Do players regress when on the bench?

[McGuiser]

In my league (currently 1876), some talented players on various teams get few or even zero plate appearances. You know, you have two guys who are excellent 2B, but have no other position rating.

With just a couple of games a week, the starters do not get tired. Do the talented players in the game with no plate appearances (or innings pitched) decline in ability?

Would it be better for them to be demoted to a level at which they would get more game experience (even if their expectations are frustrated)?

My observational and analytical skills have not been very acute on this point.

[Déjà Bru]

You can use Advanced Search and search for "rust" in the OOTP 16 and 15 General Discussion forms. You will come up with several threads that discuss this topic.

In one of them, I found this definitive answer from the game designer. It is from 2010 but unless he decided to make a change (and "Why would he?" comes to mind), I would guess that this still applies:

Originally Posted by Markus Heinsohn

Rust is olny applied in two cases: 1) Coming back from a longer injury (14+ days, the longer the more rust) and 2) entering Spring Training.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...80-post15.html

EDIT: Your question seemed to be about veterans. Presumably they have already reached their fullest potential. However, bear in mind that young players need playing time to develop into their potential. This is not about "rust" but it is something else to think about when you ask "Would it be better for them to be demoted to a level at which they would get more game experience?"