Question about starting an Expansion Team

Winterburnsilva · 12-09-2018, 10:59 AM

So, relatively new to baseball and all it's intricate rules, long time player of Football Manager though and this sort of game appealed to me massively.

I have a question about starting an expansion team. The expansion draft is 35 rounds by default which is enough to fill up an active roster and some reserves, but what about filling up the minor league system?

Is it literally just a case of grabbing as many free agent minor league contracts as I can as quickly as I can, just to initially make sure I have warm bodies in the minors? Or is it best to leave the minors blank and slowly fill them up with carefully selected free agents and the amateur draft guys?

I'd love to know what approaches you take to filling up the minor leagues when you start expansion teams

Let'sGoBraves · 12-09-2018, 12:46 PM

I'm in week 2 of an expansion franchise. I simmed the first year of the league and expanded on the first day of the off season (November). This gives you the expansion draft, free agency and Rule 5 to fill your rosters from. You will have an empty minor league system. My minor league system is mostly empty still.
In free agency, I offered minor league deals to any player seeking one under the age of 26 with a potential rating of 1.5 or more. As you get closer to the end of spring training more players will drop their demands to a minor league deal. I also scan the waiver wire and claim fair players on a minimum deal with option years left. Your minor leagues will suffer for a few seasons near as I can tell. At the end of spring training I signed a few vets to minor league deals to fill out an everyday roster for AAA at minimum.
In the expansion draft I would suggest drafting the best available player regardless of position. In my draft, pitching was much stronger than hitting. be careful of drafting players out of option years. You will find those details on their contract page. Also, be careful of current contracts so you don't accidentally bring on an overpaid player you can't move.
One other thing I read from other threads is to manually adjust your starting budget. The team is going to spawn with a ridiculously low budget...mine was around 30 million. My team is in San Antonio which is an average market so I adjusted to an average budget. Many people suggested doing this. You will have expand by two teams so I would suggest doing the same for the other team you don't control as well.
If you plan to play out your games, there are some beautiful logos, jerseys and ballparks in the Mods forum. The USBL thread offered some great options.

kjb023 · 12-10-2018, 01:49 AM

I'd say just fill up your minors as best you can (with minor league contracts) from the free agent pool. Keep in mind that you're not going to get all the guys you offer to, sometimes the AI swoops in and signs a guy without you even getting the chance to counter-offer. I would also suggest playing with the other International and Independent leagues on. You can sign guys directly from most low level Intl. teams and all the Indy leagues for $250k a pop. Sometimes they get half-decent prospects. Also note that if you want to sign anyone to a Major League contract, do it before the Expansion Draft, because after that draft, you're almost certainly going to be over budget and won't be able to offer any ML contracts.

Make sure you also stay vigilant on the waiver wire and free agent page. Nearly everyone that gets waived will be good enough for your expansion team or at least your AAA squad. Be careful about options though. And for free agents always check, sometimes teams cut minor leaguers that are useful to you. Then once you get to the amateur draft, the AI will cut a bunch of low-level guys to make room in the their rookie leagues; take a look at them. They'll also be some half-decent rookie free agents you can fill up your rookie leagues with. Occasionally the AI will just straight up cut a guy they just drafted, too. In my experience as an expansion team, you're gonna have a ton of turnover, especially in the minors, just from bringing in new guys and replacing guys.

12-09-2018, 10:59 AM	#1
Winterburnsilva Minors (Double A) Join Date: Nov 2018 Posts: 103	Question about starting an Expansion Team So, relatively new to baseball and all it's intricate rules, long time player of Football Manager though and this sort of game appealed to me massively. I have a question about starting an expansion team. The expansion draft is 35 rounds by default which is enough to fill up an active roster and some reserves, but what about filling up the minor league system? Is it literally just a case of grabbing as many free agent minor league contracts as I can as quickly as I can, just to initially make sure I have warm bodies in the minors? Or is it best to leave the minors blank and slowly fill them up with carefully selected free agents and the amateur draft guys? I'd love to know what approaches you take to filling up the minor leagues when you start expansion teams

12-09-2018, 12:46 PM	#2
Let'sGoBraves Minors (Single A) Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 98	I'm in week 2 of an expansion franchise. I simmed the first year of the league and expanded on the first day of the off season (November). This gives you the expansion draft, free agency and Rule 5 to fill your rosters from. You will have an empty minor league system. My minor league system is mostly empty still. In free agency, I offered minor league deals to any player seeking one under the age of 26 with a potential rating of 1.5 or more. As you get closer to the end of spring training more players will drop their demands to a minor league deal. I also scan the waiver wire and claim fair players on a minimum deal with option years left. Your minor leagues will suffer for a few seasons near as I can tell. At the end of spring training I signed a few vets to minor league deals to fill out an everyday roster for AAA at minimum. In the expansion draft I would suggest drafting the best available player regardless of position. In my draft, pitching was much stronger than hitting. be careful of drafting players out of option years. You will find those details on their contract page. Also, be careful of current contracts so you don't accidentally bring on an overpaid player you can't move. One other thing I read from other threads is to manually adjust your starting budget. The team is going to spawn with a ridiculously low budget...mine was around 30 million. My team is in San Antonio which is an average market so I adjusted to an average budget. Many people suggested doing this. You will have expand by two teams so I would suggest doing the same for the other team you don't control as well. If you plan to play out your games, there are some beautiful logos, jerseys and ballparks in the Mods forum. The USBL thread offered some great options.

12-10-2018, 01:49 AM	#3
kjb023 Major Leagues Join Date: Apr 2015 Posts: 389	I'd say just fill up your minors as best you can (with minor league contracts) from the free agent pool. Keep in mind that you're not going to get all the guys you offer to, sometimes the AI swoops in and signs a guy without you even getting the chance to counter-offer. I would also suggest playing with the other International and Independent leagues on. You can sign guys directly from most low level Intl. teams and all the Indy leagues for $250k a pop. Sometimes they get half-decent prospects. Also note that if you want to sign anyone to a Major League contract, do it before the Expansion Draft, because after that draft, you're almost certainly going to be over budget and won't be able to offer any ML contracts. Make sure you also stay vigilant on the waiver wire and free agent page. Nearly everyone that gets waived will be good enough for your expansion team or at least your AAA squad. Be careful about options though. And for free agents always check, sometimes teams cut minor leaguers that are useful to you. Then once you get to the amateur draft, the AI will cut a bunch of low-level guys to make room in the their rookie leagues; take a look at them. They'll also be some half-decent rookie free agents you can fill up your rookie leagues with. Occasionally the AI will just straight up cut a guy they just drafted, too. In my experience as an expansion team, you're gonna have a ton of turnover, especially in the minors, just from bringing in new guys and replacing guys.