Reminders and upcoming dates:
- All rosters must utilize specific slots correctly through the completion of the ACBA World Series. No team may carry more than 45 total players (26 active + 15 minors + the maximum injured reserves as stipulated in Section 9, which is 3 normal injured + 1 COVID injured for 2021). The hard cap temporarily increases to 48 pursuant to the expanded active rosters during the final two weeks of the regular season and the ACBA playoffs per Rule 6.06.
- Once Opening Day arrives, the three normal injured reserve slots must have a red flag with white cross (the official MLB injured list designation), and the one additional injured reserve slot must be a COVID injury/quarantine (supportable by available news).
- Monday, May 31 at noon ET - deadline for in-season buyouts (max one per team per year). As with all buyouts, please notify me so I can remove them from your roster and remove their contract info from Fantrax and the Payroll worksheet. The cost is half that player's salary for 2021 (rounded up as applicable - i.e. if $13 salary, $6.50 is technically half, so $7 buyout), unless 2021 is the second year of the contract - in which case the cost of the buyout is the full 2021 salary.
Proposals for the 2021 Winter Meetings (next November):
Most items will be subject to voting, but some will be added to Rule Book for 2022 at discretion of the ACBA Commissioner.
Post-Draft Free Agency
Section 17 - any systematic hiccup (i.e. ability to claim free agents not yet turned on) will result in a postponement of the period kickoff by at least 15 minutes to allow all owners to have time to receive notification and prepare for the new kickoff. Commissioner will also add turning off waivers and turning on claims/drops to post-draft checklist.
Minor League Eligibility
Language to be added to clarify that if a player starts the current season below career AB / IP thresholds, they will retain their minor league eligibility for the duration of that season. However, it should be noted that does not guarantee they will be eligible for carryover at the end of the current season. It simply means, for example, if they had 499 AB or 199 IP prior to current season, they will not lose their minor league eligibility during the current season as soon as they get 1 AB or 1 IP - they will simply not be eligible for carryover to next season.
Additionally, need to clarify Rule 7.02 to match the existing Fantrax settings (in real-life minor leagues, inactive, or free agent; or <500 AB career prior to current season; or <200 IP career prior to current season).
Also, proposal to be defined regarding pitcher carryover eligibility. Currently a pitcher with 100-199 career IP can be placed on a minor league roster, but they cannot be carried over even if less than 60 IP during current season. However, a hitter with less than 500 career AB can be placed on a minor league roster and can be carried over as long as less than 200 AB during current season. The pitching eligibility and carryover thresholds should be consistent, or at least both closer to 200 IP.
Injured Reserve Slots Between Draft and Opening Day
Language to be added specifying that red flags are sufficient for adding to Injured Reserve slots prior to Opening Day. However, beginning Opening Day, only players with red flags that have white crosses (formal MLB injured list designation per Fantrax) are eligible for Injured Reserve.
Injured Reserve Slots Opening Day through World Series
Proposal that only players on the official MLB Injured List qualify for ACBA Injured Reserve slots. Closes ambiguity around true minor leaguers, whom Fantrax will only tag with green flag. Current language for Rule 9.02 specifies red flag with white cross (which Fantrax uses for official MLB Injured List only), but that relies on Fantrax methodology to be consistent with ACBA rules. Clarifying this rule would also make managing injured reserves more effective and efficient for owners and commissioner by enabling us to utilize automated enforcement feature in Fantrax premium settings.
Pitcher Eligibility / Usage
Proposal to combine Rules 8.03 and 8.04 into one rule that permits only one MLB start per calendar day across the two positions. If you want to use a pitcher who currently is only eligible as RP but is getting a start, you are likely punting the opportunity for any points at your SP position since most relievers do not qualify at SP. While the counterargument is that you cannot start someone at OF, for example, in ACBA when they are only currently eligible for 1B, you could still start that player at 1B or UT even though that is not where they are playing in MLB that day. The primary intent of the rule should be to prohibit an ACBA team from getting the benefit of two starts / guaranteed outings. This would especially help teams in the month of April when a prior year RP gets stretched out and wins a SP rotation spot..
Contracts vs Non-Contracts
Language to be added to Rule Book that specifically states that players can be on your roster (active, minors, or injured) without being under contract and without counting toward salary cap spend - they are just subject at the end of the year to minor league carryover thresholds, and if they are over the limits, they go back into next year's draft pool. Also will state that there will still be salary figures visible in Fantrax on non-contract players, but they do not count towards cap. Also, the cap spend and space per Fantrax is irrelevant - Payroll workbook in Google Sheets is the record of fact with regards to contracts and cap spend.
In-Season Buyouts
Rule 12.02 - clarify the language such that the player must play 2 full seasons before the half-salary buy out kicks in.
Additionally, all players who have been bought out may not be signed - must go through next draft. Loophole is the brief period between draft and contract deadline.
Contract Restructuring
Section 11 or 15 - team acquiring a player who is already under contract may restructure the remaining contract terms. This would include a higher increase scale (i.e. $3/year instead of $2/year) and a minimum guaranteed number of remaining years (i.e. three years with new team without ability to buy out, or without ability to buy out at half price). Exact proposal, including whether a new owner could take advantage of this option when taking over a team, to be finalized ahead of the Winter Meetings.
Contract Extensions
Potential proposal whereby an owner could extend any contract (perhaps one extension per team per year or every two or three years); timing, frequency, parameters to be defined
Abolish Rule 11.08 (Any player signed before the 2012 season is not subject to Rule 11.07. These contracts fall under the expired rule of a 3% increase. Team payroll charts are updated each offseason to reflect these increases.)
This rule, dating from long ago, creates an unfair advantage for senior teams in the league. A corollary to abolishing rule 11.08: allow any owner with an affected contract to keep the player at the salary raise rate per rule 11.07 for the remaining duration of the contract, renegotiate the contract length, or release the player at current buyout rate.
Abolish or Amend Rule 22.13 (To ensure owners have a full understanding of the rules and how the league operates before being able to influence change, voting on rules changes are weighted by longevity...This includes votes for the Winter Meetings as well as any proposals throughout the calendar year. )
Any and all owners invited and allowed to enter the league have enough fantasy baseball experience to vote on all aspects of league play. All owners should be considered equal to each other and allowed to fully engage in League decisions with final tie-breaking authority wielded by the commissioner when needed. If the Rule as written is not abolished, proposal to redistribute voting power amongst owners while adhering to the original intent of the rule, such that:
Annual Publishing and Review of Rule Book
A redline version of the rule book comparing current vs prior year shall be generated and distributed to all league owners at least one week prior to final publishing ("constitutional lock date"). When editing the rule book within the website, there is no way to see version history or otherwise easily identify where and what changes were made. This will make the editing process more robust, provide increased transparency, reduce the risk of oversights that could be realized during the course of gameplay, and allow time for owners to review changes and express and resolve concerns before the lock period begins (after which it takes 85% approval to change rules until the next offseason).
Most items will be subject to voting, but some will be added to Rule Book for 2022 at discretion of the ACBA Commissioner.
Post-Draft Free Agency
Section 17 - any systematic hiccup (i.e. ability to claim free agents not yet turned on) will result in a postponement of the period kickoff by at least 15 minutes to allow all owners to have time to receive notification and prepare for the new kickoff. Commissioner will also add turning off waivers and turning on claims/drops to post-draft checklist.
Minor League Eligibility
Language to be added to clarify that if a player starts the current season below career AB / IP thresholds, they will retain their minor league eligibility for the duration of that season. However, it should be noted that does not guarantee they will be eligible for carryover at the end of the current season. It simply means, for example, if they had 499 AB or 199 IP prior to current season, they will not lose their minor league eligibility during the current season as soon as they get 1 AB or 1 IP - they will simply not be eligible for carryover to next season.
Additionally, need to clarify Rule 7.02 to match the existing Fantrax settings (in real-life minor leagues, inactive, or free agent; or <500 AB career prior to current season; or <200 IP career prior to current season).
Also, proposal to be defined regarding pitcher carryover eligibility. Currently a pitcher with 100-199 career IP can be placed on a minor league roster, but they cannot be carried over even if less than 60 IP during current season. However, a hitter with less than 500 career AB can be placed on a minor league roster and can be carried over as long as less than 200 AB during current season. The pitching eligibility and carryover thresholds should be consistent, or at least both closer to 200 IP.
Injured Reserve Slots Between Draft and Opening Day
Language to be added specifying that red flags are sufficient for adding to Injured Reserve slots prior to Opening Day. However, beginning Opening Day, only players with red flags that have white crosses (formal MLB injured list designation per Fantrax) are eligible for Injured Reserve.
Injured Reserve Slots Opening Day through World Series
Proposal that only players on the official MLB Injured List qualify for ACBA Injured Reserve slots. Closes ambiguity around true minor leaguers, whom Fantrax will only tag with green flag. Current language for Rule 9.02 specifies red flag with white cross (which Fantrax uses for official MLB Injured List only), but that relies on Fantrax methodology to be consistent with ACBA rules. Clarifying this rule would also make managing injured reserves more effective and efficient for owners and commissioner by enabling us to utilize automated enforcement feature in Fantrax premium settings.
Pitcher Eligibility / Usage
Proposal to combine Rules 8.03 and 8.04 into one rule that permits only one MLB start per calendar day across the two positions. If you want to use a pitcher who currently is only eligible as RP but is getting a start, you are likely punting the opportunity for any points at your SP position since most relievers do not qualify at SP. While the counterargument is that you cannot start someone at OF, for example, in ACBA when they are only currently eligible for 1B, you could still start that player at 1B or UT even though that is not where they are playing in MLB that day. The primary intent of the rule should be to prohibit an ACBA team from getting the benefit of two starts / guaranteed outings. This would especially help teams in the month of April when a prior year RP gets stretched out and wins a SP rotation spot..
Contracts vs Non-Contracts
Language to be added to Rule Book that specifically states that players can be on your roster (active, minors, or injured) without being under contract and without counting toward salary cap spend - they are just subject at the end of the year to minor league carryover thresholds, and if they are over the limits, they go back into next year's draft pool. Also will state that there will still be salary figures visible in Fantrax on non-contract players, but they do not count towards cap. Also, the cap spend and space per Fantrax is irrelevant - Payroll workbook in Google Sheets is the record of fact with regards to contracts and cap spend.
In-Season Buyouts
Rule 12.02 - clarify the language such that the player must play 2 full seasons before the half-salary buy out kicks in.
Additionally, all players who have been bought out may not be signed - must go through next draft. Loophole is the brief period between draft and contract deadline.
Contract Restructuring
Section 11 or 15 - team acquiring a player who is already under contract may restructure the remaining contract terms. This would include a higher increase scale (i.e. $3/year instead of $2/year) and a minimum guaranteed number of remaining years (i.e. three years with new team without ability to buy out, or without ability to buy out at half price). Exact proposal, including whether a new owner could take advantage of this option when taking over a team, to be finalized ahead of the Winter Meetings.
Contract Extensions
Potential proposal whereby an owner could extend any contract (perhaps one extension per team per year or every two or three years); timing, frequency, parameters to be defined
Abolish Rule 11.08 (Any player signed before the 2012 season is not subject to Rule 11.07. These contracts fall under the expired rule of a 3% increase. Team payroll charts are updated each offseason to reflect these increases.)
This rule, dating from long ago, creates an unfair advantage for senior teams in the league. A corollary to abolishing rule 11.08: allow any owner with an affected contract to keep the player at the salary raise rate per rule 11.07 for the remaining duration of the contract, renegotiate the contract length, or release the player at current buyout rate.
Abolish or Amend Rule 22.13 (To ensure owners have a full understanding of the rules and how the league operates before being able to influence change, voting on rules changes are weighted by longevity...This includes votes for the Winter Meetings as well as any proposals throughout the calendar year. )
Any and all owners invited and allowed to enter the league have enough fantasy baseball experience to vote on all aspects of league play. All owners should be considered equal to each other and allowed to fully engage in League decisions with final tie-breaking authority wielded by the commissioner when needed. If the Rule as written is not abolished, proposal to redistribute voting power amongst owners while adhering to the original intent of the rule, such that:
- Any owner with zero years in the league may vote on rules changes with a weight of .5 vote.
- Owners completing 1-3 season will have a weight of 1.0 per vote.
- Owners completing more than 3 seasons will have a weight of 1.5 per vote.
Annual Publishing and Review of Rule Book
A redline version of the rule book comparing current vs prior year shall be generated and distributed to all league owners at least one week prior to final publishing ("constitutional lock date"). When editing the rule book within the website, there is no way to see version history or otherwise easily identify where and what changes were made. This will make the editing process more robust, provide increased transparency, reduce the risk of oversights that could be realized during the course of gameplay, and allow time for owners to review changes and express and resolve concerns before the lock period begins (after which it takes 85% approval to change rules until the next offseason).