1. Six-year minor league free agents asking for $3+ million a year. There's a reason a guy is a 6-year minor league free agent! There are a few guys there that MIGHT be able to play for a rebuilding team, maybe a couple that could be bench players, defensive replacements, 11th or 12th pitcher on a good team. There's no one there who's going to be a key player on a good team. In real life, these guys are happy to get a minimum major league contract. Many will sign a minor league contract with a spring training invitation.

These guys just sit out there and waste, because nobody signs them and their ratings deteriorate until they suck so bad they finally retire.

2. Marginal ML free agents ask for ridiculous contracts. They get no offers, ratings start deteriorating really quickly. By the time their salary demands are reasonable, they're not worth signing.

3. No negotiating. Very few players - only superstars, really - have "take it or leave it" contract demands. In real life, a guy who made $2.5 million last year and starts out asking for $4 million this year settles for something between $3.25 and 3.5 million. If they're worth the $4 million, there'll be a bidding war that drives the price up.

Still enjoy the game, but every season free agency reminds me how broken some aspects of it are.

" These guys just sit out there and waste, because nobody signs them and their ratings deteriorate until they suck so bad they finally retire. "
- it might be worse than that; I've seen new users suckered into signing them into $1m+, multi-year contracts because they didn't know any better. They figured if they're asking for a payday, they must be ML level talent. Very deceptive.

My first season I signed 4 of these minor league free agents to multi-year $3MM+ per year deals. I thought "Wow this guy has a 100 velocity he must be good". Quite a learning experience.

That's a product of overall rating isn't it? If the player is rated under 60[???] overall, his demands are a minor league contract. However, as soon as the overall rating is above that threshold, he wants an MLB contract. I think you might be on to something though -- if these 6-year minor league guys were only demanding an MLB minimum contract, more of them would get signed and some of them might get signed for more than the minimum due to bidding.

Totally agree. I have trouble believing that if a 27 year old who didn't get signed is still looking for $2.5m prorated mid season and you offer $1.5m he really gonna tell you he's insulted and going to sit around watching Maury and drinking yoo hoo unless you pony up the extra mil.

Posted by friarboy on 10/29/2020 7:44:00 PM (view original):
Totally agree. I have trouble believing that if a 27 year old who didn't get signed is still looking for $2.5m prorated mid season and you offer $1.5m he really gonna tell you he's insulted and going to sit around watching Maury and drinking yoo hoo unless you pony up the extra mil.

That is the part that gets me as well.

Agreed as well - I didn't realize the my 6 mil in projections didn't mean anything my first season. Signed what I thought would be a future stud pitcher (6th year guy who had hit DITR earlier in his career so had inflated projections) to a 5 year deal lol. Thankfully he opted out of his contract year 5 (by this time I realized how stupid that deal was). Like mentioned above, it can kill new users because between so many people demanding 4/5mil and projections being so shakey, you can easily fall for a move that will kill you for multiple seasons.

Yeah, I remember. One of the first things I ever did was sign a sixth-year free agent. "Guy looks solid." Wasn't a huge contract but still, a waste of a contract. If any owner lets a sixth-year minor leaguer walk away, it literally means there was no reason keeping him around any longer.

First time this has happened to be but this also ****** me off to no end.

Slick Bird : https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=8284085

goes down with 3 games left in the season for 250 days. He will miss probably half of next season and he’s 33. Yet he STILL is of the mentality that ‘with free agency looming I’m at least going to test the market’

in real life in 99 times out of 100 wouldn’t the guy agree to a 1 year deal at a good salary to make themselves more available for free agency.

Posted by hockey1984 on 11/1/2020 12:27:00 PM (view original):
First time this has happened to be but this also ****** me off to no end.

Slick Bird : https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=8284085

goes down with 3 games left in the season for 250 days. He will miss probably half of next season and he’s 33. Yet he STILL is of the mentality that ‘with free agency looming I’m at least going to test the market’

in real life in 99 times out of 100 wouldn’t the guy agree to a 1 year deal at a good salary to make themselves more available for free agency.

Not a chance. He's worth 5 x $15M as is.

Posted by damag on 11/1/2020 7:37:00 PM (view original):

Posted by hockey1984 on 11/1/2020 12:27:00 PM (view original):
First time this has happened to be but this also ****** me off to no end.

Slick Bird : https://www.whatifsports.com/hbd/Pages/Popups/PlayerRatings.aspx?pid=8284085

goes down with 3 games left in the season for 250 days. He will miss probably half of next season and he’s 33. Yet he STILL is of the mentality that ‘with free agency looming I’m at least going to test the market’

in real life in 99 times out of 100 wouldn’t the guy agree to a 1 year deal at a good salary to make themselves more available for free agency.

Not a chance. He's worth 5 x $15M as is.

You can have him. I don't know why, he has just never lived up to his ratings.