Armchair: Land of the bottom feeder

[kenny]

I've thought about the logistics of the "finder's fee" as well. If I adjust the cashflow immediately after each transaction, it would be more time consuming. Essentially, I'd be doing two transactions for each minor league signing. If we were to go that route, I'd do the following:

- Finder's fees would be paid and received on the first day of the following season, not the current one. I'd have to define specifically what the first day of the season is for AFB use. It'd be before free agency signings.

- Keep track of finder's fees in the same manner I've been keeping track of traded draft picks. List it all on a separate sheet. At the end of the season, I'd total it up for each team and add it to the team sheet as a single line item, not individual ones for each signing.

- You can't go over the $125M salary cap before you receive the finder's fees. I haven't figured out how to account for the finder's fees putting you above the salary cap in future seasons yet.

This would theoretically take the same amount of time as using compensation picks.

If we were to go the compensation pick route, we would certainly only do it for players posted but lost. We would also not be able to trade these picks.

I think any of the above are feasible. Just a matter of preference.

[mrmetsman]

Another way to go is maybe to disallow minor fa signings during the season.
Make those players available for the rookie draft or conduct a seperate MILB draft.
That way everybody gets his fair share of talents without it becoming a spending frenzy.

To be honest i've never seen a system like ours in other leagues.
It's always settled with drafts.
To keep things fair.

All these rules,attachments,finding fees would only complicate things right.
While a MILB Draft is simple and research is rewarded instantly.

[kenny]

Not allowing minor league free agency signings would actually change the gameplay of this league tremendously. You wouldn't be able to sign major leaguers to minor league contracts, which some teams here have wisely used to increase the depth of their team. International free agency gets muddied now too. Some players are borderline major league ready; do they go into free agency? Or do they go into a new draft?

I like the concept of the current system mostly because it mirrors what MLB does, which is the overarching principle of Armchair Fantasy Baseball. It gives teams in a rebuilding phase to spend their money wisely in the future instead of the present (see Toronto in this league for example). I would argue that minor league free agency is just as fair as a draft because all teams have the ability to sign anybody. It's also more flexible with people because you're not locked into a certain time of the year to do research as you would in a draft.

Yes, I agree that this does complicate things, but I believe it's a good enough trade-off to maintain "realism."

[kenny]

Thinking about it some more, I wouldn't be opposed to a draft for international players. Logistically, it's an issue though. Unless there's a comprehensive list of available players, we won't get much interest and there is no list available at this time. Maybe if the MLB and MLBPA come to terms on it in real life, there would be something.