Diamonds & Rust - Rules & Settings (all in one place)

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Important Dates

***All times are considered Eastern Time - All Dates are the same each season unless noted otherwise
***When it comes to deadlines when opening day is mentioned it does not mean internation games that are played a week or weeks before the real opening day


** Dates may change annually


Settings  ***All times posted on ProBoards related to deadlines reference Eastern Standard Time***

Founder & Commissioner(Missing in action) – Jenn, currently w/o team, (ufo1839@yahoo.com) - Taking a break from the league since 2016 hopes to come back one day
Acting Commissioner & Treasurer – Mike, “Wolfpack,” (Mjpatr01@gmail.com), via text @ (630-415-8277)
Acting Helper (Doesnt want to be called Co-Commissioner) – Mike, “Badabing!,” (freundm6968@gmail.com)

League Type: Keeper
# of teams: 20
Scoring System: Rotisserie
Lineups: Weekly 
Player Pool: Mixed AL & NL
League Site: Fantrax
Inaugural Season: 2014


**Count all MLB games played including games played a few weeks before opening week***


Scoring Categories
Hitting: Runs | HR | RBI | SB | OBP | SLG
Pitching: QA3 | K | S | HD | ERA | WHIP


Rosters
C......2
1B....1
2B....1
3B....1
SS....1
CI.....1
MI....1
OF....5
UT....1
SP....5
RP....5

Bench (Reserves).....6
Minors.....50
IR......10

Prevent any transaction that would cause a roster to become illegal: Always
Maximum Total Player: 80
Maximum Active Players: 24
Minimum Active Players: 24 … you must have a complete active lineup
Maximum Reserve Players: 6
Maximum Minor League Players: 50
Minimum Minor League Players: 0
Minor League players count toward roster limitation rules: No
Minimum IP: 900
•  If the 900 IP minimum is not met, you CAN NOT win top 5 money. The next team in the standings will receive a payout instead. 
•  If the 900 IP minimum is not met you lose $50 MiLB cash the next season.
Minimum GP(hitting): 1540 
•  If the 1540 GP minimum for hitting is not met you lose $50 MiLB cash the next season.
    -MiLB cash penalties for not hitting Minimums would be removed if a new owner takes over before the start of the next season.

• YOU CANNOT IMPROVE YOUR DRAFT SPOT BY FAILING TO REACH MINIMUM INNINGS PITCHED!!! Failing to meet minimum impacts winnings, but will not lower you in the standings. This was enacted to mitigate incentive to tank.


IR Rules:
-10 IR spots
-Players who are on the MLB IR will not be able to be claimed with FAAB until they come off the IR.

-Once a player is on the IR, he can stay on it all season or until you take him off.

-IR will be turned off for the off season.

-you will have till feb 22nd to make your roster legal

-IR will be turned back on opening day first thing in the morning (When a commish is available) when at least 50% of MLB teams play their first game.

-Salary still counts agaisnt the Cap

-You can not trade players off your IR. You must make room for them on your team before you trade them. This also ensures that a traded player can not go to another team's IR unless they are still on the MLB IR.



Position Eligibility
Games needed from previous season for a player to qualify at a hitting position: 10
Games needed from current season for a player to qualify at a hitting position: 5
Starts needed from previous season for a player to qualify as a starter: 5
Starts needed from current season for a player to qualify as a starter: 3
Relief appearances needed from previous season for a player to qualify as a reliever: 8
Relief appearances needed from current season for a player to qualify as a reliever: 5
Use Fantrax's default position(s) even if player qualifies for at least one position based on above criteria: No


Salary Cap & Budgets

Hard Cap: $300
• teams may choose to spend up to $300 on roster

Free Agent Acquisition Budget: $100
• budget used to claim Free Agents in-season

Minor League Bid Money: $100
• budget used to bid on MiLB players during in-season MiLB auctions

Teams can breach the $300 threshold in the off-season, but will have to reconcile their roster to $300 or less before Feb 22nd deadline.

Teams can have a cap anywhere from $0 to $300
 

Drafts

Minor League (MiLB) Off-season
• New player draft (a.k.a. "Rookie Draft)
• Begins February 22nd
• Hosted in Fantrax Draft Room
• 5 rounds
    o Straight draft
• Slow Draft
    o 8 hours per pick with clock shutting off from 2 am to 6 am
• Beginning in 2020, draft slot to be determined by weighted lottery. Lottery results will be posted on site.

 1000 lottery balls split up as follows

140 for 20th place (Last place)
140 19th
140 18th
120 17th
105 16th
90 15th
75 14th
60 13th
45 12th
30 11th
20 10th
15 9th
10 8th
5 7th
5 6th

         The first (4) picks in the draft are selected via lottery. The remaining 11 picks follow standing from the previous season, with lower standing teams receiving earlier draft picks.

**From the start of the MiLB draft and the end of the INFA only MiLB contracts can be in the minors. All other contracts must fit in your active lineup and or bench.  Teams will be forced to drop year contracts if they must get to a legal lineup. If after dropping all Year contracts a team somehow acquires too many active contracts and spill over into the minors after Fed 22nd they will lose the First round pick in 2 years (In 2023 you would lose 2025) for the first player, 2nd round pick for 2nd player and so on.  Do not think this rule will ever be enforced just incase putting this here, and to incentive the team to make trades to fix the roster.
** Before the start of the MiLB draft MiLB roster spots will be set to an infinite amount. After all the drafts are over roster spots will be set back to 50. Teams will have till opening day to drop enough MiLB contacts to make rosters legal. On opening day any team still over 50 will have the last player drafted (or auctioned) to your team (Not acquired in trade) dropped. This will keep happening till you are at 50

MLB: Active Roster

****Rosters Lock Feb 22nd till the end of the INFA Draft - You can only trade Draft picks, MiLB contracted players, MiLB cash and FAAB until all drafts are complete. (Active and reserve lock)****


• "Free Agent" draft
• Begins March 1st
• Hosted on ProBoards
• Auction draft
    o A bid must remain “high bid” for 12 hours to win auction
• Teams can nominate only 1 player at any given time, but can bid on multiple players, provided they have roster space for those players they are bidding on, cap to cover bids, and have a nominated player’s auction open.

Posting 2 players starts on March 10th at 12 a.m.

The auction is over as soon as the last auction is posted

6 days before the first game If the auction is not over the auction clock drops to 6 hours (Not counting 2 am to 6 am basically 10 hour clock if it goes overnight).

Depending on how many auctions still left the commish may increase the number of nominations per team.


• You cannot win players to your Reserve roster
• You must fill all active spots
• Once your Active roster positions are filled ….YOU ARE DONE BIDDING

You must go into the auction with enough money to fill all active spots.

Nominations:
• Each participating team nominates (1) player on the opening day of auctions
    o If your Active roster is full, then you won’t nominate
• When nominating someone please include the player’s Name, Position, and Team in the title of your thread
• When the auction of your nominated player is complete, you are to nominate another player.

NOTE: During the MLB auction draft, towards the end, when you are drafting your last few Active roster spots, you DO NOT need to nominate a player if you are bidding on players to fill those spots. As long as you keep bidding on each position you are missing you do not need to nominate someone. As soon as you stop bidding on a certain position you will need to bid on someone else OR nominate a player to fill the roster spot.
Basically as long as you have active bids on all positions in need you do not need to nominate a new player.


MLB: Reserve Roster
• Also known as “INFA Draft”
• Draft order is same as MiLB draft
• 6 rounds (or until bench is full) 
    o Straight draft
• Slow draft
    o 8 hours per pick with clock shutting off from 2am to 6am (Subject to change in order to finish before the season starts if we are behind)
• Hosted in Fantrax Draft room
• INFA will start as soon as the last auction is posted and a commish is available to start it.

• INFA clock switches to 4 hours 4 days before the first game (If the first game is 20th, the 4-hour clock starts on the 16th just after midnight or when a commish is available to change it. (Clock being paused overnight would be extended 4 hours)

• INFA Clock switches 2 hours 48 hours later or when a commish is available to change it.


***If drafts are still not done before the games start, anyone who wants to start a player needs to have that player in the lineup when the games start, and post any MiLB cuts needed to get legal (More on MiLB cuts will be posted if it comes to that). Any player drafted after the games start can NOT be put in the lineups retroactively.***

Minor League (MiLB) In-season
• 4 separate auction drafts
    o A bid must remain “high bid” for 24 hours to win auction
• Begin at 12:01 AM on the 1st of June, July, August, and September
• All auctions are active until the player is won.
    o NOTE: This could take longer than a month, meaning one month’s auction could overlap with the following month’s auction.

Nominations
• Minor League eligible players can be nominated any time prior to midnight of the 7th day of the month
    o Minor League Eligibility Requirements: cannot exceed 130AB or 50IP for career
• Teams can nominate multiple players at one time, and can bid on multiple players.
    o You do not need to have roster space to bid on a player, since you can drop one after winning an auction (if necessary).

Adding players won in auction:

- Players will be added to your team by one of the commissioners.

- It is your responsibility to make sure you have room for the players you are winning.

- Players won will be added to teams after the next lineup lock after the last auction closes. Teams will have till the next lineup lock to make rosters legal. During this time no roster moves can be made with an illegal lineup, this includes adding players through FAAB, trades, and lineup changes. If you have an illegal lineup your FAAB adds will not go through so you need to fix it before FAAB runs. Any team that still has an illegal lineup after the next lineup lock the last auctioned player won will be dropped from their team and become a free agent. If still illegal, players will continue to be dropped based on the last action closed until the lineup is legal. Once a player is removed from a team he is free to be added by any team in the next month's auction, or FAAB if they have MLB experience. MiLB money will not be returned.

- If someone is won in the auction that is playing in the MLB and you wanted to promote and play him right away just post him in your promotions and he will be added to your team, just make sure you have room for him.

NOTE ON SEQUENCING: Each off-season, an 11 round draft is setup in Fantrax. The first five rounds represent the MiLB off-season draft. Once those five rounds are finished, the Commissioner pauses the online draft. Upon conclusion of the MLB off-season auction, which could begin while the MiLB draft is still taking place, the Commissioner starts the Fantrax online draft again and we complete rounds 6-11, which represent the MLB Reserve Roster draft.


Special Considerations


Eligibility

• Only players who have a contract with a MLB team (in real life) and or free agents who have at least 1 AB or a 1/3 of a IP for a MLB team can be drafted. This is true regardless of the draft type.


International Players
• International players who are signed to a real life MLB contract (they must be signed, being posted does not count) are also considered minor league eligible players. See next section “MLB Service Time Exception” for details on how and when these players can be claimed.

• As long as they are signed before the start of the off-season MiLB draft they can be drafted in the off-season MiLB draft.

• If they sign after the off-season MiLB draft begins, and before July 2nd, they can be auctioned in any of the in-season MiLB auctions. If they sign on or after July 2nd, they will be part of the following off-seasons MiLB draft.


MLB Service Time Exception
• Any player with a single AB or 1/3rd of an IP can be added during the off-season MLB Active Roster auction, the MLB Reserve Roster draft, or in-season via the FAAB bidding claim process.

• It is possible for a player to be both minor league eligible and eligible for claim to your MLB roster because of this rule.
    o NOTE: If a player is added or nominated in one draft, they are no longer able to be added or nominated in any other draft running concurrently.

• REMEMBER: a player who qualifies as a minor leaguer based on career AB/IP is not given a MiLB contract if they are added to your team via a Major League draft or Free Agency. MiLB contracts are only given to players drafted in a Minor league draft or Auction 

• If a player with greater than zero career AB or IP, who also qualifies as a minor leaguer based on career AB/IP, is nominated in an in-season MiLB draft, that player is officially off limits and is not able to be added via FAAB, even if the player’s auction is ongoing. Conversely, if the player is claimed off FA, they are not able to be nominated in a MiLB draft.

• This scenario is most common in cases where a “non-prospect,” not deemed desirable for rostering previously, is promoted to major leagues and begins accruing AB or IP.


Contracts
*** Contract examples represent contracts given prior to 2014 season***

(MLB) Initial Contracts
14-14 - 1 Year Contract – expires after 2014 season
14-15 - 2 Year Contract – expires after 2015 season
14-16 - 3 Year Contract – expires after 2016 season

• Initial contracts are declared after MLB players are purchased in off-season MLB auction

• Maximum length of initial contract: 3 years

• Salary cost for Initial Contracts is equal to the player’s draft cost
    o EXAMPLE: If Lou Gehrig is signed to a 3 year Initial Contract at $33 in 2014 (e.g. 14-16), his salary will stay the same for the duration of his “Initial” contract, which would look like: 2014=$33, 2015=$33, 2016=$33, 2017=Free Agency or contract extension


(MLB) Extended Contracts
EXT14 – 1 year contract extension – expires after 2014 season
EXT15 – 2 year contract extension – expires after 2015 season
EXT16 – 3 year contract extension – expires after 2016 season
EXT17 – 4 year contract extension – expires after 2017 season

• Contract extensions are declared following the final year of a player’s Initial Contract.
    o EXAMPLE: Lou Gehrig was signed through 2013 (e.g. “11-13”). If you want to give Lou an extension, it has to be done by a date set (detailed on ProBoards) before the 2014 FA Draft. If Lou is not tendered an extension by the cutoff date, his contract officially expires and he returns to free agency.

• You can only extend a player once.

• Maximum length of contract extension: 4 years

• For each year extended, salary increases by: $3
    o EXAMPLE: Lou Gehrig was signed to a $33 Initial contract that expired following the 2013 season. If he was extended the breakdown of salary increases would be:
         1 year extension: 2014=$36, 2015=Free Agent
         2 year extension: 2014=$39, 2015=$39, 2016=Free Agent
         3 year extension: 2014=$42, 2015=$42, 2016=$42, 2017=Free Agent
         4 year extension: 2014=$45, 2015=$45, 2016=$45, 2017=$45, 2018=Free Agent


(MLB) INFA Contracts
• “In-Season Free Agent” or INFA contracts are single season contracts, expiring at the end of a season.

• The following players are given INFA contracts:
    o All players claimed in the MLB Reserve Draft
    o Players claimed off FA during a season

• INFA contracts can be traded like any other contract

• INFA contracts can be dropped at any time in-season or off-season

• Every off-season, you may tender one player with an INFA contract a contract extension. AN INFA extension follows the same guidelines as other MLB Extended Contracts (i.e. up to 4 years, $3/year salary increase)


(MLB) Rookie Contracts
Year 0 - $0 (A Year 0 contract will be given to any MiLB contracted player promoted after our trade deadline has passed. A year 0 contract will have a $0 cap hit. A Year 0 contract will become a year 1 when all other Year contracts are advanced after that season ends.)
Year 1 - $0 (this is the year you call-up player)
Year 2 - $2 ($2 increase)
Year 3 - $3 ($1 increase)
Year 4 - $8 ($5 increase)
Year 5 - $13 ($5 increase)
Year 6 - $23 ($10 increase)
Year 7 - $33 ($10 increase)

• After 7 years, the player is released to Free Agency. You cannot extend a player whose rookie contract has expired.

• You may cut a player on a "Year" contract at any point AFTER POSTING ON PROBOARDS. Any year contract cut after Feb 22nd till the end of the season gets a 100% cap penalty only for that season. Year contracts are free cuts from the end off the season till Feb 22nd


MiLB – Minor League Contracts
• MiLB contracts are assigned to Minor Leaguers drafted in one of the minor league drafts.

• Minor Leaguers are defined as players whose career At Bats and Innings Pitched DO NOT EXCEED 130 AB/50 IP

• MiLB contracts are zero dollar contracts that do not count against a team’s Salary Cap

• MiLB contracts have no expiration date. (They do get forced promoted see below)

• AT NO TIME can a MiLB contract exist on a major league roster (i.e. in an Active or Reserve roster spot) 

Transactions

Claim/Drops
Lineup changes are executed: Weekly
Lineup changed are locked: 0:01 (hours:minutes) before each players 1st game of week
Max # of claims per week: no limit
Free Agent Claim System: FAAB Bidding
Free Agent bids are processed: Fridays at 12:00AM & Mondays at 12:00A.M.
Settle equal bids: Lowest ranked team in the standings wins the bid
Free Agent Acquisition Budget: $100 (in-season only)
Free Agent Bid Increment: $1
Minimum Free Agent Bid: $1
Winning FA bid becomes new salary: No

• Free Agent Acquisition Budget can be traded

• Players won through FAAB bidding are assigned INFA contracts

• Leftover FAAB does not carry over to the following season


Trades

Can Minor League Draft Picks be traded: Yes
Can Minor League Bid Money be traded: Yes
Can cap penalties be traded: Yes
Can Salary Cap be traded: No
Can FAAB Money be traded: Yes
Trading Period: End of previous season(After new site is setup and teams involved in the trade have paid all league fees) till midnight (EST) 1 week after the MLB trade deadline
Trade Deadline: 1 week after MLB trade deadline

***Feb 22nd till end of INFA You can only trade Draft picks, MiLB contracted players, MiLB cash and FAAB until all drafts are complete. (Active and reserve lock)***

• Approved by the Commissioner or Co-Commissioner

• All trades to be approved, unless there is agreed upon heinousness or proof of collusion
    o NOTE: Collusion is of course the most egregious of offenses in a fantasy league and will not be tolerated in any form. If you are caught colluding, or even suspected by way of repeated suspicious trade activity, you may be expelled from the league with all fees paid for the season in question forfeited.

• All trades must be posted AND confirmed by both teams with a timestamp on ProBoards before they will be approved by a Commissioner. Trades are not official until posted and accept on proboards. 

***The I want to go to bed rule change of 2023 - On night of the trade deadline, owners can have till noon the next day to post and accept on Proboards. To take advantage of this the trade has to be accepted on Fantrax before the trade deadline. It is still not official until both teams have posted on Proboards. These trades can not be altered from what was accepted before the deadline. Be sure the trade does not result in a illegal lineup for one of the teams, if it does the trade will be vetoed unless it can be fixed before noon, see below. All parts of the trade have to be in the fantrax trade accepted including putting MiLB cash in the comments.  

• No draft picks can be traded until that season is paid, for future picks a $50 deposit is required..

• A trade cannot result in a team having an illegal lineup. It will not be approved till this is fixed either altering the trade, new trade, MiLB Promotion, or FAAB pick-up. *** At the trade deadline any illegal lineup will have the trade vetoed, unless it can be fixed before noon the next day by promoting a MiLB contract, or if FAAB happen to happen the night of the trade deadline. 


Call-Ups
• To be able to promote a player from the minors he must have had at least 1 AB or a 1/3 of a IP in the past, and or get a AB or 1/3 of a IP the week of the promotion. You may not promote players in the minor leagues to your fantasy roster in an attempt to “tank” (i.e. fill your roster with unproductive players).

• If a player is demoted to the minors in real life, he’s allowed to stay on your MLB roster.

• To promote a player on a MiLB contract, you must post in ProBoards your intent to promote. Only then can you move the player to your Active or Reserve roster.

• Once you call-up a player who was on a MiLB contract, they begin their “Year 1” contract (Or "Year 0" if after the trade deadline), effectively starting their time clock.

• You can call-up players at any time, but beware….once they are promoted, they are promoted. Even during the off-season.


Forced Promotions

• Any player who equals or surpasses the following thresholds will be automatically promoted.

            o 500 AB

            o 150 IP

            o 35 Games Pitched

            o 27 Age


• Forced promotions happen once a year, immediately after the last MLB regular game of the season ends. (For age only this is the last scheduled MLB regular season game from the original schedule released before the season started)

• You will have till Feb 22nd to make rosters legal

• You will be notified of any forced promotions on your team, but it is your responsibility to be aware of which players on your roster with MiLB status have surpassed the AB/IP thresholds. If a player is missed as a forced promotion the promotion will happen at the time the mistake is found.



Releasing Players
• INFA contracts can be released ANY TIME with no penalty

• MiLB contract can be released ANY TIME with no penalty

Dropping other contracts in season
-Any contract can be cut anytime (Outside when rosters lock from Feb 22nd till the INFA Draft ends)

-Year contract drops are free in the off season
-Any Year contract dropped in the season will be dropped with a 100% cap penalty only for that season.

-Contracts that expire after that season ends (Ext24, 22-24, 24) dropped in season will be dropped with a 100% cap penalty only for that season.

-Contracts that expire in the future (Ext26, 24-25, 27) dropped in season will be dropped with a 100% cap penalty only for that season. In the off-season it will switch to our normal buyout penalty(below). For example, if Jose Abreu was drafted in the 2024 auction and given a $40 24-25 contract. If he is dropped then for this season he gets a 100% cap penalty so that team now can only spend $260, What the team gets is an open roster spot to use as needed. In the off-season that cap penalty will become $10 for the 2025 season per our rules in place right now.

-All buyouts regardless of when they happen must be posted on pro boards

-Any contracted player dropped in season regardless of contract will be switched to a INFA contract to be added by any team including the one who dropped him.

-Any contracted player dropped in season regardless of contract can NOT be kept as an INFA ext in the off-season by any team.

-As per our rules, cap penalties can be traded at any time.

-Must trade the full penalty for a player. Can not split a player's cap penalty.

 


Buyout Policy For Contracts That Go Beyond Current Season

*** Contracted players who's contract extends past the season they are droppedd, who are dropped after FEB 22nd deadline get 100% cap penalities for that season. The next season the Penaltie descibed below would happen***
I.Teams can buyout any player at anytime outside Feb22nd till the INFA draft is over.
II. Buyouts have a penalty associated with them.
III. Penalties are against a team's salary cap. THEY ARE NOT REAL CASH PENALTIES
IV. The penalty will be taken from $300 cap
V. Penalty dollars can't be spread across multiple seasons.
VI. Penalties are based on the remaining term of the contract being dissolved
VII. Penalty amounts round to nearest dollar. $.50 rounds up
VIII. Minimum penalty amount is $1
IX. If a player on your team passes away while under contract. That contract is nullified and the deceased player may be dropped without penalty immediately. 

Penalty Structure

Penalty amounts are calculated based off the $ value of the contract at the time a buyout is executed.

1 year remaining on contract = 25% penalty
2 years remaining on contract = 50% penalty
3 years remaining on contract = 75% penalty
4 years remaining on contract = 100% penalty

Examples: assume in these examples we are about to begin 2019 season

Player has 18-20 contract @ $28 - Penalty is 50% of $28 or $14
Player has ext 21 contract @ $41 - Penalty 75% of $41 or $30.75, which rounds to $31
Player has 18-19 contract @ $9 - Penalty is 25% of $9 or $2.25, which rounds to $2
Player has 18-19 contract @ $1 - Penalty is $1, because $1 is the minimum penalty allowed

Levying Penalties

-If your team incurred $30 of penalties due to buyout, your cap would be $270 to spend on contracts that season.  Penalty will be given using the fantrax cap penalty system.
-Cap Penalties can be traded to other teams
-Must trade the full penalty for a player. Can not split a player's cap penalty.

Minors Roster

-Any player in your minors legally at the start of the season, or at any other point in the season, can stay there all season, no forced promotions happen in the season

-Who can be put in the minors:

        •Any player who is in the real MLB minors regardless of contact.
        •Any player who have less than 130 ABs, 50IPs, and less than 27 years of age regardless of contract
        •Any MiLB contracted player

• From FEB 22nd till end of the INFA Draft only MiLB contracts can be in minors 

• MiLB players cannot be placed in an Active or Reserve roster spot until after they are “called-up” and their contract status changes to “Year 1”  (or Year 0)

• When you move a player to a Minors roster spot, the player’s salary still counts against your salary cap and the player’s contract stays the same. THEY DO NOT RECEIVE A MiLB CONTRACT.



Fees & Prizes

League fee - $100 plus cost of site

• League fee is due November 1st    


Weekly Winners
1st place for week (Mon-Sun) based on rotisserie scoring: $10 per week - Weeks will be adjusted to have 25 scoring periods by Combining weeks. If less than 25 due to some kind of stoppage weeks will be worth more than $10
Total Weekly Winner Pot: $250 

Payouts

$105 Entry Fee

$2100 = Total Collected
$99.95 Fantrax site fee

$2000.05 = Total prize pool
$250 = Set aside for weekly winners
$700.05 = 1st
$490 = 2nd
$280 = 3rd
$175 = 4th
$105 = 5th

• In the event of a tie, any prize money will be split evenly. There will be no tie-breakers when it comes to payouts

• The tie-breaker for DRAFT ORDER ONLY will be:
    o 1st tie-breaker – Games Played Pitchers and Hitters
    o 2nd tie-breaker – Innings Pitched
    o 3rd tie-breaker – Games Played Hitters
    o If still tied Coin Flip
    o The team that wins the tie-breaker gets the better draft slot



FAQs