I'd love to see changes to the IFA system. If you have a competitive team with a substantial payroll, you can't compete with teams signing IFAs for $25 million per free agent. The IFA market is so top heavy that the whales all get massive signing bonuses and the scraps are borderline worthless.
I'd strongly recommend moving to a system like the MLB has (which other sim games like Out of the Park Baseball already do -- it's possible!).
I think the gist of how it could work is this:
- IFA signing bonus pool is totally separate from prospect budget, and IFA bonus pool does NOT need to be budgeted for. It is separate. You cannot transfer $ into our out of IFA signing bonus pool.
- Teams CAN trade their IFA bonus pool allotment and teams can acquire up to an addition 60% of their IFA bonus pool allotment (e.g., if I have an IFA $5 million bonus pool, I can get up to $3 million more)
- The specific amount of IFA bonus pool $ each team gets is determined automatically by a formula at the start of spring training. For instance, each team starts with $4.75 million; they gain $500,000 for each Type A free agent they lost; they lose $250,000 for each Type B free agent they lost; they lose $50,000 for every $1 million they are above some player salary limit (let's say $95 million).
A sample would go like this.
Team A lost three Type A free agents and three Type B free agents. They have a $64 million payroll. Their IFA bonus pool would be $4.75 million + ($500,000 x 3) + ($250,000 x 3) = $6.75 million.
Team B lost one Type B free agent and has a $102 million payroll. Their IFA bonus pool would be $4.75 million + ($250,000 x 1) - ($100,000 x 7) = $4.30 million
Pros of this system
- Adds another element of strategy in pre-season planning. Teams will have to consider the IFA ramifications before making Type A/Type B signings.
- Limits absurd spending on international free agents and disincentivizes miniscule payrolls in favor of massive IFA spending potential, creating greater season-to-season competition.
- Adds another valuable trade asset! For teams in the middle of a playoff race who may not have great prospect depth, they can now offer IFA bonus pool money to supplement trade offers to improve at the deadline. Conversely, it gives rebuilding teams a chance to get a few additional million dollars to get decent prospects.
See
International Amateur Free Agency & Bonus Pool Money | Glossary | MLB.com and
MLB 2025 International Signing Bonus Allotment List | AP News