Trimming payroll

changewand · 07-07-2005, 07:01 PM

Hya! I don't feel like I have a good enough grasp of the OOTP financials to be able to figure this out best, so I am hoping one of the experts here can help!

I have a team with a very high payroll (approaching $200M) and negative cash balance (-5M) that I would like to drop down enough from mid-season to where I can end up in the black. The obvious way to do this is reduce payroll, but I'm unsure if I only have trades to rely on in order to get to my intended target, or if waivers or other measures can be used.

Note that this is mid-season, but before the trade deadline. I don't want to turn on salary caps, and I understand that the ammount needed to get me back to black is a moving target.

potatoman · 07-07-2005, 07:08 PM

Waivers can be used to get rid of your players but I'm pretty sure if they are overpaid, no one will claim them. You can trade but other teams will not take on your old overpaid players either so the best way to have a nice payroll is to not overpay them players.

I think you can also cut your players, you still have to pay them but it will get off your payroll so you can have roster space and some room to work in later seasons.

changewand · 07-07-2005, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by potatoman

I think you can also cut your players, you still have to pay them but it will get off your payroll so you can have roster space and some room to work in later seasons.

yeah...this will make you take a hit for the remaining salary owed for the season, right?

JDOldSchool · 07-07-2005, 08:10 PM

If this is a solo league, put them on waivers. If they're halfway decent someone will claim them.

If it's an online league, you should try to work out a trade. If you have a guy who has a high contract for just 1 season, maybe you can trade him for a subpar player with a low salary but a long contract. Also, if you're a Yankees type team with some aging vets near the end of big-money deals, you might be able to sell off those guys for some prospects (even if they're not good ones).

You need to know what your main priority is. If you are just trying to dump money, there are many ways to do it.

Yankees227 · 07-07-2005, 08:28 PM

1st: Is your team in contention:
If yes, it is a lot more complicated:
1) Try to move anyone who doesnt start, or pitch much for your team.
2) You said your payroll is nearing 200M, which means u have prolly 2-4 players with insance contracts, IF THEY ARE NOT A STARTING PITCHER, you could try to move them.
3) Try to move guys in their early 30's if you will have the contract for four or more years, Players can drop rapidly. So if you have a 33yo OF, with 5 yrs left you might want to move him
4) Look at what ur paying ur catcher,4th and 5th starters, and guys who bat 7th-8th-9th. The catcher,7th,8th,9th gusy will get fewer at-bats, so if you can move them then do so, same with the last 2 starters
*****This is all if your in contention and you want to basically make money, so you have money for next yr, so make the trades, get money back as well, try to take on smaller contracts
IF OUT OF CONTENTION:
**There are two routes
1) Rebuild: Ship all your ridiculous salaries, for players with high ceilings(good potential, but still in A or AA ball), get money back in the trades.
2) Win next yr: Move anyone over 35. Only take players who will help you win next yr. Move any of the big salaries you can. Try to make a trade where you will be recieving a lot of money, this will help if yor fan interest falls to cover you for this yr.
***Win next yr. is basically to set up your team to go out a sign those 2 or 3 big free agents u need, normally it could easily backfire, since you would end up with a salary higher than previous income, but your income is proly around 180M+
You could let players go in waivers, but if you want to not lose money for the year, you will need cash to make up for the 5 mill ur already down...

****This all will be changed and affected by the type of team you currently have, as well as the randomness of the game****

Astros33Resurrected · 07-07-2005, 10:30 PM

Waivers and trades. Cut older guys(35+) who have multi year deals.

bulldog55 · 07-07-2005, 10:59 PM

You are responsible for the entire remainder of any player's contract if you cut them. So don't go cutting that guy making $20M for the next five years.

How many teams are there in your league? How on earth did you compile $200M in payroll? How much money do you lose every year?

changewand · 07-08-2005, 03:23 PM

To be honest, I don't own the team in question. As for how they got there...they drafted vets in the initial draft, and based on how OOTP determines initial salaries was left with an ignormous payrool after the draft. I think that the owner is relying on retirements and ends of contracts to lower his payroll...however, in our online league there's penalties for having a negative balance at the end of the season.

The complication is that his team is in the playoff hunt and he wants to take advantage of that "one final year" that his team will be put together. So I'm trying to think of a way that he can lower his payroll such that he can end the season in the black without totally demolishing his team. In addition, if the only way to lower his payroll is truly via trade, he will most likely be screwed unless he can find a way to get something back out of a trade.

I think that what he is banking on is that the contracts that are up are substantial enough that his payroll will drop by %25-33 - however that drop might come too late for him to end the season with cash (any amount of cash) in the bank.

Yankees227 · 07-08-2005, 04:25 PM

Well there are only 3 ways to lower payroll:
1) Trades
2) Waivers
3) Release Players
You said the team was in contention: I don't know if u meant fighting for a spot, or basically in the playoffs already, like a WS favorite.

The easiest way is to Trade a player, and get money back, you may end up getting a uselss bench guy, but if u need to cut payroll that is what u do...

Now if the owner wanted to have a team for the future, you might want to move one of your big & old players, getting back a large sum of money, then releasing a player or two, so that your excess cash will balance out, what you just took on by realeasing players

Though, if you were to link the team you were talking about it might help, b/c every team is different, there are always a few moveable players...

JDOldSchool · 07-08-2005, 07:32 PM

One more thing to remember: salaries are paid out as the season progresses. So if he has a $15 mil a year player and it's almost August, about $10 mil of that has already been paid.

I can't imagine all of those high-priced players are essential. If he really has to cut payroll, he needs to move one of them. If they're good players, someone will take the bait.

07-07-2005, 07:01 PM	#1
changewand Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 88	Trimming payroll Hya! I don't feel like I have a good enough grasp of the OOTP financials to be able to figure this out best, so I am hoping one of the experts here can help! I have a team with a very high payroll (approaching $200M) and negative cash balance (-5M) that I would like to drop down enough from mid-season to where I can end up in the black. The obvious way to do this is reduce payroll, but I'm unsure if I only have trades to rely on in order to get to my intended target, or if waivers or other measures can be used. Note that this is mid-season, but before the trade deadline. I don't want to turn on salary caps, and I understand that the ammount needed to get me back to black is a moving target.

07-07-2005, 07:08 PM	#2
potatoman Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,410 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	Waivers can be used to get rid of your players but I'm pretty sure if they are overpaid, no one will claim them. You can trade but other teams will not take on your old overpaid players either so the best way to have a nice payroll is to not overpay them players. I think you can also cut your players, you still have to pay them but it will get off your payroll so you can have roster space and some room to work in later seasons. __________________ GFBL - Storm - 5 seasons - 500 - 310 New Jersey Nighthawks (1227-717) Last 5 seasons 2011: 118-44 2012: 100-62 2013: 111-51 2014: 106-56 2015: 108-54 OTBA Champions: 2008, 2010,2011

07-07-2005, 08:28 PM	#5
Yankees227 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 26	1st: Is your team in contention: If yes, it is a lot more complicated: 1) Try to move anyone who doesnt start, or pitch much for your team. 2) You said your payroll is nearing 200M, which means u have prolly 2-4 players with insance contracts, IF THEY ARE NOT A STARTING PITCHER, you could try to move them. 3) Try to move guys in their early 30's if you will have the contract for four or more years, Players can drop rapidly. So if you have a 33yo OF, with 5 yrs left you might want to move him 4) Look at what ur paying ur catcher,4th and 5th starters, and guys who bat 7th-8th-9th. The catcher,7th,8th,9th gusy will get fewer at-bats, so if you can move them then do so, same with the last 2 starters ***This is all if your in contention and you want to basically make money, so you have money for next yr, so make the trades, get money back as well, try to take on smaller contracts IF OUT OF CONTENTION: There are two routes 1) Rebuild: Ship all your ridiculous salaries, for players with high ceilings(good potential, but still in A or AA ball), get money back in the trades. 2) Win next yr: Move anyone over 35. Only take players who will help you win next yr. Move any of the big salaries you can. Try to make a trade where you will be recieving a lot of money, this will help if yor fan interest falls to cover you for this yr. *Win next yr. is basically to set up your team to go out a sign those 2 or 3 big free agents u need, normally it could easily backfire, since you would end up with a salary higher than previous income, but your income is proly around 180M+ You could let players go in waivers, but if you want to not lose money for the year, you will need cash to make up for the 5 mill ur already down... This all will be changed and affected by the type of team you currently have, as well as the randomness of the game** Last edited by Yankees227; 07-07-2005 at 08:29 PM.

07-07-2005, 10:59 PM	#7
bulldog55 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: California's Canada Warnings: 17 Posts: 2,479	You are responsible for the entire remainder of any player's contract if you cut them. So don't go cutting that guy making $20M for the next five years. How many teams are there in your league? How on earth did you compile $200M in payroll? How much money do you lose every year? __________________ Commissioner, Trans-Continental Base Ball Association Owner/GM, Los Angeles Electrics (TCBA), Beaverton Rangers (OTBL), Portland Mavericks (Union League), and Los Angeles Superbas (Century League) Being smart, don't always make you popular.

07-07-2005, 08:10 PM	#4
JDOldSchool Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,023	If this is a solo league, put them on waivers. If they're halfway decent someone will claim them. If it's an online league, you should try to work out a trade. If you have a guy who has a high contract for just 1 season, maybe you can trade him for a subpar player with a low salary but a long contract. Also, if you're a Yankees type team with some aging vets near the end of big-money deals, you might be able to sell off those guys for some prospects (even if they're not good ones). You need to know what your main priority is. If you are just trying to dump money, there are many ways to do it.

07-07-2005, 10:30 PM	#6
Astros33Resurrected Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Lufkin, TX Posts: 2,213	Waivers and trades. Cut older guys(35+) who have multi year deals.

07-08-2005, 03:23 PM	#8
changewand Minors (Single A) Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 88	To be honest, I don't own the team in question. As for how they got there...they drafted vets in the initial draft, and based on how OOTP determines initial salaries was left with an ignormous payrool after the draft. I think that the owner is relying on retirements and ends of contracts to lower his payroll...however, in our online league there's penalties for having a negative balance at the end of the season. The complication is that his team is in the playoff hunt and he wants to take advantage of that "one final year" that his team will be put together. So I'm trying to think of a way that he can lower his payroll such that he can end the season in the black without totally demolishing his team. In addition, if the only way to lower his payroll is truly via trade, he will most likely be screwed unless he can find a way to get something back out of a trade. I think that what he is banking on is that the contracts that are up are substantial enough that his payroll will drop by %25-33 - however that drop might come too late for him to end the season with cash (any amount of cash) in the bank.

07-08-2005, 04:25 PM	#9
Yankees227 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 26	Well there are only 3 ways to lower payroll: 1) Trades 2) Waivers 3) Release Players You said the team was in contention: I don't know if u meant fighting for a spot, or basically in the playoffs already, like a WS favorite. The easiest way is to Trade a player, and get money back, you may end up getting a uselss bench guy, but if u need to cut payroll that is what u do... Now if the owner wanted to have a team for the future, you might want to move one of your big & old players, getting back a large sum of money, then releasing a player or two, so that your excess cash will balance out, what you just took on by realeasing players Though, if you were to link the team you were talking about it might help, b/c every team is different, there are always a few moveable players...

07-08-2005, 07:32 PM	#10
JDOldSchool Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 4,023	One more thing to remember: salaries are paid out as the season progresses. So if he has a $15 mil a year player and it's almost August, about $10 mil of that has already been paid. I can't imagine all of those high-priced players are essential. If he really has to cut payroll, he needs to move one of them. If they're good players, someone will take the bait.