat the remainder of the contract if you release a player in the middle of their deal?

[Caulfield]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

Is there a broader tip here that applies to other situations? I mean, doesn’t The Show make you eat the remainder of the contract if you release a player in the middle of their deal?

nope, I guess Show contracts aren't guaranteed lol. the only thing extra I had to do was cut 3 insignificant minor leaguers to make room for my FA's (and ate those players $37,000 each contract) then remove 3 other guys from my 40 man roster and risk losing them through the waiver wire (no one claimed them). I would not do this with just any players contract but Chris Davis is an extreme example of not just overpaid, but waaay overpaid, and performing at replacement player levels (his overall had fell below 65). I really like Chris Davis so I did want him on the team, even though he is at best a Triple A player now. and in my universe he didn't want to be the reason responsible 24 other men had no chance at October baseball for the next 4 years. in my my g.m.'s eyes it was a win-win. a win for Davis to assure he would remain on the 25 man roster, and a win for the team itself in terms of getting better overall at the major league level

[Mackrel829]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

This has quickly turned into a 'ways to cheat the system' thread lol.

[SirManBoy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

Another one...

Master the player search function. It’s a great way to scan the league for exactly what you’re looking for. Don’t be fooled by potential grades and OVRs. Know which attributes get results.

When it comes to hitters, I put a big premium on a combination of contact, power, and discipline. If I can get vision along with that, then great, but those players are rare and I can live with strikeouts when I have a player that scores 100 runs, drives in 100 runs, and has a .400 OBP.

When it comes to pitchers, H/9 and BB/9 are the biggest drivers for dominant pitching. Those kinds of pitchers consistently have a low WHIP and ERA. I will choose a B-level guy over an A-level guy if his H/9 and BB/9 are better. Scanning the league for pitchers who are 70 or above in both is a search you absolutely must rely on.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

Is there a broader tip here that applies to other situations? I mean, doesn’t The Show make you eat the remainder of the contract if you release a player in the middle of their deal?

It makes you eat a portion of it.

There is a workaround.

You can drop the players attributes all the way zero and force them to retire at seasons end so you are not on the hook for their contract. I do this for CPU teams who have players locked into bad contracts and are playing them at the minor league level.

Not ideal but it helps the CPU be more active in the free agent market and helps reduce the number of good players in free agency when the offseason ends.

[JoshC1977]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

I haven't done this over a long stretch of seasons to see how it'll all shake out; but I think it will work awesomely.

There is a legacy issue where pitchers don't gain stamina...like ever (and why roster guys still haven't figured this out and still assign absurdly low stamina ratings to prospects is beyond me, but whatever). This is my "approach" to dealing with it.

In the off-season and JUST prior to advancing to Spring Training, I go around the league and select a single starting pitcher from each team and give him a 5 point stamina boost. I try to do this for guys likely to be in the major league rotation (or top prospects knocking at the door). I generally target guys who have poor/mediocre stamina ratings that'll be detrimental. I have no system for selection, but rather pick guys that strike my fancy as "needing a boost".

In the grand scheme of things, that's a small boost (adding maybe 5-10 pitches per start) to 20% of MLB rotations, but that can be enough to add another 20-25 innings out of a starter per season - which can ease bullpen burden.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

I haven't done this over a long stretch of seasons to see how it'll all shake out; but I think it will work awesomely.

There is a legacy issue where pitchers don't gain stamina...like ever (and why roster guys still haven't figured this out and still assign absurdly low stamina ratings to prospects is beyond me, but whatever). This is my "approach" to dealing with it.

In the off-season and JUST prior to advancing to Spring Training, I go around the league and select a single starting pitcher from each team and give him a 5 point stamina boost. I try to do this for guys likely to be in the major league rotation (or top prospects knocking at the door). I generally target guys who have poor/mediocre stamina ratings that'll be detrimental. I have no system for selection, but rather pick guys that strike my fancy as "needing a boost".

In the grand scheme of things, that's a small boost (adding maybe 5-10 pitches per start) to 20% of MLB rotations, but that can be enough to add another 20-25 innings out of a starter per season - which can ease bullpen burden.

I do something similar, except I choose any starting pitcher with a stamina rating of below 70 and bump them to at least 70, or higher depending on their stats from previous year. I will also give stamina bumps to random pitchers within a team again based on factors such as stats.

In some cases, especially older starting pitchers, I'll change their position to a bullpen arm, especially if that is where they were for the previous season. In that case I lower there stamina and increase their velocity and break.

Really no exact formula but rather a fly by the seat of my pants type of deal. And I'm in my 12th season of this carryover franchise and this "method" has worked out quite well.

[SirManBoy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

All of this talk about adjusting attributes is making me feel dirty.

[garry1221]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

I haven't done this over a long stretch of seasons to see how it'll all shake out; but I think it will work awesomely.

There is a legacy issue where pitchers don't gain stamina...like ever (and why roster guys still haven't figured this out and still assign absurdly low stamina ratings to prospects is beyond me, but whatever). This is my "approach" to dealing with it.

In the off-season and JUST prior to advancing to Spring Training, I go around the league and select a single starting pitcher from each team and give him a 5 point stamina boost. I try to do this for guys likely to be in the major league rotation (or top prospects knocking at the door). I generally target guys who have poor/mediocre stamina ratings that'll be detrimental. I have no system for selection, but rather pick guys that strike my fancy as "needing a boost".

In the grand scheme of things, that's a small boost (adding maybe 5-10 pitches per start) to 20% of MLB rotations, but that can be enough to add another 20-25 innings out of a starter per season - which can ease bullpen burden.

I do similar edits. I'll do 1 check before post season. Any starter with 192 IP (6 IP per start) or more gets +1 to their original STA. Before the offseason I go through and edit all pitchers back to their original STA. For older pitchers, 33 y/o+ with severely regressed attributes (-4 or more across most attributes), I'll take ERA into account. If their ERA is under 5.00 i'll edit back 1/2 of what was lost, rounding up if needed. ERA's above 5.00 I give back 1/3, sometimes rounding up, other times down. I just started using this method for aging players, so its not set in stone just yet. I hate seeing severe regression combined with average to good stats. It doesn't compute for me.

Tip: don't be afraid to swap SP/RP designation. The rosters i use have/had quite a few low STA SP, and high (65+)STA RP. Personally if I see a 65+ STA reliever, he gets moved to starter and his DUR gets lowered by 25%. Likewise if I see a lower STA (60ish) SP, he could easily be moved to RP. I'll reduce his STA by 25%, raise his DUR by 33%, then equally raise his /9's til his OVR matches his original SP ovr.

[JoshC1977]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

All of this talk about adjusting attributes is making me feel dirty.

Lol, the benefits of playing a fictional franchise.

I keep mine very simple and frankly, it helps the cpu more than me.

[Caulfield]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

This has quickly turned into a 'ways to cheat the system' thread lol.

considering the absurd amount of defensive shifts in the last decade, catchers and their strike-inducing pitch framing on borderline balls, sign stealing taken to levels heretofore never seen before, at this point I'm not cheating, I'm just keeping up with the Joneses

AKA ‘‘ if'n you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'. ’’

[SirManBoy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Management Tips and Tricks

Another tip...

If you have a guy who you know will command too much in free agency the following season, but you still want him on the team for the duration of his final contract year, then consider signing him to a 1-year extension at his free agent asking price. Instead of just losing him and getting nothing in return, you can now work a trade in the off season that benefits your team. This is essentially a delayed sign-and-trade deal.