Minor League contraction - how to do it?

BIG17EASY · 03-30-2022, 11:47 AM

I have a long-running standard MLB league that started about 5-6 versions ago that I'm heavily invested in. It's basically the only league I play. I'd like to contract the minors a bit - probably keep the DSL/VSL teams, a rookie team and then one team at A, AA and AAA. If I do that, most teams would be losing two minor league affiliates.

I'm curious if anyone has done this manually while avoiding any bad AI roster decisions like releasing top prospects. For reference, I currently have roster size and age limits at all of my levels. I assumed the best process would be to disable those, move the players in the leagues that are being contracted to the next highest level that will remain, then slowly reintroduce those limits during the offseason while keeping an eye on transactions to see what players are released.

But if someone has a better way they've done this, I'm all ears. I'm obviously going to put a backup of my league on my external drive so I can revert back to it, if needed. But I'm hoping to keep this process from being a trial-and-error situation that takes numerous attempts to get right.

BBGiovanni · 03-30-2022, 11:59 AM

That sounds right, I've just moved all the players to another level and let the AI figure out what to do with them. I've also gone in commish mode and used "act as" to cherry-pick the few real prospects and just transfer them. Both have worked fine. I'm lazy so I tend to prefer the latter, but obviously you might not want to look behind the curtain with the other teams.

Ktulu · 03-30-2022, 05:30 PM

Haven't contracted minor leagues before, but you're on the right track with turning off any minor league roster limits and gradually re-introducing them.

As a test I would check what happens if you just delete the teams first, there's a chance the players might not get released by their parent organization. Create a basic test league and see what happens.

NoOne · 03-30-2022, 09:27 PM

might be a good idea to turn off those rules when removing or moving an entire team of players.. but i wouldn't worry after that. let AI set it all up (either by clicking in roster management or just simming calendar date and eventually it will occur. i don't know if it makes a difference... i do know it's better to not repeat that roster management process on the same day over and over again.. the teams will start cutting players for no reason even if they need the numbers.

after that i'd turn the rules on and let it go.

if you don't want them to be MIL FA, make sure to move the players before deleting any teams.

Use the roster management screen -- where oyu can have 9 tiles on a 1080p screen or likely more on a higher res... can have multiple levels shown... quickly move team to team, select all, drag to a team that will be kept in that organization. you may not be able to have all mil levels visible, but can do the bottom 5-9 and it'll remain in that format when you switch to next team...

BIG17EASY · 03-31-2022, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ktulu

As a test I would check what happens if you just delete the teams first, there's a chance the players might not get released by their parent organization. Create a basic test league and see what happens.

I am certain that this will release all players on those teams, which is not what I want.

andjbock · 03-31-2022, 09:53 AM

You need to move all of the players from the team you want to contract to another minor league team within the organization. You will have to repeat this for every organization.

From the team's roster page you want to contract, you'd click the radio button (circle) that selects all of the players, right-click and move to a new team.

I'd do this for every team and then once the league has zero players it, you can delete it.

Now you can manage your minor leagues by autofilling, releasing excess players, etc.

BIG17EASY · 03-31-2022, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andjbock

You need to move all of the players from the team you want to contract to another minor league team within the organization. You will have to repeat this for every organization.

From the team's roster page you want to contract, you'd click the radio button (circle) that selects all of the players, right-click and move to a new team.

I'd do this for every team and then once the league has zero players it, you can delete it.

Now you can manage your minor leagues by autofilling, releasing excess players, etc.

Yes, I understand all this. I'm looking for advice on ways to keep the AI from making poor roster decisions once the leagues are deleted. I don't want to have to manually release players for every organization.

reflections · 03-31-2022, 02:17 PM

Done this a few times. There is no real way to keep the AI from making poor roster decisions. I've done it a few different ways, and sometimes the AI keeps big name prospects, but sometimes they drop them. Especially if I kept the minor league limits tighter (usually I try for 30 across the AAA,AA, A and went with 35 on Rookie/Complex leagues).

Your idea of keeping minor league roster limits high is probably best bet. and gradually instituting limits over the next few seasons. Maybe shortlist top 100 prospects to make sure they don't get released.

Good luck and I really want to hear how it works out. I've been contemplating starting up a 1960s historical based, but only having each MLB squad have 1 team at each level.

BIG17EASY · 03-31-2022, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reflections

Done this a few times. There is no real way to keep the AI from making poor roster decisions. I've done it a few different ways, and sometimes the AI keeps big name prospects, but sometimes they drop them. Especially if I kept the minor league limits tighter (usually I try for 30 across the AAA,AA, A and went with 35 on Rookie/Complex leagues).

Your idea of keeping minor league roster limits high is probably best bet. and gradually instituting limits over the next few seasons. Maybe shortlist top 100 prospects to make sure they don't get released.

Good luck and I really want to hear how it works out. I've been contemplating starting up a 1960s historical based, but only having each MLB squad have 1 team at each level.

Thanks. I have tighter roster sizes, but probably will loosen them a bit based on your feedback. The shortlist tip for the top 100 will be super helpful. I hadn't thought of that, so thanks.

I'm in early August currently and even though I sim one day at a time, it goes slowly because I get busy with work and sometimes don't play for a week or two at a time. I'll try to remember to come back and post an update after I go through the process once I hit the offseason.

BBGiovanni · 04-02-2022, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIG17EASY

I am certain that this will release all players on those teams, which is not what I want.

This test I have unfortunately run multiple times by accident and that is the result.

03-30-2022, 11:47 AM	#1
BIG17EASY Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,291	Minor League contraction - how to do it? I have a long-running standard MLB league that started about 5-6 versions ago that I'm heavily invested in. It's basically the only league I play. I'd like to contract the minors a bit - probably keep the DSL/VSL teams, a rookie team and then one team at A, AA and AAA. If I do that, most teams would be losing two minor league affiliates. I'm curious if anyone has done this manually while avoiding any bad AI roster decisions like releasing top prospects. For reference, I currently have roster size and age limits at all of my levels. I assumed the best process would be to disable those, move the players in the leagues that are being contracted to the next highest level that will remain, then slowly reintroduce those limits during the offseason while keeping an eye on transactions to see what players are released. But if someone has a better way they've done this, I'm all ears. I'm obviously going to put a backup of my league on my external drive so I can revert back to it, if needed. But I'm hoping to keep this process from being a trial-and-error situation that takes numerous attempts to get right.

03-30-2022, 11:59 AM	#2
BBGiovanni All Star Starter Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Republic of California Posts: 1,874	That sounds right, I've just moved all the players to another level and let the AI figure out what to do with them. I've also gone in commish mode and used "act as" to cherry-pick the few real prospects and just transfer them. Both have worked fine. I'm lazy so I tend to prefer the latter, but obviously you might not want to look behind the curtain with the other teams. __________________ Let's Go (San Jose) Giants, Let's Go Mets! Current Project: WBAT/AABBA: Organized Base Ball And the "New Normal" World Baseball Aid Tournament 2023 trophy round underway!

03-30-2022, 05:30 PM	#3
Ktulu Hall Of Famer Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: BC Posts: 4,506	Haven't contracted minor leagues before, but you're on the right track with turning off any minor league roster limits and gradually re-introducing them. As a test I would check what happens if you just delete the teams first, there's a chance the players might not get released by their parent organization. Create a basic test league and see what happens. __________________ "The ice is getting even more thinner, my friend!"

03-30-2022, 09:27 PM	#4
NoOne Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 7,258 Infractions: 1/0 (0)	might be a good idea to turn off those rules when removing or moving an entire team of players.. but i wouldn't worry after that. let AI set it all up (either by clicking in roster management or just simming calendar date and eventually it will occur. i don't know if it makes a difference... i do know it's better to not repeat that roster management process on the same day over and over again.. the teams will start cutting players for no reason even if they need the numbers. after that i'd turn the rules on and let it go. if you don't want them to be MIL FA, make sure to move the players before deleting any teams. Use the roster management screen -- where oyu can have 9 tiles on a 1080p screen or likely more on a higher res... can have multiple levels shown... quickly move team to team, select all, drag to a team that will be kept in that organization. you may not be able to have all mil levels visible, but can do the bottom 5-9 and it'll remain in that format when you switch to next team... Last edited by NoOne; 03-30-2022 at 09:29 PM.

03-31-2022, 09:53 AM	#6
andjbock Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Somerville, MA, USA Bats: Right Throws: Left Posts: 3,637	You need to move all of the players from the team you want to contract to another minor league team within the organization. You will have to repeat this for every organization. From the team's roster page you want to contract, you'd click the radio button (circle) that selects all of the players, right-click and move to a new team. I'd do this for every team and then once the league has zero players it, you can delete it. Now you can manage your minor leagues by autofilling, releasing excess players, etc. Last edited by andjbock; 03-31-2022 at 09:54 AM.

03-31-2022, 02:17 PM	#8
reflections Minors (Double A) Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Tumwater, Washington Posts: 174	Done this a few times. There is no real way to keep the AI from making poor roster decisions. I've done it a few different ways, and sometimes the AI keeps big name prospects, but sometimes they drop them. Especially if I kept the minor league limits tighter (usually I try for 30 across the AAA,AA, A and went with 35 on Rookie/Complex leagues). Your idea of keeping minor league roster limits high is probably best bet. and gradually instituting limits over the next few seasons. Maybe shortlist top 100 prospects to make sure they don't get released. Good luck and I really want to hear how it works out. I've been contemplating starting up a 1960s historical based, but only having each MLB squad have 1 team at each level.