OVERUSE
In the Christian tradition, the Year of Jubilee is a special period of forgiveness, reconciliation, and indulgence, currently established every 25 years. As 2027 will mark our 25th season, it seems appropriate to wipe away all overuse penalties and begin next season with a clean draft slate and a new system to help everyone better manage overuse.
In summary, 13 teams overused 68 players total, and the overwhelming majority of these were trace overuse--and frequently by extremely marginal players. It's also telling that four of the five teams with no infractions were playoff teams, so I think this reflects how easy it is to "check out" when our teams are struggling, regardless of good intentions. The prescribed punishment for these low crimes simply no longer fit the guidebook that was crafted two years ago. And equally important is the fact that many, many Groundouts put in a ton of effort to maximize usage properly, as 99 players came in between 108-110%. Just for fun, go check out the usage patterns by Homestead, Charleston, and Pensacola, as they each conducted a master class in maximizing ABs and IPs.
With the advent of the Usage Czar next season to help all teams better manage usage, it just seems like overlooking this fairly widespread and common overuse is the simplest and cleanest way to move ahead. Now go and sin no more.
RULE 5 DRAFT
Please submit your Rule 5 protected lists to The Commish no later than Sunday, October 11. The shortened two-round draft will take place two weeks later, coinciding with the NL draft, now re-scheduled for Monday, October 26 @ 8:00 CT.
NL DRAFT
The 35 eligible draftees have been listed on the draft page, so start your research now. Criteria was 0.6 bWAR or higher, and normal usage minimums required. Any player that also appeared as an eligible AL draftee will be available in the February draft only. Draft will be conducted prior to the Rule 5 draft.
AWARD SEASON
Sam Bentz will be posting the announcement of winners the weekend of October 10-11. Watch the website for details!
TRADE DEADLINE & ROSTER MANAGEMENT
Trades will be accepted up until Sunday, October 11, whereupon rosters will be frozen until the end of the month, following the conclusion of the two fall drafts, and the annual offseason roster trimming. After several requests, rosters limit will now be set at 36 players, up two from previous seasons. The only other modification is that the Library will be free-of-charge once again to assist in late-season usage crises.
Dave, with the reduction in rounds, how many players maximum does each team risk losing? Would it be 2 players?
Two players max. We'll be able to conduct the entire draft in one night, with each team requiring only one pullback. I've also removed all the one-year NL draftees from current rosters since they don't need to be protected.
@san-antonio Thanks for the thoughtful response, and it’s a very reasonable position. After reviewing the infractions and addressing the state of our managerial group, I tend to gravitate towards working on making the league as enjoyable and playable as possible. I guess in this case, enforcing penalties—even when warranted—started to feel a little heavy-handed. Sorta like writing speeding tickets for every car going down the interstate at 68 mph. Feels better for all if we hit the reset and focus on improving compliance. That’s how I landed on this path. Hopefully, next year will bring further reductions in overuse.
@san-antonio I wonder if we could award the teams that didn't have any overuse by having them pick first in the 6th round in reverse order of finish. Then have the teams that did have overuse (however minimal) pick in reverse order after that. This would only be for the 6th round. Just a suggestion, it's a minimal reward, and minimal penalty.
Could there be some sort of reward this year for the teams that made it through unscathed?