Signing Just To Release

[Baby Ruth]

What would be the thought process behind what these teams are doing with this player? I've seen a number of teams in my baseball universe. I don't understand signing a player just to release him a day later, but then I don't really understand much about contractual dealings any way.

[Rain King]

This is something that crops up occasionally that is difficult for the developers to squash.

Do you have strict roster limits in your minor leagues? It is generally recommended to allow your lowest minor league level to either have no limit or a fairly high number (i.e 35 to 40 players).

[uruguru]

The AI doesn't seem to negotiate minor-league contracts the same way the player does. For example, if a new crop of minor-leaguers show up (like when the offseason starts), a lot of them will seemingly auto-sign with a team the first day.

The player never gets this advantage. You need to offer the deal and wait and possibly negotiate.

This doesn't really bother me because the last thing the game needs is for the AI to get bogged down trying to sign minor-leaguers that will generally have minimal impact on the game. These players just go where they go unless the player wants to sign them.

So I wonder if these guys are somehow auto-signing and then the AI general manager says, "No I don't want you" and then releases them.

[kq76]

Huh! Very interesting.

I get that it doesn't bother you, but considering that it obviously bothers others, shouldn't the bar of need be higher for AI teams to sign these players? Or at the very least make it take some time for them to sign them, like it takes humans time, and that way once the player is ready to sign maybe the AI team re-evaluates things and changes its mind and withdraws its offer.

[uruguru]

I don't know if that is what is actually happening. I was just speculating, trying to infer what might be happening.

The constant cycling is annoying but it doesn't really affect the actual gameplay.

[AESP_pres]

It's pretty much the reason why I started to play with real lineup / real trade many versions ago... I'm surprise this always happen. I can understand during the training camp but less during the season... obviously in real life team will sign some players to temporary fill a shirt during the season if a player is injured and they don't want to promote someone too fast from a lower league, but those guys aren't release immediately.

[Baby Ruth]

Originally Posted by Rain King

Do you have strict roster limits in your minor leagues? It is generally recommended to allow your lowest minor league level to either have no limit or a fairly high number (i.e 35 to 40 players).

I don't believe so, but I'm not really sure. At least I don't recall seeing such a setting when creating the game. In this period there aren't any actual minor league teams in the game that I can see, since MLB teams didn't have a farm system in the dead ball era and the other independent leagues don't seem to be included in a historical replay.

[omg_pwnasaurus]

Yeah the same thing happens pretty much everyday in my dead ball era sim as well. Someone signs a player of inconsequence and releases them the next day. I've grown to ignore it.

[itsmb8]

Originally Posted by uruguru

The AI doesn't seem to negotiate minor-league contracts the same way the player does. For example, if a new crop of minor-leaguers show up (like when the offseason starts), a lot of them will seemingly auto-sign with a team the first day.

The player never gets this advantage. You need to offer the deal and wait and possibly negotiate.

This doesn't really bother me because the last thing the game needs is for the AI to get bogged deal trying to sign minor-leaguers that will generally have minimal impact on the game. These players just go where they go unless the player wants to sign them.

So I wonder if these guys are somehow auto-signing and then the AI general manager says, "No I don't want you" and then releases them.

I'm willing to bet this is exactly it.

At this point, I'd rather have the AI negotiate minor league deals so that 1) the AI negotiating with minor league players actually want them, and 2) the human actually has a chance to sign them.

[uruguru]

Originally Posted by itsmb8

I'm willing to bet this is exactly it.

At this point, I'd rather have the AI negotiate minor league deals so that 1) the AI negotiating with minor league players actually want them, and 2) the human actually has a chance to sign them.

I get that but that will take a bit of AI work, I'm sure, and then you have to ask does it improve the game enough to justify it?

And does it then make it easier for the player to sign minor-leaguers over the AI?

Unless they fixed it in 25, there's already a bug/exploit/whatever where you can basically beat the AI to any minor-leaguer by simply offering a token signing bonus. The only ones you can't get are those rare ones that auto-sign on the first day their are available.

Like I said, to me these are marginal players that ultimately will have almost no effect on the sim so I just kind of squint my eyes and pretend I don't see it.

[Pelican]

Just another guess, but is this problem related to not having full minor leagues in the game for those early Dead-ball years? It seems to work better once the full minors are incorporated, e.g. 1915.

[Baby Ruth]

Originally Posted by Pelican

Just another guess, but is this problem related to not having full minor leagues in the game for those early Dead-ball years? It seems to work better once the full minors are incorporated, e.g. 1915.

I was wondering along those lines, as well. It probably throws a wrench into the normal logic. I'm curious how much of the player base actually plays pre-mid 20th century. I've never actually played 'modern' eras except for fictional leagues. I just don't enjoy it like I do seeing the history.