Full Count Baseball Revised and Compiled League Rules

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Table of Contents

1. League Structure
1.1 Structure and regular season scoring
1.2 Playoff scoring
1.3 League funding

2. Rosters
2.1 Rules about minor leaguers
2.2 Rules about prospects
2.3 Rules about major leaguers
2.4 Rules about international free agents

3. Salary Cap and Benefits
3.1 Staying below the caps
3.2 Exceptions to salary and player caps

4. Building and Managing Your Franchise
4.1 Franchise and restricted tags
4.1.1 Franchise tag
4.1.2 Restricted tag
4.2 Minor league draft
4.3 Free Agency
4.3.1 Eligibility
4.3.2 The process
4.3.3 Rulings
4.4 Waiver wire
4.5 Trading
4.6 Releasing players
4.7 Additional notes about acquiring players
4.8 Additional notes about player contracts

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1. LEAGUE STRUCTURE

Welcome to Full Count Baseball! Our goal has been and continues to be the creation of a long-lasting dynasty league. The league commissioners are Jared (Rangers), Jason (Angels), and Jordan (Phillies). Additionally, several volunteers assist with league functions such as spreadsheet updates, judging trades, and helping with free agency.

The best way to correspond with the commissioners is to contact them via private message on the league board. Please allow at least 24 hours for a response to complaints, rules questions, player discrepancies, and trade reviews.

Here are the Commissioners' e-mail addresses:

[e-mail]
[e-mail]

Good luck to you all, and have a great season!

Structure and regular season scoring

This roto league is scored through Fantrax. You'll manage a roster of up to 55 players through Fantrax to compete. Each of the players on your Full Count roster will be included on your Fantrax roster and will be eligible to accumulate stats for your franchise. You will have the option of selecting which players fill the "active" positions on your roster. Only "active" positions will accumulate stats throughout the course of the season, determining how successful your franchise is. The 18 active roster spots are as follows:

• One catcher
• Two corner infielders (CI), which includes 1B- and 3B-eligble players
• Two middle infielders (MI), which includes 2B- and SS-eligible players
• Three outfielders (OF)
• One utility player (any position)
• Three starting pitchers (SP)
• Three relief pitchers (RP)
• Three pitchers (P), which includes SP and RP

The other players on your roster will either stay on your bench or be in the minors. The players may be moved in and out of the "active" position spots on a daily basis.

The statistical categories that will be tabulated to determine the league champion each year are split into two major areas: hitting and pitching. The scoring categories are as follows:

Hitting – Runs, HRs, RBIs, Stolen Bases, Batting Average, OPS
Pitching – Wins, Saves, Holds, Strikeouts, ERA, WHIP

This is a 12-category league with roto scoring during the regular season and head-to-head scoring in the playoffs. This format has been created to optimize the activity and chatter in the league and to promote trading between franchises.

Playoff scoring

The playoffs in Full Count will work similar to MLB. Each year, the dates for the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs will be posted on the league board, typically around early August.

Each division winner will advance to the playoffs. A wild card franchise from each of the American and National league will also advance to the playoffs. The wild card winner from each league will be decided as the top non-division winning team, based off of combined standings. Matchups will be decided in the same method as the MLB, with the wildcard team of each league facing that league's top seed.

The playoffs will use the same scoring categories from the regular season but instead use the head-to-head format instead of the roto format. In the event of a tie, the franchise that finished with a higher regular season score will receive the win.

The league division series (LDS) matchups will be one week long. The league championship series (LCS) and World Series matchups will each be two weeks long.

League funding

Full Count was not designed to make any money. However, running a league like this is time consuming and by no means free. Each season before Opening Day, the league will require $2.67 in dues from each franchise in the form of cash, check, or PayPal (to [e-mail]; send it as a gift to avoid fees) to cover the Fantrax fees. If you need to mail payment, contact Jordan via private message. The league reserves the right to increase or decrease dues in later seasons as needs change. Rest assured that Full Count will never be used to turn a profit.

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2. ROSTERS

The league is made up of 30 franchises. Each franchise retains the rights to a 55-man roster, which is maintained both on the league website and on Fantrax. This roster can include MLB players or players signed by any MLB affiliate (minor leagues).

The four types of players defined by this league are:

• Minor leaguer – A non-IFA (international free agent) or an IFA player under the age of 25 who has yet to record 150 career at-bats (AB) or 50 career innings pitched (IP) at the major league level

• Prospect – A former minor leaguer player that has surpassed the career 150 AB or 50 IP limit at the major league level but has not surpassed his four years of prospect protection (described later)

• Major leaguer – A player that has eclipsed the four-year prospect rule (described later)

• International free agent – A player from a non-U.S. baseball market who has never played on a U.S. Major League Baseball team prior and 1. is legally able to sign with any MLB team as a free agent or 2. was signed with an international team but was posted, and that team officially accepted the posting fee of an MLB team , which then successfully negotiated a contract with the player. (The Eric Thames Rule: Players who have logged more than 150AB/50IP in MLB, then played baseball internationally, and later returned to MLB are considered a major leaguer, not an IFA.) The league acquisition of international free agents follows special rules (described later).

What follows are several important rules about these player types:

2.1 Rules about minor leaguers

Expanding on the above, here are examples of players who could be classified as minor leaguers:

* 21-year-old Bob Talent, drafted the year before by the Angels; he has 0 AB / IP at the MLB level

* 27-year-old Carl Jones, originally drafted by the Rangers six years prior; he has 112 AB at the MLB level

* 20-year -old Jose Cruz from the Cuban league, who defected and signed with an MLB team to a minor league contract; he has 0 AB / IP at the MLB level

Currently, minor leaguers acquired through the minor league draft receive a $400,000 annual salary, which persists as long as the franchise retains the player and the player does not become a prospect. Minor leaguers acquired through free agency receive a fixed contract based on the winning terms of the offered contract. (See free agency rules in section 4.3.)

2.2 Rules about prospects

Once a minor leaguer surpasses the 150 AB / 50 IP limit, they become a prospect. A player's prospect protection begins the season after he reaches one of those limits. For example, John Smith of the Baltimore Orioles pitches 12.2 innings in 2014. He will remain a minor leaguer for 2015. In 2015 Smith pitches another 41 innings. For the 2016 season Smith becomes a prospect, paid using the first of four years of prospect protection (often referred to as "PP"). If he was being paid $500,000 per year as a minor leaguer, his new PP contract will look like this: 16: $0.5M, 17: $0.5M, 18: $0.5M, 19: $0.5M.

After the fourth year of PP, that player will then become a free agent unless franchised or restricted using a franchise or restricted tag. (See section 4.)

Note that in the rare case a prospect does not log a single AB / IP in a year, the player is protected an additional year. For example, if Joe Smith received a PP contract in 2015 but didn't log an AB / IP that year, an additional year of protection is added. In other words, a PP player is considered protected until he's logged at least one AB / IP in four total years (they don't have to be consecutive).

2.3 Rules about major leaguers

By definition, major leaguers are players who have either been retained through a franchise/restricted tag or signed through free agency. Major leaguers retained through a franchise tag receive their real life contract. (See section 4.1.) Major leaguers retained through a restricted tag (matching the winning offer) receive a restructurable, fixed contract based on the average annual salary (AAS) and total years of the winning bid. (Also see section 4.1.) Major leaguers signed through free agency receive a fixed contract based on the winning terms of the offered contract. (See free agency rules in section 4.3.)

2.4 Rules about international free agents

Expanding on the above, here are examples of players who could be classified as international free agents:

* 25-year-old Mario Lopez from the Dominican league, who defected and signed with an MLB team to a major league contract; he has 12 AB at the MLB level

* 29-year -old Ichiro Fuji from the Japanese league, who was posted by the Yakult Swallows (who subsequently accepted a Yankees posting fee), and signed with the Yankees to a major league contract within 30 days; he has 0 IP at the MLB level

* 24-year-old Tito Hernandez from the Cuban league, who defected and signed with an MLB team to a minor league contract; he has 0 AB / IP at the MLB level

* 20-year -old Jose Cruz from the Cuban league, who defected and signed with an MLB team to a minor league contract; he has 0 AB / IP at the MLB level

Note that while both Tito and Jose are technically considered IFAs and both are signed to minor league contracts with an MLB team, Tito is handled differently than Jose, based on age. Here are rules relevant to IFAs:

• IFAs under the age of 25 (from the time of signing) go into the minor league draft pool.

• IFAs aged 25 and older (from the time of signing) with a major league contract are considered free agents that cannot be drafted. These types of players are bid on in free agency using a special process. You must offer a one-year signing bonus. If you have the highest offer, you win the player, who can be kept for that year on the signing bonus amount. The following year, that player automatically receives the remainder of their "real life" contract, as outlined on the Cot's Baseball Contracts website. (http:// www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/)

Example: In 2012, Yu Darvish came to MLB and fell under this rule. The Phillies bid a one-year, $25 million dollar contract and won Darvish. The following year, the Phillies were able to retain Darvish at his "real life" contract: 13: $9.5M, 14: $10M, 15: $10M, 16: $10M, 17: $11M CO (club option)

• In the case that an IFA is over the age of 25 and does not sign a major league contract, they must be bid on as a minor league free agent with a PP contract. For example, in May 2014 Daniel Alvarez was not signed to a major league contract, instead signing to a minor league deal with the Orioles. The Brewers bid an AAS of $2.0 million and won Alvarez. Alvarez's contract then looked like this: 14: $2.0M, 15: $2.0M, 16: $2.0M, 17: $2.0M.

If such a player goes a full year without being signed by a MLB team, they are no longer considered an IFA. This means they fall under normal player rules: if they are under the AB / IP limit, they are treated as a minor leaguer; if they aren't, they are bid on as a major leaguer.

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3. SALARY CAP AND BENEFITS

The salary cap created for each franchise moderately resembles the average total salary spent by its professional affiliate during the regular season over the years. Franchises have been organized into five tiers, each tier with its own specific salary cap and benefits:

• Tier 1 – Cubs, Tigers, Yankees
• Salary Cap Amount for Tier 1 - $175 million
• 1 Franchise Option

• Tier 2 – Angels, Blue Jays, Brewers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Mets, Mariners, Red Sox, Rockies, White Sox
• Salary Cap Amount for Tier 2 - $150 million
• 1 Franchise Option
• 1 Restricted Option

• Tier 3 – Astros, Athletics, Braves, Orioles, Padres, Phillies, Rangers, Reds, Twins
• Salary Cap Amount for Tier 3 - $130 million
• 2 Franchise Options
• 1 Restricted Option

• Tier 4 – Athletics, Marlins, Nationals, Pirates, Rays, Royals
• Salary Cap Amount for Tier 4 - $120 million
• 2 Franchise Options
• 2 Restricted Options

Please note that this dynasty league was designed to create problems and friction so that managing your franchise is imperative. For example, a few of the top-tier franchises will need to waive one or more players to free agency to make sure their franchise remains under the salary cap maximums. The same can be accomplished by trading high-salaried players to franchises with extra cap room.

On the flip side, the lower-tier franchises will have to work to sign players to long-term deals at lower annual salaries to remain both competitive and efficient. They will most likely have to focus their time on prospecting to create their dynasty. These are just a couple of the issues that create demand for trade negotiations and other league discussions.

The following are notes about the salary and player caps:

3.1 Staying below the caps

Your franchise must remain under the assigned roster and salary caps at all times or face disciplinary action from the commissioner’s office. If a trade or free agent (FA) signing pushes your franchise over the roster or salary cap, you will have 72 hours from approval of the transaction to get back under the cap, or your franchise will cease accumulating statistics.

Likewise, league officials and assistants will review rosters throughout the year to ensure franchises are complying, offering 72 hours to correct problems after they have been discovered.

3.2 Exceptions to salary and player caps

The exception to the 72-hour rule is during the offseason, when you will be allowed to exceed your assigned salary cap by up to $10 million and you will also be allowed to carry up to five additional players for a total of 60. These exceptions must be taken care of before opening day, or else your roster will be considered invalid and you will be unable to accumulate statistics.

For more about the franchise and restriction options, please see section 4.1.

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4. BUILDING AND MANAGING YOUR FRANCHISE

Franchises have many ways to build and manage their team of minor leaguers, prospects, major leaguers, and IFAs :

* franchise and restriction tags
* minor league draft
* free agency
* waiver wire
* trading
* releasing players

4.1 Franchise and Restricted Tags

To protect against the loss of all free agents in a particular calendar year, a franchise owner is granted the ability to franchise and restrict players. The number of players a team owner can franchise and restrict is based on the franchise's tier level as described in section 3.

4.1.1 Franchise tag:

During the offseason (typically before end-of-day December 31) you'll be able to assign one or more franchise tags to your players. Two types of players are eligible for this franchise tag: one of your major leaguers whose contract expired at the end of the season or a prospect whose four-year prospect protection expired at the end of the season.

A franchise tag applied to a major leaguer whose contract has expired will not be eligible for free agency within our league and will be forced to sign with the same franchise. In this case, the franchised player will have to assume the remaining "real life" contract he receives (including one-year deals or holdouts), as outlined on the Cot's Baseball Contracts website. ( www.baseballprospectus.com/compensation/cots/ ) Note, however, that when assuming the real life contract, only the club option — if any — is carried over; any other options are ignored. Additionally, you will have the choice to decline or accept the club option in the future. Declining the option occurs either by dumping the player to waivers before the option year arrives (with penalties, as outlined in 4.6) or by declaring him a free agent before the December 31 tag deadline. Accepting the option occurs when you retain the player after the December 31 tag deadline.

In this case, "real life" acts as an arbitrator of sorts in determining a fair market value for the player. This can either improve or hinder your franchise depending on how much the player signs for. If the new "real life" contract puts a franchise over the salary cap maximum (normal salary cap + $10 million, per section 3.2), the franchise will receive a notice from the commissioner's office, after which time the franchise will have 72 hours to correct the problem.

A franchise tag applied to a prospect with an expiring contract will also not be eligible for free agency within our league and will be forced to sign with the same franchise. In this case, however, the franchised player receives a two-year protected contract (simulating MLB arbitration in some ways): year one is worth $3.0 million and year two is worth $5.0 million.

Finally, a team may optionally convert one (1) of their Franchise tags into a Restricted tag (see 4.1.2). It should be noted, however, that this is a one-way process; managers cannot convert a Restricted tag into a Franchise tag.

4.1.2 Restricted tag:

During the offseason (typically before end-of-day December 31) you'll be able to also assign one or more restricted tags to your players. These restricted players will, in effect, be treated just like free agents with several significant differences. Once the Winter Meetings begin in January, players who have had restricted tags applied to them are bid on in two waves: those from the American League (AL) franchises of this league and those from the National League (NL) franchises of this league. The bid requirements during this process ("restricted free agency" or "RFA") are different from normal free agency bidding requirements, made stricter due to the nature of taking someone else's tagged player.

RFA minimum year requirements

The bidding process itself is the same as normal free agency. (Consult section 4.3 for the rules of the free agency bidding process.) However, the minimum year requirements are stricter than those in section 4.2.2.

The average annual salary (AAS) that a franchise bids in RFA will require a certain minimum number of years for the bid to be valid. The minimum contract term is based solely on the RFA offer's AAS and is determined as follows:

If AAS = $0.4M to $3M, then a minimum one-year deal is required.
If AAS = $3M+ to $6M, then a minimum two-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $6,000,002 to $12M)
If AAS = $6M+ to $9M, then a minimum three-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $18,000,003 to $27M)
If AAS = $9M+ to $12M, then a minimum four-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $36,000,004 to $48M)
If AAS = $12M+ to $15M, then a minimum five-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $60,000,005 to $75M)
If AAS = $15M+, then a minimum six-year deal is required. (Total contract will be at least $90,000,006)

The bidder can always make an RFA contract term longer than the minimum number of years since the AAS only determines the minimum term.

After bidding is complete

At the end of the contract offering period, the winning offer will be revealed, and the franchise that restricted the player will have 48 hours to match the winning offer.

If a franchise chooses to match the winning contract offer, then they will be allowed to restructure the winning contract so that it best fits the needs of the franchise and then re-sign the player. The restructured contract must still have the same average annual salary (AAS) of the winning contract. However, the years can be renegotiated as follows:

• If the AAS <= $3M, the contract may be restructured to range from one to six years. The exception: if the AAS was between $0.4M and $0.749M, you can only sign the player to a maximum of three years at this salary. However, in this unique case, you have the option to raise the AAS to $0.75M and keep the player as long as six years.

• If the AAS > $3M, the contract may be restructured to range from two to six years.
• If the AAS > $6M, the contract may be restructured to range from two to six years.
• If the AAS > $9M, the contract may be restructured to range from three to six years.
• If the AAS > $12M, the contract may be restructured to range from three to six years.
• If the AAS > $15M, the contract may be restructured to range from four to six years.

If no one offers a bid on an RFA, the franchise that tagged the player can keep that player one to three years on a $0.4 million salary, four to six years on a $0.75 million salary, or simply choose not to sign the player.

If the franchise that restricted the player fails to respond or chooses not to match the best contract offer made to their player, then the auctioned player will be required to sign with the franchise that made the winning bid. That franchise must use the exact winning contract offered and cannot restructure it after the fact.

If the franchise that restricted the player loses him, the losing franchise is compensated based on the AAS contracted to the lost player by the winning franchise:

• $0.4M to $5M: The franchise that lost the player gains a sandwich pick between the 4th and 5th round.
• $5M+ to $8M: The franchise that lost the player gains the winning franchise's 3rd round pick and a sandwich pick between the 3rd and 4th round.
• $8M+ to $14M: The franchise that lost the player gains the winning franchise's 2nd round pick and a sandwich pick between the 2nd and 3rd round.
• $14M+: The franchise that lost the player gains the winning franchise's 1st round pick and a sandwich pick between the 1st and 2nd round.

If a franchise gives up multiple same round picks as compensation (for example, the Reds win two separate RFA players at AAS $10M, suggesting the loss of two 2nd-round picks), the first franchise that declined to match will receive the winning franchise's pick, and subsequent franchises will receive two compensatory sandwich picks in the same round.

Starting in 2019, teams who decide not to match their restricted free agent(s) bids will receive supplemental draft pick compensation based on the AAS of the winning RFA bid. No team will lose a draft pick for signing a RFA and a team only gains a compensation pick if they do not match the RFA bid. If the team matches the bid and then trades their matched RFA player, they will not get any compensation pick. Compensation is as follows:

If AAS = $0.4M to $3M, then a minimum one-year deal is required.
If AAS = $3M+ to $6M, then a minimum two-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $6,000,002 to $12M) - after 5th round comp
If AAS = $6M + to $9M, then a minimum three-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $18,000,003 to $27M) - after 4th round comp pick
If AAS = $9M+ to $12M, then a minimum four-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $36,000,004 to $48M) - after 3rd round comp pick
If AAS = $12M+ to $15M, then a minimum five-year deal is required. (Total contract will range from $60,000,005 to $75M) - after 2nd round comp pick
If AAS = $15M+, then a minimum six-year deal is required. (Total contract will be at least $90,000,006) - after 1st round comp pick

4.2 Minor League Draft

The the minor league draft takes place in the offseason, typically in January. The draft consists of five rounds, with each franchise receiving one pick in each round by default. Those picks may be traded during the course of a season, however, forfeiting the trading franchise's pick to the receiving franchise.

The draft order is determined by the final standings of the recently completed season, organized in reverse order, from worst to first. In other words, the last-place franchise will be awarded the first pick, the second-to-last franchise the second pick, all the way down to the World Series winner who will receive the 30th pick. (If there is a tie in the standings, the tie breaker will be most categories won.)

In every round each pick will be given a time slot. You cannot make a pick until the franchise before you makes their pick or your pick is on the clock. The next round will not start until all compensation (sandwich) picks are made or the first pick of the next round is on the clock.

In the first round, each pick will have a three-hour time limit. From the second round on, every pick will have a one-hour time limit.

NOTE: The following players are eligible to be drafted:

• All minor leaguers not owned by another league franchise
• First-year players that are signed to an MLB minor league contract
• International players that are not signed to an MLB major league contract per the Cot's Baseball Contracts website

In all these cases, a player must be signed by a MLB franchise by the time the first pick of the draft has been made. As always, be mindful of the career 150 AB / 50 IP limit.

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4.3 Free Agency

Free agency occurs both in the offseason and during the regular season, typically ending when the Full Count playoffs begin in late August.

Offseason free agency typically begins in mid- to late February after franchise, RFA, and minor league draft activities have finished. Free agency is conducted in week-long sessions by position, with some positions lumped together, e.g. MI and CI one week, OF and C the next, and SP and RP the next. Major league free agency is typically followed by minor league free agency during the offseason.

During the regular season, free agency is also conducted on a weekly basis, and franchises can attempt to acquire any major and minor league free agents eligible to be bid on.

4.3.1 Eligibility:

During minor league offseason free agency, only minor leaguers (as defined in section 2) who are not owned by another franchise are eligible to be bid on.

During position-specific offseason free agency, franchises should be also mindful of what players are eligible to be bid on each week. This league uses the Fantrax website to confirm position eligibility. (For more on the Fantrax policy of position eligibility, see their FAQ question "How is a player's position eligibility determined?")

During the regular season, both major leaguers and minor leaguers (as defined in section 2) — including IFAs — may be bid on. Note, however, that free agency bidding for IFAs follows a different process, as described previously in section 2.4.

If there is ever a question about whether a player is contracted and eligible for free agency, consult Cot's (linked to in 2.4) to be sure the player's contract is listed.

4.3.2 The process:

Free agency is arguably one of the most important processes for the league. As such, the league has specific rules about the process. Failure to use the following rules and criteria will result in an invalid and voided bid. It is thus each franchise's responsibility to ensure they submit a proper bid.

Bids are sent to the MLBPA account on the league website. For both offseason and regular season free agency, a bid for a player may only be submitted after that player has been posted in the "FA Posting" thread on the league website. Players may be posted to this thread until the weekly deadline of Thursday, 11:59 p.m. EST.

Once a player has been posted, bids for that player are accepted until Friday, 11:59 p.m. EST of the same week. Any bid sent to the MLBPA account prior to the associated player being posted in the "FA Posting" thread will be invalidated. Any bid received after the deadline will also be invalidated. No exceptions.

A franchise must keep many things in mind when generating a bid for a free agent:

Free agency minimum year requirements

The average annual salary (AAS) that a franchise bids in normal free agency will require a certain minimum number of years for the bid to be valid. The minimum contract term is based solely on the offer's AAS and is determined as follows:

If AAS = $0.4M to $15M, then a minimum one-year deal is required.
If AAS = $15M+ to $18M, then a minimum two-year deal is required.
If AAS = $18M+ to $22M, then a minimum three-year deal is required.
If AAS = $22M+ to $25M, then a minimum four-year deal is required.
If AAS = $25M+, then a minimum five-year deal is required.

The bidder can always make an RFA contract term longer than the minimum number of years since the AAS only determines the minimum term. See the next section for the exceptions regarding this.

League minimum salary and maximum years

Full Count's league minimum salary is $400,000 ($0.4M). The longest you may sign a player to a contract at the league minimum is two years (except in the case of a restricted free agent not receiving an offer, as outlined in 4.1.2). The longest you can sign a player to a contract with an average annual salary of less than $750,000 ($0.75M) — i.e. more than $400,000 and less than $750,000 — is three years. The longest any contract can be is six years.

Other limitations on salary

Backend loading of contracts is a concern for this league. Those contracts sure feel good to the winner since those latter years can get loaded up, allowing current year salary to stay lower and manageable and help prop up AAS. However, these contracts can become major hindrances later on. As such:

1. The highest single-year salary of a contract may not exceed 2.5x the AAS.
2. The lowest single-year salary of a contract may not be less than 40 percent of the AAS.
3. For any contract that has an AAS of $20M or more, all contract years must be between 80 and 120 percent of the AAS value. All other rules still apply.
4. The total of salaries in the first half or the last half of the contract (in years) may not exceed 70 percent of the total contract dollars. If a contract covers an odd number of years, half of the middle year of the contract is counted in the last half of the contract.

For example, a franchise offers Joe Jones a five-year contract at an AAS of $13M, totaling $65M, and annual salaries of $6M, $6M, $6M, $15M and $32M. This contract is legal from the standpoint of lowest (40 percent AAS) and highest (250 percent AAS) yearly salaries. However, the last half of the contract totals $50M, or 77 percent of the contract. Therefore, the franchise's bid would be ruled invalid. An additional $4.5M of the back half would have been necessary in the first half of the contract for the bid to have been valid.

5. A franchise may only offer an AAS up to 30 percent of their salary cap (as declared in section 3) to a single player.

Bid format and priority

Ideally, a franchise will submit only one message containing bids per free agent period to the MLBPA account on the league website. Only authorized league officials have access to this account. In order to be valid, the bid for a player must include the following, depending on player type:

Major leaguer – 1. Number of years on the contract, 2. Total amount of the contract, 3. Average annual salary (AAS), and 4. A breakdown of the contract per year, or note it will be evenly spread out

Example of a major leaguer:

The Boston Red Sox offer Joe Jones a five-year contract worth $48.5M
AAS: $9.7M

2015: $7M
2016: $9M
2017: $11M
2018: $11M
2019: $10.5M

Minor leaguer – 1. Average annual salary (AAS)

Example of a minor leaguer:

The Boston Red Sox offer Pete Smith a minor-league contract at AAS $1.2M.

IFAs aged 25 and older with a major league contract – 1. As indicated in section 2.4, you must offer a one-year signing bonus, which will be the first year of the contract. (There currently is no limit to what you can offer as a signing bonus, except that your franchise must remain within the roster and salary cap limits.)

Example of an eligible IFA:

The Boston Red Sox offer Juan Lopez a one-year signing bonus of $31M.

Failure to use this format for each of these types of players listed above will result in an invalid and voided bid.

As stated, franchises are encouraged to place all their bids in one message. In many cases you may want all the players, so bid priority isn't necessary. However, in some situations there may be many players up for bid in which you're interested, but your roster or salary cap limit will not allow you to keep them all. In these cases, you might like to take a stab at all of them in hopes of landing at least one. In that case you may send a priority list.

For example, you want one of Player A, Player B, and Player C. You would have to make legal bids for all three with a specific message of your intent to win only one or two of these players. In addition to the three bids, you would also send a list of the players in the order you want to win them, helping to avoid going over your roster or salary cap limits:

1. Player B
2. Player C
3. Player A

NOTE: A bid submitted is permanent; once a bid is made, it may not be withdrawn, be confident in your bid before you make an offer. You are obligated to that offer. In the rare case you feel you made a mistake and are adamant about pulling your offer from the table, you must request this in writing from the Commissioner's Office. If approved, the commissioner's office will delete your offer. This will only happen in the rarest of cases.

4.3.3 Rulings:

As in real life, sometimes players receive numerous contract offers. The player will ultimately choose the franchise that has offered them the most lucrative contract. The primary criterion in determining the winner of a free agent is the average annual salary (AAS) of the contract; the franchise that bid the highest AAS wins the player.

In the rare event two bids have the same average annual salary, below are the tie-breakers that will be utilized in determining which franchise will win the right to sign a player. Only proceed to the second tie-breaker in cases where the first tie-breaker ends in a tie.

Tie-breaker #1: If the AAS for two or more contract offers is the same, then the franchise that offered the contract with the most number of years is awarded the player.

Tie-breaker #2: In the rare case when two or more contract offers have the same AAS and the same number of years, then the franchise that made the contract offer first is awarded the player.

The commissioner's office will post the players and the associated winning franchises in the "FA Winning Bids" section of the league website. At this point, the player is ready to sign with your franchise, and you may officially add the player to your roster and deduct his salary from your salary cap. It is solely your responsibility to monitor the board and add any player you won to your Fantrax roster with 72 hours.

As noted in section 3.1, if the addition(s) put you over your roster and/or salary cap, you'll have 72 hours to correct the problem. Note that in this case, you may not add the player(s) to your Fantrax roster until your roster is legal. If not corrected within the time limit, the player(s) will be officially made free agents again.

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4.4 Waiver wire

During most of the year, players that are officially released by other franchises (see section 4.6) do not go to waivers, instead immediately becoming free agents. The exception to this is a two-week period starting the Monday after the trade deadline, when the waiver wire becomes active.

During this time, franchises may place up to five players on waivers. Once a player is placed on waivers, he is on waivers for 48 hours, free for any franchise to claim. A franchise places a claim by sending a private message to the MLBPA account stating which players are being claimed, keeping bids silent and fair.

If a player clears waivers (goes unclaimed), the owner has three options: keep the player, drop the player while still paying half his contract, or trade the player to another franchise for any player that has cleared waivers, prospects (which don't have to clear waivers), or picks.

If one or more franchises place a claim on a player, the franchise with the worst record wins the claim. Records are determined by overall league standings, not AL or NL standings. The claiming franchise and the franchise that placed the claimed player on waivers will have 48 hours to work out a deal. When a deal is reached, it must include MLB players (who have, if placed on waivers, cleared waivers already), prospects, and/or draft picks. Franchises will not be allowed to simply dump a contract on another franchise. (I.e. These deals are subject to league approval.) If a deal can't be reached, the franchise that placed the player on waivers has three options: keep the player, drop the player while still paying half his contract, or dump the player and full contract on the claiming franchise.

Other notes:

1. There will be no priority lists. Once a franchise wins a claim, that franchise will drop to the last spot on the waiver list, even if a deal is not completed.

2. A franchise cannot place a player on waivers multiple times during the waiver process. If a player clears waivers without a claim or is claimed but isn't traded, that player cannot be placed on waivers a second time during that year's waiver process.

4.5 Trading

Trading between franchises can be accomplished in many ways. The most common way to open your franchise to negotiations is to post a message on the league board under the "Trade Block" thread. In this section, you can post the players you wish to trade and/or what types of players you are interested in trading for. Offers should NOT be publicly posted on the league board; contact other franchise owners using private messages to begin negations. Of course, e-mailing and using a messenger application works. However you choose to negotiate, we feel that effective communication is essential to maintain interest and activity in the league, so any and all communication channels are recommended.

During trade negotiations, the following may be offered for trade:

• Major league players
• Minor league players
• Prospects
• IFAs
• Draft picks (with restrictions)
• Franchise and restricted tags (with restrictions)

Restrictions on what can be offered

Draft pick restrictions: A franchise may not trade draft picks for the next season until restricted free agency (RFA) is complete in the offseason, typically at the end of January or beginning of February. (E.g. 2015/16 draft picks couldn't be traded until RFA was complete in February 2015.)

Franchise/restricted tag restrictions: Tags may only be traded for the current season and must be attached to a player. Once attached, that player tag cannot be removed. Tags for the following season cannot be traded until January 1.

Cash considerations: Cash is not a tradable or useable item in this league and may not be included in a trade.

Trade posting and review

Any trade negotiations that conclude in an agreement must be posted to the message board under the "Trade Agreements" section. All terms of the trade must be listed there. All information should be clear, including which franchise is giving/receiving what. The clearer you can make the trade, the easier it is for league officials and volunteers to process the trade on the league spreadsheet.

One franchise involved in the trade posts the agreement and terms, while the other franchise formally posts his acceptance of the trade as listed. Please review the terms carefully. Once the trade is formally accepted, the rest of the league has an opportunity to voice any disapproval they may feel. The commissioner's office will then review it and either approve or reject the trade within 48 hours. The goal is to generally allow as many trades as possible, but the league commissioners reserve the right to reject one if it becomes apparent that the trade is one-sided or is in some way detrimental to league integrity. Please respect their final decision.

Once a deal has been approved, there will be no recourse and the deal is finalized. If the trade is rejected, each franchise will have 48 hours to renegotiate.

As with other player acquisitions in the league, roster and salary cap limits apply and must be considered when planning a trade. If an approved trade puts a franchise over one or both of these limits, the franchise has 72 hours to take actions to remedy the problem. If not resolved in the time limit (by dropping and/or trading other players), the newly acquired players will become free agents.

Trade deadline

The trade deadline varies from year to year, but generally it occurs in the first half of August, before the waiver wire process begins. All trading can resume the day following the last regular season game and may continue throughout the offseason.

4.6 Releasing players

A franchise has the right to waive any player to free agency. To waive one or more players, dropping them to free agency, you must announce the release in a franchise post on the league board in the "FA Waivers" thread. This will make permanent the decision to waive a player to free agency. Once posted, there is no turning back.

Dropping major leaguers

When releasing a major leaguer, the releasing franchise has two options:

1. pay half of that player's salary for the duration of the contract unless that player is signed to a contract by another franchise, or
2. pay half of that player's combined remaining salary in the year released."

If option one is exercised:

The releasing franchise will be responsible for half of that player's salary for the duration of the contract unless that player is signed to a contract by another franchise. In that case, continued responsibility for that player's salary may be reduced or even negated in full. However, if said player remains unsigned, you must continue to count half of that player's salary against your cap until his contract expires.

If the player is signed by another franchise after being dropped to free agency, then the previous owner will only be required to pay the difference between the player's old contract and the player's new contract (on a year-to-year basis for multi-year contracts), not to exceed half of the old contract.

When the player's contract with his new franchise is higher than his contract was with the old franchise, the previous owner will no longer be obligated to pay any further for the player and thus no further penalty will be imposed on that franchise's salary cap.

When the player's contract with his new franchise is less than half of the original contract, then the previous owner's liability maximum is still only half of the old contract. Only in the event that the new contract pays the player more than half of his old contract will the previous owner be able to count less than half of the old contract against his salary cap.

If option two is exercised:

The releasing franchise will again be responsible for half of that player's salary for the duration of the contract. However, if the player is released between January 1 and May 31, the entire contract can be paid off in that year; if the player is released from June 1 to December 31, half that year's contract is paid that year and the rest of the contract can be paid off the following year.

Example: Josh Jones (16: $4.0M, 17: $6.0M, 18: $5.0M) is released on May 12, 2016. The releasing team can exercise option two and be on the hook for $7.5M ($2M + $3M + $2.5M) in 2016 only. However, if Jones is released on July 29, the releasing team exercising option two must pay $2.0M in '16 and then can pay the rest off, $5.5M, in '17.

If a player exercises option two, there is no changing the option later. Additionally, the option to reduce or negate in full a contract due to another team signing the player to a new contract (as in option one) is voided.

Dropping minor leaguers and prospects

If you drop a minor leaguer or prospect, you are only responsible for half their salary for the year you dropped them. You have no more financial responsibility to that player the following year.

Notes and exceptions

When reference is made to "old contract" and "new contract," the contract salary comparisons are made on a year-to-year basis rather than on the total dollar amount of the contract. For example, if a player is dropped who had a one-year contract of $6.0M in 2014 and is later picked up through free agency on a three-year, $8.0M deal (as 14: $4.0M, 15: $2.0M, 16: $2.0M), the previous owner is responsible in 2014 for $2.0M, the difference between the "old" $6M and the "new" $4.0M, not exceeding half of the old contract. Since the old contract did not cover 2015 and 2016, the previous owner has no salary responsibility for those two years.

If a franchise waives a player to free agency and then re-signs the same player in the same year, the above rule will be voided and the franchise must pay the full salary. In this case, the franchise must initially bid an amount (and term, if applicable) equal to or greater than the amount and term at the time said player was dropped to free agency. Any lesser bid by that franchise will be invalid and immediately voided.

If the player is waived and not re-signed until the following season, then the rule applies only if the player's contract at the time of his waiver was multi-year.

4.7 Additional notes about acquiring players

Transaction logs

Any time your franchise makes a transaction (trade, free agent acquisition, dropping a player to waivers, draft pick, etc.), it must be documented in a transaction log which every franchise maintains on the league website. With 30 franchise making transactions, it becomes difficult for league officials and volunteers to maintain the league unless each franchise keeps track of all of their own transactions for future reference. This should eliminate any discrepancies over players, contracts, draft picks, etc.

Adding players on Fantrax

Over the years we've constantly had issues with franchises failing to pick up a player on the league scoring site one, two, even four weeks after officially acquiring the player. If you acquire a player and you don't place him on your Fantrax roster within 72 hours after the transaction has been approved or confirmed, the player becomes a free agent again. At this point, an authorized league official or volunteer will notify the league of the player who has recently become a free agent and list them under the area titled "FA Waivers".

4.8 Additional notes about player contracts

Retirement

If a franchise has a contracted major leaguer that retires from the game, the franchise that owns that contract is still obligated to pay that contract. The player will no longer take up a roster spot, but his entire contract must be counted against the cap. This will prevent franchises from offering long and back-loaded contracts to old players so they can acquire their services at a very cheap rate.

Career-ending injury or death

If a contracted player's career is tragically cut short due to injury or death, his contract will come off the books immediately following the season in which the injury occurred or immediately if in the offseason. Additionally, in the case of a prospect, the commissioners will also decide if draft pick compensation is appropriate. The commissioners reserve the right to make the final call. We ask that all franchises respect their final word.