Post by A's GM (Justin - Commissioner) on Jun 4, 2015 3:49:03 GMT
| Signed During Season | Signed During Offseason* | |
| Players 23 and Older | Subject to In-Season Free Agency | Subject to Offseason Free Agency |
| Players Under 23 | Subject to International Bonus Pools | Subject to International Bonus Pools |
*Offseason officially begins the day after the final day of the World Series
Bonus Pools
International Bonus Pools will be based on the reverse order of the previous year's standings. The order will then be scaled to highest MLB bonus pool in order to finalize the bonus pool amount.
The pool resets every year on April 1st.
An owner is allowed to go over their pool, but will face similar penalties to what the actual MLB teams face.
0-5% Over - The team will forfeit the same percentage of their bonus pool in the following signing period (They cannot then go over the pool limit as well - Applies for all overages)
5-10% Over - The team cannot sign more than one individual player for more than 30% of their bonus pool in the following signing period
10-15% Over - The team cannot sign an individual player for more than 30% of their bonus pool in the following signing period
15%+ Over - The team cannot sign an individual player for more than 15% of their bonus pool in the following two signing periods
The absolute max a team can spend in their pool is their remaining salary cap that is used for normal free agency.
Players can be put up for auction as soon as they sign a formal contract with an MLB team, meaning there is no formal J2 signing period but rather, international free agents can be signed at any point throughout the year. For that reason, it is important to properly strategize your bonus pool. Spending it all on July 2nd and having nothing left for when a great IFA comes onto the market in March may cause problems. Similarly, waiting to spend it all on June 30th is also a poor idea. Plan your bonus pool effectively beforehand.
International Bonus Pool money can be traded.