Understanding the roster rules

I’m struggling to understand the roster restrictions in Ottoneu.

They say you do not need a full 40 man roster but that you cannot adjust your lineup if that is the case. Does this mean nearly every team will always have a full 40-man roster? I do not see how you would adjust lineup changes for inevitable injuries without it.

Just trying to anticipate in a first year draft how many teams will have 40 players when the draft is over.

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You cannot make roster moves if you have more than 40 players on your roster or if you exceed the salary cap. You can have less than 40. I would expect many teams will exit the draft with less than 40 players and some salary cap space to allow the flexibility for making moves down the road.

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The most important roster rules are that you have no more than 40 players (players on the 60 Day DL do not count toward your 40 man roster), and that you have at least $1 open for every unfilled roster spot. So it is absolutely legal to have 37 players costing $390, but it is not legal to have 37 players costing $398, or 41 players costing $380. The only times you cannot make lineup changes (or place FA bids/waiver claims/make trades) is when your roster is illegal, and that only happens if you have too many players or not enough cap space per open roster spot. Hope that helps!

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To your point about anticipating how many teams will have 40 players when the draft is over- see here for my post detailing the typical auction results: Typical Ottoneu Auction Results . On average teams leave the auction with 35 MLB players, 4 prospects, and 1 open spot while spending about $10-$15 unspent.

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Thanks for the clarity guys

“You do not have enough money to fill 40 roster spots.”

May I ask why this matters? Especially right now, before the season begins?

I am being told that I cannot process trades, etc. until I cut players to have enough for $1 per spot to fill the roster.

If I want to be at 38 players with a full budget, what is the problem/illegality with that? Especially if I am continuing to make trades to alter said budget?

I’m assuming there’s a reason for this rule. But would love clarification.

I’m sitting here in a position where I can cut decent players and my roster remains invalid… But I can’t do any sort of preseason trading or moving to fix that?

That’s a pretty standard requirement in every auction league I’ve ever been a part of, that at least $1 must be allocated to every roster spot, and is outlined in the ottoneu rules: https://ottoneu.fangraphs.com/rules

While your roster is in an illegal state (over the cap, more than 40 players (60 Day DL doesn’t count), and/or not having $1 free per open roster spot under 40) you cannot initiate or accept trades, change your lineup, or bid on players. Your only recourse is to cut players until your roster becomes legal.

Oh I see the rule. And thank you for the reply - I didn’t know that was the case with all auction leagues.

I am just curious about the logic behind it and wonder if I am missing something.