[endgame]

Service time limits would certainly help mitigate some of the diffculties, including what is sometimes the overvaluing of the more experienced player despite his ratings. If roster limits are in place, sometimes it's a mixed bag, causing the excess to either be released or temporarily housed at another level. The latter used to occur in v12- I haven't looked hard enough in v13 -when short season and rookie seasons were completed, the rosters would often empty or reduce to 1-2 while additional playing time was assigned players in higher leagues than their abilities probably dictated they should be allowed, IMO. So, the calendar is something not to completely exclude from elements that influence, rightly or wrongly, the AIs decisions to promote, demote, and/or release.

For experiment's sake, if you're inclined, take a test league with, say, a roster limit of 50 at its rookie level and unlimited at all others. Advance a day and change that limit to 25 or 30 and examine what happens to the surplus, not only observing the automatic release, but specifically who was released. Lather, rinse, repeat, if you've copied the league or simply try it again with a new one. It's an tactic that can betray some of the AIs rationale or defy you to define it.