Annoyance with Minor League Contracts

[MrWorkrate]

It's probably been addressed already on these boards, but I've got an annoying problem with minor league contracts.

Going into an offseason with a team as cash-strapped as the Devil Rays, I decided to see what I could scrape up in the offseason with a minor league contract. I signed a few guys to minor league deals, but when I went to the transactions screen, there they sat, on the MAJOR LEAGUE ROSTER. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but when I went to move them down to the minors, they refused assignment. Nothing like a player signed to a minor league contract refusing to go to the minor leagues.

So, foolishly enough, I figured I'd go through Spring Training with them on the major league roster, then determine whether I'd cut them or let them make the big league club. After Spring Training, suddenly, they're taking assignments down to AAA. Why? Because any of the players who were on the major league roster during spring training now have major league contracts. Now I've got $900,000 or so in salary I didn't want in the first place, but if I cut them now, I have to pay them their salary.

I also figured that if I simmed a few games with them in the minors (without having been on the major league roster) for a few games, they'd eventually remember they have minor league contracts (like would happen from time to time in OOTP4). No luck. They sit in AAA, making $300,000 a year.

Any possibility that this could get looked at for the patch? Maybe something as simple as players signed to minor league contracts automaticly being placed on the minor league roster, regardless of how many open slots are on the major league roster.

[Lets Go Mets]

Just edit they're contracts

[Ragin Cajun]

Yes...I would like to possibly see ALL players signed or acquired default to A ball. This would save that problem. The only other option now is to ensure you have a full 25 man roster on the major league level. Of course, if you had that you probably wouldn't be looking at free agents in the first place.

[MrWorkrate]

Originally posted by Lets Go Mets
Just edit they're contracts

Can't edit when you're in manager mode

And the only problem with defaulting all free agent signees/traded players to A ball is that you run into the reverse situation... you have a little cheat you can use with players signed to major league contracts. If you have them and they're defaulted to A ball, they've already skipped the inital minor league option. If you sign a player to a major league contract, he should start in the majors so that if you wanted to put him in the minors, even after immedately signing, you can deal with the possibility that he may not want to go.

My thought would to be to do something that some other baseball game that I used to play (might have been High Heat, we're talking at least 3 years ago) did, which is to have section for newly aquired players to go to, just like you have a tradebait section and a DL section, and sections for your various minor leagues and major league roster. Once you aquire a player, be it through trade or FA, that player then goes into the "new player" section (for lack of a better term) so that you can put them wherever you please. They don't count towards any of your rosters until you move them, and they maintain the contract they had with their old team (or the contract you signed them to). This way, it also gives you time to do whatever you need to do with the rest of your rosters (cuts, demotions, etc) before your new players come on. While they're on that list, you could technically continue to sim or play games, but they would remain in this "limbo" until you moved them.

Just an idea... any thoughts?