Removing the pre-season position eligibility addition

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The TL;DR – Under our current rules, each GM is allowed a one-off addition of position eligibility to a player ahead of the start of Spring Training – adding 2B or 3B eligibility to a player who is SS only, or adding 1B to a player who is 3B eligible only. This helps with roster balance and position scarcity.

The proposal is that this extra eligibility move is removed, and would take effect from the 2025 season.

The detail:

This rule helps mimic real life where players can move down the defensive spectrum – typically shortstops are able to cover at 2B and 3B, and 1B is an easier corner infield position to field than 3B.

The fact that it is done ahead of Spring Training and not just at any point in the season also reflects that a player may be asked to play at a new position ahead of the season, due to a change in personnel due to trade, promotion of a prospect or similar.

This allows for a small bit of roster flexibility in a league as deep as BTL, and to counter any position scarcity issues. 

The argument against this is, I suppose, that it is an atypical rule to have in fantasy baseball, where a player’s eligibility is almost always uniquely determined by the number of games they play at a position in real life.