Writing can be a solution to help ease the pain. So, it is for me here.
This article is about a serious oversight on my part that either would have cost me New York Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker or $505 of my $1000 full-season free agent bonus allocation (FAAB) in National League Tout Wars.
Here is how it unfolded.
Walker, who was off to a tremendous start in 2021, suffered tightness in his side that led to a move to the Mets’ injured list on May 19. Since he was on my roster in NL Tout, I followed with a comparable move in our league.
Even so, Walker’s breakout success was recognized. During his time on the IL, Walker was a major figure in my trade discussions with another Tout competitor who possessed steals I am seeking.
On Saturday the 29th, the 28-year-old was activated by New York. I did not do the same – and therein is the problem.
I left that day for a two-week vacation, with the promise that I would disconnect from baseball as much as possible. So, on Saturday morning, I scanned my rosters and set my lineups for the coming week.
Per Tout rules, any player activated by his MLB team must be activated by his Tout Wars manager by first pitch each Monday. There is no one-week grace period as is commonly given in many other leagues.
Since I did not activate Walker on Monday, May 31, he was declared a free agent in NL Tout. This was clearly not my intent, but it happened.
I remained unaware until the following Sunday, when a fellow competitor and friend asked me if I had intended to release Walker. Confusion reigned on my part until I figured out what happened.
The league SWAT (rules administrator) did his job in releasing Walker from my Tout team and there was no precedent to restore the pitcher to my roster.
My decision at that point was to either let it go and lick my wounds or try to buy Walker back. I decided the latter – to the tune of $505 – which is over one half of my full year FAAB allocation.
In spirited bidding that is reminiscent of what occurs around the annual MLB interleague trading period at the end of July, I barely won out over 10 other bidders. My offer exceeded that of the next-highest bid by just $25.
Now, much, much poorer with the same roster I had one week ago, I have an even bigger hill to climb from my current third place into first in 2021 NL Tout.
For the future, I plan to lobby for a rule change to give Tout owners a full week minimum to activate players returning to their MLB active rosters.
A league elder shared information on the origin of the rule in question. Tout has another unique rule that enables mid-week activation of a player coming off his MLB team’s IL. The concern was that with more time, an owner could essentially stream a pitcher by waiting to activate him mid-week, thereby starting him in only his second start of the week (with streaming against Tout rules).
My take is that such a risk is very low. The conditions of a starter coming off the IL to be a two-start pitcher that same week who is having a tough matchup to be avoided in the first game back isn’t all that likely.
I submit that it is far more likely that a well-intended fantasy team manager might overlook an end-of-week MLB player activation and should be given at least seven days to act, not as little as one or two.
My advice to you is not revolutionary. Know your league rules and pay attention every single week. But if you don’t feel the rules are working for you, the next time these discussions are opened among league members, petition them for change. I will.
Brian Walton was the 2009 National League Tout Wars champion, scoring the most single-season points in the league’s two decades-plus of history. He also holds the all-time NL Tout single-season records for wins and saves. His work can also be found daily at TheCardinalNation.com. Follow Brian on Twitter
