Compilation of Rule Change suggestions

[Moorestown Big Dogs]

I have broken these into 3 categories: Small Tweaks to Rules - Significant Adjustments to Rules - New Ideas for Rules.

Small Tweaks to Rules

1. Change the rule on re-signing of players bought out. The rule currently reads: 5.5.2.5 A team cannot re-sign their bought out players, regardless of season completion, unless they have been signed and bought out by another team.
Change it to: 5.5.2.5 A team cannot re-sign their bought out players for a lower price, regardless of season completion, unless they have been signed and bought out by another team.

2. Waiving of Players recently signed. We currently require 48 hours on the roster for a player claimed off waivers or recalled from waivers. We should require that same 48 hours for players just signed to a contract.

3. Players on a 1 year contract can be bought out at full contract price (also suggested at twice contract price) after the season is over.

4. Add this to Rule 7.3.1 - However, during this period you may move your players on or off waivers if the corresponding move is an IR move. 

Significant Adjustments to Rules

1. Lowering or Removing the limit of AB or IP for a player to become a Free Agent. Note: The other 3 Contract Leagues have lowered the limit to 1 Game.

2. Lowering the limit of AB or IP for Players to become Forced Call-Ups.

3. Make all Players age 26 or older ineligible for Prospect draft and immediately eligible for Free Agency. (If change #1 were to drop it to 1 game the Free Agency part won't matter.)

4. And of course, the ongoing discussion of the 60 day IL requirement.

New Ideas for Rules

1. Require all GMs with Cap Space (I would suggest "at least $10 in Cap") to pursue Free Agents in order to meet league minimum requirements. Specifically Innings Pitched, but also filling active spots on the roster with players not on IL or in minors.

2. Institute a 1 round Prospect Draft to take place during the MLB All-Star break. The draft order would be set at our standings the morning of July 5th. The Player Pool would be limited to players with no MLB experience. Players being drafted at that same time (the MLB draft starts Sunday of the All-Star break) would NOT be eligible. These picks would not be tradeable, although of course the Prospects selected could then be traded. The draft would start Monday of the All-Star break at noon, and would likely be done by the end of the All-Star game, as I can see many of us picking during the Home Run Derby or All-Star game.
Otherwise, our standard Minor League draft rules would apply, such as the 6 hour window.

[Stark Direwolves]

Thanks for summarizing on here, this is helpful.

I agree with "small tweaks" 1 & 2. I'll need more of an explanation on 3. What's the point of that? Just to create a roster spot?

The major adjustments obviously need more discussion. I'm in favor of reducing the 60 day requirement for IL placement. I mean, we've got other rule suggestions on here for keeping a team healthy and competitive (forcing managers with money to spend it) but if we can't free up a roster spot, that doesn't work.

I like the new rule ideas.

[Moorestown Big Dogs]

My thoughts on these proposals are as follows:

Small Tweaks

1. The intent of the current rule is to avoid having a team buyout and get Cap space and then re-sign a player for less. This adjustment avoids that, so I strongly favor this.

2. I believe the intent of the 48 hour rule is to ensure that teams acquiring players intend to use them, not just move them from one team's waivers to another's. This seems to me to extend this to free agent signings and I am in favor of it.

3. To respond to Stark's question, yes, the idea is to create roster spots in the off-season. A team with a full Waiver has no room to move those players, and may have promotions to make during our Prospect draft. To compare it to MLB, the day the World Series ends, all expiring contracts end, and they are free agents so they no longer occupy spots on their former team's 40 man roster. Because in our league we can re-sign those players they should not be forced off rosters, but GMs should have a way to remove them. And at full cost of buyout there is nothing gained. I think it is a good idea. Contract Basketball already is running this way.

4. Hockey has already added this, and it keeps a team from having to buy out a player to bring back a player who is finally healthy.

Significant Adjustments

1. Baseball is a different sport as far as the minor leagues are concerned, so I do not want to go to the 1 game level, but I would like to see the thresholds lowered. Here is where I am coming from: If a player has been with his MLB team for a month, he is now a major leaguer in my mind, so he should be eligible. For a SP, that is 5-6 starts, so I would say 30 IP. For a RP, that is 8-10 appearances, so 10 IP (if they have started any games the 30 IP limit applies). For hitters that is 20+ games, so I would go with 75 AB. My one concern with this lowering is what to do with the guys who had 30 AB two years ago, another 30 last year, and now come up. Should it be only 15 AB this year? I think I would like my lowered limits to apply for the current season only, but am very open to suggestions.

2. Forced Call Up limits I would also like to see reduced. For hitters lowered to 375 (not completely arbitrary, that is the threshold for the top 180 players in AB from 2023 - which is 6 per team - everyday players) For SP lowered to 100 IP (basically the level of the #4 starter on a team) and for RP lowered to 35 IP, a bit more than half a season. While I would love to have a player stashed to keep his cost down, I don't think any of us like seeing guys in their second pretty much full season still sitting on a prospect roster. An alternative approach would be to have players forced up when they hit the current threshold during the season, but that is harder to monitor.

3. This isn't a big deal, but I would rather have older players who show up be free agents being auctioned off rather than drafted. Also, MLB does not list players at that age as Prospects because the whole idea of prospects is young players with potential.

4. The 60 day IL discussion has many different aspects to it. I have no issues with it the way it currently stands, and enjoy having the deeper everyday roster on those rare occasions when my squad is full healthy. One direction that I see as an option is to have a set period that players who are placed on the IL cannot be recalled for (think of the NFL's IR - 4 games even if the player is healthy before then). We could set it to 30 days (or any other number we all agree to) and have it still be for long term absences without having to wait for MLB teams to designate the 60 days. It puts the control in our GMs hands, rather than MLB's.

New Ideas

1. We already have "activity level" rules requiring GMs to be actively involved, and they should also be required to fill roster spots with active players if they have the ability to do so. This means signing enough Pitchers to reach the minimum IP limit so no GMs get "free" wins, as well as signing replacement players when a player is injured so that they can fill all 9 hitting slots. Obviously this is also based on their having the Cap space to do so. I would suggest that having more than $10 in available Cap, and failing to sign players to meet those requirements should be treated as not setting the lineup is - Rule 9.2

2. Nothing to add to the rule as proposed. I think it would be fun and good for the league.

Finally, I would like to see these discussed in this thread by as many GMs as possible, and hopefully implemented, or voted on at the end of this season.

[Team Canada]

I personally would like to see us be able to drop an expiring player off the roster during the draft at no cost because if you are at the 120 floor you can't buy them out regardless and when we draft it feels like the new season has started(even tho rollover hasnt taken place) The cap damage is done from being active the prior season from being active and trading(helping contenders, trade deadline fun ect).

I also like the other rules regarding getting good young talent on the rosters.

[Moorestown Big Dogs]

Just a reminder that the 120 limit is only enforced during the season (Rule 5.2.3) so you can go below it during the off-season. What you cannot do is buyout players leaving you with more Cap spent than you have.

[Team Canada]

Okay sweet I like that.