I took on a total crap team with almost zero talent but a lot of cap space. Let me try to detail the situation first off:

20 million used payroll
105 available payroll

16 players on ML roster, most are arb eligible
14 players on AAA roster

My problem is I want to release almost all of the ARB eligible guys and can not do it because of the roster limits. If I go below 20 on my ML roster I can't make moves.

My goal is to build a brand new team with 18-19 new players through free agency, waivers, and rule 5. I want to see how many wins I can get in one season. I don't know how to cut those crap players.

The only alternative I know of is to promote a bunch of crap players to the ML level and then release them later. This would probably cost me 6 million in payroll by time I promote a bunch of crap players and then replace their minor league spots later. Is there a better way? I was truly fired up about this experiment, now I'm not so sure I can even attempt what I was trying to do.

Any help is appreciated.

I'm guessing no one knows an alternative. :-( I just re-read my message and the word "crap" was used a lot. LOL I guess my vocabulary is kind of limited when I am not allowed to use profanity.

I thought you could release as many as you want before spring training, but I might have been wrong.

I've been below 20 on my BL rosters and still released players. 

That used to be a problem but it was fixed in a update sometime ago.  Did you get a error message or are you worried about the potential problem? 

Posted by shobob on 9/30/2012 11:24:00 PM (view original):
I thought you could release as many as you want before spring training, but I might have been wrong.

You can.  I've been down in the teens.

The rules about arb. players and roster sizes are different before ST starts.

Active Roster Sizes (Current/Max) MLB: 19/25 High A: 25/25 AAA: 25/25 Low A: 25/25 AA: 25/25 Rookie: 0/30

Perhaps it has been changed cause I have a team that is in FA signing and it will not allow me below 20. Posted the screen shot above this.

With that much cash freed up I might consider promoting or signing a few minor leaguers that you don't care about (IOW, not real prospects) and assigning them to the BL roster while you adjust your roster properly.

It will eat a few million (just under 1M per 3 guys), but then you can waive or simply demote those added-on guys as you add real FA players.

Posted by crickett13 on 10/2/2012 8:39:00 PM (view original):
Perhaps it has been changed cause I have a team that is in FA signing and it will not allow me below 20. Posted the screen shot above this.

Those aren't arb. guys you're releasing.  It's different.  Trust me, I've done it.  They can't MAKE you keep arb. guys!

Correct.   I've cut arb guys when I've been 17-18 strong in the BL.  

I'm a dumbass. I misread the original post. Yes you can release arb guys because I released 2 just a few days ago when I only had 17 ML players on my roster.

Posted by deandg on 9/30/2012 10:47:00 PM (view original):
I'm guessing no one knows an alternative. :-( I just re-read my message and the word "crap" was used a lot. LOL I guess my vocabulary is kind of limited when I am not allowed to use profanity.

You can fuckin use profanity!  Just let the **** fly!