[the54effect]

I'm not sure what goes into the Signability ratings for IAFA, but with the 5m cap on proposals it is a topic that is discussed in every online league I am in on an annual basis. Most people tend to think that IAFA signability (and whom a player ultimately signs with in the case of multiple max offers) is random, or worse, follows some pre-assigned but undetectable order.

I'd like to propose the following idea for consideration:

Using the existing "Nationality" system, IAFA's could be more signable for organizations that have more players of the same nationality in it. For instance, if the Arizona Diamondbacks have 50 Nicaraguan players in their system, while the average amount of Nicaraguan players in a MLB system is 20, the Diamondbacks would have an advantage in signability for Nicaraguan players. The rationale being, the organization is friendly/supportive of development in that country/has more clout among those prospects.

In conjunction with this, if scouts could have their focus set on specific countries (perhaps in some sort of tiered list, or just highlighting specific countries without precluding others) then the scouting trips they go on could be more targeted. While the International Complex seems mostly designed as a feeder for rookie league teams outside of the draft, it could gain some depth if organizations could use it to build allegiance in various corners of the world.

This system could become competitive- you would expect that the richest baseball playing countries would be the priority for most organizations, but then, if an organization has made in-roads in a less baseball dense environment (say Australia) then when the stud Australian IAFA turns up, they're favored to sign with the team that has been collecting Aussies over the years.

Because the role of Agents is all but written out of OOTP (and Agent representation is probably reality's closest approximation of signability) I feel like this sort of system would give the crapshoot of IAFA signing a strategic foothold. Maybe something like this already exists and I am just unaware! Perhaps a secondary system would be the 'best career team' of national icons, but I digress...

Obviously a 'national weighting system' could have an impact on other bidding systems (Free Agency, International Postings, Etc) however, since those competitions typically come down to the contract terms, it would be a secondary consideration. The 5m cap in IAFA is the one that really ends up SEEMING like a scattershot, so giving teams an opportunity to amass capital in a country and then, cognizant of that, go after the IAFAs from the countries they have invested in, expecting an advantage there, would seem like another level of GAME.