Free Agents?

Pelican · 08-09-2026, 12:59 PM

I started a new game, 1933 Season, with the latest patch. My team has just 25 players, no minors. There is a reserve roster, but it is empty. I reviewed the Advanced settings, and did not see a choice for minor leagues. Also, there are no free agents at all. That pool is empty. I blundered into Opening Day (I chose Spring Training but it didn't happen), and can't change the "offseason" settings at this point. Was this a massive fail on my part for not finding the right choices in setup?

Update: Several weeks into the season, even though injuries are on very low, a few teams are down a few players and nowhere to turn. Lineups and rotations are going to have holes. Without free agents or minor leagues or the ability to create players, not sure I can complete the season. As teams are thinned out, players are overused and get tired sooner, risk injury. Snowball effect. I may have to contract MLB by selling off players from a few teams, in order to fill out the remaining rosters.
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edm · 08-10-2026, 08:58 AM

There are no minors in historical leagues, unfortunately. in my experience, for the first two or three seasons you want to disable injuries (or set it to the lowest setting). Also unchecked storylines (this will prevent some early retirements). I also lower batter and pitcher aging speed for the first few seasons, to prevent players from retiring as early (0.250). After 2 or 3 seasons, assuming you are importing real historical rookies, reserves should start to fill up and you can undo those changes

Edster007 · 08-11-2026, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edm

There are no minors in historical leagues, unfortunately. in my experience, for the first two or three seasons you want to disable injuries (or set it to the lowest setting). Also unchecked storylines (this will prevent some early retirements). I also lower batter and pitcher aging speed for the first few seasons, to prevent players from retiring as early (0.250). After 2 or 3 seasons, assuming you are importing real historical rookies, reserves should start to fill up and you can undo those changes

I also uncheck retire according history and set trading to almost never the first two seasons. I found the AI would make one for two or three player trades and deplete their roster

I also recommend not starting too close to a year that expansion teams as the existing teams need to build up their reserve roster to support losing players in an expansion draft. Made the mistake and broke a save. I started a save in 1975 and the Mariners and Blue Jays had a total of 9 pitchers between them after the draft. I would say start three complete seasons prior to expansion.

I did figure out one thing. I played with the draft because it is kind of tough not getting a draft until your second off season. I know the pool is determined based on the reveal date. I ran a test and moved the draft to 12/15 with the reveal date five days prior and did get a draft in the first off season. Seems to work moving forward I left the dates in December.

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08-09-2026, 12:59 PM	#1
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 3,299	Free Agents? I started a new game, 1933 Season, with the latest patch. My team has just 25 players, no minors. There is a reserve roster, but it is empty. I reviewed the Advanced settings, and did not see a choice for minor leagues. Also, there are no free agents at all. That pool is empty. I blundered into Opening Day (I chose Spring Training but it didn't happen), and can't change the "offseason" settings at this point. Was this a massive fail on my part for not finding the right choices in setup? Update: Several weeks into the season, even though injuries are on very low, a few teams are down a few players and nowhere to turn. Lineups and rotations are going to have holes. Without free agents or minor leagues or the ability to create players, not sure I can complete the season. As teams are thinned out, players are overused and get tired sooner, risk injury. Snowball effect. I may have to contract MLB by selling off players from a few teams, in order to fill out the remaining rosters. __________________ __________________ Pelican OOTP 2020-? ”Hard to believe, Harry.”

08-10-2026, 08:58 AM	#2
edm Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,008	There are no minors in historical leagues, unfortunately. in my experience, for the first two or three seasons you want to disable injuries (or set it to the lowest setting). Also unchecked storylines (this will prevent some early retirements). I also lower batter and pitcher aging speed for the first few seasons, to prevent players from retiring as early (0.250). After 2 or 3 seasons, assuming you are importing real historical rookies, reserves should start to fill up and you can undo those changes Last edited by edm; 08-10-2026 at 09:02 AM.