We need an official ruling on Intl players like Maitan ASAP

[rcankosy]

When do we plan to re-define FA for International players?  I see that Maitan has been placed on bids.  There have been *rumors* that he's signed with the Braves, but as everyone knows, signing before 7/2/16 is expressly prohibited.

[Flash]

When do we plan to re-define FA for International players?  I see that Maitan has been placed on bids.  There have been *rumors* that he's signed with the Braves, but as everyone knows, signing before 7/2/16 is expressly prohibited.

I sent this as a PM to everyone:

Rick and I have discussed this at length.  We have come to the conclusion, that in accordance with our policy of requiring first year players to be signed to a contract, we will extend this requirement to International Players. 

In the past, Fantrax required a player to have an entry on Baseball Reference or some other "reputable" source before they added players to the Fantrax free agent pool.  In recent months, however, that policy seems to have changed, and there are now several players in the Fantrax free agent pool that do not have a Baseball Reference or Cot's or Sportstrac entry.

So, in an effort to establish a viable process, we have come to the conclusion that if a player is listed on Fantrax and has a team affiliation, that player would be eligible to be signed as an FGM free agent.  Usually, in the Fantrax player info section, there is a note stating that the player has signed with a given team on a particular date for a particular amount.  If that is not listed, and the player is only "rumored" to be signed, and there is no viable confirmation of a given signing, then the player is not eligible to be signed as a free agent. 

Fantrax made the situation a little murky when it listed players who have been declared free agents by MLB, but have no team affiliation (i.e., Lazaro Armenteros and Vladimir Gutierrez).  I mistakenly thought that since they should be available to be signed as free agents by FGM GMs, but that would, of course, violate our MLB contract requirement.

So in essence, a player has to have been signed to an MLB contract to be eligible to be signed as an FGM free agent.

I hope this compromise suits all.

[rcankosy]

Excellent decision!  Thanks for the quick response.

[BHows]

I sent this as a PM to everyone:

Rick and I have discussed this at length.  We have come to the conclusion, that in accordance with our policy of requiring first year players to be signed to a contract, we will extend this requirement to International Players. 

In the past, Fantrax required a player to have an entry on Baseball Reference or some other "reputable" source before they added players to the Fantrax free agent pool.  In recent months, however, that policy seems to have changed, and there are now several players in the Fantrax free agent pool that do not have a Baseball Reference or Cot's or Sportstrac entry.

So, in an effort to establish a viable process, we have come to the conclusion that if a player is listed on Fantrax and has a team affiliation, that player would be eligible to be signed as an FGM free agent.  Usually, in the Fantrax player info section, there is a note stating that the player has signed with a given team on a particular date for a particular amount.  If that is not listed, and the player is only "rumored" to be signed, and there is no viable confirmation of a given signing, then the player is not eligible to be signed as a free agent. 

Fantrax made the situation a little murky when it listed players who have been declared free agents by MLB, but have no team affiliation (i.e., Lazaro Armenteros and Vladimir Gutierrez).  I mistakenly thought that since they should be available to be signed as free agents by FGM GMs, but that would, of course, violate our MLB contract requirement.

So in essence, a player has to have been signed to an MLB contract to be eligible to be signed as an FGM free agent.

I hope this compromise suits all.

I've been a little incapacitated the last few days besides the fact that I was having a hard time putting this into words. My concentration hasn't been the best. Thanks to Ernie for simplifying a pretty confusing situation.
Simply put; if you want to nominate a player, search for him on Fantrax. If he's there he will either have a MLB team behind his name or a n/a. If he has a MLB team behind his name he has signed and is eligible to be nominated. N/A means he hasn't signed and Fantrax may not be sure of his status, thus ineligible in FGM.