05-07-2011, 03:32 PM
It's a known fact that trades keep leagues active and that's what keeps leagues alive. I'm all for some guidelines and I realize it can be a case-by-case scenario, but I think lessening them would make GMs feel more at ease to make moves.
In general I think GMs will police S&T's fairly well by themselves. It's not hard to notice a GM trying to make a quick flip on an asset. Sometimes it's acceptable because you have a big need (i.e. an injury occurs) and others you'll put the clamps down because you know what's going on. I have two examples that would technically be S&T's under the current guidelines, but to me it's easy to see why it makes sense.
Joey Devine - Back when I traded for him I didn't realize he was a S&T and that was my fault. But I still would've pushed for the deal even had I known that. Why? Because I missed out on my other RP targets as was in high need for someone to slot into my CL or SU role. His contract wasn't crazy in salary or length, so it made sense.
Nick Barnese - Technically he'd be a S&T since I signed him to a multi-year deal over the off-season. However, my team hasn't performed up to expectations, nor has Barnese, and Barnese has dropped from an 84 to 82 and now to an 80. I think it has to be a two-way street. If we as GMs are expected to honor our deals, the player has to live up to the expectations as well. I signed him in good faith and felt confident that he could continue pitching like he had in the past. He hasn't done that and I've had Sample and Upton drop as well as Westmoreland vastly under perform. As a player I think he'd much rather be shopped to a contender than waste away on a team that isn't going anywhere this year and likely re-tooling next season.
I'd propose the following as the Sign & Trade Rules:
1. If a player is signed to a multi-year contract he may not be traded until after Sim #6 the following year.
2. If a player is signed to a one year contract hey may not be traded until after Sim #4 the following year.
3. Arbitration deals are exempt from this.
4. Only under extreme conditions may a player be traded before these deadlines (i.e. big injury or vast under performance or something along those lines). It must clearly be noted by all teams involved in the trade that it technically breaks the Sign & Trade rules and have strong reasoning for why it should be allowed to pass.
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Reasoning
1. I feel Sim #6 is a good spot for multi-year deals because that should be the halfway point in the season (July 1) and GMs should have to wait it out instead of getting trigger happy over a few bad early sims.
2. I feel Sim #4 is a good spot for one year deals because it's a third of the season (June 1). One year deals aren't a huge impact and we generally always see a few one year signees in real life get dealt each season.
3. Arbitration (including veteran compensation arbitration) players are routinely traded each off-season. A great example in my mind is Rafael Soriano for the Braves. After accepting his compensation arbitration he was swiftly dealt to the Rays. I'm sure this didn't any surprise to him and as a player I think he enjoyed closing for the Rays rather than what would have been setting up for Billy Wagner and the Braves. For players under 6 years of service time, they have limited negotiating power, so it's a no-brainer for them to be tradable.
4. While I believe guidelines are good, I believe there can be rare cases where it makes sense to bypass the guidelines. A great example of our current season after Sim #5 is KCR's Barrera injury and MIN's Harden injury. I'm sure neither would care if the player they get to replace them is a sign and trade if they can fit the bill to replace either player. And it goes back to what would the player like? Would he rather sit on a team destined for the couch come October or go to a team that the player could help get into the playoffs? I know I'd rather go to the playoff contender rather than stay on a cellar dweller all because they signed me and should honor it.
I really think GMs will do a good job of policing things themselves. If the contract is too long or too high in dollar amount, the league has shown to not go for those players unless they're getting a lot of cash or a quality player in return to make it worth their while.
In general I think GMs will police S&T's fairly well by themselves. It's not hard to notice a GM trying to make a quick flip on an asset. Sometimes it's acceptable because you have a big need (i.e. an injury occurs) and others you'll put the clamps down because you know what's going on. I have two examples that would technically be S&T's under the current guidelines, but to me it's easy to see why it makes sense.
Joey Devine - Back when I traded for him I didn't realize he was a S&T and that was my fault. But I still would've pushed for the deal even had I known that. Why? Because I missed out on my other RP targets as was in high need for someone to slot into my CL or SU role. His contract wasn't crazy in salary or length, so it made sense.
Nick Barnese - Technically he'd be a S&T since I signed him to a multi-year deal over the off-season. However, my team hasn't performed up to expectations, nor has Barnese, and Barnese has dropped from an 84 to 82 and now to an 80. I think it has to be a two-way street. If we as GMs are expected to honor our deals, the player has to live up to the expectations as well. I signed him in good faith and felt confident that he could continue pitching like he had in the past. He hasn't done that and I've had Sample and Upton drop as well as Westmoreland vastly under perform. As a player I think he'd much rather be shopped to a contender than waste away on a team that isn't going anywhere this year and likely re-tooling next season.
I'd propose the following as the Sign & Trade Rules:
1. If a player is signed to a multi-year contract he may not be traded until after Sim #6 the following year.
2. If a player is signed to a one year contract hey may not be traded until after Sim #4 the following year.
3. Arbitration deals are exempt from this.
4. Only under extreme conditions may a player be traded before these deadlines (i.e. big injury or vast under performance or something along those lines). It must clearly be noted by all teams involved in the trade that it technically breaks the Sign & Trade rules and have strong reasoning for why it should be allowed to pass.
----------
Reasoning
1. I feel Sim #6 is a good spot for multi-year deals because that should be the halfway point in the season (July 1) and GMs should have to wait it out instead of getting trigger happy over a few bad early sims.
2. I feel Sim #4 is a good spot for one year deals because it's a third of the season (June 1). One year deals aren't a huge impact and we generally always see a few one year signees in real life get dealt each season.
3. Arbitration (including veteran compensation arbitration) players are routinely traded each off-season. A great example in my mind is Rafael Soriano for the Braves. After accepting his compensation arbitration he was swiftly dealt to the Rays. I'm sure this didn't any surprise to him and as a player I think he enjoyed closing for the Rays rather than what would have been setting up for Billy Wagner and the Braves. For players under 6 years of service time, they have limited negotiating power, so it's a no-brainer for them to be tradable.
4. While I believe guidelines are good, I believe there can be rare cases where it makes sense to bypass the guidelines. A great example of our current season after Sim #5 is KCR's Barrera injury and MIN's Harden injury. I'm sure neither would care if the player they get to replace them is a sign and trade if they can fit the bill to replace either player. And it goes back to what would the player like? Would he rather sit on a team destined for the couch come October or go to a team that the player could help get into the playoffs? I know I'd rather go to the playoff contender rather than stay on a cellar dweller all because they signed me and should honor it.
I really think GMs will do a good job of policing things themselves. If the contract is too long or too high in dollar amount, the league has shown to not go for those players unless they're getting a lot of cash or a quality player in return to make it worth their while.
Cleveland Record: 5304-4625 (.534) [2054-2071, 2083-2104, 2110-2131]
AL Post: 15 (ALC), 11 (WC) - ALDS Win: 11 - ALCS Champ: 6 - WS Champ: 3
ALW: Mariners + Angels Record: 1072-864 (.554) [2042-2048, 2105-2110]
AL Post: 3 (ALW), 4 (WC) - ALDS Win: 3 - ALCS Champ: 1 - WS Champ: 1
NLW: Rockies + Padres Record: 3230-2753 (.540) [2017-2042, 2072-2082]
NL Post: 18 (NLW), 4 (WC) - NLDS Win: 7 - NLCS Champ: 4 - WS Champ: 0
