DFA/waivers have improved over the years, but they still need some tweaks. When a player on the 40-man roster with a minor league contract is traded for or claimed off waivers, he gets sent to the lowest minor league team and the acquiring team isn't required to place him on the 40-man roster. The acquiring team should be forced to put him on the 40-man roster, as in real life.
The handling of contracts is probably my biggest irritant in OOTP right now. In addition to the problem of players sitting out for entire seasons (which is a big problem), the AI also goes to arbitration with marginal players that are destined to be outrighted off the roster. It contributes to the problem of AI teams constantly being in the red financially.
In my fictional league, Jeremy Parker is a prime example of this. He's a 33 year old utility infielder with 4 years, 117 days of major league experience (as of July 9, 2035). Since becoming arbitration eligible, he's wound up with the following contracts:
Quote:
10/02/2030 Signed a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $800,000 with the Rimouski Lapins organization.
09/30/2031 Signed a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $950,000 with the Rimouski Lapins organization.
11/06/2032 Received a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,100,000 through arbitration.
11/06/2033 Received a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,300,000 through arbitration.
11/05/2034 Received a 1-year contract worth a total of $1,500,000 through arbitration.
|
From 2031-34, he never appeared in more than 37 major league games in a single season. Most of his time during those years was spent in the minors as the backup infielder. Such a marginal player would've been non-tendered and possibly re-signed to a minor league contract in real life. No team should fork over $1+ million each year for an easily replaceable player ticketed for the minors.
Another issue is that in real life, players can elect to become free agents if outrighted for a second time in their careers. This rule isn't represented in OOTP, and a player can be outrighted multiple times without any trouble (as has been the case with Mr. Parker). Making some of these guys free agents instead might partially address the issue of expensive contracts for fringe major leaguers.
I'd also like to see split contracts in the game. Players should not receive the full major league minimum for time spent in the minors. If an AI team sends a player to the minors at the start of the season, he will receive the league minimum for the entire year. Having 15+ guys in the minors making $500,000 or more really eats into the AI's budget. I've long suggested that players making the league minimum should make $0 while in the minors. As it stands now, AI teams are often so cash-strapped that they can't afford to acquire a player making the league minimum unless it sheds payroll at the same time. In real life, no team's finances are so tight that they can't acquire a guy making the league minimum.
The issue with useful players sitting out entire seasons because of unrealistic contract demands is a particular problem in my league. I like small fictional leagues (my current league went from 8 teams to 12, with no plans for additional expansion), and as a result there are fewer potential buyers for players. Too many career minor leaguers on the free agent market demand salaries over $700,000, go unsigned and then retire. While some do eventually lower their demands, many don't. Those players would be useful to have in AAA for depth in case a need arises at the major league level, but they lose out on that opportunity due to their unrealistic demands. Players need to be much more willing to accept minor league contracts.
If you release a player and he remains unsigned in the free agent pool, at some point he should forgive you and be willing to re-sign with you. AI teams can seemingly re-sign players they released (without another team having signed that player in the interim), so human teams should be able to as well.
All in all, the game has improved a lot over the last few years. I'd just like to see some of these long-standing issues addressed so that the AI teams stand a better chance of being competitive.