2022-2023 Expansion Plan

UPDATE – 8/3/2021 – 3/19/2022:
With the move to a November Draft, the four expansion teams will be awarded the top four picks of the draft. The worst team of 2022 will get the 5th overall pick. I *think* we’ll have to conduct the expansion draft before the Amateur Draft, which means the Expansion Draft will take place around November 7th.


As I mentioned on Slack, I’m planning on expanding the league after the 2022 season, with the ultimate goal of 24 teams in the league with 4 six-team divisions or 6 four-team divisions.

The original plan was to expand two teams at a time spaced three years apart. After talking with a bunch of you, there is strong sentiment to pull the bandaid off and expand by four teams all at once.

If we expanded two teams, we would have done it the same way as the last time we expanded. Teams would have lost 3.5 players (the deeper teams would have lost 4 players and the weaker teams 3 players). Teams would have protected 19 players and would have lost their 20-21-22-23 players. [ (20+21+22+23)/4= 21.5

By expanding by four teams, teams will lose 7 players each. To adjust for the value of the lower picks, we can only protect 18 players. Teams will now lose their 19-20-21-22-23-24-25 players. [ (19+20+21+22+23+24+25)/7 = 22 ] The team pools will not include players with 3 or fewer pro years.

The overall value of players lost remains at the an average of the 22nd best players of each team.

Although we will try to get more human players, from the way the AI teams have worked, I don’t believe it’s necessary to wait until we get more human managers. The AI teams do a competent job, not better than good human managers, but better than the worst human managers.

By moving from 20 to 24 teams we’ll increase the major league player count from 520 players to 624 players, which would make things more realistic.

I originally believed in doing two teams but I’ve been convinced that doing it all at once would ultimately make things easier.

Please plan accordingly.


3/19/22 – Below is an archive of an explanation of the process for the 2019 Expansion. The same rules will apply in the 2022 Expansion (although 4 teams will be added at that time.)

The long-term plan is to increase from 18 teams to 24 teams over the next six years. We’ll expand two teams between the 2019-2020 seasons. Two more teams will be added between the 2022-2023 seasons. The last two expansion teams will be added between the 2025-2026 season. 

The drafts will be conducted about a week or so after the season ends (game time). 

If we have two human GMs ready to go, they will participate in the drafts. If not, AI GMs will make selections. The teams will remain on AI until human GMs for the teams are found. 

We will use the setting that follow (which I found on OOTP’s forum).

Edit: After running a couple of mock drafts (and the draft pools), I believe it’s fairer to give the expansion teams four players. Using the same methodology for four picks [ (16+20+24+28)/4 = 21.75 ] We’d each protect 19 players [ (20+21+22+24)/4 = 21 ] to use the OOTP expansion in the game and provide equal value.

Players with 3 years or fewer Pro Years will be ineligible. (From my testing, anyone currently listed as 3 years or less of pro experience is not eligible, regardless of which roster the player is on.) ADDED: 7/5/2019

Here’s what I do, to approximate the real-life rules as best I can. In real-life, teams can “re-protect” after they lose a player, which isn’t an option in OOTP.

Basically, teams can protect 15, then lose one, then protect three, lose another, protect three more, and maybe lose one more (or maybe not). That means that if everybody was acting efficiently, teams would lose their 16th-best player, protect 17, 18 and 19, lose their 20th-best, protect 21, 22 and 23, then lose their 24th-best player (maybe).

So the average value is three 20th-best players ((16+20+24)/3). The only way to approximate that value in OOTP, where protection lists are set at the start of the draft, is to have a team lose its 19th, 20th and maybe 21st pick. So here are my settings, based on two expansion teams, and anywhere from 24 to 32 exisiting teams (so the 1993, 1998, and a theoretical MLB expansion to 32 teams would work under this scenario:

Number of rounds: 35
Max players lost per team: 3
Number of players protected: 18
Minimum pro experience to be eligible: 3 years

I have found this settings to create reasonable, life-like results. I have had expansion teams win the World Series in their 6th season (a la the Mets), and teams make one playoff in 20 attempts (i.e. the Mariners) with these settings.

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/showpost.php?p=4118820&postcount=4

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