Unsigned Free Agents

[luger]

In my league, there always seems to be one or two star free agents who are left unsigned which I end up pursuing in June or July of the season for a huge discount. What are some ways to avoid this happening? Would increasing cash max help teams be more aggressive in free agency? I tend to keep my cash max very low as I'm afraid that teams will go into debt otherwise.

For reference, my league finances are pretty close to modern numbers (though slightly higher) with a projected profit of $10 million per team but a $5 million cash maximum.

[OutS|der]

i think it just happens as it does in RL

[luger]

I'm not talking free agents like Jermaine Dye or something which teams have no interest in paying money to. I'm talking about young premier free agents who are coming off great seasons (and are demanding large contracts, which is why I believe they are eventually left unsigned and available midway through the next season).

[boshk]

ya, i had joe dimaggio and hank greenberg retire because nobody had signed them one year. they were 28 and 30 respectively, i think. both in their prime, and both having HOF careers. of course i unretired them the next year when i found out.... and when i made sure this past season that all the good players were getting signed, there were alot of 3-5 star players sitting around half way through the season.

[rdomico]

This happens to me also. I was using all default financial settings.

[Chicagofan76]

In my 16 team ABF with a 12 team Indy League here are some of my notable Free Agents as of 5/7/09. 7 of my 16 teams are in the red. I dont know what the AL is but their highest paid player makes 2.3 mil while the ABF highest paid makes 17.8. There's 20 pages worth of FA. I just decreased my draft from 25 rds down to 12.

Sam Luis Obispo is a 3 time batting champ 34 yrs old 2 time SL MVP. Tony Leon has 1 POTY. Vinhs has 1 batting title, 28 yrs old

[falkonisback]

Just out of complete curiosity, why are there two pitchers' names blurred out??

[Chicagofan76]

Originally Posted by falkonisback

Just out of complete curiosity, why are there two pitchers' names blurred out??

They are injured and red doesnt transfer over to the boards really clear. i noticed that when posting my DL for my 1999 White Sox.

[rdomico]

If anyone knows of financial settings that keep this from happening, please share.

[Chicagofan76]

Originally Posted by rdomico

If anyone knows of financial settings that keep this from happening, please share.

lots and lots of money for teams and FA's not asking for the world when they are subpar. I was looking ot pick up a 5th starter for the remainder of the yr. Tony Leon mentioned above was asking for 9.8 mil, I dont have 9.8 to begin with but he was 6-13 last season and hasnt been above .500 in 3 sns. I settled on a guy that played in the Indy League at 280,000. sam Luis Obispo is asking for 12.3 which might be worth it but he has declined defensively and can barely play SS or 2B anymore.

[luger]

Cash maximum does seem to be the cause of the problem then? So this is a "choose the lesser of the two evils" situation, it seems...

On one hand, I could increase my league's cash maximum and then all of the star free agents may be signed. But, by doing so, I likely will see free agent demands get out of control and also see more teams go into greater debt which will hurt the frequency of trades.

OR, I could keep cash maximum somewhat low but have star free agents left unsigned while allowing demands to stay reasonable and teams to not suffer huge debt.

If I'm understanding everything correctly, those seem to be the two situations that could occur here. Is that right?

[endgame]

By no means is this anything other than my own rule of thumb, based solely on my own personal experience: lower cash maximums are preferred, and I set that maximum to the amount I'd anticipate for a 2-year contract ceiling, give or take a couple million. In my present league, which uses a greatly reduced financial coefficient, I have a max cash of ~11 million and 'hope' to see very few players making over the 5-6 million per year mark at the upper end. Historically, this has worked for me.

[luger]

Originally Posted by endgame

By no means is this anything other than my own rule of thumb, based solely on my own personal experience: lower cash maximums are preferred, and I set that maximum to the amount I'd anticipate for a 2-year contract ceiling, give or take a couple million. In my present league, which uses a greatly reduced financial coefficient, I have a max cash of ~11 million and 'hope' to see very few players making over the 5-6 million per year mark at the upper end. Historically, this has worked for me.

Thanks! I like that rule of thumb and will likely adopt it. When you say "2-year contract ceiling" do you mean the number you set for "super star player typical salary" multiplied by two?

[endgame]

Originally Posted by luger

Thanks! I like that rule of thumb and will likely adopt it. When you say "2-year contract ceiling" do you mean the number you set for "super star player typical salary" multiplied by two?

Yes, that's pretty much what I aim for, the top end x2. And FWIW, I do set a payroll cap, but keep it relatively high. That way, I've seen- and again, it's only my fictional solo experience -teams that will slowly build toward cap (about 60-70%) but with different methods, i.e. 4-5 players with pretty major bucks or an ensemble of a dozen or more active guys who are making above avg salaries with maybe only one superstar. Like I say, it's been my method, but any little tweak in somebody's world might make it play out differently. And another FWIW, I've never had a FA go unsigned who was dollar-worthy, other than a couple over the years that were, IMO, retirement bound.

[boshk]

i am a few years into my imported season from 11 to 12. here are my settings:



the average player salary is at 1.223M (i am in the offseason)
the current highest player is 11M on the 3rd year of a 3 year 26.5M deal

prior to the new financials i was seeing guys regularly sign for over 20 million a season. but since i used these settings it's been more in the 8-9 million range for the high end. it just gets frustrating when you want to sign a low end player with incentives and the game wont let you even offer it.

i guess we'll see if things change much as i get further with the new financial system...

[endgame]

boshk, couple of quick observations/questions. Your cash max is over 2 billion dollars?
and related (maybe), your payroll cap is only 10 million? That's a team cap, not for an individual player's salary, so that alone will drive down FA offers. Help me out?

[Chicagofan76]

Originally Posted by endgame

boshk, couple of quick observations/questions. Your cash max is over 2 billion dollars?
and related (maybe), your payroll cap is only 10 million? That's a team cap, not for an individual player's salary, so that alone will drive down FA offers. Help me out?

I have had the same exact # but it was early in the season and balanced itself out the 3 times I have seen the $2 Billion cash max.

[endgame]

Originally Posted by Chicagofan76

I have had the same exact # but it was early in the season and balanced itself out the 3 times I have seen the $2 Billion cash max.

But I'm wagering you didn't also have a very limited payroll cap, did you?

[boshk]

Originally Posted by endgame

boshk, couple of quick observations/questions. Your cash max is over 2 billion dollars?
and related (maybe), your payroll cap is only 10 million? That's a team cap, not for an individual player's salary, so that alone will drive down FA offers. Help me out?

i was under the assumption that the player cap was the individual player cap, and not a team cap.

and i figure if the team has the money, they they should be able to spend whatever they want, so i set the max cash at the max

[endgame]

Originally Posted by boshk

i was under the assumption that the player cap was the individual player cap, and not a team cap.

and i figure if the team has the money, they they should be able to spend whatever they want, so i set the max cash at the max

Well, it is possible it'll work in an odd sort of fashion. They teams won't mind going over the soft cap and paying penalties because they have the cash to do it, but you are running a 10million dollar payroll team cap. That's probably the largest influence on player salary.