Mediocre to average players are underpaid in OOTP

[Baconi]

I know the title might sound weird, but if you look at the free agent contracts handed out in the past few years, players who are clearly "below average" are being handed contracts with at least $8m+ annual value, especially starting pitchers. Even players who are more "average" based on their stats are getting contracts approaching $20m per year. In OOTP, you can get these kinds of players often for under $2m, even the innings-eater type starters who might have like a 4.80 ERA but give you 150+ IP in a year. It makes it pretty easy to supplement your roster for cheap - you can basically buy yourself an unimpressive but adequate rotation and bullpen for very cheap through free agency. It takes away some of the value in bringing up young players and paying them the minimum/arb money because if they're anything less than good, you'll be able to find a player for cheap that can do the same. FWIW I've tried increasing the salary settings but the game seems dead-set on keeping the contract demands for these players to be very cheap.



Basically, the value in players who aren't good but are still proven MLBers has gone up considerably in recent years, and an update to the financial system to reflect this would make the game more challenging and realistic.

[why_though126]

You can adjust contract estimations in the financials tab if you'd like.

[Baconi]

Originally Posted by why_though126

You can adjust contract estimations in the financials tab if you'd like.

Like I said, I've tried messing with the salary settings but found that there still seem to be certain players who have very low contract demands relative to their performance, e.g. a pitcher who threw 160+ innings and kept an ERA around 4.50 shouldn't be asking for $2m when I have the "Poor Quality Player Salary" set to $4m.

[KRSW]

In my opinion, the problem is caused by the large number of average players generated.

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by Baconi

Like I said, I've tried messing with the salary settings but found that there still seem to be certain players who have very low contract demands relative to their performance, e.g. a pitcher who threw 160+ innings and kept an ERA around 4.50 shouldn't be asking for $2m when I have the "Poor Quality Player Salary" set to $4m.

Should every player be asking what he's worth? I think not.

[Baconi]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Should every player be asking what he's worth? I think not.

No... most players ask for more than they're worth, at first. An innings-eater type starting pitcher that can at least hold their own has a lot of value in today's MLB, and should be asking for more.

[Brad K]

Some free agents don't get signed. Maybe a player's priority is certainty he'll be signed not maximum money.

[Charlie Hough]

Originally Posted by Baconi

I know the title might sound weird, but if you look at the free agent contracts handed out in the past few years, players who are clearly "below average" are being handed contracts with at least $8m+ annual value, especially starting pitchers. Even players who are more "average" based on their stats are getting contracts approaching $20m per year. In OOTP, you can get these kinds of players often for under $2m, even the innings-eater type starters who might have like a 4.80 ERA but give you 150+ IP in a year.

Yes, the financial system always has to be updated to keep up with what's happening in MLB, but there are a few other things to consider:

1. Real-life GMs might be idiots, but that doesn't mean that OOTP GMs have to be idiots. In fact, given OOTP's financial model, OOTP GMs might need to be more sane and fiscally responsible, otherwise the long-term negative financial impact might be really disruptive to the franchise, your league, or the sim in general.

However, if you want your game to absolutely reflect the latest financial trends in baseball, irrespective of what it might mean for your league finances or competitive balance, then I suppose there should be an option to ensure that those contracts are awarded in OOTP. I suspect that we'll see that in the next version or future updates. But OOTP is probably always going to lag a bit because you have to be careful about altering the financial model. And you need to make sure that something is a true trend before you implement it.

2. As Brad K pointed out, it wouldn't be realistic for all players to demand or be given as much money as possible. In real life, there are always players who are willing to sign for less. It might be to play for a winner, get more playing time, get more years on the deal, get fewer years and earlier free agency, play for a particular team, help the team keep its payroll manageable and fund more roster improvements, etc. It might even be due to not being as greedy or not having the best agent. So, personally, I don't mind there being players who will demand less, but obviously you want the right realistic balance.

3. In OOTP, the length of time that a player is an unsigned free agent can have a major impact on his demand. The longer a player is an unsigned free agent, the more likely he is to reduce his money demands. If he's not getting offers or not getting offers from desirable teams, then he will usually take less money, and that's always going to be a factor, too.