New Flash: 60 Day Trade Moritorium Rule

[Flash]

GMs,

I’m hoping no one is totally opposed to this rule tweak, but sometimes we do things as a common practice and then later realize that we have been disregarding a written rule.  It has come to my attention that we have a rule in place has been honored in regards to players we extended in the off-season, but has not been applied to off-season free agent signings.

Here is the current rule:
“Item AX B(1)-5.0

Free Agent signings cannot be traded until 60 days after they have signed.  This date will be shown per each player in the official rosters section.  In addition to our 60-day NTC rule, any players signed to extensions as well as FA contracts in the offseason cannot be traded until June 1st the following year.”

As you can see, the 60 day rule is noted when we sign a player, but on top of that, a June 1st prohibition is tied to off-season free agents because they are lumped together with rostered players who have been signed to extensions.  In the interest of transparency, it would be reasonable to assume if we were going to enforce this rule uniformly, every free agent signed during the off-season would have a June 1st signing date instead of a date from which to associate a 60 day moritorium.

So, with all this, unless there is great opposition to this rule clarification, the June 1st Rule will only apply to rostered players signed to extensions during the off-season.  With my involvement in trades affected by this rule change, this may seem self-serving, but this has a league wide effect in that it would prohibit the trading of all players signed during the off-season until June 1st, which I believe is a prohibition we can do without.

Please feel free to comment.

[papps]

I’m good with the tweak. I’d even be ok with getting rid of the 60 day rule all together. Or maybe reduce it to 30 days. I know there are reasons we have the rule but real MLB teams are not bound by a time they cannot trade a player. I’m good with whatever the league decides.

[jpmanchester]

I’m good with the tweak. I’d even be ok with getting rid of the 60 day rule all together. Or maybe reduce it to 30 days. I know there are reasons we have the rule but real MLB teams are not bound by a time they cannot trade a player. I’m good with whatever the league decides.

I agree with all of this.

[lancealot2407]

I agree with it as well. Did something happen in this league’s past that caused the rule to go into effect?

[soonerorlitigator]

I think a reduction to 30 days is reasonable. I know things change in a teams plans, but I think there should be at least some safeguard from people signing Free Agents with the sole intent to flip them for other players.

[Flash]

With this issue being posted for ten days, and no outcries against modifying the June 1st rule to apply only to players signed to an extension during the off-season, we will uniformly apply the 60 day rule to all signed free agents.

We shall revisit the modification, or abolition, of the 60 day rule at the conclusion of the 2018 season, through a referendum, if there at least 8 GMs co-sponsor such an action.

Here is the rule pertaining a league wide referendum:

“8.) Any GM in the league may propose a general referendum to be considered by the entire league if at least eight (8) member co-sponsor the referendum.  A referendum must receive at least 16 votes to be implemented—this would be a simple majority of 15 + 1.