Option Years

[torpidbeaver]

About to show my ignorance.

I thought option years weren't in any way affected by Spring Training. I also thought option years weren't activated solely by being on the 40-man roster –*that you had to be called up to the majors in order for an option to be used.

Are either of those statements not true?

[Silfir]

The second statement is false - option years are used every time a player with a major league contract (which is what being on the 40-man roster entails) is on a minor league roster; it doesn't matter if the player has ever been used on a major league roster.

[TanzKommandant]

Originally Posted by Silfir

The second statement is false - option years are used every time a player with a major league contract (which is what being on the 40-man roster entails) is on a minor league roster; it doesn't matter if the player has ever been used on a major league roster.

That's not entirely correct either. A player need not have a major league contract to be on the 40 man roster. They can have a minor league deal and be on the 40 man roster. They do begin to accrue service time, however.

[Rain King]

Originally Posted by TanzKommandant

That's not entirely correct either. A player need not have a major league contract to be on the 40 man roster. They can have a minor league deal and be on the 40 man roster. They do begin to accrue service time, however.

40-man roster contracts are kind of an in-limbo situation. The player definitely receives a pay raise by being on the 40-man compared to a normal minor-league contract, but still does not make the major league minimum.

Regarding the OP, Silfir is completely correct. Any player who is on a 40-man roster and is in the minor leagues has used an Option (or has been placed on waivers if they are out of options).

[actionjackson]

Originally Posted by TanzKommandant

That's not entirely correct either. A player need not have a major league contract to be on the 40 man roster. They can have a minor league deal and be on the 40 man roster. They do begin to accrue service time, however.

You can only accrue service time if you're on the 25-man roster. At least the service time that counts towards arbitration and free agency. It's why the Cubs sent Kris Bryant to the minors for the few days that they did in 2015: to gain an extra year before he hits free agency. He was definitely on the 40-man at the time, and he was definitely not accumulating service time.

[icedragon15]

Originally Posted by Silfir

The second statement is false - option years are used every time a player with a major league contract (which is what being on the 40-man roster entails) is on a minor league roster; it doesn't matter if the player has ever been used on a major league roster.

i thought if they stay in minor like many days u used if u call up before 20days

[Rain King]

Originally Posted by icedragon15

i thought if they stay in minor like many days u used if u call up before 20days

In major league baseball there is a 20-day period before the option being used kicks in, but this is not implemented within OOTP.

[TanzKommandant]

Originally Posted by actionjackson

You can only accrue service time if you're on the 25-man roster. At least the service time that counts towards arbitration and free agency. It's why the Cubs sent Kris Bryant to the minors for the few days that they did in 2015: to gain an extra year before he hits free agency. He was definitely on the 40-man at the time, and he was definitely not accumulating service time.

To clarify, you accrue professional service time which then would count towards becoming a minor league free agent if that situation arose and someone was never called up.

[Rain King]

Right, but that is being accrued whether they are on the 40-man or not.

[drhay53]

Can you explain what's happening on your first part of the question? Do you have a player who is not on the 40 man roster, who was invited to spring training, and mistakenly had an option year used? Is that what you think happened?

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Rain King

In major league baseball there is a 20-day period before the option being used kicks in, but this is not implemented within OOTP.

To be exact, a player on option to the minors for 19 days or less during the major league regular season is not charged an option, while 20 days or more will use up the option. There is also a fourth option year that applies to some players, but this is not recreated in OOTP.

[byzeil]

Originally Posted by torpidbeaver

About to show my ignorance.

I thought option years weren't in any way affected by Spring Training. I also thought option years weren't activated solely by being on the 40-man roster –*that you had to be called up to the majors in order for an option to be used.

Are either of those statements not true?

If a player is on your 40-man roster he is automatically placed on your spring training roster. IRL there is no 25 man/active roster during the off season, there is just the 40-man roster and the whole 40-man roster is on the ST roster. When you send him back to the minors he will accrue an option used (Either after a day is simmed or more likely after a day during the minor league season...don't remember which). This is how OOTP handles it and the use of an option in this way is what happens IRL(except for the 20 day thing).

The whole point of options is so that you can't keep a player in the minors forever. First you have to add him to your 40 or risk loosing him in the Rule 5 after a period of time then once on the 40-man roster you can keep him in the minors for 3 more seasons after which he either has to be on your active roster or passed though waivers to get him to the minors again.

[andyhdz]

In OOTP an option is used if he is on the minor league roster and the season has started and you sim 1 day. That prevents you from using an option before the season begins or if you place him there by mistake and immediately move him back up before you sim 1 day. The "player refuses demotion" though kicks in immediately after you try and move him down though.

[torpidbeaver]

Thanks for the clarification, everyone.

Originally Posted by drhay53

Can you explain what's happening on your first part of the question? Do you have a player who is not on the 40 man roster, who was invited to spring training, and mistakenly had an option year used? Is that what you think happened?

I was under the mistaken impression that being on the 40-man, but NOT on the active roster, wouldn't activate an option year until/if he is promoted at least once to the majors. I got some bad intel from a Reddit thread.

Was juggling some pitchers after an injury, and was dismayed to see that a guy I'd been avoiding to call up had already had his final option year used and thus could have been called up and down the whole time I'd been not using him. Wasn't sure if it was an error, an expansion pick thing (playing as the 1962 Houston Colt .45s), or if any of those statements I put forward were incorrect. I was trying to rule out each possibility until I figured out what happened.

[drhay53]

Originally Posted by torpidbeaver

Thanks for the clarification, everyone.



I was under the mistaken impression that being on the 40-man, but NOT on the active roster, wouldn't activate an option year until/if he is promoted at least once to the majors. I got some bad intel from a Reddit thread.

Was juggling some pitchers after an injury, and was dismayed to see that a guy I'd been avoiding to call up had already had his final option year used and thus could have been called up and down the whole time I'd been not using him. Wasn't sure if it was an error, an expansion pick thing (playing as the 1962 Houston Colt .45s), or if any of those statements I put forward were incorrect. I was trying to rule out each possibility until I figured out what happened.

Ok, I see. Glad you seem to have gotten things cleared up.

The MLB rules can be pretty confusing, but one of the great things about OOTP for me was really allowing me to suffer through it and learn alot about how it works. I know OOTP doesn't have some of the more tricky logic implemented in places, but for the most part, the key elements are there.

Ultimately playing OOTP has made me realize that 6 years of team control and then a monster contract is not a system I like at all. When you add in those 3 option years, teams can nearly control decent MLB players for the entirety of their careers, if they're a shuttle-up-and-down kind of guy.

[Mets52]

Originally Posted by drhay53

Ok, I see. Glad you seem to have gotten things cleared up.

The MLB rules can be pretty confusing, but one of the great things about OOTP for me was really allowing me to suffer through it and learn alot about how it works. I know OOTP doesn't have some of the more tricky logic implemented in places, but for the most part, the key elements are there.

Ultimately playing OOTP has made me realize that 6 years of team control and then a monster contract is not a system I like at all. When you add in those 3 option years, teams can nearly control decent MLB players for the entirety of their careers, if they're a shuttle-up-and-down kind of guy.

I have ruined some careers of good players where maybe I had too much OF talent, and because I shuffled them up and down with injuries, September call ups, etc, that I controlled them for a large part of their prime years , especially when you add in arbitration.