Post by Nationals GM (Preston - Old) on Aug 19, 2009 13:29:24 GMT -8
revised 1/23/14
Free Agent: A player not listed on any franchise’s 50-Man Roster that in real life is a professional baseball player, major league or minor league that has already signed a real-life professional MLB contract, which includes contracts with MLB team affiliates (minor league teams).
When you decide there is a player you wish to add to your 50-Man Roster from free agency, you will need to sign that player to a contract. The league’s minimum salary requirement is $500,000 per year. The longest contract you can offer a free agent is 7 years.
As in real-life, sometimes players receive numerous contract offers. The player will ultimately choose the team that has offered them the most lucrative contract. The Average Annual Salary (AAS) of a contract will determine the most lucrative contract.
AAS is determined as follows: You simply take the average of the contract.
For example:
10: $1,000,000
11: $2,000,000
AAS = $1,500,000
A GM will submit one, and ONLY ONE bid per player in which they are interested. These bids will be submitted via PM directed to the "Free Agency" account. Only the Commissioner can open this PM and will not do so until it is time to reveal the winning bid. This bid must include the following to be considered valid:
- Number of years of the contract offer
- Total amount of the contract offer
- Average Annual Salary (AAS)
- A breakdown of the contract per year
Example:
Red Sox offer CI Bill Buckner
5-year contract worth $48.5M
AAS: $9.7M
2009 - $7M
2010 - $9M
2011 - $11M
2012 - $11M
2013 - $10.5M
Failure to use this format and include the four criteria listed above will result in an invalid and voided bid. It will be each GM's responsibility to be sure he/she submits a proper bid.
There may be instances in which free agents receive several offers from multiple teams. Questions arise as to which franchise will be declared the winner and awarded the right to sign said player to their team. Whoever has a higher AAS, wins said player. In the rare event two bids have the same AAS, below are the tie-breakers that will be utilized in determining which team will win the right to sign that player. Only proceed to the second tie-breaker in cases where the first tie-breaker ends in a tie.
Tie-Breaker #1:
If the AAS for two contract offers is the same, then the GM who offered the contract with the most number of years shall win the right to sign said player.
Tie-Breaker #2:
The only way this second tie-breaker can be utilized is if there is two contracts offers with the same AAS over the life of the contract AND the two contract offers are to pay the player over the same period of time. In this particular case, the tie-breaker will go to the GM who made their offer FIRST.
Contract Signing Rules for Prospects and Major Leaguers
A contract offer will not be valid if any single year salary is MORE or LESS then 50% of the AAS of a contract. The highest single year salary of a contract may not exceed 1.5 x AAS, and the lowest single year salary of a contract my not be below .5 x AAS for any one year.
Example: If a player's annual average salary is $5,000,000 per season, the lowest salary that can be offered is $2,500,000 and the highest salary that can be offered is $7,500,000. This rule was created to avoid back loading of contracts. This is a very important rule. If you fail to meet these criteria, your bid will be voided.
The formula for tabulating +/- 50% would be:
AAS 5,000,000 x .50 = 2,500,000
AAS 5,000,000 x 1.5 = 7,500,000
50% of $5M = $2.5M therefore it is $5M +/- $2.5M
Remember The league’s minimum salary requirement is$500,000 per year. The longest contract you can offer a free agent is 7 years.
Minor League players bids are to be offered a flat average annual salary bid that will remain intact until the player gains prospect eligibility.
Example: Red Sox sign minor leaguer A to a $500,000 contract. Player A will be paid $500,000 every season until the season after he loses minor league eligibility. At that point he enters the 5-year prospect system and you then must refer to Cot's for his contractual status. If a contract offered to a minor leaguer is worth an AAS of more than $1,000,000, that player is not eligible for your 12-Man exempt list, and must be placed on the 40-Man Major League Roster. Once you sign a Minor Leaguer you must announce if you will be placing him on your 12-Man exempt list or your 40-Man Major League Roster.
However, minor leaguers can also receive major league contracts (that is, without a flat AAS, and with a yearly breakdown). Regardless of what the AAS is (even if under 1M), the player must be placed on the 40-Man major league roster and their salary will count against the cap.
Important Note: Minor League Players who are drafted in June are not eligible to be bid on in FA; they are to be left for the Annual Player Draft each off-season.
This rule is simple, but very important. First, let it be stated that an international player cannot be signed without first signing with a MLB team or a MLB minor league affiliate. With that said, a player who is less than 27 years of age, will be bid on the same way defined minor leaguers are (flat AAS), and thus will be eligible for the 5 year prospect rule. If a player is 27 years of age or older, he is not considered a minor leaguer, and cannot be retained under the 5 year prospect rule. Instead, this player will require a major league contract and will be bid on the same way defined prospects and major leaguers are.
Important Note: International Players who come over mid-season are not eligible to be bid on in FA; they are to be left for the MLB Player Draft starting January 1st.
*Edit for clarity: If a player is 27 or older, they are eligible to be signed via Free Agency, and are ineligible for the MLB Player Draft that is held after the season (for more information on the draft, read the rule titled "MLB Player Draft") Age is determined on the day of the first MLB game of the season.
A GM cannot make a contract offer to a player who has not signed a contract with a real life Major League franchise.
A bid submitted is permanent, however, you do have the option of sending a PM to "Free Agency" before the bidding ends to cancel your bid. You MUST send the PM before bidding ends for that week.
In some situations there may be more players up for bid in which your roster/cap allows you to have, but you would like to take a stab at all of them in hopes of landing one or two. If this is the case you may send a priority list to the Free Agency account.
Example:
You want 1 of Players A, B and C. You would make bids for all 3 with a message of your intent to win only 1 of these players. Send a priority list in the order you want to win them, and this will allow you to avoid going over roster limits, or your salary cap.
1. Player B
2. Player C
3. Player A
Monday 12:00 AM Eastern-Wednesday 11:59 PM Eastern - To put a player up for bidding, simply post his name in the Contract Offers Section. This may be done at the times mentioned above, and no later. You do not need to state your intent to bid on this player. This gives each GM some degree of secrecy as to your bidding each week. If you want to place a bid for a player that has been named up for bid, please PM the Free Agency account with your offer.
Friday 11:59 PMEastern – This is the deadline for bidding each week. The submitted bid via PM is date and time sensitive and it dictates if the bid is on time or late. Late bids will be invalidated. No exceptions.
Saturday Midnight Eastern - The winning bids will be posted in the section entitled “Winning Free Agent Bids”. It is your responsibility to monitor the board and add any player you won to your roster. Keep in mind that your 50-Man Roster may not exceed 50 players, and you may not exceed your salary cap. If this is the case, you will have 48 hours to get back under the restrictions, or your transaction will be voided, and the free agent will be available the following week. As a penalty, you will not be able to participate in the following week’s FA bidding.
A GM has the right to release any player to free agency. To release a player and drop him to free agency, you must post the player's name that you are releasing in a new thread in the board titled "Player Releases". This will make permanent the decision to release a player to free agency. Once posted, there is no turning back. A GM will still be responsible for half of that player’s salary for the duration of the contract. If the player is a PP or signed to an AAS contract then the duration of the amount owed will be for the rest of the current season.
Each player that you have released and still owe must be listed on your roster page along with the amount of the original contract and what you still owe.
Buying out future years of released players contracts.
If you have released a player and still owe the player for future years, then you may choose to buyout the remaining years of the contract.
If you want to release a player you currently own, you may buyout the future years at the time of the release. If you have players on your team that a previous owner had released and your team still owes that player, you may buyout those years as well.
When a player is released, you are responsible to pay half of the salary owed for the remainder of the contract. If the contract is for multiple years, then you owe half for each of those years as well. When buying out a contract, you charge all of the salary owed to the current year and are no longer responsible for anything beyond. You must buyout all years of the remaining contract. The buyout will count against your cap for the remainder of the current season only.
This may be done only in the preseason up until the first MLB game.
For example: During last season (2013), I signed player x to a 3 year deal for 2.0M per year. This year, I released player x. When I released the player, I owed him 50% per year for the reamaining years. I would owe him 1.0 for 2014 and 1.0 for 2015. If I buyout the contract now I would owe 2.0 for this year only and owe nothing after this year.
Effective immediately, owners may realease a player with a multi-year contract during in-season play and then buyout that player's contract in the following offseason. The owner will be responsible for half the contract year during the season in which the player is released. The owner must then announce the buyout in the following offseason and will be responsible for half of the remaining contract, according to buyout rules. Effectively, these types of mid-season buyots will affect the team's next year salary cap. This addition to buyout rules is meant to allow more flexibiltiy while maintaining the restrictive nature of the buyout system.
For example: During this season (2016), I signed player x to a 3 year deal for 2.0M per year. Player X completely bombs, I released player x in the same season (2016). When I release the player, I owe him 50% per year for the reamaining years (2016-18). I would owe him 1.0 for 2016-18. Owners now have the option to release this player and owe $1M for 2016 and then buyout the contract the following offseason. The following offseason, I can buyout the remaining two years of the contract and owe $2M for that season (2017); $1M for 2017 and $1M for 2018.
If you drop a defined minor leaguer or a defined prospect from your 40-Man Roster you are to pay half of that contract for 1 year and 1 year only. If you drop a defined Minor Leaguer from your 10 Man Minor League System, you are not responsible for any salary as any minor leaguer not named to your 40-Man Roster does not count against your cap. Please keep in mind, a minor leaguer with an AAS of greater than $1,000,000 is not eligible to be placed on your 10-Man Minor League Roster, however, if dropped you would still only owe half of that players salary for 1 year and 1 year only.
If a GM releases a player to free agency, you must wait a 14-day period before re-signing him. At which time, if you do re-sign said player, you are still responsible for half of his previous contract in terms of both salary and term, as well as the new contract handed out.
Each offseason, there are always a number of players who have had their contracts expire. These players naturally become free agents and, as such, are available to accept contract offers being made by other GMs.
There are essentially three types of contracts for purposes in PB's Fantasy Baseball:
Real life contracts DO NOT recognize any contract option actions unless they were agreed to prior to rosters locking. PB's Fantasy Baseball recognizes neither options to extend the contract nor options to "opt out" of a contract. We currently use Cot's as PB's Fantasy Baseball's official source for contract and salary information.
Cot's - mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/
To protect against the loss of all free agents in a particular calendar year, a GM will be granted the ability to try and keep a player via a Restricted Tag(s) and/or Franchise Tag(s). Each franchise has a different amount of tags dependent on the tier you are in, in terms of salary cap. You will also be able to protect all qualified "minor league" players and also be allowed to protect your qualified "prospect" players as well. Prospect players as a reminder are defined as players who are engaged in the 5-year prospect rule.
If owned, you will have the ability at the end of the year to name a “franchise player(s)”. This player, although having his contract expire will not be eligible for free agency within our league, and will be forced to sign with the same team. In this specific case ONLY, the franchise player will have to assume the real life contract he receives (including 1 year deals or holdouts). In this case, "real-life" acts as an arbitrator of sorts in determining a fair market value for the player. This can either improve or hinder your team depending on how much the player signs for. If the new "real-life" contract puts a franchise over the salary cap maximum, the GM will receive a notice from the Commissioner’s Office after which time he/she will have 72-hours to correct the problem.
In the case that a player has an option picked up or agrees to a one year arbitration dal and then signs a long-term deal in the same offseason, whatever contract the player has by Opening Day will be in effect.
A team will also have the ability to name at least one restricted player each season.
Go to RFA section in rules for more info: pbfantasybaseball.proboards.com/thread/9028/rfa-restricted-free-agency
If you sign a player to a contract and he retires, you are responsible for that contract. The only way you will not be penalized is if a player retires due to a CAREER ENDING INJURY (including death). If that is the case, you are able to release that player and will only have to pay half of his contract for that year and that year only (if a player dies, then you will be allowed to release them for free). Be careful when making bids for older players, especially with high Average Annual Salaries. Please note: getting old, aching, or losing skills is NOT defined as a career ending injury.
Free Agency
Free Agent: A player not listed on any franchise’s 50-Man Roster that in real life is a professional baseball player, major league or minor league that has already signed a real-life professional MLB contract, which includes contracts with MLB team affiliates (minor league teams).
When you decide there is a player you wish to add to your 50-Man Roster from free agency, you will need to sign that player to a contract. The league’s minimum salary requirement is $500,000 per year. The longest contract you can offer a free agent is 7 years.
As in real-life, sometimes players receive numerous contract offers. The player will ultimately choose the team that has offered them the most lucrative contract. The Average Annual Salary (AAS) of a contract will determine the most lucrative contract.
AAS is determined as follows: You simply take the average of the contract.
For example:
10: $1,000,000
11: $2,000,000
AAS = $1,500,000
A GM will submit one, and ONLY ONE bid per player in which they are interested. These bids will be submitted via PM directed to the "Free Agency" account. Only the Commissioner can open this PM and will not do so until it is time to reveal the winning bid. This bid must include the following to be considered valid:
- Number of years of the contract offer
- Total amount of the contract offer
- Average Annual Salary (AAS)
- A breakdown of the contract per year
Example:
Red Sox offer CI Bill Buckner
5-year contract worth $48.5M
AAS: $9.7M
2009 - $7M
2010 - $9M
2011 - $11M
2012 - $11M
2013 - $10.5M
Failure to use this format and include the four criteria listed above will result in an invalid and voided bid. It will be each GM's responsibility to be sure he/she submits a proper bid.
Free Agent Rulings
There may be instances in which free agents receive several offers from multiple teams. Questions arise as to which franchise will be declared the winner and awarded the right to sign said player to their team. Whoever has a higher AAS, wins said player. In the rare event two bids have the same AAS, below are the tie-breakers that will be utilized in determining which team will win the right to sign that player. Only proceed to the second tie-breaker in cases where the first tie-breaker ends in a tie.
Tie-Breaker #1:
If the AAS for two contract offers is the same, then the GM who offered the contract with the most number of years shall win the right to sign said player.
Tie-Breaker #2:
The only way this second tie-breaker can be utilized is if there is two contracts offers with the same AAS over the life of the contract AND the two contract offers are to pay the player over the same period of time. In this particular case, the tie-breaker will go to the GM who made their offer FIRST.
Contract Signing Rules for Prospects and Major Leaguers
A contract offer will not be valid if any single year salary is MORE or LESS then 50% of the AAS of a contract. The highest single year salary of a contract may not exceed 1.5 x AAS, and the lowest single year salary of a contract my not be below .5 x AAS for any one year.
Example: If a player's annual average salary is $5,000,000 per season, the lowest salary that can be offered is $2,500,000 and the highest salary that can be offered is $7,500,000. This rule was created to avoid back loading of contracts. This is a very important rule. If you fail to meet these criteria, your bid will be voided.
The formula for tabulating +/- 50% would be:
AAS 5,000,000 x .50 = 2,500,000
AAS 5,000,000 x 1.5 = 7,500,000
50% of $5M = $2.5M therefore it is $5M +/- $2.5M
Remember The league’s minimum salary requirement is
Contract Signing Rules for Minor Leaguers
Minor League players bids are to be offered a flat average annual salary bid that will remain intact until the player gains prospect eligibility.
Example: Red Sox sign minor leaguer A to a $500,000 contract. Player A will be paid $500,000 every season until the season after he loses minor league eligibility. At that point he enters the 5-year prospect system and you then must refer to Cot's for his contractual status. If a contract offered to a minor leaguer is worth an AAS of more than $1,000,000, that player is not eligible for your 12-Man exempt list, and must be placed on the 40-Man Major League Roster. Once you sign a Minor Leaguer you must announce if you will be placing him on your 12-Man exempt list or your 40-Man Major League Roster.
However, minor leaguers can also receive major league contracts (that is, without a flat AAS, and with a yearly breakdown). Regardless of what the AAS is (even if under 1M), the player must be placed on the 40-Man major league roster and their salary will count against the cap.
Important Note: Minor League Players who are drafted in June are not eligible to be bid on in FA; they are to be left for the Annual Player Draft each off-season.
Contract Signing Rules for International Players
This rule is simple, but very important. First, let it be stated that an international player cannot be signed without first signing with a MLB team or a MLB minor league affiliate. With that said, a player who is less than 27 years of age, will be bid on the same way defined minor leaguers are (flat AAS), and thus will be eligible for the 5 year prospect rule. If a player is 27 years of age or older, he is not considered a minor leaguer, and cannot be retained under the 5 year prospect rule. Instead, this player will require a major league contract and will be bid on the same way defined prospects and major leaguers are.
Important Note: International Players who come over mid-season are not eligible to be bid on in FA; they are to be left for the MLB Player Draft starting January 1st.
*Edit for clarity: If a player is 27 or older, they are eligible to be signed via Free Agency, and are ineligible for the MLB Player Draft that is held after the season (for more information on the draft, read the rule titled "MLB Player Draft") Age is determined on the day of the first MLB game of the season.
Important Notes
A GM cannot make a contract offer to a player who has not signed a contract with a real life Major League franchise.
A bid submitted is permanent, however, you do have the option of sending a PM to "Free Agency" before the bidding ends to cancel your bid. You MUST send the PM before bidding ends for that week.
Priority Lists
In some situations there may be more players up for bid in which your roster/cap allows you to have, but you would like to take a stab at all of them in hopes of landing one or two. If this is the case you may send a priority list to the Free Agency account.
Example:
You want 1 of Players A, B and C. You would make bids for all 3 with a message of your intent to win only 1 of these players. Send a priority list in the order you want to win them, and this will allow you to avoid going over roster limits, or your salary cap.
1. Player B
2. Player C
3. Player A
Free Agent Bidding Schedule
Friday 11:59 PM
Saturday Midnight Eastern - The winning bids will be posted in the section entitled “Winning Free Agent Bids”. It is your responsibility to monitor the board and add any player you won to your roster. Keep in mind that your 50-Man Roster may not exceed 50 players, and you may not exceed your salary cap. If this is the case, you will have 48 hours to get back under the restrictions, or your transaction will be voided, and the free agent will be available the following week. As a penalty, you will not be able to participate in the following week’s FA bidding.
Releasing a Player to Free Agency
A GM has the right to release any player to free agency. To release a player and drop him to free agency, you must post the player's name that you are releasing in a new thread in the board titled "Player Releases". This will make permanent the decision to release a player to free agency. Once posted, there is no turning back. A GM will still be responsible for half of that player’s salary for the duration of the contract. If the player is a PP or signed to an AAS contract then the duration of the amount owed will be for the rest of the current season.
Each player that you have released and still owe must be listed on your roster page along with the amount of the original contract and what you still owe.
Buying out future years of released players contracts.
If you have released a player and still owe the player for future years, then you may choose to buyout the remaining years of the contract.
If you want to release a player you currently own, you may buyout the future years at the time of the release. If you have players on your team that a previous owner had released and your team still owes that player, you may buyout those years as well.
When a player is released, you are responsible to pay half of the salary owed for the remainder of the contract. If the contract is for multiple years, then you owe half for each of those years as well. When buying out a contract, you charge all of the salary owed to the current year and are no longer responsible for anything beyond. You must buyout all years of the remaining contract. The buyout will count against your cap for the remainder of the current season only.
This may be done only in the preseason up until the first MLB game.
For example: During last season (2013), I signed player x to a 3 year deal for 2.0M per year. This year, I released player x. When I released the player, I owed him 50% per year for the reamaining years. I would owe him 1.0 for 2014 and 1.0 for 2015. If I buyout the contract now I would owe 2.0 for this year only and owe nothing after this year.
Effective immediately, owners may realease a player with a multi-year contract during in-season play and then buyout that player's contract in the following offseason. The owner will be responsible for half the contract year during the season in which the player is released. The owner must then announce the buyout in the following offseason and will be responsible for half of the remaining contract, according to buyout rules. Effectively, these types of mid-season buyots will affect the team's next year salary cap. This addition to buyout rules is meant to allow more flexibiltiy while maintaining the restrictive nature of the buyout system.
For example: During this season (2016), I signed player x to a 3 year deal for 2.0M per year. Player X completely bombs, I released player x in the same season (2016). When I release the player, I owe him 50% per year for the reamaining years (2016-18). I would owe him 1.0 for 2016-18. Owners now have the option to release this player and owe $1M for 2016 and then buyout the contract the following offseason. The following offseason, I can buyout the remaining two years of the contract and owe $2M for that season (2017); $1M for 2017 and $1M for 2018.
What happens when I drop a Minor Leaguer?
If you drop a defined minor leaguer or a defined prospect from your 40-Man Roster you are to pay half of that contract for 1 year and 1 year only. If you drop a defined Minor Leaguer from your 10 Man Minor League System, you are not responsible for any salary as any minor leaguer not named to your 40-Man Roster does not count against your cap. Please keep in mind, a minor leaguer with an AAS of greater than $1,000,000 is not eligible to be placed on your 10-Man Minor League Roster, however, if dropped you would still only owe half of that players salary for 1 year and 1 year only.
Can I release a player and then re-sign him?
If a GM releases a player to free agency, you must wait a 14-day period before re-signing him. At which time, if you do re-sign said player, you are still responsible for half of his previous contract in terms of both salary and term, as well as the new contract handed out.
Contract Expiration
Each offseason, there are always a number of players who have had their contracts expire. These players naturally become free agents and, as such, are available to accept contract offers being made by other GMs.
There are essentially three types of contracts for purposes in PB's Fantasy Baseball:
- a real life contract transacted on or before Opening Day of 2010 (April 6th, 2010); or a real life contract resulting from a franchised player
- a contract won in the free agent bidding process
- a "prospect contract", which is a form of protection for players qualifying as "prospect" players (5 years).
Real life contracts DO NOT recognize any contract option actions unless they were agreed to prior to rosters locking. PB's Fantasy Baseball recognizes neither options to extend the contract nor options to "opt out" of a contract. We currently use Cot's as PB's Fantasy Baseball's official source for contract and salary information.
Cot's - mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/
To protect against the loss of all free agents in a particular calendar year, a GM will be granted the ability to try and keep a player via a Restricted Tag(s) and/or Franchise Tag(s). Each franchise has a different amount of tags dependent on the tier you are in, in terms of salary cap. You will also be able to protect all qualified "minor league" players and also be allowed to protect your qualified "prospect" players as well. Prospect players as a reminder are defined as players who are engaged in the 5-year prospect rule.
What are franchise tags?
If owned, you will have the ability at the end of the year to name a “franchise player(s)”. This player, although having his contract expire will not be eligible for free agency within our league, and will be forced to sign with the same team. In this specific case ONLY, the franchise player will have to assume the real life contract he receives (including 1 year deals or holdouts). In this case, "real-life" acts as an arbitrator of sorts in determining a fair market value for the player. This can either improve or hinder your team depending on how much the player signs for. If the new "real-life" contract puts a franchise over the salary cap maximum, the GM will receive a notice from the Commissioner’s Office after which time he/she will have 72-hours to correct the problem.
In the case that a player has an option picked up or agrees to a one year arbitration dal and then signs a long-term deal in the same offseason, whatever contract the player has by Opening Day will be in effect.
What are restricted players?
A team will also have the ability to name at least one restricted player each season.
Go to RFA section in rules for more info: pbfantasybaseball.proboards.com/thread/9028/rfa-restricted-free-agency
Retirement
If you sign a player to a contract and he retires, you are responsible for that contract. The only way you will not be penalized is if a player retires due to a CAREER ENDING INJURY (including death). If that is the case, you are able to release that player and will only have to pay half of his contract for that year and that year only (if a player dies, then you will be allowed to release them for free). Be careful when making bids for older players, especially with high Average Annual Salaries. Please note: getting old, aching, or losing skills is NOT defined as a career ending injury.
