Last time, we had a single FAB thread for people to post questions and signings, so here we go again.
Before we begin (around 48 hours from the time of this post), a FAQ:
Make sure you've decided whether to dump your whole roster ("Firesale") or not. Dumping the whole roster includes prospects, and you will have $100m free to spend. You can waive individual players instead of dumping the whole roster, but then you're on the hook for half their remaining salary - unless they get claimed by another team.
If you want to extend any existing contracts, you must do this before the FAB. Otherwise, they'll hit free agency.
You have a salary cap of $100m during the FAB, but $110m for the whole season - the game forces you to keep $10m in reserve for mid-season signings. Probably a good idea. Money not spent does not roll over to 2013! Mid-season signings cannot be extended beyond 2012, but trading for players, or claiming them off waivers, avoids this problem.
Contracts are in $m/year, not $m total! (This tripped up at least one owner last year . . .) A contract for $18m/3Y is for $18m per year, not $6m per year! Also, GDR contracts do not correlate particularly well with real-world contracts, so avoid thinking that A-Rod is a bargain at $22m/year just because he makes more than that for the Yankees . . .
You are limited to 50 contract years and 3 No-Trade Clauses total. Be aware - if you use up all 50 contract years, you may have difficulty signing prospects or trading for new players during the season!
You gain GM rating through signing players, and making bids that put you in the lead for a player (even if you're later out-bid). You lose GM rating for late bids (final 10% of the bidding period, with higher penalties later on), waiving players, or submitting bids to a player you can't fulfill - e.g. because you run out of years or money when the signing deadline hits. That doesn't mean you can't do those things - you can save a lot of cash by low-balling players when you're the only one bidding! But be aware that it comes with a cost.
GM rating lets you see more information on the bidding - how many teams are competing against you for a player? Which teams are they? At high levels, you even get to see what the current high bid is . . .
Your team will automatically place 5 new players onto the market every FAB round (of which there are 5) = 25 players total. You do not have to bid on these players if you don't want - this is useful if your roster is already filling up! Go to Free Agency Blitz/Autobid and configure the tool appropriately. This is a great way to finish the draft if you're happy with your roster already, and don't want to spend more. It can also help you find bargains in the late rounds! If no-one bids on a player, they return to free agency. You don't lose GM points for doing this.
You may sign up to 40 players, not including prospects. You have a 25-man MLB roster, and can have up to 15 players in the minors - they don't have to be prospects! Young players can be sent to the minors up to 3 times each; older players, 1 time each. This is tracked in your Front Office/Contracts page.
Finally, any other questions or problems, please raise them now! Veterans, feel free to jump in with other advice. The FAB isn't hard, or even that complicated, but it is different to most leagues.
Be seeing you,
Saxmania
Before we begin (around 48 hours from the time of this post), a FAQ:
Make sure you've decided whether to dump your whole roster ("Firesale") or not. Dumping the whole roster includes prospects, and you will have $100m free to spend. You can waive individual players instead of dumping the whole roster, but then you're on the hook for half their remaining salary - unless they get claimed by another team.
If you want to extend any existing contracts, you must do this before the FAB. Otherwise, they'll hit free agency.
You have a salary cap of $100m during the FAB, but $110m for the whole season - the game forces you to keep $10m in reserve for mid-season signings. Probably a good idea. Money not spent does not roll over to 2013! Mid-season signings cannot be extended beyond 2012, but trading for players, or claiming them off waivers, avoids this problem.
Contracts are in $m/year, not $m total! (This tripped up at least one owner last year . . .) A contract for $18m/3Y is for $18m per year, not $6m per year! Also, GDR contracts do not correlate particularly well with real-world contracts, so avoid thinking that A-Rod is a bargain at $22m/year just because he makes more than that for the Yankees . . .
You are limited to 50 contract years and 3 No-Trade Clauses total. Be aware - if you use up all 50 contract years, you may have difficulty signing prospects or trading for new players during the season!
You gain GM rating through signing players, and making bids that put you in the lead for a player (even if you're later out-bid). You lose GM rating for late bids (final 10% of the bidding period, with higher penalties later on), waiving players, or submitting bids to a player you can't fulfill - e.g. because you run out of years or money when the signing deadline hits. That doesn't mean you can't do those things - you can save a lot of cash by low-balling players when you're the only one bidding! But be aware that it comes with a cost.
GM rating lets you see more information on the bidding - how many teams are competing against you for a player? Which teams are they? At high levels, you even get to see what the current high bid is . . .
Your team will automatically place 5 new players onto the market every FAB round (of which there are 5) = 25 players total. You do not have to bid on these players if you don't want - this is useful if your roster is already filling up! Go to Free Agency Blitz/Autobid and configure the tool appropriately. This is a great way to finish the draft if you're happy with your roster already, and don't want to spend more. It can also help you find bargains in the late rounds! If no-one bids on a player, they return to free agency. You don't lose GM points for doing this.
You may sign up to 40 players, not including prospects. You have a 25-man MLB roster, and can have up to 15 players in the minors - they don't have to be prospects! Young players can be sent to the minors up to 3 times each; older players, 1 time each. This is tracked in your Front Office/Contracts page.
Finally, any other questions or problems, please raise them now! Veterans, feel free to jump in with other advice. The FAB isn't hard, or even that complicated, but it is different to most leagues.
Be seeing you,
Saxmania
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