Major League Managers

Out of the Park Baseball – Online League EST. 2016

ForumMLM FORUMS (OOTP 25): MLM RulebookMLM Rulebook

Please or Register to create posts and topics.

MLM Rulebook

#1 · March 27, 2023, 1:14 pm

Quote from nershabainco (Commish)(MLM-Jays) on March 27, 2023, 1:14 pm

Please Note: Though many rule changes will be put to a league vote and decided on by the league's members the Commissioners still reserve the right to add, remove or amend any of the following rules at any time as they see fit in order to maintain the integrity and standard of quality this league's members have come to expect. The Commissioners will have the final say on the interpretation of the following rules and are happy to provide clarification to any member of the league upon request should there be any confusion about the rules' intended interpretation. I will be relying on the community to keep an eye out for any violations I may miss, please feel free to message me if you notice something I have not

Fines will be handed out retroactively if anything is missed

__________________________*** Section 1. Trading Rules ***_________________________

1.1 - Trading newly signed Free Agents
To prevent the sign-and-trade of significant ML assets: Any player signed as a free agent is not permitted to be traded until July 1st of the first year of the contract.
Monitoring every player in every transaction can become very time-consuming and can add significant time to each simulation every GM is expected to be aware of this rule and accept responsibility for the players they are trading or acquiring with this rule in mind.
The commissioner will not process the trade if they are aware it is a violation however it is possible for a trade like this to slip by us.
The following penalty will be applied to any team that has a sign-and-trade processed: a $10,000,000 fine + the entire value of the player's contract for that season up to a maximum of $25,000,000.
- This Rule does not apply to players on Minor League Contracts.

1.2 - Whip out your calculators
Any trade putting a team over budget will not be approved by the commissioner's office.
Please make sure both teams participating in the trade are budget compliant before posting a trade.
cash can obviously be added to make trades work.
* simply state: "add the required cash" when you post the trade if you do not wish to calculate how much cash is required.

1.3 & 6.2 - Draft picks Eligible for trade
- Draft picks can only be traded for the current season/draft year.
- Draft picks for the NEXT draft year can be traded as soon as the current draft has been completed & uploaded from stats+ back into the game

1.4A - Posting Trades
- All trades must be posted and accepted on the individual trade thread by each team.
Private messages, IM chats, and slack chat posts do not count as official acceptance.
- Once this is done the trade is official it cannot be backed out of by the teams unless it is mutually agreed upon by both teams.
- Any trade voided or in question will have its terms pre-agreed upon before being processed a 2nd time.

1.4B - Posting in completed trade threads
- If you are not part of a deal or a Commissioner does not post in a completed trade. If there is any issue let a commissioner know via DM and we will discuss it between us.
- GMs that post in other team's completed deals will be hit with the following penalties:
1st offense 1,000,000 will be deducted from the team's budget.
2nd offense Your best Prospect according to the league reports (that isn't in the majors) will be given to the CPU team with the lowest-rated farm system
3rd offense Removal from the league

[warning]
1.4C - Trade Post etiquette
- Label player position
- All names must be spelled correctly with the correct league level labeled beside the player name.
- Using abbreviations is not recommended
- Failure to comply may result in your trade post being voided.
Example
Team A trade:
3B: John Smith (AAA)

Team B Trades:
RP: Shmon Jith (A+)

This needs to be taken seriously

1.4D - Trade Block Etiquette
To maintain a fair and transparent trading environment in our online league, all General Managers (GMs) are asked to adhere to the following trade block etiquette. These rules are designed to ensure all members have equal opportunities to engage in trade discussions and to prevent any misunderstandings or perceived unfairness in trade deals.

Specificity Required:
GMs must list actual player names they are willing to trade. Blanket statements like "everyone on my team is available" are not permitted and will be removed by the moderators.

Organized Posting:
If possible, organize your trade block by listing the highest priority or highest value assets at the top. This helps other GMs quickly understand your most valuable trade opportunities.

Protection Period for New GMs:
GMs with less than 18 months of tenure in our league (file time) are required to list players on the trade block for a minimum of 72 hours (real-time) before finalizing any trades. This cooling-off period ensures all members have a fair chance to review and respond to new trade opportunities.

Trade Invalidity for Non-Compliance for New GMs:
It's crucial to understand that if a new GM's player has not been listed on the trade block for the required 72-hour period, any trade involving that player will be considered invalid and will not be processed. This policy is in place to maintain fairness and transparency in our trading practices, giving every GM a fair chance to participate in trade discussions.

Transparency:
When posting a player on the trade block, consider providing a brief insight into what you're looking for in return. This can include positions of interest, player types (e.g., prospects, veterans), or other assets (e.g., draft picks). Transparency helps streamline negotiations and matches trade partners more efficiently. Equal Opportunities: Ensure you review offers from all interested GMs before finalizing a trade.

[warning]

1.5A - Pending Physicals/Trading Injured Players
Trades involving Injured players must be acknowledged in the trading post. If a player is Injured during a sim, after the trade has already been posted, The team acquiring the injured player must re-accept the trade (acknowledge the injury).

1.5B - Trading a No Trade Clause
No trade clauses will be honored in-game.

1.6 - International Complex Trades
Trades involving players from the International Complex will not be accepted. Promote the player from INT to R league and post the player in R.

1.7A - Trades Retaining Salary
Any team can retain up to 100% of a player's contract that they are trading away.
- Percentages retained must be in increments of 5%. ( 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% ETC..) It has to be the same set % of salary for every remaining year of the contract.
- The % retained will be for ALL of the remaining years of the contract, You cannot pick and choose which years to retain salary.
- You cannot pick and choose different percentages for different years.
- A Player's salary can only be retained for the player's current contract, Salary will not be retained on a contract extension.
- Retained player salaries can be dropped. The team taking back the retention must own the player and be budget compliant when taking back retention. (2042 Winter Meetings)

1.7B - Re-Acquiring a player with Salary retained
- When a team trades a player/(s) away they cannot reacquire that same player (contract) back with salary retained for 365 days.

1.8 - Player to be named later Trades
PTBNL trades will not be processed. PTBNL agreements/gentlemen's agreements can easily be broken and lead to more headaches than they are worth. PTBNL deals can also be used to circumvent certain league rules and will not be permitted.

_________________________*** Section 2. Roster Rules ***_________________________

You are not the GM of just 1 team, you are the GM of an entire organization that includes 9 teams, 7 League Levels, 33 Staff/Personnel members, and a MINIMUM of 161 players. We do not have ghost players enabled in the league; it is your responsibility to ensure that all levels of your organization are filled with the correct number of players and Staff/Personnel.

2.1A - Minimum 23 Players at all Levels
No team shall have fewer than 23 players on any MLB, AAA, *AA, *A, A-, R+, R-, *AA WIN or *A WIN team
- Any organization in violation of this rule will have their MLB, Minor League, or Entire organization auto-ed depending on which League Levels are in violation.
- Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.
- *AA, *A, *AA WIN, *A WIN – only applicable when rosters are unlocked. Locked rosters are empty.

2.1B - Minimum of 10 Pitchers at all Levels
No MLB, AAA, *AA, *A, A-, R+, R-, *AA WIN or *A WIN team shall have fewer than 10 pitchers on their roster
- Any organization in violation of this rule will have their MLB, Minor League, or Entire organization auto-ed depending on which League Levels are in violation.
- Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.
- *AA, *A, *AA WIN, *A WIN – only applicable when rosters are unlocked. Locked rosters are empty.

2.1C - Minimum Rotation of 4 Pitchers at all Levels
No MLB, AAA, *AA, *A, A-, R+, R-, *AA WIN or *A WIN team shall have a rotation of fewer than 4 pitchers until Roster expansion on September 1st.
This applies to Spring training rosters but does not apply to Playoffs.
- Any organization in violation of this rule will have their MLB, Minor League, or Entire organization auto-ed depending on which League Levels are in violation.
- Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.
- *AA, *A, *AA WIN, *A WIN – only applicable when rosters are unlocked. Locked rosters are empty.

2.1D - MANDATORY MANAGEMENT of Minor League Systems & Personnel
Having incomplete Major League OR minor league Staff/Personnel will result in a $250,000 fine Per sim until rectified.
- Winter League Staff/Personnel can be empty when Winter Leagues are locked. AA & A Staff/Personnel can also be empty when they are locked.

2.1E - The right to refuse minor league assignment
There are two types of players who can refuse minor league assignments.
The first, and more prominent, are the 5-year veterans. Any player who has accrued 5 years of Major League service has earned the right to refuse any minor league assignment. If such a player exercises this right, his team must either reinstate the player to the active roster or grant him his unconditional release. If the player is released, the team is on the hook for the remainder of the player's contract. In this situation, the player essentially holds all the cards.

The other type of player who can refuse a minor league assignment is a player who has either accrued at least 3 years of Major League service time (but less than 5) and/or has already been outrighted once in his career. This type of player cannot refuse an optional assignment, but he can refuse an outright assignment. In other words, if a player who fits these criteria is optioned, he has no say in the matter. But if he is DFA'd and sent outright to the minors, he has the right to refuse the assignment. If he exercises this right, he becomes a free agent, however, he forfeits the remainder of his contract. If, on the other hand, he accepts the outright assignment, he automatically defers his right to become a minor league free agent until the end of the season, provided he isn't back on the 40-man roster at that time.

2.1F- Manual Commissioner Handling of Your DFA's
During the regular season, the sims are 7 days. There are several sims for you to handle your DFAs. Commissioners will attempt to demote Expired DFA players to the minor leagues, if possible. The League commissioners reserve the right to use ANY method or process deemed necessary to uphold an organization's best financial and competitive interests in regard to expired MLB DFA players in an organization with full 40-man rosters and players who have earned the right to refuse minor league assignments. Player(s) COULD be released to free agency at your expense if they refuse an assignment OR If your 40-man roster is full. Roster moves/decisions could be made on your behalf for your organization if you do not handle your DFA players.

2.1G - League DFA Length
DFA length will always exceed the sim duration by 7 days to prevent players from passing through waivers without other teams having a chance to claim them.

2.1H - Minor League Player Maximum
No Minor League System shall have more than 240 players from April 1st to November 1st each season, Excluding the sim directly following the input of the draft into the game.
During the off-season (November 2nd to March 31st) teams may have up to 270 players in their minor league system to allow minor league free-agent signing flexibility.
Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.

_________________________*** Section 3. CONTRACTS, EXTENSIONS, BONUSES & FINES ***_________________________

_____*** 3.1 CONTRACTS & EXTENSIONS ***_____

3.1A - Signing a Free Agent
Any Free Agent is permitted to sign a contract of any length. There are no restrictions for Free Agents.

3.1B - 1 year contract extensions
ANY player can sign a 1 year contract extension.

3.1C - Short & Medium Term Contract extension service time requirements
2 year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
3 year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
4 Year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
5 Year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved

3.1D - Long Term Contract extension service time requirements
6 Year Contract Extension= Requires 2 years of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
7 Year Contract Extension= Requires 2 years of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
[u]No player shall receive any contract longer than 5 years in length until they have either:[/u]
A) Reached 5 years of Major League Service Time OR
B) Been through 2 years of salary arbitration.
- 1 year contract extensions that avoid arbitration will not count. The player must actually go through arbitration.

_____*** 3.2 FINES ***_____

3.2A - Determining the cost of a fine
Violation of any rule stated in section 3.1C OR 3.1D will have a fine assessed of the dollar amount of the overage, and the contract reduced to the correct contract length.
For example, if you sign a player who is only eligible for a 1-year deal to a 3-year deal @ 3 million per season you will be fined $6M and have the contract length set back to 1 year.
You will be fined the total salary overage for every contract year/season in violation.
[warning] Violations over $25 million will result in the loss of $25 million and a 1st round draft pick [warning]

3.2B - Payment of Fines
Money from these fines will be taken from the teams "Team Cash" OR put into the teams Future Misc. player expenses if the team does not have all the Team Cash required to pay the fine.
-Can be paid off over several seasons if necessary. Teams will be put into -$ if necessary to pay off fines.
- Any team with an outstanding fine over $15,000,000 can forfeit a 1st round draft pick which will be considered a $10,000,000 payment to the outstanding fine.

_____*** 3.3 BONUSES, VESTING & TEAM OPTIONS ***_____

3.3A - Award Bonuses
ALL STAR, MVP & CY YOUNG Awards are capped at 10% of the Average Annual Value of the player salary offered to the player.
This means if you offer a contract with an Average Annual Value of $1 million, you cannot offer more than 100k per award category (MVP, All-Star, Cy Young)
Larger Example: A 7 year contract with an Average Annual Value of $25 million per season can include up to $2.5 million (10%) per Award Category in MVP, All-Star, and or Cy Young incentives.
This is to stop teams from offering significant portions of a player's salary as MVP awards they are very unlikely to receive and to keep teams with this knowledge from gaming the system.
If you violate this rule: You will be fined the total value of the entire overage, The player will have the total value of the entire overage added to the 1st year (or 2nd year depending on when the violation is discovered) of their contract, and their bonus %'s well be corrected manually.

3.3B - Performance Bonuses
Innings Pitched and Plate Appearances awards are also capped at 10% of the Average Annual Value of the contract.
You cannot offer incentives for more than 650 PA or 200 IP. These are reasonable numbers that a normally healthy player can reach.
The point of these incentives is to tie salary to time spent playing.
- If you violate this rule: You will be fined the total value of the entire overage, The player will have the total value of the entire overage added to the 1st year (or 2nd year depending on when the violation is discovered) of their contract, and their bonus %'s well be corrected manually. Plate appearance and Innings Pitched will also be manually lowered if in violation.
If you offer incentives for more than 650 PA or 200 IP you will be fined $1,000,000 in future misc. player expenses.

3.3C - Vesting Option Rules
For Batters:
Plate Appearances: Capped at 600 PA
Games Played: Capped at 150 GP
For Pitchers:
Games Started: Capped at 20 GS
Innings Pitched: Capped at 200 IP
Games Finished Capped at 55 GF:
Violation of any of these rules will result in the vesting year becoming a Guaranteed year.

3.3D - Team Option Rules
To limit the use of team options to sway the game players toward signing a contract whose terms they will never collect on
- ALL team options in contracts, whether free-agent signings or extensions, must be accompanied by a 50% buyout.
EXCEPT for players who qualify for a 0% buyout under rule 3.3E
- If a contract is signed, with a buyout, but without the 50% buyout, then the option is converted to a final guaranteed year at the options offered salary.
- If a team buyout option is found to be in violation, and the current GM is not responsible for the contract, the option is converted to a 50% buyout as opposed to a guaranteed year. ( New GM's not paying for Old GM's mistakes )

3.3E - International FA Opt-Outs
International free agents are not allowed to have an opt-out clause in their contract until Year 4 of a contract. This is to eliminate a loophole of being able to waive the player and bring back under a minor league deal. (Rafael Vazquez rule)

3.4 - Signing Veterans
Any player who signs a contract when they are 35 years of age or older is eligible to be offered 2 team option years with $0 Buyouts or any buyout amount. The player must be 35 years old or older when they sign the contract or the years will become guaranteed with no buyouts!

_________________________*** Section 4. Financial Information & Rules ***_________________________

4.1 - Every team must have their "salary cap payroll" under the league salary cap for EVERY regular season & Playoff simulation EXCEPT for the FIRST sim of the regular season. Failure to comply with the salary cap will result in players from your organization being released at your expense. The League commissioners reserve the right to use any method or process necessary to achieve salary cap compliance. "Salary cap payroll" can be found in the Front office under "budget information".

_________________________*** Section 5. General Manager Rules ***_________________________

5.1 - Activity:

We understand that life and family come first, and we appreciate the effort and time you put into managing your team. Our goal is to maintain an active and engaging league without overwhelming anyone. Here’s how we approach activity and participation:

Regular Participation: While we don't expect daily activity, we do require regular participation. This includes submitting your team's files on a consistent basis and being available to respond to league communications at least once a week. This helps keep the league running smoothly and ensures everyone remains engaged.

Extended Absences: If you know you'll be unavailable for an extended period, please notify the commissioner as soon as possible. This helps us plan accordingly and ensures your team is managed in your absence.

Utilizing AI Functions: There are several AI management functions available to help manage your team when things get busy. You can set these up to handle various aspects of team management including Pitching, Lineups, Minor Leagues and more, ensuring your team remains competitive even when you can't be as active. Don't hesitate to use these tools; they're there to support you.

Communication is Key: Clear and timely communication is essential. If you're facing challenges in maintaining your activity level, reach out to the commissioner or fellow GMs. We're here to help and support each other.

Your Presence Matters: Above all, we value your presence and participation in the league. We want you here and hope you stay with us permanently. Whether you're highly active or need to rely on AI management at times, your involvement is crucial to us. We're committed to making sure you feel welcome, supported, and valued as a long-term member of our community.

By maintaining this flexible and understanding approach, we aim to create a welcoming and enjoyable environment for all members. Please reach out if you need support or temporary help to look after your team.

5.2 - No Collusion:
No collusion!
If you share an IP address with another member of MLM you need to tell me about that in advance!
If you have family members or people you know IRL in MLM, I need to know about it in advance!

5.3 - There is a fine line between rebuilding and tanking. It is up to the commissioner to ensure that a competitive balance is maintained:
Failing to achieve 50 wins will result in your 1st rounder being pushed back 10 draft slots. If you do not have a 1st, you will be fined $10,000,000.

5.4 - Emergency Double Dipping:
In the event of a prolonged vacancy, a current Gm will be permitted to "Double Dip" or temporarily take on the 2nd team.
"Double Dipping" GM's are not allowed to make any trades, waiver claims, Rule 5 claims, or any type of other transaction with their primary team.
Any trades made by a double-dipping GM must be submitted to and approved by the board of governors or "BOG' before being processed in-game.

_________________________*** 6. The Draft & Draft Lottery ***_________________________

6.1 - The Draft will be held on or in the week of May 9th each season

6.2 & 1.3 - Draft picks can only be traded for the current draft year.

6.3 - Draft picks for the NEXT draft year can be traded as soon as the current draft has been completed & uploaded from stats+ back into the game completed (on or in the week of April 9th each season).

6.4 - Draft picks that are "On the clock" in a live draft cannot be traded. A trade agreement must be posted before it becomes "a live pick". This rule does not apply to first or Second-round draft picks with over 2 hours left on the clock. This is for my own sanity. I can't be rolling back draft picks because somebody messages me a traded draft pick 20 minutes before it is due when I am at work. There is plenty of time to see the pool and assess your selection slots.

_________________________*** 6.5 Draft Lottery ***_________________________

6.5 - 6.5 - Draft Order Determination: (4 STEPS, A-B-C-D)

A. Draft Picks will be ordered into Draft Slots by winning percentage, with the lowest winning percentage being #1 and the highest being #30 in all 18 rounds.

B. Teams with the 10 worst winning percentages (including ties) will have their 1st Round Draft Picks placed into the "Lottery Pool". (only bottom 10 teams in the lottery.)

C. Any team failing to reach 50 wins will have their 1st Round Draft Slot moved back 10 picks (or more if Lottery Pool is larger than 10 teams due to ties) pursuant to Rule 5.3 and their Draft Pick will also be removed from the Lottery Pool. (sub 50 teams move back 10 spots and are removed from the lottery, only lottery teams are qualified for protected draft picks)

D. Draft Picks remaining in the Lottery Pool will be randomized to determine the order of Draft Slots at the beginning of the 1st round. This Lottery will be run using: https://www.random.org/lists/ This will be streamed live and only randomized 1 time! (run lottery with remaining teams.)

EXAMPLE: Here is an example of what would happen if a team fails to achieve 50 wins:
slot 1 would drop 10 slots to the 11 slots sliding the original 2 thru 11 slots up 1 slot each. (2 thru 11 becomes 1 thru 10)
This shrinks the lottery pool from 10 teams to 9 teams.
newly slotted teams 1 thru 9 participate in the draft lottery to determine draft slots 1 thru 9.
Original 1st picks at 11
Original 11th picks at 10
the lottery determines slots 1 thru 9

Here is an example of what would happen if 6 teams ended up failing to achieve 50 wins:
slots 1 thru 6 would drop 10 slots each down to slots 11 thru 16 sliding slots 7 thru 10 up 6 slots each. (7 thru 10 becomes 1 thru 4)
This shrinks the lottery pool from 10 teams to 4 teams.
Newly slotted teams 1 thru 4 participate in the draft lottery to determine draft slots 1 thru 4.
Original 1,2,3,4,5,6 draft at 11,12,13,14,15,16
Original 11,12,13,14,15,16 draft at 5,6,7,8,9,10
lottery determines slots 1 thru 4

Basic Summary:
1. only the bottom 10 teams in the lottery.
2. sub 50 teams move back 10 spots, removed from the lottery.
3. run lottery with the remaining teams.
4. slot in everyone else according to record

6.6 - Fluctuating draft pool sizes: The number of MLB draft rounds will be determined by the number of players the game generates for the pool. This should range from 16 to 24 rounds each season.

_________________________*** 6B. COMP Pick Rules ***_________________________

6B – COMPENSATION PICK RULES

6.1B – Signing a COMP Free Agent:

To sign a COMP free agent, you must own:

A) Any 2^nd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick).

B) A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team does not own a 2^nd round draft pick.

C) Any 1^st round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team does not own A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) OR a 2^nd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick).

6.2B – Signing a 2^nd COMP free agent

To sign a 2^nd COMP free agent, you must own:

A) Any 1^st round draft pick from any team (lowest-ranked pick)

B) A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team used a 1^st round draft pick to sign its First COMP Free Agent.

C) Any 2nd-round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) acquired after signing your 1^st COMP Free Agent. ONLY AN OPTION if your team used a 1^st round draft pick to sign its First COMP Free Agent and does not own 3^rd & 4^ths.

6.3B – Signing a 3^rd COMP free agent

To sign a 3^rd COMP free agent, you must own:

A) A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick).

B) A combination of a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 5^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team used a 3^rd & 4^th round draft pick to sign a COMP Free Agent.

C) Any 1^st round draft pick from any team (lowest-ranked pick)

D) Any 2nd-round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team does not own a 1st-round draft pick.

6.4B – No Lottery Protection

No draft pick shall be protected from the draft lottery in the COMP-free agent signing process.

6.5B – COMP Ineligibility

Any team with an outstanding fine containing an outstanding 1st rounder is ineligible to make an offer to a Comp FA.

6.6B – COMP Duration

The COMP period can officially be considered finished when the commissioner uploads the draft pool into Stats+.

6.7B – Compensation and Compensation Draft Order

All Draft picks received as compensation will be slotted into a supplemental 2^nd Draft round that takes place before round 3. The Compensation round in the draft will be ordered the same as all other rounds.

________________________*** 7. The Rule 5 Draft ***_________________________

Players are eligible for the draft when they:
A) were 18 or younger on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fifth Rule 5 draft upcoming
or
B) were 19 or older on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft upcoming.
Furthermore, if a player is released and subsequently signed, they are eligible for rule 5 from that point on, _regardless of service time_.
If you select a player in The Rule 5 draft that player must remain on your active roster for the entire season, or returned back to the team he was claimed from.
Rule 5 draft will be held on or around December 19th each season.

More information about how this works can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_5_draft

MLM RULE V RULES:

Rule 5 Draft rules / things to consider:

7.1- You must have and pay 50% of League minimum Salary ($337,500 in 2050) per pick for every Rule 5 selection you make. This Fee comes from your available "MONEY FOR FREE AGENTS"
For example if you wanted to pick 5 guys would need $1,687,500 in Team cash for the 2047 Rule 5 draft.

7.1A- On the Day of The Rule 5 Draft the League collects the Fee from the claiming team and holds the Cash Fee until April 1st.

7.1B- If the claiming team returns the player on or before March 31st (before the contract becomes a major league contract) they will receive a full refund IF accepted back to the original team. The original team must choose whether to “accept” or “reject” the return of a rule 5 player. This must be posted like a trade just like returning a Rule 5 pick.

7.1C- If the Original team “rejects” a rule 5 player being returned, The original team will still receive the Payment Fee from the claiming team, however, the claiming team will have all Rule 5 restrictions removed from the claimed player they attempted to return to the original team.

7.1D- The original team receives a Payment for lost Rule 5 and “rejected” players on April 1st.
This money will be traded to the team you take the player from.

7.2- If you select a player that player must stay on your active 26-man roster for the entire season or the player will be returned to the team you selected him from.

7.3- Teams may trade a player selected in the Rule 5 Draft, but the same rules regarding roster placement apply to the player's new team. The player must stay on the active 26-man roster or the player will be returned to the team he was selected from.

7.4- Service year calculation errors: Occasionally the service time calculation in-game is incorrect. This can cause players who should not be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft to be eligible. The commissioners will search for and correct as many of these errors as they can.

However, it is each manager's responsibility to find service time errors in their organization.

If a service time error is not found before the Rule 5 Draft and the player in question is drafted, the player *will not be moved back* to the team he was drafted from.

7.5- The Rule V pool is not yet final during the sim in which it first appears. Teams still have time to protect players on this next export after the pool is revealed. As a result of this, some players you try to select may not even be there when I run the rule 5 sim. A good example of this is the 3 latest Free Agents who just signed: These guys are currently DFA'd because their GMs have not yet had a chance to place them on the active or 40-man roster and are therefore currently listed as eligible, Do not expect the pool to be exactly the same when selections start being made. Any player who has just signed as a free agent and is DFA will not have claims accepted.

7.6- If you do not have the available "MONEY FOR FREE AGENTS" to make a selection and you make a selection the player will be returned and you will be put 50% of the League minimum Salary ($337,500 in 2050) into the negative!

7.7 - IF you claim a player via the rule 5 draft and decide to demote or release the player ( Return the player to the team you claimed him from ) you must notify that team immediately and then post the transaction in the accepted trade thread as a trade to be processed by the commissioner. DO NOT RELEASE THE PLAYER. This will give the original team a chance to open a spot on the 40-man roster or accept the player back into their organization via DFA. If you release the player the original team has a full 40-man roster the player will end up in free agency and that just isn't fair. Failure to post a returned player as a trade will result in a $675,000 fine and you will surrender your 18th OR lowest draft pick to the original team.. If you notice that a player who was claimed from you is in the FA pool notify a commish and it will be corrected (the player will now be on a Major League contract and require a 40-man roster spot)

7.8 - Cash trades can be processed before the Rule 5 sim to accommodate claims.

_________________________*** 8. New GM Mercy Rule ***_________________________

- The Commish will Manually insert 1 or 2 team options with a $0 buyout to 2 players of the New GM's choosing when taking over a team that finished in the bottom 5 last season.

8.2: Owner Responsibility and Fiscal Commitment

a. Purpose: This rule aims to ensure that team owners place the sporting success and competitive integrity of Major League Baseball above individual financial gain, promoting fiscal generosity and enabling a fairer, more balanced competition across all franchises.

b. Owner Conduct: Owners must primarily prioritize team success, defined as the strategic pursuit of sustained on-field performance leading to postseason success and World Series contention. Owners should support the team's General Managers in this pursuit, adopting a hands-off approach that provides management with the autonomy and patience necessary to execute their vision for the team. Violations of this rule may result in the owner's removal from the ownership group, pending a majority vote from the MLB Owners' Executive Committee and approval by the MLB Commissioner.

c. Fiscal Commitment: Owners must uphold a commitment to use all available financial resources to further their team's competitive success. A pattern of withholding excess funds for personal profit, thus hindering team development and competitiveness, will be deemed a violation of this rule.

d. Enforcement: The Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and the MLB Owners' Executive Committee will jointly enforce this rule. Enforcement procedures will include annual audits of team fiscal and strategic operations to ensure compliance.

e. Sanctions: Non-compliance may result in penalties, which could include financial fines, forfeiture of draft picks, or in severe cases, removal from the ownership group. Sanctions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with an opportunity for appeal within an arbitration process agreed upon by the MLB and MLBPA.

_________________________*** 9. Miscellaneous ***________________________

9.1 - General Manager Retirement:
After your MLM in-game profile turns 30 seasons old it will be retired.
- You DO NOT have to give up your team or change teams
- This will give every GM (present & future) an opportunity to leave their mark on the MLM GM Leaderboards, chase down GM records, break them, and set new ones!
- After your profile "retires" you will be given a brand new one as a 35-year-old GM with any name of your choosing, if it is a duplicate of your old profile name you must add Jr or II or III etc..
- Any GM with a profile 25 seasons or older can choose to retire their profile and start a new one.

9.2 - Signing other teams MLB Personnel -
Signing other teams MLB Personnel - Because of the online league format situations are occurring where MLB personnel with multiple contract years remaining are receiving offers from other organizations that send out in-game negotiation responses that require an immediate in-game response. Certain sim durations can result in instances where a personnel member exits an organization without the original team having an opportunity to respond to these time-sensitive in-game messages. I also do not think it is realistic to be able to sign a member of another organization's Major League personnel without their permission or knowledge of the contract negotiation occurring behind their back while they are already contracted
As such the following rules will be implemented for signing other organization's personnel.
1. You can only offer contracts to the MINOR LEAGUE personnel members of other organizations.
2. You HAVE to be hiring them into an MLB position.
3. You have to notify the original organization's General Manager 24 hours BEFORE the sim you are exporting into.

9.3 - Staff Auctions

- In slack I will create a channel called "Staff Auctions". If you are trying to sign a staff member to your team and they refuse to sign, simply go to the Slack Channel and make a detailed offer to the staff member in the channel including:
-The Salary you are offering
- Team Name, League level, and Job Title.

- Any other team is free to make a counteroffer to this Staff member subject to the rules below.

- You must offer at least an increase of $50,000 more per year to counter other teams' offers in #Staff-Auctions or it will be ignored.

- Any Major League offer made in Staff Auctions will always trump any Minor League offer made to the same staff member in Staff Auctions. For example. If you offer a manager $10,000,000 for 1 year to be your AAA manager using staff auctions and I offer the same manager $100,000 to be my MLB Bench Coach for 1 year using staff auctions, my offer will win because it is an MLB offer!

- The team with the highest offer after I pull exports that sim will Sign the Staff Member and I will Manually enter the contract into the game.

- What happens in the game will always trump what happens in the channel. So if a team ends up legitimately signing the staff member in the game during the sim your offer will become Null and Void.

- Staff Auctions will only be processed after a 7-day sim or longer to allow time in-game for staff to react to in-game offers.

- Staff Auctions cannot be used to re-sign minor league staff. In the top right corner of the PERSONNEL screen, there is a button that says "ACTIONS" If you click this button it gives you the option to "offer extensions to all expiring minor league personnel" clicking this should FORCE sign all minor league personnel to extensions. Contact me if this method does not work.

- Signing staff to MLB
Minimum $300,000 in salary. Maximum of a 1-year contract.

- Re-Signing staff to MLB

- When using Staff auctions to re-sign an MLB staff member who refuses to negotiate you must include a 5% increase in salary. Maximum 1-year contract.

-Signing staff to the Minor leagues
Minimum $50,000 in salary. Maximum of a 1-year contract.

You must provide screenshot proof that a staff member refuses to negotiate or sign with you when using #staff-auctions to make an offer.

9.4 - Winter-Ball Staff/Personnel transfers:
- Members of your organizations minor league staff/personnel can be manually transferred by a league commissioner to an empty Winter Ball spot if they refuse to transfer in-game.
- Any staff/personnel that are transferred to Winter Ball manually by a League commissioner can also be manually transferred back to the team they were on before being transferred to Winter Ball when Winter Ball concludes, Only staff manually transferred into Winter Ball can be transferred out.
- These transfer requests can be posted in the #Staff-Auctions channel on Discord.

Please Note: Though many rule changes will be put to a league vote and decided on by the league's members the Commissioners still reserve the right to add, remove or amend any of the following rules at any time as they see fit in order to maintain the integrity and standard of quality this league's members have come to expect. The Commissioners will have the final say on the interpretation of the following rules and are happy to provide clarification to any member of the league upon request should there be any confusion about the rules' intended interpretation. I will be relying on the community to keep an eye out for any violations I may miss, please feel free to message me if you notice something I have not

Fines will be handed out retroactively if anything is missed

__________________________*** Section 1. Trading Rules ***_________________________

1.1 - Trading newly signed Free Agents
To prevent the sign-and-trade of significant ML assets: Any player signed as a free agent is not permitted to be traded until July 1st of the first year of the contract.
Monitoring every player in every transaction can become very time-consuming and can add significant time to each simulation every GM is expected to be aware of this rule and accept responsibility for the players they are trading or acquiring with this rule in mind.
The commissioner will not process the trade if they are aware it is a violation however it is possible for a trade like this to slip by us.
The following penalty will be applied to any team that has a sign-and-trade processed: a $10,000,000 fine + the entire value of the player's contract for that season up to a maximum of $25,000,000.
- This Rule does not apply to players on Minor League Contracts.

1.2 - Whip out your calculators
Any trade putting a team over budget will not be approved by the commissioner's office.
Please make sure both teams participating in the trade are budget compliant before posting a trade.
cash can obviously be added to make trades work.
* simply state: "add the required cash" when you post the trade if you do not wish to calculate how much cash is required.

1.3 & 6.2 - Draft picks Eligible for trade
- Draft picks can only be traded for the current season/draft year.
- Draft picks for the NEXT draft year can be traded as soon as the current draft has been completed & uploaded from stats+ back into the game

1.4A - Posting Trades
- All trades must be posted and accepted on the individual trade thread by each team.
Private messages, IM chats, and slack chat posts do not count as official acceptance.
- Once this is done the trade is official it cannot be backed out of by the teams unless it is mutually agreed upon by both teams.
- Any trade voided or in question will have its terms pre-agreed upon before being processed a 2nd time.

1.4B - Posting in completed trade threads
- If you are not part of a deal or a Commissioner does not post in a completed trade. If there is any issue let a commissioner know via DM and we will discuss it between us.
- GMs that post in other team's completed deals will be hit with the following penalties:
1st offense 1,000,000 will be deducted from the team's budget.
2nd offense Your best Prospect according to the league reports (that isn't in the majors) will be given to the CPU team with the lowest-rated farm system
3rd offense Removal from the league

[warning]
1.4C - Trade Post etiquette
- Label player position
- All names must be spelled correctly with the correct league level labeled beside the player name.
- Using abbreviations is not recommended
- Failure to comply may result in your trade post being voided.
Example
Team A trade:
3B: John Smith (AAA)

Team B Trades:
RP: Shmon Jith (A+)

This needs to be taken seriously

1.4D - Trade Block Etiquette
To maintain a fair and transparent trading environment in our online league, all General Managers (GMs) are asked to adhere to the following trade block etiquette. These rules are designed to ensure all members have equal opportunities to engage in trade discussions and to prevent any misunderstandings or perceived unfairness in trade deals.

Specificity Required:
GMs must list actual player names they are willing to trade. Blanket statements like "everyone on my team is available" are not permitted and will be removed by the moderators.
Organized Posting:
If possible, organize your trade block by listing the highest priority or highest value assets at the top. This helps other GMs quickly understand your most valuable trade opportunities.
Protection Period for New GMs:
GMs with less than 18 months of tenure in our league (file time) are required to list players on the trade block for a minimum of 72 hours (real-time) before finalizing any trades. This cooling-off period ensures all members have a fair chance to review and respond to new trade opportunities.
Trade Invalidity for Non-Compliance for New GMs:
It's crucial to understand that if a new GM's player has not been listed on the trade block for the required 72-hour period, any trade involving that player will be considered invalid and will not be processed. This policy is in place to maintain fairness and transparency in our trading practices, giving every GM a fair chance to participate in trade discussions.
Transparency:
When posting a player on the trade block, consider providing a brief insight into what you're looking for in return. This can include positions of interest, player types (e.g., prospects, veterans), or other assets (e.g., draft picks). Transparency helps streamline negotiations and matches trade partners more efficiently. Equal Opportunities: Ensure you review offers from all interested GMs before finalizing a trade.

[warning]

1.5A - Pending Physicals/Trading Injured Players
Trades involving Injured players must be acknowledged in the trading post. If a player is Injured during a sim, after the trade has already been posted, The team acquiring the injured player must re-accept the trade (acknowledge the injury).

1.5B - Trading a No Trade Clause
No trade clauses will be honored in-game.

1.6 - International Complex Trades
Trades involving players from the International Complex will not be accepted. Promote the player from INT to R league and post the player in R.

1.7A - Trades Retaining Salary
Any team can retain up to 100% of a player's contract that they are trading away.
- Percentages retained must be in increments of 5%. ( 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% ETC..) It has to be the same set % of salary for every remaining year of the contract.
- The % retained will be for ALL of the remaining years of the contract, You cannot pick and choose which years to retain salary.
- You cannot pick and choose different percentages for different years.
- A Player's salary can only be retained for the player's current contract, Salary will not be retained on a contract extension.
- Retained player salaries can be dropped. The team taking back the retention must own the player and be budget compliant when taking back retention. (2042 Winter Meetings)

1.7B - Re-Acquiring a player with Salary retained
- When a team trades a player/(s) away they cannot reacquire that same player (contract) back with salary retained for 365 days.

1.8 - Player to be named later Trades
PTBNL trades will not be processed. PTBNL agreements/gentlemen's agreements can easily be broken and lead to more headaches than they are worth. PTBNL deals can also be used to circumvent certain league rules and will not be permitted.

_________________________*** Section 2. Roster Rules ***_________________________

You are not the GM of just 1 team, you are the GM of an entire organization that includes 9 teams, 7 League Levels, 33 Staff/Personnel members, and a MINIMUM of 161 players. We do not have ghost players enabled in the league; it is your responsibility to ensure that all levels of your organization are filled with the correct number of players and Staff/Personnel.

2.1A - Minimum 23 Players at all Levels
No team shall have fewer than 23 players on any MLB, AAA, *AA, *A, A-, R+, R-, *AA WIN or *A WIN team
- Any organization in violation of this rule will have their MLB, Minor League, or Entire organization auto-ed depending on which League Levels are in violation.
- Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.
- *AA, *A, *AA WIN, *A WIN – only applicable when rosters are unlocked. Locked rosters are empty.

2.1B - Minimum of 10 Pitchers at all Levels
No MLB, AAA, *AA, *A, A-, R+, R-, *AA WIN or *A WIN team shall have fewer than 10 pitchers on their roster
- Any organization in violation of this rule will have their MLB, Minor League, or Entire organization auto-ed depending on which League Levels are in violation.
- Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.
- *AA, *A, *AA WIN, *A WIN – only applicable when rosters are unlocked. Locked rosters are empty.

2.1C - Minimum Rotation of 4 Pitchers at all Levels
No MLB, AAA, *AA, *A, A-, R+, R-, *AA WIN or *A WIN team shall have a rotation of fewer than 4 pitchers until Roster expansion on September 1st.
This applies to Spring training rosters but does not apply to Playoffs.
- Any organization in violation of this rule will have their MLB, Minor League, or Entire organization auto-ed depending on which League Levels are in violation.
- Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.
- *AA, *A, *AA WIN, *A WIN – only applicable when rosters are unlocked. Locked rosters are empty.

2.1D - MANDATORY MANAGEMENT of Minor League Systems & Personnel
Having incomplete Major League OR minor league Staff/Personnel will result in a $250,000 fine Per sim until rectified.
- Winter League Staff/Personnel can be empty when Winter Leagues are locked. AA & A Staff/Personnel can also be empty when they are locked.

2.1E - The right to refuse minor league assignment
There are two types of players who can refuse minor league assignments.
The first, and more prominent, are the 5-year veterans. Any player who has accrued 5 years of Major League service has earned the right to refuse any minor league assignment. If such a player exercises this right, his team must either reinstate the player to the active roster or grant him his unconditional release. If the player is released, the team is on the hook for the remainder of the player's contract. In this situation, the player essentially holds all the cards.

The other type of player who can refuse a minor league assignment is a player who has either accrued at least 3 years of Major League service time (but less than 5) and/or has already been outrighted once in his career. This type of player cannot refuse an optional assignment, but he can refuse an outright assignment. In other words, if a player who fits these criteria is optioned, he has no say in the matter. But if he is DFA'd and sent outright to the minors, he has the right to refuse the assignment. If he exercises this right, he becomes a free agent, however, he forfeits the remainder of his contract. If, on the other hand, he accepts the outright assignment, he automatically defers his right to become a minor league free agent until the end of the season, provided he isn't back on the 40-man roster at that time.

2.1F- Manual Commissioner Handling of Your DFA's
During the regular season, the sims are 7 days. There are several sims for you to handle your DFAs. Commissioners will attempt to demote Expired DFA players to the minor leagues, if possible. The League commissioners reserve the right to use ANY method or process deemed necessary to uphold an organization's best financial and competitive interests in regard to expired MLB DFA players in an organization with full 40-man rosters and players who have earned the right to refuse minor league assignments. Player(s) COULD be released to free agency at your expense if they refuse an assignment OR If your 40-man roster is full. Roster moves/decisions could be made on your behalf for your organization if you do not handle your DFA players.

2.1G - League DFA Length
DFA length will always exceed the sim duration by 7 days to prevent players from passing through waivers without other teams having a chance to claim them.

2.1H - Minor League Player Maximum
No Minor League System shall have more than 240 players from April 1st to November 1st each season, Excluding the sim directly following the input of the draft into the game.
During the off-season (November 2nd to March 31st) teams may have up to 270 players in their minor league system to allow minor league free-agent signing flexibility.
Teams in violation will have a $250,000 fine added to their future Miscellaneous team expenses. Repeat offenders will continue to have an additional $250,000 fine added to each violation.

_________________________*** Section 3. CONTRACTS, EXTENSIONS, BONUSES & FINES ***_________________________

_____*** 3.1 CONTRACTS & EXTENSIONS ***_____

3.1A - Signing a Free Agent
Any Free Agent is permitted to sign a contract of any length. There are no restrictions for Free Agents.

3.1B - 1 year contract extensions
ANY player can sign a 1 year contract extension.

3.1C - Short & Medium Term Contract extension service time requirements
2 year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
3 year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
4 Year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
5 Year Contract Extension= Requires 1 year of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved

3.1D - Long Term Contract extension service time requirements
6 Year Contract Extension= Requires 2 years of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
7 Year Contract Extension= Requires 2 years of Arbitration achieved or 5 years of MLB Service Time Achieved
[u]No player shall receive any contract longer than 5 years in length until they have either:[/u]
A) Reached 5 years of Major League Service Time OR
B) Been through 2 years of salary arbitration.
- 1 year contract extensions that avoid arbitration will not count. The player must actually go through arbitration.

_____*** 3.2 FINES ***_____

3.2A - Determining the cost of a fine
Violation of any rule stated in section 3.1C OR 3.1D will have a fine assessed of the dollar amount of the overage, and the contract reduced to the correct contract length.
For example, if you sign a player who is only eligible for a 1-year deal to a 3-year deal @ 3 million per season you will be fined $6M and have the contract length set back to 1 year.
You will be fined the total salary overage for every contract year/season in violation.
[warning] Violations over $25 million will result in the loss of $25 million and a 1st round draft pick [warning]

3.2B - Payment of Fines
Money from these fines will be taken from the teams "Team Cash" OR put into the teams Future Misc. player expenses if the team does not have all the Team Cash required to pay the fine.
-Can be paid off over several seasons if necessary. Teams will be put into -$ if necessary to pay off fines.
- Any team with an outstanding fine over $15,000,000 can forfeit a 1st round draft pick which will be considered a $10,000,000 payment to the outstanding fine.

_____*** 3.3 BONUSES, VESTING & TEAM OPTIONS ***_____

3.3A - Award Bonuses
ALL STAR, MVP & CY YOUNG Awards are capped at 10% of the Average Annual Value of the player salary offered to the player.
This means if you offer a contract with an Average Annual Value of $1 million, you cannot offer more than 100k per award category (MVP, All-Star, Cy Young)
Larger Example: A 7 year contract with an Average Annual Value of $25 million per season can include up to $2.5 million (10%) per Award Category in MVP, All-Star, and or Cy Young incentives.
This is to stop teams from offering significant portions of a player's salary as MVP awards they are very unlikely to receive and to keep teams with this knowledge from gaming the system.
If you violate this rule: You will be fined the total value of the entire overage, The player will have the total value of the entire overage added to the 1st year (or 2nd year depending on when the violation is discovered) of their contract, and their bonus %'s well be corrected manually.

3.3B - Performance Bonuses
Innings Pitched and Plate Appearances awards are also capped at 10% of the Average Annual Value of the contract.
You cannot offer incentives for more than 650 PA or 200 IP. These are reasonable numbers that a normally healthy player can reach.
The point of these incentives is to tie salary to time spent playing.
- If you violate this rule: You will be fined the total value of the entire overage, The player will have the total value of the entire overage added to the 1st year (or 2nd year depending on when the violation is discovered) of their contract, and their bonus %'s well be corrected manually. Plate appearance and Innings Pitched will also be manually lowered if in violation.
If you offer incentives for more than 650 PA or 200 IP you will be fined $1,000,000 in future misc. player expenses.

3.3C - Vesting Option Rules
For Batters:
Plate Appearances: Capped at 600 PA
Games Played: Capped at 150 GP
For Pitchers:
Games Started: Capped at 20 GS
Innings Pitched: Capped at 200 IP
Games Finished Capped at 55 GF:
Violation of any of these rules will result in the vesting year becoming a Guaranteed year.

3.3D - Team Option Rules
To limit the use of team options to sway the game players toward signing a contract whose terms they will never collect on
- ALL team options in contracts, whether free-agent signings or extensions, must be accompanied by a 50% buyout.
EXCEPT for players who qualify for a 0% buyout under rule 3.3E
- If a contract is signed, with a buyout, but without the 50% buyout, then the option is converted to a final guaranteed year at the options offered salary.
- If a team buyout option is found to be in violation, and the current GM is not responsible for the contract, the option is converted to a 50% buyout as opposed to a guaranteed year. ( New GM's not paying for Old GM's mistakes )

3.3E - International FA Opt-Outs
International free agents are not allowed to have an opt-out clause in their contract until Year 4 of a contract. This is to eliminate a loophole of being able to waive the player and bring back under a minor league deal. (Rafael Vazquez rule)

3.4 - Signing Veterans
Any player who signs a contract when they are 35 years of age or older is eligible to be offered 2 team option years with $0 Buyouts or any buyout amount. The player must be 35 years old or older when they sign the contract or the years will become guaranteed with no buyouts!

_________________________*** Section 4. Financial Information & Rules ***_________________________

4.1 - Every team must have their "salary cap payroll" under the league salary cap for EVERY regular season & Playoff simulation EXCEPT for the FIRST sim of the regular season. Failure to comply with the salary cap will result in players from your organization being released at your expense. The League commissioners reserve the right to use any method or process necessary to achieve salary cap compliance. "Salary cap payroll" can be found in the Front office under "budget information".

_________________________*** Section 5. General Manager Rules ***_________________________

5.1 - Activity:

We understand that life and family come first, and we appreciate the effort and time you put into managing your team. Our goal is to maintain an active and engaging league without overwhelming anyone. Here’s how we approach activity and participation:

Regular Participation: While we don't expect daily activity, we do require regular participation. This includes submitting your team's files on a consistent basis and being available to respond to league communications at least once a week. This helps keep the league running smoothly and ensures everyone remains engaged.
Extended Absences: If you know you'll be unavailable for an extended period, please notify the commissioner as soon as possible. This helps us plan accordingly and ensures your team is managed in your absence.
Utilizing AI Functions: There are several AI management functions available to help manage your team when things get busy. You can set these up to handle various aspects of team management including Pitching, Lineups, Minor Leagues and more, ensuring your team remains competitive even when you can't be as active. Don't hesitate to use these tools; they're there to support you.
Communication is Key: Clear and timely communication is essential. If you're facing challenges in maintaining your activity level, reach out to the commissioner or fellow GMs. We're here to help and support each other.
Your Presence Matters: Above all, we value your presence and participation in the league. We want you here and hope you stay with us permanently. Whether you're highly active or need to rely on AI management at times, your involvement is crucial to us. We're committed to making sure you feel welcome, supported, and valued as a long-term member of our community.

By maintaining this flexible and understanding approach, we aim to create a welcoming and enjoyable environment for all members. Please reach out if you need support or temporary help to look after your team.

5.2 - No Collusion:
No collusion!
If you share an IP address with another member of MLM you need to tell me about that in advance!
If you have family members or people you know IRL in MLM, I need to know about it in advance!

5.3 - There is a fine line between rebuilding and tanking. It is up to the commissioner to ensure that a competitive balance is maintained:
Failing to achieve 50 wins will result in your 1st rounder being pushed back 10 draft slots. If you do not have a 1st, you will be fined $10,000,000.

5.4 - Emergency Double Dipping:
In the event of a prolonged vacancy, a current Gm will be permitted to "Double Dip" or temporarily take on the 2nd team.
"Double Dipping" GM's are not allowed to make any trades, waiver claims, Rule 5 claims, or any type of other transaction with their primary team.
Any trades made by a double-dipping GM must be submitted to and approved by the board of governors or "BOG' before being processed in-game.

_________________________*** 6. The Draft & Draft Lottery ***_________________________

6.1 - The Draft will be held on or in the week of May 9th each season

6.2 & 1.3 - Draft picks can only be traded for the current draft year.

6.3 - Draft picks for the NEXT draft year can be traded as soon as the current draft has been completed & uploaded from stats+ back into the game completed (on or in the week of April 9th each season).

6.4 - Draft picks that are "On the clock" in a live draft cannot be traded. A trade agreement must be posted before it becomes "a live pick". This rule does not apply to first or Second-round draft picks with over 2 hours left on the clock. This is for my own sanity. I can't be rolling back draft picks because somebody messages me a traded draft pick 20 minutes before it is due when I am at work. There is plenty of time to see the pool and assess your selection slots.

_________________________*** 6.5 Draft Lottery ***_________________________

6.5 - 6.5 - Draft Order Determination: (4 STEPS, A-B-C-D)

A. Draft Picks will be ordered into Draft Slots by winning percentage, with the lowest winning percentage being #1 and the highest being #30 in all 18 rounds.

B. Teams with the 10 worst winning percentages (including ties) will have their 1st Round Draft Picks placed into the "Lottery Pool". (only bottom 10 teams in the lottery.)

C. Any team failing to reach 50 wins will have their 1st Round Draft Slot moved back 10 picks (or more if Lottery Pool is larger than 10 teams due to ties) pursuant to Rule 5.3 and their Draft Pick will also be removed from the Lottery Pool. (sub 50 teams move back 10 spots and are removed from the lottery, only lottery teams are qualified for protected draft picks)

D. Draft Picks remaining in the Lottery Pool will be randomized to determine the order of Draft Slots at the beginning of the 1st round. This Lottery will be run using: https://www.random.org/lists/ This will be streamed live and only randomized 1 time! (run lottery with remaining teams.)

EXAMPLE: Here is an example of what would happen if a team fails to achieve 50 wins:
slot 1 would drop 10 slots to the 11 slots sliding the original 2 thru 11 slots up 1 slot each. (2 thru 11 becomes 1 thru 10)
This shrinks the lottery pool from 10 teams to 9 teams.
newly slotted teams 1 thru 9 participate in the draft lottery to determine draft slots 1 thru 9.
Original 1st picks at 11
Original 11th picks at 10
the lottery determines slots 1 thru 9

Here is an example of what would happen if 6 teams ended up failing to achieve 50 wins:
slots 1 thru 6 would drop 10 slots each down to slots 11 thru 16 sliding slots 7 thru 10 up 6 slots each. (7 thru 10 becomes 1 thru 4)
This shrinks the lottery pool from 10 teams to 4 teams.
Newly slotted teams 1 thru 4 participate in the draft lottery to determine draft slots 1 thru 4.
Original 1,2,3,4,5,6 draft at 11,12,13,14,15,16
Original 11,12,13,14,15,16 draft at 5,6,7,8,9,10
lottery determines slots 1 thru 4

Basic Summary:
1. only the bottom 10 teams in the lottery.
2. sub 50 teams move back 10 spots, removed from the lottery.
3. run lottery with the remaining teams.
4. slot in everyone else according to record

6.6 - Fluctuating draft pool sizes: The number of MLB draft rounds will be determined by the number of players the game generates for the pool. This should range from 16 to 24 rounds each season.

_________________________*** 6B. COMP Pick Rules ***_________________________

6B – COMPENSATION PICK RULES

6.1B – Signing a COMP Free Agent:

To sign a COMP free agent, you must own:

A) Any 2^nd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick).

B) A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team does not own a 2^nd round draft pick.

C) Any 1^st round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team does not own A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) OR a 2^nd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick).

6.2B – Signing a 2^nd COMP free agent

To sign a 2^nd COMP free agent, you must own:

A) Any 1^st round draft pick from any team (lowest-ranked pick)

B) A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team used a 1^st round draft pick to sign its First COMP Free Agent.

C) Any 2nd-round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) acquired after signing your 1^st COMP Free Agent. ONLY AN OPTION if your team used a 1^st round draft pick to sign its First COMP Free Agent and does not own 3^rd & 4^ths.

6.3B – Signing a 3^rd COMP free agent

To sign a 3^rd COMP free agent, you must own:

A) A combination of a 3^rd round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick).

B) A combination of a 4^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) & a 5^th round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team used a 3^rd & 4^th round draft pick to sign a COMP Free Agent.

C) Any 1^st round draft pick from any team (lowest-ranked pick)

D) Any 2nd-round draft pick from any team (lowest ranked pick) ONLY AN OPTION if your team does not own a 1st-round draft pick.

6.4B – No Lottery Protection

No draft pick shall be protected from the draft lottery in the COMP-free agent signing process.

6.5B – COMP Ineligibility

Any team with an outstanding fine containing an outstanding 1st rounder is ineligible to make an offer to a Comp FA.

6.6B – COMP Duration

The COMP period can officially be considered finished when the commissioner uploads the draft pool into Stats+.

6.7B – Compensation and Compensation Draft Order

All Draft picks received as compensation will be slotted into a supplemental 2^nd Draft round that takes place before round 3. The Compensation round in the draft will be ordered the same as all other rounds.

________________________*** 7. The Rule 5 Draft ***_________________________

Players are eligible for the draft when they:
A) were 18 or younger on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fifth Rule 5 draft upcoming
or
B) were 19 or older on the June 5 preceding their signing and this is the fourth Rule 5 draft upcoming.
Furthermore, if a player is released and subsequently signed, they are eligible for rule 5 from that point on, _regardless of service time_.
If you select a player in The Rule 5 draft that player must remain on your active roster for the entire season, or returned back to the team he was claimed from.
Rule 5 draft will be held on or around December 19th each season.

More information about how this works can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_5_draft

MLM RULE V RULES:

Rule 5 Draft rules / things to consider:

7.1- You must have and pay 50% of League minimum Salary ($337,500 in 2050) per pick for every Rule 5 selection you make. This Fee comes from your available "MONEY FOR FREE AGENTS"
For example if you wanted to pick 5 guys would need $1,687,500 in Team cash for the 2047 Rule 5 draft.

7.1A- On the Day of The Rule 5 Draft the League collects the Fee from the claiming team and holds the Cash Fee until April 1st.

7.1B- If the claiming team returns the player on or before March 31st (before the contract becomes a major league contract) they will receive a full refund IF accepted back to the original team. The original team must choose whether to “accept” or “reject” the return of a rule 5 player. This must be posted like a trade just like returning a Rule 5 pick.

7.1C- If the Original team “rejects” a rule 5 player being returned, The original team will still receive the Payment Fee from the claiming team, however, the claiming team will have all Rule 5 restrictions removed from the claimed player they attempted to return to the original team.

7.1D- The original team receives a Payment for lost Rule 5 and “rejected” players on April 1st.
This money will be traded to the team you take the player from.

7.2- If you select a player that player must stay on your active 26-man roster for the entire season or the player will be returned to the team you selected him from.

7.3- Teams may trade a player selected in the Rule 5 Draft, but the same rules regarding roster placement apply to the player's new team. The player must stay on the active 26-man roster or the player will be returned to the team he was selected from.

7.4- Service year calculation errors: Occasionally the service time calculation in-game is incorrect. This can cause players who should not be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft to be eligible. The commissioners will search for and correct as many of these errors as they can.

However, it is each manager's responsibility to find service time errors in their organization.

If a service time error is not found before the Rule 5 Draft and the player in question is drafted, the player *will not be moved back* to the team he was drafted from.

7.5- The Rule V pool is not yet final during the sim in which it first appears. Teams still have time to protect players on this next export after the pool is revealed. As a result of this, some players you try to select may not even be there when I run the rule 5 sim. A good example of this is the 3 latest Free Agents who just signed: These guys are currently DFA'd because their GMs have not yet had a chance to place them on the active or 40-man roster and are therefore currently listed as eligible, Do not expect the pool to be exactly the same when selections start being made. Any player who has just signed as a free agent and is DFA will not have claims accepted.

7.6- If you do not have the available "MONEY FOR FREE AGENTS" to make a selection and you make a selection the player will be returned and you will be put 50% of the League minimum Salary ($337,500 in 2050) into the negative!

7.7 - IF you claim a player via the rule 5 draft and decide to demote or release the player ( Return the player to the team you claimed him from ) you must notify that team immediately and then post the transaction in the accepted trade thread as a trade to be processed by the commissioner. DO NOT RELEASE THE PLAYER. This will give the original team a chance to open a spot on the 40-man roster or accept the player back into their organization via DFA. If you release the player the original team has a full 40-man roster the player will end up in free agency and that just isn't fair. Failure to post a returned player as a trade will result in a $675,000 fine and you will surrender your 18th OR lowest draft pick to the original team.. If you notice that a player who was claimed from you is in the FA pool notify a commish and it will be corrected (the player will now be on a Major League contract and require a 40-man roster spot)

7.8 - Cash trades can be processed before the Rule 5 sim to accommodate claims.

_________________________*** 8. New GM Mercy Rule ***_________________________

- The Commish will Manually insert 1 or 2 team options with a $0 buyout to 2 players of the New GM's choosing when taking over a team that finished in the bottom 5 last season.

8.2: Owner Responsibility and Fiscal Commitment

a. Purpose: This rule aims to ensure that team owners place the sporting success and competitive integrity of Major League Baseball above individual financial gain, promoting fiscal generosity and enabling a fairer, more balanced competition across all franchises.

b. Owner Conduct: Owners must primarily prioritize team success, defined as the strategic pursuit of sustained on-field performance leading to postseason success and World Series contention. Owners should support the team's General Managers in this pursuit, adopting a hands-off approach that provides management with the autonomy and patience necessary to execute their vision for the team. Violations of this rule may result in the owner's removal from the ownership group, pending a majority vote from the MLB Owners' Executive Committee and approval by the MLB Commissioner.

c. Fiscal Commitment: Owners must uphold a commitment to use all available financial resources to further their team's competitive success. A pattern of withholding excess funds for personal profit, thus hindering team development and competitiveness, will be deemed a violation of this rule.

d. Enforcement: The Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and the MLB Owners' Executive Committee will jointly enforce this rule. Enforcement procedures will include annual audits of team fiscal and strategic operations to ensure compliance.

e. Sanctions: Non-compliance may result in penalties, which could include financial fines, forfeiture of draft picks, or in severe cases, removal from the ownership group. Sanctions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, with an opportunity for appeal within an arbitration process agreed upon by the MLB and MLBPA.

_________________________*** 9. Miscellaneous ***________________________

9.1 - General Manager Retirement:
After your MLM in-game profile turns 30 seasons old it will be retired.
- You DO NOT have to give up your team or change teams
- This will give every GM (present & future) an opportunity to leave their mark on the MLM GM Leaderboards, chase down GM records, break them, and set new ones!
- After your profile "retires" you will be given a brand new one as a 35-year-old GM with any name of your choosing, if it is a duplicate of your old profile name you must add Jr or II or III etc..
- Any GM with a profile 25 seasons or older can choose to retire their profile and start a new one.

9.2 - Signing other teams MLB Personnel -
Signing other teams MLB Personnel - Because of the online league format situations are occurring where MLB personnel with multiple contract years remaining are receiving offers from other organizations that send out in-game negotiation responses that require an immediate in-game response. Certain sim durations can result in instances where a personnel member exits an organization without the original team having an opportunity to respond to these time-sensitive in-game messages. I also do not think it is realistic to be able to sign a member of another organization's Major League personnel without their permission or knowledge of the contract negotiation occurring behind their back while they are already contracted
As such the following rules will be implemented for signing other organization's personnel.
1. You can only offer contracts to the MINOR LEAGUE personnel members of other organizations.
2. You HAVE to be hiring them into an MLB position.
3. You have to notify the original organization's General Manager 24 hours BEFORE the sim you are exporting into.

9.3 - Staff Auctions

- In slack I will create a channel called "Staff Auctions". If you are trying to sign a staff member to your team and they refuse to sign, simply go to the Slack Channel and make a detailed offer to the staff member in the channel including:
-The Salary you are offering
- Team Name, League level, and Job Title.

- Any other team is free to make a counteroffer to this Staff member subject to the rules below.

- You must offer at least an increase of $50,000 more per year to counter other teams' offers in #Staff-Auctions or it will be ignored.

- Any Major League offer made in Staff Auctions will always trump any Minor League offer made to the same staff member in Staff Auctions. For example. If you offer a manager $10,000,000 for 1 year to be your AAA manager using staff auctions and I offer the same manager $100,000 to be my MLB Bench Coach for 1 year using staff auctions, my offer will win because it is an MLB offer!

- The team with the highest offer after I pull exports that sim will Sign the Staff Member and I will Manually enter the contract into the game.

- What happens in the game will always trump what happens in the channel. So if a team ends up legitimately signing the staff member in the game during the sim your offer will become Null and Void.

- Staff Auctions will only be processed after a 7-day sim or longer to allow time in-game for staff to react to in-game offers.

- Staff Auctions cannot be used to re-sign minor league staff. In the top right corner of the PERSONNEL screen, there is a button that says "ACTIONS" If you click this button it gives you the option to "offer extensions to all expiring minor league personnel" clicking this should FORCE sign all minor league personnel to extensions. Contact me if this method does not work.

- Signing staff to MLB
Minimum $300,000 in salary. Maximum of a 1-year contract.

- Re-Signing staff to MLB

- When using Staff auctions to re-sign an MLB staff member who refuses to negotiate you must include a 5% increase in salary. Maximum 1-year contract.

-Signing staff to the Minor leagues
Minimum $50,000 in salary. Maximum of a 1-year contract.

You must provide screenshot proof that a staff member refuses to negotiate or sign with you when using #staff-auctions to make an offer.

9.4 - Winter-Ball Staff/Personnel transfers:
- Members of your organizations minor league staff/personnel can be manually transferred by a league commissioner to an empty Winter Ball spot if they refuse to transfer in-game.
- Any staff/personnel that are transferred to Winter Ball manually by a League commissioner can also be manually transferred back to the team they were on before being transferred to Winter Ball when Winter Ball concludes, Only staff manually transferred into Winter Ball can be transferred out.
- These transfer requests can be posted in the #Staff-Auctions channel on Discord.

Embedded Calendar

Chat

Loading the chat ...