I Signed a 27 year old C during Spring Training & assignment him to my ML team
I open his player profile & it says "promotion" & yet he dropped 1 OVR from a 70 to a 69!!! He's only 27, my Training budget is at 10 Mil. What gives!!!??? Is this a glitch!!!??? Guys are supposed to go up on promotion!!! I know that very old guys can go down on promotion especially when you have alow Training budget. 10 Mil is right on the middle(I'm in the process of getting it to 20 & keeping it there, as I know thats how you get the progression on prospects & preservation on Vets). And hes only 27. Plus I technically didn't even promote him. I assigned him to my team for the very first time! That's why Im thinking this has to be a glitch right? Should I submit a support ticket? I'm so confused! Any feedback is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!!!

The "Promotion" update is sometimes a misnomer. It's a snapshot of the player's ratings at the time of an event. Usually it means along the designated timeline of a player's progression, but in this case it refers to the event of joining a new team.

Yes it's annoying when you see what looks like a "regression" in the case of a perceived "younger" player. Looks like you're referring to Player Profile: Cy Hayes - Hardball Dynasty Baseball | WhatIfSports. In this case, I'll guess that being cut loose by his former team had a negative impact on his progression. It happens sometimes with players, definitely if they were sitting on the free agent market for an extended time (which was not the case here).

The takeaway is a warning that yes, sometimes when you sign a free agent - especially over 30yo - their ratings dip on signing.

Thanks for the quick & helpful response damag. Yes that is the guy I was referring to & if you look it was a significant decline. It was 1 OVR but he went down 2 in pitch calling, throw accuracy, contact, both splits, & batting eye! He went down by 1 in glove, base running, push/pull, & bunting. I pretty much assumed what you hit on, the fact he was released, but that is LITERALLY the ONLY factor I can come up with. Like you said, he did not sit on the FA market for that long, as I signed him during Spring Training. He's only 27, though! And again my Yraining budget is a respectable $10 Mil & his Temper is 66 & his Make up is 64. Obviously not super high, but definitely not low enough to make him go down that much. IMHO. I honestly feel like this is a glitch & warrants a Support Ticket. Does anyone agree with me?

What was the timing of the spring training signing? Like, how many ST games had you played at that point?

Guys lose ratings points if they sit without being on a roster. Just imagine that they’re sitting at home playing video games, drinking beer, waiting for the phone to ring. They lose their skills if they don’t stay active. If you sign a guy before the 9th ST game (the halfway mark), he won’t lose any ratings. If you sign a guy after that game, he will take a hit. If you sign him after, he’ll suffer a small decline in a few skill ratings. Size of the decline will vary by age, but even younger players will suffer a bit. After that, every ratings cycle will see them lose more points until they get signed.

Bottom line: if you’re tracking a bargain FA and waiting for his price to drop, the best time to sign him is right before ST game 9. Wait any longer and he may become cheaper, but he will lose a bit of his skills.

I think the magic number is 7 games into spring training with no hit on ratings. I've seen players go longer than 7 games without a hit, but never have I seen a player take. Hit if acquired before the 7th spring trading game. This is not my own approximation btw. I noted this info from other threads

Thanks very much Chief & Shal! You guys obviously know what youre talking about. I only thought this kinda thing happened to 30+ year olds. This is also my first time playing this game after a 12 year hiatus. Obviously some things have changed while I was gone, lol. Thank you guys so much for the insight!!!