Spring Training rules - do I have this right?

[wlight1]

Is this correct: Players on the ST roster do not acquire service time, but if they're sent back to the minors (before ST ends), they do use up an option year? The manual is a little confusing on this point.

If so, is that how it should be? I know in MLB it's the case that you use an option to send a guy to MLB ST, but in MLB you also get NRI's, a luxury we don't have in OOTP.

[falkonisback]

Well, I can't really say for sure, but I always thought it to be this way..and don't quote me on this b/c I may be wrong:</br>
Inviting players to your roster during spring training DOES NOT make them acquire service time. However, if you wait until the first game of the regular season to send them back down to the minors, then it uses up one of their option years.</br>
Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[mgom27]

Inviting People to Camp is not in the 08 version but probley in 09 version.
Spring Training Games really don't count so they don't count against Service Time. Only from Opening Day to the end of the season they do I thnk.

[Qwerty75]

Sending a player back to the minors during ST will cause an option year to be used once the regular season starts. If a player is on the 40-man roster and the minor leagues at the same time, it uses an option year. Since you have to be on the 40-man roster in order to go to ST, any player sent down from ST will lose an option year.

There are NRI in real life that won't burn an option year, but the game isn't set up that way, so if you want to bring a player to ST, you have to risk using up his options earlier and the possibility of exposing him to waivers early.

[wlight1]

Originally Posted by Qwerty75

Sending a player back to the minors during ST will cause an option year to be used once the regular season starts. If a player is on the 40-man roster and the minor leagues at the same time, it uses an option year. Since you have to be on the 40-man roster in order to go to ST, any player sent down from ST will lose an option year.

Thank you very much.

[Carplos]

You can't invite someone on the 40-man roster as a NRI, though.

[Dr. P.R. Park III]

What is this NIR you guys are talking about? How do invitations to spring training work? Are guys that are within a teams minor league system, with only minor league contracts subject to these option rules? Can teams invite players not currently under minor league contracts with them? I was always under the goofy impression that teams just invited random dudes who suck, who don't have any major league contract, to their camps. Obviously, I was sort of wrong. Help me out.

[falkonisback]

When I said "Invite", what I meant was calling someone up from ST to try them out on your roster during spring training. I didn't mean to cause further confusion, I appologize.

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Dr. P.R. Park III

What is this NIR you guys are talking about? How do invitations to spring training work? Are guys that are within a teams minor league system, with only minor league contracts subject to these option rules? Can teams invite players not currently under minor league contracts with them? I was always under the goofy impression that teams just invited random dudes who suck, who don't have any major league contract, to their camps. Obviously, I was sort of wrong. Help me out.

NRI: Non-Roster Invitee.

Basically, you can't invite free agents to your training camp - you have to make them sign a contract beforehand (major or minor league). The only guys you can invite are members of your organization.

[wlight1]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

NRI: Non-Roster Invitee.

Basically, you can't invite free agents to your training camp - you have to make them sign a contract beforehand (major or minor league). The only guys you can invite are members of your organization.

So an NRI is a free agent who signs a contract with a team that basically just says you're a member of our organization, come to spring training and if you make the team you get a contract. Usually there are specified amounts -- for example you make $800k if you make the team and $550k if we send you back to the minors (which will frequently include a player opt-out clause if they'd rather try to catch on in the majors with another club). I've been reading about these all month but can't immediately call to mind anybody whose NRI invite this year had public numbers on it. Sorry.

Keep in mind that is all MLB, not OOTP. In OOTP, the only players you can have in ST are the ones on your 40-man roster. They don't accumulate service time during ST, and if you send them back down before Opening Day they don't get a major league contract, but they do use an option year (I'm not actually convinced about the option year being used. I'm trying to make time to test that completely).

[Dr. P.R. Park III]

Damn, I was always under the impression an "invite" was more like a "try-out". But, you learn something every day. Thanks.

[Le Grande Orange]

Originally Posted by Qwerty75

Sending a player back to the minors during ST will cause an option year to be used once the regular season starts. If a player is on the 40-man roster and the minor leagues at the same time, it uses an option year. Since you have to be on the 40-man roster in order to go to ST, any player sent down from ST will lose an option year.

The one exception to this is that if a player spends less than twenty days in the minors for the season, an option won't be charged. However, OOTP doesn't follow this real-world rule.