The latest Feature Premiere focused on all things Franchise. A point of contention every year as MLB The Show arguably has the least depth of any sports Franchise mode.
Let’s see what this year looks like.
New Front Office Experience
Free agency has been revitalized with added risk and reward elements. The timing of offers to free agents can affect the likelihood of them signing with a particular team.
MLB The Show 25 has been showing off a completely new UI across the entire game. That holds true in Franchise as the off-season screens are sleek and clean with an updated feel.
Free Agency
Under-the-hood seems to be the name of the game. Expanded logic including positional ramifications and free agent urgency. Some players will want to sign quicker while others wait out the best offers.
Promises of smarter signings allude to more realistic off-seasons, opposed to teams stacking multiple star players that play the same position.
Free agency will include player agents reaching back out to you as the General Manager, asking for a final best offer so the player can make their final decision.
Qualifying offers now work correctly with realistic salaries.
Available payroll is more visible and updates organically.
Motivation boost works in a tiered system where the higher priority players get a bigger motivation boost to sign with you.
Player demands can increase and decrease over the negotiation. You can go over the original ask by 25% with your offer.
Free agency ranks are not exclusively tied to overall ratings, as under-the-hood (UTH) logic is in play as well.
Your positional needs will boost motivation of free agents that match your positional needs.
You can select specific team needs as well that can potentially offer a motivation boost to targeted free agents.
Minor league rosters are tuned to be more realistic.
The risk/reward element requires you to make decisions on adjusting your Big Board, as you can only pursue three free agents at a time. Each player’s current motivation to sign with you is displayed in real-time. There’s UTH logic that dynamically affects the motivation of players.
You cannot offer a contract until a player has at least 50% motivation to sign.
CPU teams also alter their Big Board throughout the off-season which makes the off-season more dynamic.
It’s extremely difficult to get motivation maxed out. The Motivation Cap is based off market size and other parameters.
Fog of War Rumor System
Misdirection and mystery teams add fog to your decisions. The intent is to make negotiations feel more organic.
Rival Rumor Opportunities
In the off-season, divisional and historic rivals will display interest in acquiring players and you’ll be notified. This is intended to be another organic element, giving you the opportunity to steal a player from a rival.
Setting the Market
Marquee players may slow down the free agent market as other free agents wait for the market to be established at the top.
Big Market Logic
Big market teams will be the main drivers in signing the marquee free agents.
First Mover Advantage Logic
Free agents will be more motivated to sign with you if you’re aggressive in pursuing them.
Rejection Logic
Low-balling players with offensive offers will affect their willingness and motivation to sign with you.
You can now withdraw offers which will can also affect a player’s motivation to sign with you.
Player Logic Updates
Arbitration and contract values have been tuned to more closely resemble real MLB salaries.
Older veterans will no longer seek long term deals, while younger players will often seek longer term contracts to reflect real life.
Overall, the player valuation should have a net positive effect on trades as well.
Trade Logic
Contracts matter in trades and have more of an effect on trades being proposed and accepted.
Two-way players have their own value that is represented in all logic systems.
Closing Thoughts
It feels like every year, logic is always the big word thrown around. It’s important as it drives the entire mode, but those of us looking for a more fleshed out experience with features and expansion capability will always be disappointed until we it.
However, adding additional features like expansion if all the core elements like free agency and player valuation are subpar won’t necessarily translate to a better experience. We’ll obviously to get our hands on the game and see how well the logic holds up over multiple years, but if this year’s UTH logic changes are legit; then maybe we’ll start to see the big evolution we’ve been waiting for.
MLB The Show 25 Early Access begins two weeks from now. Stay tuned to ShowZone for the latest news!
Cory Wayne Dell
Cory has been writing about all things baseball and gaming since 2022 and has been featured at Operation Sports as well as cited by Forbes. Cory is also a multi-instrumentalist and founder of the band Cargocastle. Cargocastle's latest single, "Truth and Reconciliation," is available on Spotify and all major streaming platforms. Cory is also the author of Shadow of a Monster, a personal memoir currently seeking publication.
