Spring Training and options
 

This has bugged me through many versions of OOTP but if you intentionally, or accidentally let the ai control your spring training, you end up with it counting as a promotion and often cannot demote them back to the minors without waiving and designating. This is not how spring training works in the majors. If it did, they would never get to see their minor leaguers perform in the spring. Any chance this can be fixed?

This is in fact how ST works IRL. Almost every team has to deal with several "out of option" players during ST. Heck even now in December many teams must DFA players directly after trades because the 40 man roster is full.

This is not true, each team has several non-roster invites.
Rarely, if at all does a team use a roster invite during spring when that player is out of options.

Non roster invites are for players that are not on the 40 man roster. That's why they are called non roster. This can be free agents. But it sometimes is an interesting player/prospect in the lower minors. They may want to take a closer look at him.

But, yes, all teams have to deal with out of options players on their 40 man roster each season. Most fans won't notice it because, a) teams plan for it so they'll make an innocuous move in the upcoming season or during spring training. b) this will always involve AAAA type players. So it is not big news when they are waived or traded.

Non-roster invitees are exactly that and not subject to waivers and options because they are not on the roster. You need to understand roster rules better.

If a non-roster invitee makes either the 40-man roster or heaven forbid the active 25 man roster they immediately become subject to all the subsequent rules. If they are out of options too bad.

You misunderstand. I know who not to activate and who to activate. I am well versed in the game. However, the game always, even when I have all the controls set to me, promotes minor leaguers to the spring training roster. Often it promotes people who are out of options. This is the game flaw that needs to be fixed. Either give me complete control or make the AI not promote people out of options. It is ultra frustrating. If I am missing a way to shut this off in challenge mode, please let me know.

You misunderstand the rule. IRL anyone on the 40 man roster must be “optioned” to the minor leagues if he does not stay on the ML roster. IRL there no such thing as a spring training roster. The spring training roster is just a mechanism used in game to enforce the rule.

You don't hear about this much IRL because teams protect their top prospects, they have a plan on moving them to the majors. That's where you hear about trades made to make room for an up and coming prospect. And most guys that end up out of options are not prospects. So they are not news worthy when they are traded or cut.

In baseball, players have a number of years they can be optioned to the minors.

Regardless of whether or not they show up in spring training, every player on the 40 man roster needs to be assigned to the major league club or sent on optional assignment. That's what using an option year is. You only get three (although in MLB, unless the rule has changed there were rare instances where you could get a 4th).

That's also why it's called an option year, once you option the guy to the minors for that year, you can do is as much as you want for that year (aka the Championship Season which is what the "regular" season is referred to in the MLB rulebook).

So again, it has nothing to do with spring training. Every year when the regular season starts, you need to make a choice for every player on your 40 man roster. Majors, DL, minors or release. And to send them to the minors they need an option year, or to pass through waivers (and in some cases accept the minor league assignment - in OOTP it's based on solely service years but it's more complex in the MLB).