Roster Freeze and Draft Day Information

Here is the information for Draft Day 2018 and Roster Freeze Day.  Please make sure to read its entirety as this year is different than others.

DRAFT DAY

Thanks to Easter we, as a league, decided to move Draft Day to the weekend prior to Opening Day.  Draft Day is Saturday, March 24th.  The draft will begin at 12:30.  Any owner is welcome to arrive early (actually it's encouraged so we can dispense with the administrative issues and hit the ground running with the Ruffin Privilege at 12:30).  I should be at the office around 11:30 if not sooner, printing out sheets and organizing the room so anytime after 11:30 is fine to arrive.

Location - We have a NEW DRAFT LOCATION as my business office moved in December.  We will be drafting at 387 Shuman Blvd, Naperville.  There are three conference or training rooms to choose from, I will figure out which one fits our needs best, but two of them are MUCH larger than the room we have been in for years.

Basically the office is at the corner of Mill and Shuman (just south of I-88 and north of Diehl Road.  The main entrance is at the "back" of the building which faces the parking lot, not the street.  Call or text me with any directional questions.

Amenities - I do not believe there is public Wi-Fi in the building.  So plan accordingly.  As always, if you are using the internet that's fine but we WILL NOT delay a bid while an owner is waiting for a page to refresh or trying to download information.  There also is not a public fridge or microwave.  Any food you bring will need to be ok in room temperature or you'll need to bring a cooler.  Please bring an extension cord if you plan on using a computer.  The rooms should have plenty of outlets, but as I said, the rooms are larger so we may not be sitting right next to a plug.

All the normal Draft Day things apply.  Come prepared.  Pay attention to the player and bid so we can move in a timely manner.  You're certainly allowed to take time to consider a bid, but we don't want owners taking "too much time".  We've all been in the league long enough to know what that means.

After the draft if you are available and want to, we can head out to a local establishment to relive the draft or catch up with each other.  There are a ton of places to choose from in the area, we can figure out specifics the day of.

Entrance fee is $120.  Check or cash is fine.  Just bring payment.  I don't want to have to chase anyone down during the season for payment.

ROSTER FREEZE DAY

Since we are drafting a week before Opening Day we have challenges with our rosters.  The Executive Committee has discussed the matter and has decided that Roster Freeze Day will be Wednesday, March 21st at 3pm.

Yes, that gives you two full days to plan your draft knowing the other teams' cuts instead of the traditional week.  However, this gives you an additional three days to make roster decisions based on what's happening in the National League training camps.

Those teams with minor leaguers will  need to be extra vigilant in your decisions.  If you place an Mx player on your active roster and that player ultimately gets sent to the minors PRIOR to Opening Day, you can reserve that player to retain his Mx status - or you can leave him on your active roster when the season starts and his contract status will change accordingly.

If you place a minor leaguer (who is still in major league camp) on your reserve list and he starts the season on the Opening Day Roster, you will not be allowed to activate that player until July 1st.

This is all pretty standard stuff, however given that Roster Freeze Day is a week and half prior to Opening Day I fully expect NL rosters will still be in a state of flux.

Here is where things can get interesting.  Currently we have a number of CFCL teams with players on their roster who are free agents.  Here is how this will be handled.

Option 1) - You can release the player when you submit your cuts.

Option 2)  - You can keep the free agent player when you submit your cuts.  The player has to be placed on your Reserve List.  His salary counts against your cap and he counts against your 15 keepers.

2a)  If your kept free agent is signed by an American League team prior to Roster Freeze Day (3pm March 21st) the player is automatically released.  His salary is restored to your cap but you will not be able to pull someone back from your cut list to replace the free agent on your roster.

2b)  If your kept free agent is signed by an American League AFTER Roster Freeze Day (3pm March 21st) the player is on your team for the year (unless you release him during the season) and his stats count whenever you have him on your Active Roster.

Once your cuts are submitted your roster is frozen.  You may not move players from Active to Reserve unless a player on your Active roster has been put on the DL or sent to the minors.  You  may not under any circumstances move a player from the Reserve list to the Active Roster.

Any questions, please direct them to me.