Service Time

In leagues with finances enabled, service time is a critical concept for general managers to understand, as it drives the whole processes of free agency and salary arbitration.

In OOTP, each player accumulates three types of service time:

• Professional service time
• Major league service time
• Time on the secondary roster (only available if you have minor leagues)

All three of these values can be checked in the Roster Status Information section in the lower right corner of the Contract & Status sub-screen of the Player Profile:

Time as a Professional (Professional Service Time)

Professional Service Time is a measure of how long the player has been a professional ballplayer at any level. A player accumulates one day of professional service time for each day between Opening Day and the last day of the regular season (both inclusive) that he is:

1. On any team's roster, major or minor league
2. On the 15-day disabled list

The only time a player in a league does not accumulate professional service time is when he is a free agent. Service time accrues regardless of whether the player has a game on the date in question.

Professional service time is tracked in years that are measured by days. A standard year of professional service time is 172 days. This can be adjusted during game creation in the Roster Rules section of the Rules page. After game creation, this can be adjusted by navigating to OOTP Menu | Game Setup | League Setup | Rules tab.

Time on Secondary Roster

A player accumulates one day of time on a secondary roster for each day he is:

1. On the secondary roster of a major league team
2. On the 15-day disabled list

Major League Service Time

A player accumulates one day of major league service time for each day he is:

1. On the active roster of a major league team
2. On the 15-day disabled list

Impacts of Service Time

Major league service time affects player contract status. If a player has fewer than three years of major league service at the end of the season, his contract will be automatically renewed at the league minimum level. Additionally, if salary arbitration or free agency is enabled, those are also impacted by major league service time. By default, if the player has at least three years but fewer than six, he will be awarded arbitration during the offseason. If the player has at least six years of major league service at the end of the year, he will become a free agent if his contract is up.

Professional service time and time on a secondary roster affect minor league free agency. On the day the playoffs end, if a minor league player is not currently on the secondary roster, he becomes a free agent if:

Professional Service Time - Time on Secondary Roster >= 6 years

Note: The 6 year figure above is also customizable during game creation in the Financial Rules section of the Rules page. After game creation, this can be adjusted by navigating to OOTP Menu | Game Setup | League Setup | Rules tab.

Professional service time also affects Rule 5 Draft eligibility. Players are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft if they have at least three but fewer than six years of professional service time, and the player was age 19 or older when he first signed a contract.

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