Keeper Debate

[Saltydog]

12 team 5x5 roto league.

Previous years' rules were that 2 keepers may be kept at the originally rostered price. Players must have been rostered prior to Aug. 1st to qualify. No player drafted in the first 4 rounds is eligible to be kept.

This year, there has been a debate regarding the framework of a salary cap (for 2009 it was $280, this year, undecided). The salary cap never comes into play, and can not be determined until a decision is made regarding keepers.

Here are the options:

1. Players can be kept at any length of time with no change in $ value.

2. Players can be kept at any length with a $5 cost per year after original rostered year.

3. Players can be kept for a certain term with no change in $ value.

4. Players can be kept for a certain term with a $5 cost per year after original rostered year.

5. Reset keepers and start over for the 2010 season.

What option would you prefer?

I vote for option 4. It ensures that all players will eventually go back into the draft pool. Deciding to keep a player will now become a factor within the framework of the salary cap.

[Gaze]

I'm a bit of a noob to Keeper baseball leagues, but assuming you go with number 4, when the keeper term is up and he is released back into the player pool, could you potentially redraft him (after round 4) and restart the keeper cycle?

Regardless, I think it's the best option.

[RDD15]

You mention both player dollar values, and draft rounds. This has me confused as to the setup of your league.

[bigmck]

You mention both player dollar values, and draft rounds. This has me confused as to the setup of your league.

It sounds like to me that they are doing a snake draft and assigning dollar values depending on what round the player is drafted in. This is just alot of trouble that serves no purpose. If you are going to do a Draft, do one. If you are going to have salaries, do an Auction. There is nothing in between. == As far as you question, in our Auction League, the player gets the Auction salary the first two years in the league. The third years is an increase of $5 and for the fourth and every year after is a $10 raise. You want to set it up where someone can't keep a player forever.

[SumG]

I like #2. It sounds like your major concern with this method is that someone picks up a rookie who was just called up for a dollar, then he becomes such an absurd value that the manager has when 6 years later he still has contract in the single digits (a valid concern). I think there are some ways to circumvent this, though.

1. Make the per year $ increase large (I'd suggest $5/year, if not a little more)
2. Say that players picked up off the waiver wire can't be kept
3. Assign a base value to a waiver wire pickup (say $5 or something)
4. Use a FAAB (free agent acquisition budget) and have the acquisition price be the player's salary

Or some combination thereof. As an example, let's say someone picked up Ryan Braun in 2007 and decided to keep him. If you used rules 1 and 3, then in 2008, he would cost $10, then $15 last year, and $20 this year. Whoever has him would still likely keep him, but it wouldn't be absurd value. And three or four years from now, when his price tag is $35-$40, he might not be worth keeping, but still only be 28 years old.

[bk1998]

Our perspective (keeper, auction)

Prices inflate by the following formula (Previous year value +3) * 1.25

FAAB acquisition price becomes salary for free agents

Players can be "kept" three consecutive times before returning to the free agent pool. The "keeper clock" does not reset on trades.

So I guess I'd go with option 4, as this system has worked very well for us (better than other leagues I've been in with variants of your other alternatives).