Spring Training minor leaguers auto invited

[DelAbbot]

Hi I started a new save, challenge mode, all default setttings, as a new expansion team.

I keep active roster count at 25 at all times, even during Sept expanded roster etc.

Before the 2018 season, on the day spring training starts, a number of minor leaguers automatically get called up onto my active/spring training roster, making its size 40 out of 60 max. They are called up from AAA, AA, all over the place - making a mess I have to clean up at the end of spring training (by demoting them).

I have never encountered this in my previous saves. Who is calling up/inviting my minor leaguers? Even though I know it has no impact on service time and options, I have to find out and disable it.

P.S. I fired my bench coach and this automatic inviting still happens. I have to fire whoever is doing this. Is the assistant GM? Is it the owner?

[dtizzle]

Did you look at “team control settings”? Are you in control of everything or is a bench coach/assistant Gm in charge of promoting players?


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[bwburke94]

The fact that the call-ups form exactly a 40-man roster makes it obvious what happened.

Because the active and secondary rosters are effectively one and the same during the offseason in real life, OOTP automatically calls up the entire secondary roster at the start of spring training. This is not a bug.

[NoOne]

it is a bit weird it works this way... you'd think manager control settings would do as expected. there's another situation where it ignores these settings, i'm having a brain fart...

anyway, there are situations where i do not want a player on my secondary roster being called up ST roster. off the top of my head: a slow developing player in AA or below that i'm using an option year to maintain rights. it's silly that i check a box to give myself that control, then the ai ignores that setting and does something to my team in an unsolicited way. sometimes i don't want too many AAA'ers clogging ST bullpen too.

small potatoes in the end, but definitely not logical/consistent etc for it to happen when there is a setting that specifically prevents this from happening, supposedly.

[DelAbbot]

Originally Posted by bwburke94

The fact that the call-ups form exactly a 40-man roster makes it obvious what happened.

Because the active and secondary rosters are effectively one and the same during the offseason in real life, OOTP automatically calls up the entire secondary roster at the start of spring training. This is not a bug.

In my previous save, with nearly identical setup, I didn't encounter this. I keep my active roster at 25, no matter its limit, and my secondary roster is always 38-40 out of 40. I have gone through 5 seasons in such a configuration and never once see any of my minor leaguers (on secondary roster) get invited to the size 60 spring training roster.

Any suggestion on where should I check to disable this auto-spring-training-invite?

[DelAbbot]

Originally Posted by dtizzle

Did you look at “team control settings”? Are you in control of everything or is a bench coach/assistant Gm in charge of promoting players?


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I checked I'm (GM) in control of everything. Even setting up minor league lineups.

[RchW]

This is normal and matches current MLB practice. The 40-man roster which is the active roster in the offseason forms the main block of the 60-man ST roster. Note that the ST roster size can be set by the human player to other values. The remaining 20 or more places are used for minor league FA given invites to ST and non-active roster minor league players in your system that merit the same invite.

Keep in mind that none of this activity affects options in any way, so you can move players you don't want in ST back to where they were. Just do that before ST ends and the active roster goes to 25.

[DelAbbot]

Originally Posted by RchW

This is normal and matches current MLB practice. The 40-man roster which is the active roster in the offseason forms the main block of the 60-man ST roster. Note that the ST roster size can be set by the human player to other values. The remaining 20 or more places are used for minor league FA given invites to ST and non-active roster minor league players in your system that merit the same invite.

Keep in mind that none of this activity affects options in any way, so you can move players you don't want in ST back to where they were. Just do that before ST ends and the active roster goes to 25.

I know this does not affect service clocks or options used. However, I find it annoying to have to manually/individually send these minor leaguers down to their appropriate levels, and then re-do their starting lineups. And I have to do this every year! It just annoys me given the way I have been playing.

The real issue I have is, I have never seen this automatic spring training invites/promotions before in my previous play-throughs (3 saves, each over 3-5 years, all challenge mode). What is causing it now in my current play-through?

[eriqjaffe]

Originally Posted by DelAbbot

I know this does not affect service clocks or options used.

It definitely affects options, which is how it works in real life as well.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by DelAbbot

I know this does not affect service clocks or options used. However, I find it annoying to have to manually/individually send these minor leaguers down to their appropriate levels, and then re-do their starting lineups. And I have to do this every year! It just annoys me given the way I have been playing.

The real issue I have is, I have never seen this automatic spring training invites/promotions before in my previous play-throughs (3 saves, each over 3-5 years, all challenge mode). What is causing it now in my current play-through?

It must be a challenge mode thing because its been working like the above in v18 in all my saves. I think it worked like that in v17 too.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by eriqjaffe

It definitely affects options, which is how it works in real life as well.

Not if you send a 40-man roster minor league player to his minor league team before opening day, AFAIK.

[Rain King]

Originally Posted by RchW

Not if you send a 40-man roster minor league player to his minor league team before opening day, AFAIK.

Sending a 40-man roster player to the minor leagues is essentially the definition of using an option (assuming they have options...otherwise they are subject to waivers).

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Rain King

Sending a 40-man roster player to the minor leagues is essentially the definition of using an option (assuming they have options...otherwise they are subject to waivers).

Not in ST.

And if if he has options he can be moved at will anyway. The only players who would have to go through waivers are those out of options, which is not the issue here.

[Rain King]

Originally Posted by RchW

Not in ST.

And if if he has options he can be moved at will anyway. The only players who would have to go through waivers are those out of options, which is not the issue here.

I don't know the specifics of the rule well enough to know when the option officially gets used...but if a guy on the 40-man roster ends up in AAA to start the season they use an option. They have to get optioned out at some point because they spend the entire offseason on the Active Roster.

I've never heard of a 40-man guy not getting a major league roster spring training invite. Minor league camps usually don't start for 2-3 weeks after the major league guys get there.

[NoOne]

the point is there is a specific checkbox that is supposed to stop this automation. it's intended to be a choice. and yes, it's not a big deal. you will be sending down any player over 25 anyway. clicking a few more radio buttons is no big deal.

imagination allows you to see that an underdeveloped palyer on the 40-man may not be best served playing in ST? it's at least unclear, therefore a viable choice for anyone.

if it's a mlb depth signing, think 6th / 7th SP that dwells in AAA with a league minimum contract, i could really care less if they pitch in ST -- completely inconsequential. i would definitely prefer a 'prospect' in ST over some replacement level trash that's going nowhere, even if one is on the 40-man and one is not. i see way more value using it as a development opportunity outside of knocking rust off my starting players, not even entire 25-man.

heh i think that's the problem here.. thinking about it from the wrong way.. you can move aplayer up and down freely in ST without using an option && they are not currently on the 40-man.

of course, if they are on 40-man and in minors after opening day that's 1/3 option years used. just don't send non-40man players to the offseason roster before ST and if you do undertand it's an obligation at that point.

[eriqjaffe]

Originally Posted by RchW

Not in ST.

I believe it counts in spring training as well, otherwise it would create a loophole whereby players who would otherwise be out of options and might make the major league club as a result would just get sent down to AAA a week before spring training ends.

[Brad K]

It seems there is a source of confusion about what constitutes exercising an option.

It is my understanding (from memory, I haven't verified in the game prior to posting) that any player in the minors during the season with a major league contract uses an option year. There seems to be some thought here that an option is only him being sent to the minors from the majors when the reality (I believe) is being left in the minors with a major league contract is an option year. And that spring training doesn't count as major league time.

So once a player has a major league contract the clock is ticking on options regardless of future moves.

[Juggernt]

I've seen it both use and not use options, which is why I'm a bit confused. I don't want to burn an option on a player just to put him on the ST roster knowing that he's not going to make the big club.

[Rain King]

Originally Posted by Brad K

It seems there is a source of confusion about what constitutes exercising an option.

It is my understanding (from memory, I haven't verified in the game prior to posting) that any player in the minors during the season with a major league contract uses an option year. There seems to be some thought here that an option is only him being sent to the minors from the majors when the reality (I believe) is being left in the minors with a major league contract is an option year. And that spring training doesn't count as major league time.

So once a player has a major league contract the clock is ticking on options regardless of future moves.

Well, that is how the mechanics work in real life. In the off-season...anyone on the 40-man roster is considered on the Active Roster. This is what is actually technically happening during the regular season also, it is just that those players get "optioned" out to minor league teams and the non-optioned Active Roster gets limited to 25 players.

So, any time that a 40-man guy gets placed on a minor league roster (including in Spring Training) then they are getting optioned there. That is an actual mechanic that the team has to make to the major league office whether the player was ever on the 25-man regular season major league roster or not.

[bwburke94]

The real fix would be to require all players on the secondary roster in the offseason/preseason to also be on the active roster.