I.
League Structure and General Provisions
A. The purpose of The World League of Simulated Baseball (WLSB) is to offer an
entertainment opportunity to members in good standing to act in the capacity of
general manager of a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise from either the
American or National Leagues competing through Diamond Mind Baseball
simulation software. If Diamond Mind Baseball chooses not to publish updated
projection disks for any given year, the Executive Committee shall designate a 3rd
party replacement source for that year’s projections.
B. The WLSB was formed between the 2005 and 2006 MLB seasons with the initial
members being assigned franchises via a lottery. General Managers inherited the
rosters for their respective teams, as they existed at the end of the 2005 MLB
season, and were given the full minor league system for said franchise from which
to form, in total or in part, the sim- league team’s reserve roster.
C. The WLSB shall be maintained in accordance with the provisions set forth in
these bylaws and rules.
D. The membership of WLSB shall consist of a number of members in good
standing equal to the number of MLB franchises. Each WLSB team shall have
one member designated as franchise general manager.
i.
Members in good standing have the option of designating one or more
additional persons as co- general managers, or assistant general
managers, but any responsibility inherent with WLSB membership
shall remain with the designated general manager.
1. The Co-GM may make line-up and depth chart changes. They
may discuss any other function that a GM has, with that GM, but
are NOT permitted to sign free agents, post trades, or place/claim
waiver players.
ii.
Good standing as it relates to membership shall be defined as a GM
not on probation as well as lack of financial debt to WLSB.
iii.
Any existing GM may be given a warning and placed on probation for
1 year by a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee (EC) if it
is deemed that due to neglect or poor decisions the long term future of
the franchise is at risk.
iv.
All new members to the league will be initially placed on probation for
1 year.
v.
While on probation:
1. The EC will scrutinize all transactions made by the GM
2. If at any point the EC believes that the GM is either neglecting or
making moves to the long term detriment of the team, the GM
may be immediately removed, with the team being run by the EC
until a suitable replacement is found.
E. Upon joining WLSB, each member shall make payment in an amount set by the
league, and shall not be expected to make supplemental payments unless
additional funds are necessary for league operation. In the event that additional
monies are necessary for league operation, the contribution required by each
member toward that amount shall be equitable, and shall be made with cash or
check with no "in-kind" credit granted to members based upon labor or other
contributions to the league.
F. The league shall seek to maintain a waiting list of potential members to fill any
vacancy created by the departure of an existing member. Departing members shall
not receive financial or other considerations from replacement members in
exchange for the opportunity to participate in WLSB.
G. In the event that MLB contracts one or more teams, displaced WLSB members
will be given first option to fill any GM vacancies.
H. All provisions of these bylaws and rules shall be enforced by the league Executive
Committee (EC), as required and/or deemed necessary and appropriate. The EC
shall consist of:
1. The league Commissioner Tim Goodman and,
2. Six (6) other GMs in good standing determined by the
Commissioner to have sufficient expertise and time to dedicate to
the league.
I. Each WLSB team’s name, ballpark, geographic location, and designation as an
American League or National League franchise shall remain identical to the same
of said team’s MLB counterpart.
J. Each WLSB team’s schedule for a given season shall be remain identical to the
same of said team’s MLB counterpart with the exception that no WLSB games
shall be rescheduled due to inclement weather or other external reasons and shall
be played as originally scheduled by MLB.
K. Each WLSB team will have a specified payroll limit for players, or individualized
salary cap, for each season.
i.
Payrolls for each season are set by the EC at the end of the prior
season and are based on team success from the previous year.
ii.
Teams shall be at, or below their payroll limitation within one (1)
week after the end of the off-season free agent signing period. Failure
to comply with this rule can result in forfeiture of one or more player
contracts until an adequate amount of money is pared from the
effected team’s payroll to be compliant with the specified individual
team salary cap.
1. In the event that player contracts must be forfeited, the EC shall
opt to either:
a. Select a pool of player contracts from which the effected
team’s general manager can chose from in order to become
compliant with the specified payroll limit; OR
b. Nullify any individual, or any combination of said contracts
with, or without consultation from the effected team’s
general manager.
2. Any player who’s contract is nullified in an effort to comply with
the salary cap shall immediately become a free agent, and
thereby eligible to be signed to a contract by any WLSB team.
L. The EC reserves the right to disapprove any player trade during the period
between that point one (1) week from the end of the off-season free agent signing
period and the beginning of the regular season if said trade would result in any
effected team to apparently fail to maintain a total salary for the active roster that
would be compliant with the team’s individualized salary cap.
M. At no time after the regular season has begun, may teams exceed their preset
spending limit (Hard Cap) for the balance of that season.
N. Revenue sharing will be a feature of the WLSB financial model.
O. The WLSB shall use a 100% Luxury Tax system for each payroll dollar over
$150,000,000.
i.
The Luxury Tax threshold will be initially set at $170,000,000 for the
2006 season.
ii.
In 2007 the threshold will drop to $160,000,000.
iii.
The Luxury Tax threshold will be lowered to its permanent level of
$150,000,000 for 2008 and beyond.
P. Revenue Savings will be a feature of the WLSB financial model.
i.
Teams will be placed into 6 tiers based on their base revenue for the
previous season.
1. Tier 1- Top 5 Revenue Teams
2. Tier 2- Next 5 (6-10) Revenue Teams
3. Tier 3- Next 5 (11-15) Revenue Teams
4. Tier 4- Next 5 (16-20) Revenue Teams
5. Tier 5- Next 5 (21-25) Revenue Teams
6. Tier 6- Next 5 (26-30) Revenue Teams
ii.
All teams will be allowed to carry a portion of any unspent revenues to
the following season based on the teams Adjusted Revenue.
1. Teams in Tier 1 will be allowed to carry over 20% of any
unspent revenue.
2. Teams in Tier 2 will be allowed to carry over up to $1 million
plus 20% of any remaining unspent revenue.
3. Teams in Tier 3 will be allowed to carry over up to $2 million
plus 20% of any remaining unspent revenue.
4. Teams in Tier 4 will be allowed to carry over up to $3 million
plus 20% of any remaining unspent revenue.
5. Teams in Tier 5 will be allowed to carry over up to $4 million
plus 20% of any remaining unspent revenue.
6. Teams in Tier 6 will be allowed to carry over up to $5 million
plus 20% of any remaining unspent revenue.
Any money carried over will not affect the teams Base Revenue, but
will increase the amount of money teams can spend before incurring
debt.
At no point will carried over money allow a team to spend over its predetermined Hard Cap.
iii.
iv.
Q. Any WLSB member general manager in good standing shall be able to propose an
amendment or modification of the league bylaws and rules to the EC.
II.
i.
Situations or issues not resolved through adherence to the bylaws
and rules shall be resolved by the WLSB EC on an as needed basis.
ii.
A playoff shall occur upon the completion of the sim-season based
on the same rules used for MLB, with the exception that the
League Championship and World Series shall use the 2-2-1-1-1
scheduling format & home field advantage shall be determined by
the team with the best regular season record.
WLSB Team Rules
A. Each WLSB team shall be allowed a franchise roster that shall not exceed a total
of sixty (60) players. The franchise roster shall consist of an active roster (25) and
a reserve roster (35).
B. During the regular season each team shall be limited to and must maintain an
active roster of twenty-five (25) players at any given time.
i.
All players not designated, as members of a team’s active roster shall
comprise said team’s reserve roster.
ii.
The total number of players on each team’s reserve roster shall not
exceed thirty-five (35) players.
1. At no point shall more than five (5) players on any given team’s
reserve roster have a YOS value of greater than three (3).
2. Players with 4 YOS or more must clear waivers before being
placed on the reserve roster.
a. Players with V or LTC status who do not appear on the
projection disk do not need to clear waivers to be assigned
to the reserve roster.
b. Players with a no-trade clause may not be placed on trade
waivers.
iii.
Rosters will not expand to 40 men on September 1, as MLB uses this
tool to see how a player will perform at the Major League level, while
we are using the simulation projections which will change on the
following season’s disk.
iv.
Any roster below the active limit size of 25 shall be charged a veteran
minimum contract for each empty active roster spot.
C. Only the collective amount of player salaries for players on a team’s active roster
shall be considered when determining the amount to be measured against said
team’s individual payroll limitation, with the following exceptions:
i.
The salary for any player on the reserve roster with four (4)
through six (6) years of service (YOS) since initially meeting
the league’s determining factors for qualifying MLB service
who has not been released by said team prior to the league’s
deadline for such a personnel action;
ii.
The salary for any acquired free agent, or player with "full
contract status" (more than six years of qualifying MLB level
service) acquired by other means, but not placed on the team’s
active roster;
iii.
The salary for any “full contract status” player the team has
waived, but that no other team claims during the period of time
which would require the second team to assume responsibility
for the waived player’s salary;
iv.
If a player with less than four (4) years of WLSB designated
MLB service is promoted from the reserve roster to replace an
injured member of the active roster, during the period of the
injury, both salaries shall be considered as measures against the
salary cap.
v.
All players on the team’s reserve roster with a multi- year
contract (V or LTC) shall have salaries counting against payroll.
D. Only players contained on the DMB projection disk can be used on 25-man roster.
E. Each general manager shall provide the WLSB with preferences of managerial
tendencies in a series of categories provided by the EC.
i.
If a general manager fails to provide preferred managerial
tendencies, the Diamond Mind Baseball simulation software
default settings shall be assigned;
ii.
These settings will be set at the beginning of the season and may
only be changed;
1. During the week of the All Star game,
2. In the event of a GM change,
3. During the final 4 weeks of the season (for teams in contention
only),
4. Settings will be allowed to change at the beginning of each series
in the Post-season.
F. During the regular season teams shall have the opportunity to set batting line-ups
and make general roster moves on a weekly basis, including adjustments made
necessary to accommodate for player injuries.
G. Post-season rosters can be comprised of any 25 players from the team’s 55 man
roster provided that each player selected was on the team’s 25 man active roster
for at least one day prior to September 1.
i.
The number of pitchers versus position players on the active roster
on September 1 shall be equal to the same number of player in
those categories for the team’s post-season roster.
ii.
If a player who is eligible for the post season roster is injured for a
time longer than the scheduled end of the playoffs, he may be
replaced with any player from the team’s 55 man roster, regardless
of whether or not the replacement player was on the 25 man active
roster prior to the September 1 deadline.
iii.
Each team may announce one player as their “emergency catcher”
during the postseason. Only one emergency catcher is allowed per
team, and he may only play if all the team’s other catchers are
currently injured.
1. This player must be an infielder, and will be given a default
catcher’s grade of poor (PR).
2. Exception- If the player has previous catching experience at
the major or minor league levels (college and high school don’t
count), the GM MUST provide proof. If it is verified, that
player will be given a default grade of fair (FR) instead of
poor.
III.
Qualifying Player Service Time
A. All players who have not yet reached Veteran status will have a year of service
(YOS) that corresponds to their length of time in the league;
i. xxx = The player has no service time.
ii. 1 = The player appeared on the active roster at least one day in a
previous season.
iii. 2 = The player has completed 1 full season and is in his 2nd.
iv. 3 = The player has completed 2 full seasons and is in his 3rd.
v. 4 = The player has completed 3 full seasons and is in his 4th.
vi. 5 = The player has completed 4 full seasons and is in his 5th.
vii. 6 = The player has completed 5 full seasons and is in his 6th and final
year before entering Free Agency.
B. All players enter WLSB as rookies with a YOS of xxx. If a player is on the active
roster of a team and records less than: 125 AB for batters, or 35 IP for pitchers
(total accrued), his YOS will increase to 1 to denote that he was on the active
roster, but did not play a full season. If the player who entered the year with a
YOS of xxx exceeds these limits he will be considered to have spent his first full
season in the major leagues and will go to a YOS of 2 the following season. For
every year that a player with a YOS of 1 or higher is on the active roster of a team
for at least 1 day he will accrue a full YOS.
C. All service time was calculated for all players entering the 2006 sim-season, the
inaugural season for the WLSB, and is non-negotiable. Individual player service
time for subsequent seasons shall be based on active player status occurring
during and after the 2006 WLSB season.
IV.
Player Salaries
A. All players with YOS of xxx shall have a salary of $490,000 which will be the
league minimum for rookies. This minimum shall be reviewed each off-season
by the EC and adjusted accordingly.
B. All players going from xxx to 1 YOS shall receive automatic 10% raises.
C. For the purpose of player raises for non-free agents, players shall be divided
into the following positional groups: Starting pitcher, relief pitcher, catcher,
first base, second base, shortstop, third base, & outfield. The position at which
a player spent the majority of the sim season will determine his positional
group.
D. For second and third-year players, the top 25% of each positional group (as
determined by the EC) shall receive automatic 80% raises (1-year contract), the
next 25% shall receive 60% raises, the following 25% shall receive 40% raises,
and the bottom 25% shall receive 20% raises.
E. Arbitration eligible players: Players entering their 4th, 5th, or 6th seasons are
arbitration eligible (AE).
i.
The EC shall statistically compare each player entering his 6th
year with veterans in his same positional group. The two position
players with the statistical totals closest to his are earmarked for
comparison purposes. The annual salary for the player shall equal
the average of the two annual salaries that are given to the
earmarked players.
ii.
The EC shall statistically compare each player entering his 5th
year with veterans and players entering their 6th year in his same
positional group. The two position players with the statistical
totals closest to his are earmarked for comparison purposes. The
annual salary for the player shall equal the average of the two
annual salaries that are given to the earmarked players.
iii.
The EC shall statistically compare each player entering his 4th
year with players entering their 5th and 6th years in his same
positional group. The two position players with the statistical
totals closest to his are earmarked for comparison purposes. The
annual salary for the player shall equal the average of the two
annual salaries that are given to the earmarked players.
iv.
The maximum pay increase for players shall be 150% of their
previous year’s salary. The minimum pay increase shall be 20%
of their previous year’s salary.
F. The rankings for 2nd-year, 3rd-year, and AE players shall be conducted by the
EC, using statistical measures, and shall be non-negotiable. The rankings shall
be based upon statistics generated from the Diamond Mind Baseball
simulation, and may not reflect actual MLB production of said player.
G. Long Term Contracts (LTC) will be a feature of the WLSB.
i.
Players eligible for LTC will be any players entering their 5th or
6th YOS.
ii.
Each off-season teams will be allowed to submit to the EC a list
of names (unlimited) of players from their team for LTC
negotiations. However, each team may only accept the terms
for three (3) players per every two off-seasons.
iii.
Each team will be allowed no more than five (5) LTC players
on their roster at any given time.
iv.
The date for submitting names of players for LTC consideration
will be set each off-season by the EC, on or around the same
date as arbitration decisions are due.
v.
The length of a LTC shall be 3 years for players entering their
6th YOS, and 4 years for players entering their 5th YOS,
effectively extending the player for two (2) years past the end of
his regular service time.
vi.
The salary component of an LTC shall be the greater amount
determined through the following two methodologies:
1. One hundred fifty percent (150%) of the player’s salary
level prior to the LTC; or
2. After a player is picked for LTC negotiation, his Win Share
total from the sim from the past two years is compared to
the list of players on the free agent market. If the player
awaiting LTC negotiations is a position player, the two
position players with the two-year Win Share totals closest
to his are earmarked for comparison purposes. If he is a
pitcher, the two pitchers with the two-year Win Share totals
closest to his are earmarked for comparison purposes. The
annual salary shall equal the average of the two annual
salaries that are given to the earmarked players in the
ensuing free agency period.
vii.
After the EC has calculated the LTC offers for all teams they
will be presented to the GM’s on a date before the beginning of
free agency.
viii. GM’s will have a set period of time in which to either accept or
decline LTC demands before the beginning of FA, any demands
not accepted or declined will be automatically declined.
ix.
Players signed to LTC’s have the same 1 year “no trade” clause.
x.
Once a player’s contract expires who was signed to a LTC, he
will be granted Veteran (V) status in the league.
H. The above rules governing Player Salaries are subject to EC review each offseason, for minor tweaking to ensure a realistic salary structure.
I. Unless otherwise designated in an official trade, prorated salaries for a traded
player away will be as follows:
Weeks 1-2: sending team 0/6, receiving team 6/6
Weeks 3-6: sending 1/6, receiving 5/6
weeks 7-10: sending 2/6, receiving 4/6
weeks 11-15: sending 3/6, receiving 3/6
weeks 16-19: sending 4/6, receiving 2/6
weeks 20-23: sending 5/6, receiving 1/6
weeks 24-26: sending 6/6, receiving 0/6
V.
Contract Refusal
A. Since contracts for non- free agents are formulaic and automatic, teams have
the option of refusing any contract for players xxx through 6 YOS.
i.
Any player entering his xxx, 1st, 2nd or 3rd YOS that has his
contract refused shall go on waivers.
ii.
Any player entering his 4th, 5th or 6th YOS that has his contract
refused shall become a free agent.
iii.
Each off-season a deadline will be given by which the YOS
increases (and any contract option years) must be accepted or
declined by.
1. In the event that a GM does not notify the league of his
intentions by said date, all options and YOS increases will be
accepted by default.
2. If a GM declares that he has accepted or declined an option or
YOS increase (even if the declaration comes before the
deadline), the declaration is binding and cannot be reversed.
VI.
The Waiver Process
A. Any player, regardless of service time, may be waived. The cash value and the
length of any contract already in place shall be binding between the waived
player and the team making a waiver claim.
B. If the EC receives more than one waiver claim for any individual player, a
provisional waiver award shall be made based on:
i.
The team with the lowest winning percentage in the waiving
team’s League from the previous period. If no team from the
waiving team’s League claims the player, then the team with the
lowest winning percentage in the opposite League from the
previous period.
ii.
1. From the final day of the regular season through the final day
of the first full calendar month of the following season, the
winning percentage during the most recent full season shall be
used to create priority designation for waiver claims;
2. After the final day of the first full calendar month of a season,
the winning percentage at the time when a player is waived
shall be used to create priority designation for waiver claims.
In the event of identical records by two or more claiming teams
from within the same League, the waiver priority of those teams
shall be determined by the prior year’s winning percentage.
C. Claims for players waived during the season, shall be made by teams within a
48 hour period from the point the league notifies members of any player(s)
being placed on waivers. The EC shall award the player to a claiming team
based on the priority criteria.
D. Trade waivers will be allowed starting on the simulation week which includes
games to be played on August 1. Players with a no trade clause may not be
placed on trade waivers.
i.
If the EC receives a trade waiver claim from any team, a notice of
pending action shall be issued to the original team which waived
said player. The original team shall have 48 hours from the time
when such notice is issued to withdraw the player from waivers. If
no such withdrawal is made, the player shall be awarded on a nonprovisional basis to the highest claiming team based on the priority
criteria.
E. If a team withdraws a player from trade waivers all terms of the contract
remain in effect, once a player is withdrawn from trade waivers once in a
season, if the same player is placed on trade waivers a second time the same
season the waivers are “non-revocable” and the player may not be withdrawn.
F. Any player clearing waivers shall become free agents with full financial
responsibility for the balance of the contract remaining with the original team,
regardless if the player is signed to a contract at a later date by another team.
G. If the claiming team does not have the necessary cap space to cover the players
remaining salary, the waiver claim will be null and void.
VII. Free Agency
A. Free agents shall be defined as any player:
i.
Who has completed his 6th year of WLSB service;
ii.
Whose long-term contract extension (LTC) has expired
iii.
Whose contract signed as a free agent has expired, where the team
iv.
v.
vi.
does not hold an option to extend the contract or where the team
declines to exercise such an option
Whose arbitration demands (4th-6th year) are not accepted
Who has been released from a WLSB roster & is not eligible for
the waiver draft.
Any player who meets all of the following criteria:
1. Unaffiliated with a WLSB team 25 man or reserve roster;
2. Has more than 125 career at bats or 35 career innings pitched
in MLB (total accrued); and
3. Designated as a free agent by the Executive Committee. (Each
year the Executive Committee shall establish a period of time
prior to the off-season free-agent signing period during which
any WLSB general manager may nominate players satisfying
the above criteria for inclusion as free agents). After this period
deadline has passed, free agents may no longer be added or
signed for the current season.
B. All bids for free agents shall be submitted as “blind bids” from interested teams
to the EC with those bids valued through use of an evaluation spreadsheet.
i.
The EC shall provide the entire league membership with a copy of
the spreadsheet, which contains the formula and may be used to
determine the total value of the contract offer prior to bid
submission. Members are strongly encouraged to use this
spreadsheet in determining the value of their bid proposals.
ii.
Player age is factored into the WLSB free agent bid formula:
1. Contract value for players over the age of 30 are weighted to
slightly favor longer contract periods;
2. Contract value for players under the age of 30 are weighted to
slightly favor higher salaries;
3. The age of players shall be based solely on the year of birth,
with no consideration whether a player was born in March
versus November of that year. For the purposes of WLSB free
agent age determination, all players were born on January 1.
C. Free agent contract bids must include the number of years, salary per year, and,
if desired by the bidding team, a one year team option.
i.
The value of free agent contracts shall be of a fixed cash value
from one season to the next, and may not feature an escalating or
descending sliding scale.
ii.
Free agent bids with a one- year option are considered to hold less
value than a bid for the same amount of money over the same set
number of years that does not include the team option for renewal.
D. Free Agent contract restrictions.
i.
There shall be a maximum length of 5 years with a team option or
6 years with out a team option, for any free agent contract offered.
ii.
There shall be a minimum salary requirement for all Veteran Free
iii.
Agent contracts based on the number of years offered in the
contract;
1. 1 year no option minimum salary shall be $850,000
2. 1 year with option or 2 year no option minimum salary shall
be $1,000,000 per season
3. 2 year with option or 3 year no option minimum salary shall
be $1,250,000 per season
4. 3 year with option or 4 year no option minimum salary shall
be $2,500,000 per season
5. 4 year with option or 5 year no option minimum salary shall
be $3,500,000 per season
6. 5 year with option or 6 year no option minimum salary shall
be $5,000,000 per season
The EC will review these restrictions on an annual basis during the
off-season.
E. Free agents shall be divided into three (3) groups: Type A, Type B, & Type C
free agents. Type A free agents shall be those players the EC ranks among the
top 5% of all players at their position. Type B free agents shall be those
players the EC ranks in the 6-10% range of all players at their position. Type
C free agents shall be all remaining free agents. All free agents shall occupy a
single pool to receive bids from each day (Monday – Friday). The bidding
process shall be as follows:
i.
Each team is allowed two “blind” bids on any free agent players
for the initial day and starting on day two of free agency, up to
three bids may be submitted per day, with a maximum of two bids
being spent on the category of open free agents (those not
previously receiving valid bids) or counter bids on those free
agents who have not signed with a team but have previously
received valid bids.
ii.
The following bid submission day the league will be notified of the
highest valued bids for each player, and each league member shall
have the option to expend their daily two-bid allowance upon free
agents yet to receive a contract offer, OR raise the contract value
of bids made the on the prior day.
1. If a contract offer of higher value is not made on the day after
a bid was determined to have the highest value of a given day
the offer will be considered to have been accepted and the free
agent signs the contract.
2. If a contract offer of higher value is made on the day after a
bid was determined to have the highest value of a given day,
only the two league members with the highest valued contract
offers from each respective date will enter into a bidding war
to secure the services of the free agent in question. The value
of the contract offers shall escalate between the two bidding
members until one member opts to concede the services of the
iv.
free agent to the other team.
3. Participation in a bidding war between 2 teams shall not
restrict either WLSB member from making a bid for another
player on that day in which the bidding war occurs.
The free agent signing period shall continue for a specified amount
of time (determined annually by the EC), or until all teams pass on
bidding for remaining available free agents.
F. Free agents signed for the minimum veteran free agent salary may only be
signed to a maximum of one year with no option.
G. All contracts awarded to free agents are guaranteed, and are counted against a
team’s payroll. If a player retires, goes over seas, or for whatever reason is no
longer included in the Diamond Mind Baseball simulation software projection
disk, that player’s salary shall continue to be counted against the team’s payroll
until that point when the contract has expired.
H. Contract Insurance
i.
In the event that a player signed to a free agent contract in the offseason abruptly retires, goes overseas, or is (for whatever reason)
removed from the projection disk before playing a game for the
signing team, said player shall be considered “in breech of
contract” and the contract shall become null and void.
ii.
In the event that a player signed to a guaranteed contract is forced
to retire early due to injury the team with which said player is
signed will be allowed to cut the annual salary for said player by
50% for the remainder of the contract length.
1. The EC will rule on a player by player basis as to whether the
retirement was a direct result of a severe injury, age or other
factors.
2. The team with which said player is signed with will be given
the option of keeping said player on their payroll at 50% of
contract value for the remaining length of the contract, or
exercising a contract buyout of the remaining years (cap room
permitting). The buyout option will exist every off-season until
the contact has expired (no buyouts will be allowed during the
season).
3. In the event that a player who has retired due to injury is able
to make a comeback (and subsequently re-added to the
projection disk), and has not been bought out by the team
holding his contract, his original contract value will be reinstated for the duration of the contract length.
I. Players with contracts in place before the start of WLSB shall be held to said
contracts, regardless of any contradiction with any WLSB rule. Once that
player’s contract is complete, he will then be subject to WLSB rules regarding
arbitration and free agency.
J. Veterans and players signed as free agents may be assigned to the reserve
roster, but their salaries shall be considered as includable payroll to be
measured against the team’s designated individual payroll limitation.
K. Free agents signed to multi-year contracts in the off season can NOT be traded
at any time during the first (1st) year of the new contract (one year contracts
with a team option are considered multi-year contracts for this purpose).
Players signed to one-year contracts without a team option may not be traded
until after the simulation season has passed June 1.
L. Any players not signed during the free agent process will remain free agents
until such time they are signed by a WLSB team.
i.
Any player signed after the “official” end of the free agency period
shall be signed to a 1 year league minimum contract with no
option on a first come, first served basis.
VIII. Trades
A. Trades may occur at any time from the end of the World Series (or subsequent
date as established by the EC) to the trading deadline (July 31).
B. Players traded between August 1 and August 31 must have cleared the waiver
process prior to being traded.
i.
If a player is claimed during the waiver process the waiving team
may agree to a trade with the highest priority claiming team,
providing all players involved in the trade have either cleared
waivers or have no service time.
C. No trades may occur during that period between August 31 and the end of the
World Series.
D. Trades may involve players, portions of player salaries or picks for the
upcoming WLSB draft (current year only).
i.
The Trading of draft picks is allowed with the following
restrictions:
1. Each team must use a 1st round or 2nd round selection as well
as one other transferable pick in any given season.
2. Any supplemental picks awarded for the loss of Type A or B
Free Agents are non-transferable, and do NOT count towards
draft pick compensation rules.
3. Draft picks may be bought or sold (as long as it leaves teams
the selling team within compliance of the selection rules) with
the following restrictions:
ii.
iii.
iv.
a. No 1st round draft pick shall be sold for more than
$5,000,000
b. No 2nd round draft pick shall be sold for more than
$4,000,000
c. No 3rd round draft pick shall be sold for more than
$3,000,000
d. No 4th round draft pick shall be sold for more than
$2,000,000
e. No 5th round draft picks shall be sold for more than
$1,000,000
Cash is not a tradable commodity unless being used to purchase
draft picks.
At no time will trades involving “future considerations” or a
“player to be named later” be processed.
In the event that a portion of a player’s salary is to be traded the
amount to be paid by the trading team will be left on their payroll,
and the player will be traded to the new team with a reduced
salary.
E. All trades are subject to a 48 hour EC review before being processed by the
league office. This means they may NOT be processed immediately.
IX.
Draft of Unaffiliated Players
A. A three round draft of eligible unaffiliated players shall occur in the WLSB
off-season, this will allow WLSB GMs a chance to see how recently drafted
players adapt to pro ball, as well as maintain interest in a normally “dead” time
in the league. Beginning in the 2010 draft, the WLSB amateur draft will
expand to 4 rounds.
i.
Eligible players for the WLSB draft of unaffiliated players shall be
limited to:
1. All amateurs eligible for the MLB draft of the current season.
2. Any professional player under contract with an MLB- affiliated
franchise or independent franchise, but never having been on a
DMBO roster and not declared a WLSB free agent.
3. Any current MLB player with less than 125 AB or 35 IP
accrued during their major league service. This is over their
entire career, and not any single season.
i.
Players eligible for free agency and not under contract with any
WLSB team are not eligible for the draft of unaffiliated players.
1. A list of all ineligible players will be provided prior to the start of
the draft.
a. In the event that a player is left off the ineligible list, the
EC will immediately request that the team make another
selection and add said player to the ineligible list.
B. The order in which teams shall select players in the draft of unaffiliated players
will be in reverse order of the previous WLSB season final won-loss record,
and in the event of identical records by two or more teams the order of those
teams shall be determined by the final standings of the involved franchises the
season prior.
C. The draft will start on a date determined annually by the EC and run Monday
through Friday until all picks have been made. All picks shall be submitted by
6am on the morning the EC has determined them to be due.
D. If a team fails or passes on the opportunity to make a draft pick said team will
be skipped until such time:
i.
The skipped team submits a pick at any time prior to the end of the
draft, but any players selected before the pick is made will be
ineligible for said team to draft.
ii.
The skipped picks are not submitted by 24 hours after the final
pick of the draft, after which all picks will become forfeit.
E. If a team failed to resign a Type A or B free agent that had been a member of
their team on the final day of the prior season, regardless of effort, said team
shall be entitled to a "sandwich pick" between rounds of draft of unaffiliated
players.
i.
The rules governing eligible players for the draft of unaffiliated
players, and the selection order of teams qualifying for “sandwich
picks” shall be uniform with those governing the regular rounds of
said draft.
ii.
Type A compensatory picks shall be between the end of the first
round and the beginning of the second round of the draft. Type B
compensatory picks shall be between the second round and third
round of the draft.
iii.
The order of the compensatory picks shall be determined by the
player’s value above his positions median value as determined by
the EC.