The first part of getting involved in the world of OOTP trades is making sure you understand your game and leagues' rules around trading. OOTP has some
global trading options and some that are
league-specific. Global options affect all leagues in your saved game. League-specific options, unsurprisingly, affect only the specific league you are viewing.
Global Trading Options
Global trading options are set in the
Trading Options section of the Game Options page during the game creation process:
However, the global options can be changed at
any time by going to
OOTP Menu >> Game Setup >> AI Options tab, so don't worry about it if you missed the boat the first time around! The global options are as follows:
| Option | Result |
| AI Trading Frequency | This option determines how often computer general managers will make trades. The value can be set from Very Low to Very High. |
| Trading Difficulty | This option determines how difficult it is to trade with the computer. The harder the difficulty, the more computer general managers will ask for in trades, and the less likely they will be to fall for bad deals. The value can be set from Very Easy to Very Hard. |
| Trading Preference | This option determines whether computer general managers favor veteran players or young prospects in trades. The value can be set from Heavily Favor Veterans to Heavily Favor Prospects. Beyond this broad setting, individual general managers can also have a range of personal preferences. See Personnel Strategies for more information. |
Remember, these settings affect all leagues in your saved game. Of course, you can have them set way in one saved game, and set differently in a different saved game.
League-Specific Trading Options
There are several trading options that can be configured on a per-league basis. These options are in the
Trade Rules section of the Rules page during game creation. For an already existing game, go to
OOTP Menu >> Game Setup >> League Setup >> Rules:
| Option | Description |
| Player Trades | If this box is checked, players can be traded within the league. |
| Trading Deadline Date | More accurately, this is the "non-waiver trade deadline." The date after which all players must clear waivers before completion of a trade. See here for more information on trading after the trading deadline. |
| Trades with other Major Leagues | If this box is checked, players can be traded to other parent leagues. Otherwise, trades can happen only within the selected league, if allowed at all. |
| Allow trading of recently drafted players | If this is unchecked, then players with less than one full year of professional service time who were recently drafted cannot be traded. This is the so-called "Incaviglia Rule" from professional baseball. |
| 10/5 rule (veterans have right to veto trades) | Allows players with 10 years of major league service time and 5 consecutive years with a single team to veto a trade. If a player vetos a trade, it will be visible on the Player Trade page. (This option only available in version 11.2.0 and greater.) |
| Allow Draft Pick Trading | If this box is checked, teams can trade draft picks in the upcoming first-year player draft to other teams. Only picks from the upcoming draft can be traded. |
As with the global trading options, the league-specific trading options can be changed at any time during the life of your saved game.