Need Help Understanding Spring Training and Option Years

[Otrex]

Playing OOTP16, I am struggling to understand how OOtP treats option years in regards to Spring Training.

I set a 25-man roster just prior to Spring Training starting. Once it starts, that setting allows for up to 60 players, and it seems that the computer automatically invites most of the best AAA players to attend spring training. This usually means that around 35 players show up for training.

These same players, upon April 1st, then list themselves as "out of options", meaning I cannot send them back down to a roster that I didn't call them up from in the first place. That is to say that, come April 1st, my Active Roster now lists 35/25 as my roster size, and again, those extra 10 players were placed into spring training by the computer, and I did not use any "set up my team" auto-settings.

This also seems to occur even a day before April 1st, so I get stuck having to waive players simply because they were invited to spring training.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I misunderstanding something?

[majesty95]

The CPU will automatically put anyone on your 40-man roster on your spring roster. This does create an issue when wanting send someone down that you didn't call up. I wish you could turn that off. Let me manually put who I want on my spring roster (unless of course that's mandated my the CBA that they have to be on your spring roster if they are on the 40-man roster...)

[mdtwnkfey]

Originally Posted by majesty95

(unless of course that's mandated my the CBA that they have to be on your spring roster if they are on the 40-man roster...)

I believe that is the case in real life. If you're on the MLB (40-man) roster, you're in big league spring training. If you're out of option years and you don't make the 25-man roster, a waiver wire stay is up next.

So these guys who are on the spring training roster for you Otrex, the ones who have option years remaining can be sent to the minors freely. But if they don't have any left, they'll have to be exposed to waivers. I think they'll need to be DFA'd (removed from the 40-man) at the same time too.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Otrex]

What I'm seeing is that they start Spring Training in AAA, but on the 40-man roster, then are automatically "brought up" to spring training, which then means I cannot send them back down without waiving them.

So, what you're saying is, that's how it is in real life too? 3 option-years which may just be three tries at spring training, and then you have to be waived?

[mdtwnkfey]

Originally Posted by Otrex

So, what you're saying is, that's how it is in real life too? 3 option-years which may just be three tries at spring training, and then you have to be waived?

Yup. Guys who are out of option years routinely make big league rosters out of spring training over guys who have options. Happens each year, deservingly or not.

[majesty95]

An option year doesn't just apply to Spring Training. Any year in which a player spends time at both the ML and minor league levels counts as an option year. But yes, if the player is on the 40-man, it appears as though you only get three springs with him to either keep him or risk losing him on waivers.

[Trebro]

The game is doing it correctly. Once you're on the 40-man, if you are not on the 25 man roster at the start of the year, you are "optioned" to the minors. To prevent teams from being able to do this indefinitely, the short version is there are 3 years you can do this in (but you can do it as many times as you want in the same year, and it only counts 1 time against the 3 total). Exceptions exist, of course but that's the basics.

More details here: The 40-Man Roster: How Does It Work? - Brew Crew Ball

[Otrex]

Fair enough - thank you everyone.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Trebro

The game is doing it correctly. Once you're on the 40-man, if you are not on the 25 man roster at the start of the year, you are "optioned" to the minors. To prevent teams from being able to do this indefinitely, the short version is there are 3 years you can do this in (but you can do it as many times as you want in the same year, and it only counts 1 time against the 3 total). Exceptions exist, of course but that's the basics.

More details here: The 40-Man Roster: How Does It Work? - Brew Crew Ball

Good explanation. The other thing to remember is that the offseason only has a 40-man active roster so none of them are being called up for ST. They are and always have been on the active roster. The active roster becomes 25-man as of opening day.

[Rain King]

Originally Posted by Otrex

So, what you're saying is, that's how it is in real life too? 3 option-years which may just be three tries at spring training, and then you have to be waived?

The way to look at it is that in order to be on the 40-man roster AND in the minor leagues, you have to use an "option" year. Now, you do not have to be on the 40-man to go to spring training...being on the 40-man just automatically brings you to spring training (because until opening day there is no such thing as a 25-man roster).

The non 40-man guys are where the term NRI (i.e. Non-Roster Invite) comes from. So, you can have a guy come to spring training as many times as you want, but once he is on the 40-man you can only send him to the minors 3 times before he has to pass through waivers to get there.

[smiller]

Isn't there an option in "game settings" where you can limit the spring training roster to just 25 players?

[Phantom9in]

Being in Spring Training and not being on the 40-man roster is called "non-roster invitation".