It should be easier to trade for expiring contracts

wallewalls · 06-30-2018, 09:26 AM

This is something I wanted to bring up for awhile. It's the trade deadline. I look at the new and improved trading block (which is great btw great job OOTP team on improving that) and a lot of the bad teams in the league have their expiring contracts on the trading block, so I am interested in the rental to make my team better for the postseason. I go into negotiations and they wont settle for anything less than my top MLB players or my top prospects. I get that they are elite talents but we have seen in the past few years of baseball (except for a desperate Cubs team in 2016 with Chapman) that expiring contracts don't return top talent. It should be like this in OOTP. Maybe it's a balance issue to make the game harder, but I just dont think it's realistic and it does annoy me sometimes to see teams that are well below .500 dont sell off their expiring contracts.

torpidbeaver · 06-30-2018, 02:10 PM

I thought I remembered some of the patch notes mentioning that the team tweaked some of the settings to help with this exact problem: Win Now teams being more willing to trade prospects to get over the top; Rebuilding teams being more willing to dump big contracts.

If you did already update, did you notice any difference before/after?

wallewalls · 06-30-2018, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by torpidbeaver

I thought I remembered some of the patch notes mentioning that the team tweaked some of the settings to help with this exact problem: Win Now teams being more willing to trade prospects to get over the top; Rebuilding teams being more willing to dump big contracts.

If you did already update, did you notice any difference before/after?

i was able to land a 36 year old SP with an expiring contract from a losing team, but their status wasn't "rebuilding" they were neutral. i go through every rebuilding team and pick the players that are usually over 30 and have less than one year left or 1 more full season left and unless they are just throwaway, interchangeable players (and sometimes even then) most of the time they want elite talent off of my MLB team that is fighting for the world series.

The Yurpman · 06-30-2018, 11:40 PM

Do you have the latest patch? It fixed a LOT of stuff regarding trades in general, deadline trades, and the trading block. It was a HUGE upgrade to all of those things.

wallewalls · 07-03-2018, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Yurpman

Do you have the latest patch? It fixed a LOT of stuff regarding trades in general, deadline trades, and the trading block. It was a HUGE upgrade to all of those things.

yes i have all of the updated patches. i see the new and expanded trading block, but it is not any easier to trade for those players than previously

Drstrangelove · 07-03-2018, 06:57 PM

I just tried it and if anything it might be a bit too easy. In the first place, I've never seen anything remotely useful. Now, the crappy players are gone and about 12-15 actually good players are listed.

In the second place, Houston was going to let me take two players (Harris - RP 66/80, and Altuve 58/80) for NYY Austin (33/80, 1B.) Houston doesn't have a replacement for either. Now, it does save them $11 million for one year, then they become FA, but we're in spring training, Houston already has a $30 million budget surplus and they might not beat out Texas for the division.

I'm not seeing the rationale of a human doing that, unless there's a lot I'm missing.

My settings are:

Trade Difficulty Average
Trade Preference Neutral
Player eval is 65-20-10-5
Scouting Accuracy is normal

Now trading for players not on the trading block still works for me it seems like before. I have to give up a lot and it has to be what they want, which is really how I like it. So, I would agree that players not on the trading block, but in the last year of their contract are probably hard to get. That happens in RL as well.

SirMichaelJordan · 07-04-2018, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drstrangelove

I just tried it and if anything it might be a bit too easy. In the first place, I've never seen anything remotely useful. Now, the crappy players are gone and about 12-15 actually good players are listed.

In the second place, Houston was going to let me take two players (Harris - RP 66/80, and Altuve 58/80) for NYY Austin (33/80, 1B.) Houston doesn't have a replacement for either. Now, it does save them $11 million for one year, then they become FA, but we're in spring training, Houston already has a $30 million budget surplus and they might not beat out Texas for the division.

I'm not seeing the rationale of a human doing that, unless there's a lot I'm missing.

My settings are:

Trade Difficulty Average
Trade Preference Neutral
Player eval is 65-20-10-5
Scouting Accuracy is normal

Now trading for players not on the trading block still works for me it seems like before. I have to give up a lot and it has to be what they want, which is really how I like it. So, I would agree that players not on the trading block, but in the last year of their contract are probably hard to get. That happens in RL as well.

Agree, if those expiring vets aren’t on the block then it shouldn’t be easy to trade for them because the AI aren’t looking to get rid of them in the first place hence why they want more in return. The trade block have been upgraded to be more active with expiring contracts that the AI is looking to move which are players that are easier to get.

One thing that could be upgraded in this area is teams changing their status more often especially near July.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

wallewalls · 07-04-2018, 10:53 AM

I'm not talking about the trading block in my original post though.

If a team is below .500 on july 31st, they should be sellers, period. No matter if they are neutral or rebuilding. they have no use for their 30+ year old player on an expiring contract, that person should be available in trades and at a discount because of their situation. a smart, rational team should want to get something in return. watch this month in the real MLB who gets traded and try doing it in OOTP. the AI doesnt replicate real MLB in this aspect, and it is something that devs should try to improve in the future.

as far as the trading block aspect, i play on hard trading and an 80 grade reliever still demands my top players/prospects, so im not quite seeing what you guys are.

Curve Ball Dave · 07-04-2018, 06:39 PM

I read the OP and went to the Trading Block for my league. We're on June, 4, the day of the Draft.

There are a ton of players available with expiring contracts being offered by sub .500 teams. For the fun of it I checked to see what it would take to get one of the best closers in the game, he's on the Block by a losing team. I didn't actually do the trade because I don't need or want the guy, but I could have had him for nearly any minor leaguer I have who can walk and chew gum at the same time. So at least in this case, it would be pretty easy.

Curve Ball Dave · 07-04-2018, 06:58 PM

To follow up, I tried going the other way with a trade.

As I've said before, I mix in all time greats with today's players, so my center fielder is RL HOFer Max "Scoops" Carey. Long story short, his average WAR (if you're into that sort of thing) over 5.5 seasons is 8 and 40 total for his career.

Because I have an owner who expects me win while giving me no money to do so (if I have $10 million for free agents in an off season I consider myself fortunate) there is no possible way I can sign Carey to an extension and his contract is up at the end of this year. I tried a few teams and two of the three were willing to unload their minor league systems to acquire him. I won't make the trades, we're in contention this year despite my owner.

MizzouRah · 07-05-2018, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

I read the OP and went to the Trading Block for my league. We're on June, 4, the day of the Draft.

There are a ton of players available with expiring contracts being offered by sub .500 teams. For the fun of it I checked to see what it would take to get one of the best closers in the game, he's on the Block by a losing team. I didn't actually do the trade because I don't need or want the guy, but I could have had him for nearly any minor leaguer I have who can walk and chew gum at the same time. So at least in this case, it would be pretty easy.

I see similar stuff.. I just traded a very good LH RP and a low rated OF prospect for a #1 SP who has an expiring contract on a team that's only 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.

If anything I think it needs looked at.

dbqs · 07-05-2018, 01:42 PM

There's also the matter of the qualifying offer. If there's a great player the losing team has no chance of resigning on the 15m/1 yr offer because they will demand more, then they have to be looking for something worth more than a first round draft pick (which is a steep asking price)

This is kinda what's happening with Machado right now. If no one's offering anything better than one of next year's top-40 prospects, there's no point...

torpidbeaver · 07-06-2018, 08:41 PM

In my league, Toronto has Josh Donaldson, Marco Estrada, Tyler Clippard, Aaron Loup, and JA Happ on the block, despite co-leading the AL East at the All-star break. They have lots of budget space available, so I don't think that's the issue. Further confusion: they're in "Win Now" mode, so I dunno what's going on there.

In addition to that particular oddity, I'm seeing similar results as a few other posters; teams ready and willing to give up 1-year rentals almost too easily.

I very much empathize with the devs. It has to be very, very hard to balance all of this. You want to see cellar-dwelling teams willing to move players for budget or prospects, but you obviously don't want to be able to take advantage and trade some lead to receive gold in return.

MizzouRah · 07-07-2018, 12:10 AM

It definitely needs looked at, teams who are in the playoff race typically are not going to trade top tier players in their last year unless they get some out of this world prospect package and have absolutely no chance or money to resign the player... even then it's probably a stretch if they are in the hunt.

I think it was tweaked too much or some kind of bug.

(and I will agree, it has to be a nightmare to program/balance)

Gorinski · 07-07-2018, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by torpidbeaver

In my league, Toronto has Josh Donaldson, Marco Estrada, Tyler Clippard, Aaron Loup, and JA Happ on the block, despite co-leading the AL East at the All-star break. They have lots of budget space available, so I don't think that's the issue. Further confusion: they're in "Win Now" mode, so I dunno what's going on there.

In addition to that particular oddity, I'm seeing similar results as a few other posters; teams ready and willing to give up 1-year rentals almost too easily.

I very much empathize with the devs. It has to be very, very hard to balance all of this. You want to see cellar-dwelling teams willing to move players for budget or prospects, but you obviously don't want to be able to take advantage and trade some lead to receive gold in return.

I recently acquired an elite SP in the last year of his contract for very little. I was surprised, but dismissed it as a fluke occurrence. After reading this post it seems like it might be a problem that needs to be addressed.

07-03-2018, 06:57 PM	#6
Drstrangelove Major Leagues Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 346	I just tried it and if anything it might be a bit too easy. In the first place, I've never seen anything remotely useful. Now, the crappy players are gone and about 12-15 actually good players are listed. In the second place, Houston was going to let me take two players (Harris - RP 66/80, and Altuve 58/80) for NYY Austin (33/80, 1B.) Houston doesn't have a replacement for either. Now, it does save them $11 million for one year, then they become FA, but we're in spring training, Houston already has a $30 million budget surplus and they might not beat out Texas for the division. I'm not seeing the rationale of a human doing that, unless there's a lot I'm missing. My settings are: Trade Difficulty Average Trade Preference Neutral Player eval is 65-20-10-5 Scouting Accuracy is normal Now trading for players not on the trading block still works for me it seems like before. I have to give up a lot and it has to be what they want, which is really how I like it. So, I would agree that players not on the trading block, but in the last year of their contract are probably hard to get. That happens in RL as well. Last edited by Drstrangelove; 07-03-2018 at 07:08 PM.

07-04-2018, 06:39 PM	#9
Curve Ball Dave Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,392	I read the OP and went to the Trading Block for my league. We're on June, 4, the day of the Draft. There are a ton of players available with expiring contracts being offered by sub .500 teams. For the fun of it I checked to see what it would take to get one of the best closers in the game, he's on the Block by a losing team. I didn't actually do the trade because I don't need or want the guy, but I could have had him for nearly any minor leaguer I have who can walk and chew gum at the same time. So at least in this case, it would be pretty easy. __________________ "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing"-Warren Spahn.

07-04-2018, 06:58 PM	#10
Curve Ball Dave Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,392	To follow up, I tried going the other way with a trade. As I've said before, I mix in all time greats with today's players, so my center fielder is RL HOFer Max "Scoops" Carey. Long story short, his average WAR (if you're into that sort of thing) over 5.5 seasons is 8 and 40 total for his career. Because I have an owner who expects me win while giving me no money to do so (if I have $10 million for free agents in an off season I consider myself fortunate) there is no possible way I can sign Carey to an extension and his contract is up at the end of this year. I tried a few teams and two of the three were willing to unload their minor league systems to acquire him. I won't make the trades, we're in contention this year despite my owner. __________________ "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing"-Warren Spahn.

07-05-2018, 01:42 PM	#12
dbqs Major Leagues Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Comiskey Posts: 316	There's also the matter of the qualifying offer. If there's a great player the losing team has no chance of resigning on the 15m/1 yr offer because they will demand more, then they have to be looking for something worth more than a first round draft pick (which is a steep asking price) This is kinda what's happening with Machado right now. If no one's offering anything better than one of next year's top-40 prospects, there's no point... __________________ Last edited by dbqs; 07-05-2018 at 01:44 PM.

06-30-2018, 09:26 AM	#1
wallewalls All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 774 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	It should be easier to trade for expiring contracts This is something I wanted to bring up for awhile. It's the trade deadline. I look at the new and improved trading block (which is great btw great job OOTP team on improving that) and a lot of the bad teams in the league have their expiring contracts on the trading block, so I am interested in the rental to make my team better for the postseason. I go into negotiations and they wont settle for anything less than my top MLB players or my top prospects. I get that they are elite talents but we have seen in the past few years of baseball (except for a desperate Cubs team in 2016 with Chapman) that expiring contracts don't return top talent. It should be like this in OOTP. Maybe it's a balance issue to make the game harder, but I just dont think it's realistic and it does annoy me sometimes to see teams that are well below .500 dont sell off their expiring contracts.

06-30-2018, 02:10 PM	#2
torpidbeaver Major Leagues Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 391	I thought I remembered some of the patch notes mentioning that the team tweaked some of the settings to help with this exact problem: Win Now teams being more willing to trade prospects to get over the top; Rebuilding teams being more willing to dump big contracts. If you did already update, did you notice any difference before/after?

06-30-2018, 11:40 PM	#4
The Yurpman Major Leagues Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 320	Do you have the latest patch? It fixed a LOT of stuff regarding trades in general, deadline trades, and the trading block. It was a HUGE upgrade to all of those things.

07-04-2018, 10:53 AM	#8
wallewalls All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 774 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	I'm not talking about the trading block in my original post though. If a team is below .500 on july 31st, they should be sellers, period. No matter if they are neutral or rebuilding. they have no use for their 30+ year old player on an expiring contract, that person should be available in trades and at a discount because of their situation. a smart, rational team should want to get something in return. watch this month in the real MLB who gets traded and try doing it in OOTP. the AI doesnt replicate real MLB in this aspect, and it is something that devs should try to improve in the future. as far as the trading block aspect, i play on hard trading and an 80 grade reliever still demands my top players/prospects, so im not quite seeing what you guys are.

07-06-2018, 08:41 PM	#13
torpidbeaver Major Leagues Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 391	In my league, Toronto has Josh Donaldson, Marco Estrada, Tyler Clippard, Aaron Loup, and JA Happ on the block, despite co-leading the AL East at the All-star break. They have lots of budget space available, so I don't think that's the issue. Further confusion: they're in "Win Now" mode, so I dunno what's going on there. In addition to that particular oddity, I'm seeing similar results as a few other posters; teams ready and willing to give up 1-year rentals almost too easily. I very much empathize with the devs. It has to be very, very hard to balance all of this. You want to see cellar-dwelling teams willing to move players for budget or prospects, but you obviously don't want to be able to take advantage and trade some lead to receive gold in return.

07-07-2018, 12:10 AM	#14
MizzouRah Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Troy, Mo Posts: 6,266	It definitely needs looked at, teams who are in the playoff race typically are not going to trade top tier players in their last year unless they get some out of this world prospect package and have absolutely no chance or money to resign the player... even then it's probably a stretch if they are in the hunt. I think it was tweaked too much or some kind of bug. (and I will agree, it has to be a nightmare to program/balance)