Off-Season?

[Clay]

Can someone point me at something to read or give me some idea of what an off-season is like in this game? I just don't want to screw up and miss a step somewhere and end up losing players. Should I try to resign all the people I want now before the season ends? How does arbitration work? How do the Minor League contracts work? I just want to make sure I don't miss anything.

[Andrew]

Re: Off-Season?

Can someone point me at something to read or give me some idea of what an off-season is like in this game? I just don't want to screw up and miss a step somewhere and end up losing players. Should I try to resign all the people I want now before the season ends? How does arbitration work? How do the Minor League contracts work? I just want to make sure I don't miss anything.

- Yes, re-sign all the players you want now. You won't be allowed to negotiate with them during Free Agency.

- Arbitration assigns them a set contract based on their ratings. For good players, its usually around $5 mil. Make sure to keep an eye on players who are "Arbitration eligible, but might be a FA with enough Service Time" If they hit the 6 year mark for Major League Service before the end of this year, they will be a FA. 172 days = 1 year of service time.

- Minor league contracts are automatically renewed until they hit 6 years of Pro Service. Then they are considered Minor League Free Agents and will be released at the end of the year. I don't think you can avoid this by re-signing them to a minor league deal during the year.

The basic off-season schedule is:
1) Option years, Arbitration, Awards, Stadium Fund
2) Rule 5 Draft
3) Start of FA - 5 sims of 3 days each.
4) Middle FA - Normal 7 day sims up until January 1
5) Pre season / First year player draft starts (early feb)
6) Sim 21 days at a time from Jan 1 to start of Spring Training (early March)
7) Spring Training - 2, 14 day sims to start of Regular season

[Clay]

So, if a Minor Leaguer is under Minor League Contract and is in his 6th year, I need to sign him to a Major League contract to keep him?

So, Arbitration is automatic? There is no way that I lose those guys, right?

Thanks for the info.

[Andrew]

So, if a Minor Leaguer is under Minor League Contract and is in his 6th year, I need to sign him to a Major League contract to keep him?

So, Arbitration is automatic? There is no way that I lose those guys, right?

Thanks for the info.

I believe so on the first part, but not 100% sure.

Arbitration is automatic. You can release Arb. eligible players during the first sim after the playoffs if you no longer want them. However, if they're still on your roster it will assign them a contract automatically.