[Kevin]

My question would be why replace all the names in the database? Why not just play with fictional players?

Remember, the AI does not attach any value to "Ted Williams". All it sees is player No. XXXXXX with ratings of XX, XX and XX and stats of XX, XX and XX. It has not yet determined that these X's will translate into a Hall of Fame career or something entirely different. It does not roll millions of random numbers into the future to look at a trade; it looks at only the calculated results of the numbers rolled to date.

I read so many posts each year about the trading AI that criticize based on real player names. Yet, I very rarely see criticisms about the same logic when applied to fictional players.

At any setting, the AI will probably accept some lopsided trades because the right random number was generated to allow it. The range of numbers available likely narrows substantially as the settings are harder, but there needs to be the odd outlier to make this a game and not a repeatable simulator.