IV) TEAM ROSTERS

A) Player Designations

1) Carded Player – a player who has actually playing time from the previous MLB season, and is on the current season disk.
2) Un-Carded Player – a player who has not played in the previous MLB season and has been given an MWBL minor league contract. These players are typically players in the minor leagues of professional baseball, amateur (college or high school) players, foreign players, or Formerly Carded Players who may have missed the previous MLB season and are no longer carded.

1. All Un-Carded Players carry a three (3) year contract, except for the “Bonus Baby” (eligible 2021)

a. “Bonus Baby” – During the Draft (Starting in 2021) Owners will have the right to designate one (1) Un-Carded Player as their “Bonus Baby”.

(1) Bonus Babies must be declared during the time of selection at the Annual Draft.

a. Failure to declare Bonus Baby before the next selection is made will result in only a 3-year contract (I.e. will not be a Bonus Baby).

(2) Bonus Babies will be given a 4 Year Un-Carded contract and will be rostered for four (4) years (as an Un-Carded Player) or until they become a Carded Player.
(3) Bonus Babies may not be traded as an Un-Carded Player appearing on the Data Disk.
(4) Franchises may only have one (1) Bonus Baby on their roster at any time.
(5) If a Franchise leaves the league, the new owner has the option to keep the “Bonus Baby” contract, revert to a three (3) year Un-Carded contract or cut the Bonus Baby altogether.

2. An Un-Carded contract is canceled only if the player

a. Receives an APBA card in a subsequent season
b. The three-year period expires
c. The player is deceased.

3. Un-Carded Players will be located on the Farm Roster and will be indicated by an asterisk (*) before their last name plus the year they were signed, after their last name (i.e. *Boone’96, Aaron). These players MAY NOT be placed on the Active Roster.
4. If an Un-Carded Player does NOT receive an APBA card in three years, he is automatically waived at the completion of his third year (exception Bonus Baby) and is eligible to be drafted by any team DURING the next Annual Draft.
5. Un-Carded Players carry their three-year contract when traded; the time does not renew with the new team. Once the contract expires, that player is eligible for the next Annual Draft

B) Rosters

1) In-Season Rosters consist of all players on both the Active Roster and Farm Roster.

a. Season Rosters will be limited to a minimum of 38 Carded Players, plus a maximum of up to 12 Un-Carded Players, for a required total of 50 players.

b. At the conclusion of the Annual Draft, the flex rosters have been introduced and can only be aligned to one of the roster configurations:

• • • 38 carded players/12 uncarded players
    • 39 carded players/11 uncarded players
    • 40 carded players/10 uncarded players
    • No matter which configuration is chosen, all teams must plan to meet the 38-carded-player roster minimum

2) Active Rosters consist of 27 players on the ‘Main’ team.

1. Only Carded Players are permitted on the Active Roster.
2. This includes at least one backup player for each position and at least nine (9) pitchers.
3. Rosters may be adjusted during each weekly update cycle.
4. There will be no limit to the number of times a player may be moved to & from the farm team roster.
5. Active Rosters expand to a max of 40 Carded players on September 1, according to the League Manager calendar.

3) Farm Rosters consist of the Draft Picks currently owned, ‘not on Active Roster’ Carded, and Un-Carded Players.

1. The transfer of players from the Farm Roster to the Active Roster will be done by the team’s owner during the update defaults cycle (or the Commissioner in cases of emergency).

4) There is a required 35-Carded player minimum at the end of the Supplemental Draft (Article VII Section B)

C) End of Season Rule 5 Cuts 

1) Only unprotected carded players on the upcoming season’s Preview Disk will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft

2) Roster cuts will be due approximately one week after the “Preview” Disk is released.

3) Cuts are to be as follows:

a) Bottom 5 MWBL Franchises in each league (total 10 teams) based on Record / Winning Percentage – Maximum 33 Carded Players (*1) {Tier 1}

i) Any new owner participating in a Dispersal Draft or a single owner inheriting a team after the current season ends and prior to the Rule 5 Draft, will be considered a Tier 1 team

b) Middle 5 MWBL Franchises in each league (total 10 teams) based on Record / Winning Percentage – Maximum 30 Carded Players (*1) {Tier 2}

c) Top 4 seeded MWBL Playoff Franchises in each league (total 8 teams) – Maximum 27 Carded Players (*1) {Tier 3}

 4)A player who does not appear in the current MLB season, and is considered non-carded, the Owner has the option to:

a) Give the Un-Carded Player a 3-year contract

i) The contact year start would be the next Annual Draft

ii) Owners CAN NOT use the Bonus Baby contract for the Un-Carded Player

b) Be protected as a No Card player that counts against their carded player numbers

c) Waived outright

i) Not eligible for the Rule-5 Draft

ii) Would be eligible for the Annual Draft as an Un-Carded Player

d) Once a player is designated as a No Card, they CAN NOT be converted to an Un-Carded player

 5) (*1) = Draft and Develop player

a) The definition of a Draft and Develop Prospect is a player:

i) YOUR TEAM DRAFTED and MAINTAINED a PROSPECT as an UN-Carded status (5).

ii) At the end of the current MLB season the prospect has appeared – and therefore will be Carded in the upcoming season.

iii) This prospect must have been drafted by your team and never traded during his time as an Un-Carded status (5).

iv) He still has MLB Rookie Status (Under 130 AB or 50 IP) [baseball-reference.com can be checked to verify if your player is in MLB rookie status.

1) MLB Rookie playing days do not apply.

b) Selection Process:

i) Each team in MWBL may designate 1 Draft and Develop Prospect as a KEEPER during the Cut-Down Process and this 1 player will be added to the cut limit your team has.

1) If 27, you may keep 28 with this player designated as the 28th keeper, if 30, this player is the 31st keeper, if 33, this player is the 34th keeper.

c) NOTE: It is the Team Owner’s responsibility to determine if the player selected meets the requirements as stated above.

i) If it is determined that he doesn’t (such as he wasn’t a 3-year prospect in YOUR SYSTEM, or he doesn’t meet MLB rookie requirements) he will be dropped from your team and go into the Rule 5 player pool.