How do you know if a former ML player is going to magically get a $500K contract next season in the minors?

I do not understand.

I had a major leaguer I signed to a minor league contract once, and next season he got $500K somehow. Want to avoid that again.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it is something along the lines of he was once given a BL contract which has since expired and he still doesn't have enough service time to make him arb eligible. Like someone jumped the gun and offered him a contract way to early or he was a stud prospect and someone signed him to a BL contract out the gate.

It is definitely a situation that doesn't happen very often, but it has happened to me before as well.

I blundered into this once and I've been trying to remember how, but there's something I'm missing.

Vitamin_C is right, the player must once have had a BL contract and it's up. And he's not arb-eligible. I remember my player was a veteran who I sent down at the end of the season, but I wanted to keep him around as an emergency backup so I kept him on the 40. When I sent him down he no longer appeared as a pending free agent the next season, but he also didn't show up on the next season's arb list. There was another factor I'm missing, maybe it's that the player had to clear waivers first. There's a condition that keeps us from doing this with any pending free agent just to keep them from walking.

If he were in the majors he'd simply be a pending free agent. If he's in the minors his contract is up but he's still on the 40 so you retain him, but he's also not arb eligible, that's why he gets 500k. So I think the solution if you don't want that is to take him off the 40, which will make him a pending major league FA.

There should be a clearer way to see if this is going to happen before it happens.

That's the only way I noticed it at the time. I didn't see the player in my free agents or my arb list; I sitemailed MikeT23 asking what happens to this player and he said he gets 500k.

Player Profile: Manny Brinson

this is the guy it happened to.me with.

the previous owner signed him to a 3.2m contract for two seasons even though he was terrible.

When I took over the team i demoted him to aaa and figured he'd go back to regular 57k or whatever, since his contract had expired.

instead, he was making 500k, and when I noticed that I promoted him back to the BL. I let him go the following season cause I didn't want to pay him 500k. If he'd have cost the normal price, I'd have kept him in aaa again.

Looking at him more closely, it appears he was a six year minor leaguer who went to FA and this owner signed him to a two year deal. He had options so i could demote at will. He was still on the 40 though, so i guess that must be the other piece of the puzzle.

I am guessing once signed to a BL contract it defaults to 500k if you retain him. Because he only had two seasons under his belt, so he should still be making BL minimum type money.

That's what I'd be looking for opie. Previously signed to a BL ccontract AND has some BL service time, but less than 3 seasons worth. That player is likely going to make 500k.

How about this guy: https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=7812508

Will he get $500K? He has more than 3 years of BL service time, but I don't see him in my FA or arb list for next season...

Looks to me like he's under contract for next season already, that's why you're not seeing him. The original owner released him but is still paying him full salary this season and next season. I think that means you'll have him for the veteran minimum 327k.

Or if you decide to cut him loose, someone else will.

^^ +1 ^^

Thank you -- I looked in player payroll for next season and that's what appeared. He gone now.

I have never seen this. Interesting.

So, would this guy get $500k next season if I kept him?

https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=7744481

I believe that is exactly the kinda guy that will automatically get 500k.