Why is this player not eligible to be signed?

cbbl · 07-21-2019, 09:41 AM

Help me out here...

A player was drafted in my league's amateur draft, but released prior to the season start by the drafting team. I'm in need of another minor leaguer and interested in signing him to a minor-league contract, but the option is not available. I can't figure out what about this player makes him unavailable.

I noticed this seems to be the case for any player either not drafted in the current season's amateur draft or signed and released by a team.

I have a simple league...no secondary rosters, therefore no waivers. Reserve clause era rules in effect and thus no free agency. Minor league options years are off.

Obviously there must be some rule related to when first-year players can be signed, but I can't find where to toggle it.

Per the OOTP manual, 2 of the types of players who are free agents are:

2. Any player who has been released from his contract by his team.
3. Any players who are not currently under contract, such as players from an amateur draft who were not drafted.

So...why can't I sign them?

Thanks,
cbbl

battists · 07-21-2019, 10:30 AM

I’m just spitballing here, but perhaps they never signed him, but they still have the exclusive rights?? Or could be a bug of some kind.

I’d likely go into commish mode and poke around his record to see what I could find.

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byzeil · 07-21-2019, 12:21 PM

If he wasn't drafted or failed to sign and is under 25 I believe he goes back into the draft for the next year. This comes up in my online league, we end up with a large draft pool mostly comprised of players who were not drafted or did not sign. Some will go back to college (if you are using feeders) and some will just sit and wait. I asked OOTPD about this a few years ago and was told until the player turns 25 he will just keep going back to the draft.

IRL a player that is drafted and does not sign can go back to college if he still has college eligibility left and he reenters the draft the following year. I don't believe he has the option to become a FA until certain circumstance are met (not sure of those) else a player could just not sign then go where ever he wants to (pro wise). If he could do that then the draft would quickly become meaningless because players could just refuse to sign so that they could sign with the team of their choice.

Edit: Now if the player you are talking about had actually signed a minor league contract and was then released I believe he should be a FA and available to sign.

cbbl · 07-21-2019, 05:24 PM

OK, so this seems like it *might* be a bug then. With reserve era rules on, there is no contract negotiation; the player is paid whatever the team sets and that's that.

The age 25 thing could be it ... but maybe just the first year? I have plenty of players undrafted from last year's amateur draft that never went drafted and are now free agents. And of course, the fact that he was signed and released is what really confuses me.

Perhaps I should move this thread to the bug reports forum?

BTW, I play in Commissioner mode, but I can find nothing in the player's record that tips me off, except that he was in this year's draft.

byzeil · 07-21-2019, 10:06 PM

I agree you probably want to move this to the Bug thread. I have zero experience working with the reserve era rules in game so not sure how the game would handle undrafted/unsigned/unreleased players.

07-21-2019, 09:41 AM	#1
cbbl All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,179	Why is this player not eligible to be signed? Help me out here... A player was drafted in my league's amateur draft, but released prior to the season start by the drafting team. I'm in need of another minor leaguer and interested in signing him to a minor-league contract, but the option is not available. I can't figure out what about this player makes him unavailable. I noticed this seems to be the case for any player either not drafted in the current season's amateur draft or signed and released by a team. I have a simple league...no secondary rosters, therefore no waivers. Reserve clause era rules in effect and thus no free agency. Minor league options years are off. Obviously there must be some rule related to when first-year players can be signed, but I can't find where to toggle it. Per the OOTP manual, 2 of the types of players who are free agents are: 2. Any player who has been released from his contract by his team. 3. Any players who are not currently under contract, such as players from an amateur draft who were not drafted. So...why can't I sign them? Thanks, cbbl __________________ MacBook Pro 13-inch (2018); 2.7GHz Quad-Core i7; 16GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3; Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 (1536 MB)

07-21-2019, 10:30 AM	#2
battists Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 18,506 Blog Entries: 7	I’m just spitballing here, but perhaps they never signed him, but they still have the exclusive rights?? Or could be a bug of some kind. I’d likely go into commish mode and poke around his record to see what I could find. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________ Come check out my dynasty report, Funky Times!

07-21-2019, 05:24 PM	#4
cbbl All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,179	OK, so this seems like it might be a bug then. With reserve era rules on, there is no contract negotiation; the player is paid whatever the team sets and that's that. The age 25 thing could be it ... but maybe just the first year? I have plenty of players undrafted from last year's amateur draft that never went drafted and are now free agents. And of course, the fact that he was signed and released is what really confuses me. Perhaps I should move this thread to the bug reports forum? BTW, I play in Commissioner mode, but I can find nothing in the player's record that tips me off, except that he was in this year's draft. __________________ MacBook Pro 13-inch (2018); 2.7GHz Quad-Core i7; 16GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3; Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 (1536 MB)