Does "On the Block" Setting Work?

[Living Lejuhnd]

I searched and read back in the 2011 forum that people felt this feature never actually did anything.

For instance, I'm the NYM and approaching the trade deadline. I have Shawn Marcum who has been outstanding this year.

9-2, 2.17 ERA, 108 IP

If I "shop" him I get some pretty great offers of 1 for 1. However, that's only 1 for 1. I get no actual offers from teams from having had him on the block the last two weeks.

Am I doing something wrong, or is the feature just broken?

[Living Lejuhnd]

Also, if teams are set to "rebuilding" mode, why would they offer me a big prospect for a guy like Marcum??

AND, another crazy thing. I went to see what he'd actually want for an extension since he came to me and said he'd like to stay in NY. The jokester wants 9 YEARS, $21 MILLION PER YEAR!!!

That's crazy. Anyway to get guys to make more realistic offers?

[Orcin]

The trading block feature works well you to see who the AI wants to dump. The AI teams seem to use it among themselves. Unfortunately, the AI is not agressive about pursuing your players. In your case, there clearly should be offers coming your way. In my opinion, the feature could use improvement in this regard.

The "shop player" feature is very useful for finding individual players that the AI wants to dump that are not on the trading block. Unfortunately, it is not useful for the type of transaction that you want to make because the AI will rarely offer players that are not on the secondary roster. I believe that is because the AI values that roster spot and won't take back a player unless it frees a slot with a player that it values lower than yours. It also won't offer multi-player trades in this mode.

Your best approach for making this type of deal, i.e. veteran player performing well for multiple assets, is to use the trade screen to canvas teams one-by-one. Look for a team that has the budget room to take on Marcum and a weakness in their rotation. You will have to choose the players that you want from their organization, but I think you will find a team or two that will be willing to trade assets that you covet.

I have found that it is very difficult to get players to accept reasonable extensions during the season. However, you can get a much better offer from the player between the end of the season and the start of free agency. The player's stance will change from week to week depending upon performance also, so check back when he is in a slump.

[cblacker]

AND, another crazy thing. I went to see what he'd actually want for an extension since he came to me and said he'd like to stay in NY. The jokester wants 9 YEARS, $21 MILLION PER YEAR!!!

That's crazy. Anyway to get guys to make more realistic offers?

Yeah, negotiate with him. Give him a low-ball counter offer. See how he reacts. A lot of times, the players will come way down from their initial offer.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Living Lejuhnd

I searched and read back in the 2011 forum that people felt this feature never actually did anything.

For instance, I'm the NYM and approaching the trade deadline. I have Shawn Marcum who has been outstanding this year.

9-2, 2.17 ERA, 108 IP

If I "shop" him I get some pretty great offers of 1 for 1. However, that's only 1 for 1. I get no actual offers from teams from having had him on the block the last two weeks.

Am I doing something wrong, or is the feature just broken?

Compare what "on the block" actually means IRL. It means "we know this guy is useless and/or a head case and/or overpaid but we hope you are stupid and offer more than a bag of balls". By that definition you should get few to no offers unless a team becomes desperate. Vernon Wells was on the block for 2 seasons in Anaheim. The only reason he was traded this spring was that the Yankees were both desperate and rich. Remember Alex Rios? He was 28 and had a huge contract kicking in the next year. Absolutely no takers until finally Ken Williams took him on a waiver claim. At the time it was seen as a huge gamble for the White Sox.

If a player is tradeable if he has value he never makes it on to the block.

[redmarkYankees]

Originally Posted by Orcin

The "shop player" feature is very useful for finding individual players that the AI wants to dump that are not on the trading block. Unfortunately, it is not useful for the type of transaction that you want to make because the AI will rarely offer players that are not on the secondary roster. I believe that is because the AI values that roster spot and won't take back a player unless it frees a slot with a player that it values lower than yours. It also won't offer multi-player trades in this mode.

Your best approach for making this type of deal, i.e. veteran player performing well for multiple assets, is to use the trade screen to canvas teams one-by-one. Look for a team that has the budget room to take on Marcum and a weakness in their rotation. You will have to choose the players that you want from their organization, but I think you will find a team or two that will be willing to trade assets that you covet.

'Shop player' can give you a decent idea of which teams value your player highest, simply by looking at the relative star ratings of those they'd do a one-for-one trade with (excluding MRs/CLs). So a team offering three or four 3/4 star players clearly rates your 'shopped' player higher than a team offering 1/2 star players. Click 'trade' for one of them, then edit the trade looking for players you like.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by redmarkYankees

'Shop player' can give you a decent idea of which teams value your player highest, simply by looking at the relative star ratings of those they'd do a one-for-one trade with (excluding MRs/CLs). So a team offering three or four 3/4 star players clearly rates your 'shopped' player higher than a team offering 1/2 star players. Click 'trade' for one of them, then edit the trade looking for players you like.

Keep in mind the AI often wants to dump contracts. That can make it seem that the value of the player coming back is higher.