Revised offseason expansion plan

With Detroit Demolition Dogs manager Ken Kuzdak making the decision not to return to the league for the 2012 season, the league has made modifications to the overall offseason expansion plan to account for the dispersal of Demo Dogs talent.

The league will still expand to 15 teams, but now will bring in four new franchises instead of three to get to that level. Here’s a recap of how it will work:

Phase One: Dog Dispersal Draft (October/November)

The four expansion teams will conduct a three-round Dog Dispersal draft, selecting a total of 12 players off of Detroit’s current roster, which is frozen (Detroit cannot conduct trades).

Phase Two: Expansion Draft (October/November)

Expansion teams begin this phase with three players each on their rosters.

The 11 existing teams submit protected lists of 10 players each. All other players on I-75 league rosters, including the Detroit Demo Dogs players not chosen during the Dog Dispersal Draft, become eligible for selection.

The four expansion teams conduct a three-round draft, collectively picking one player from each existing team until 12 players are chosen.

Expansion teams now have six players on their roster. The 11 existing teams are then allowed to protect two more players. The four expansion teams conduct another three-round draft as before.

Expansion teams now have nine players on their roster. The 11 existing teams are then allowed to protect two more players. The four expansion teams conduct another three-round draft as before.

Expansion teams now have 12 players on their roster.

Phase Three: Trading period and Waiver Draft

The 11 existing teams may then make right-size roster trades with each other (expansion teams are not eligible) to cut down to either 17 or 18 players prior to the December Waiver Draft, which occurs a few days after the defensive ratings are released.

For the Waiver Draft, the four expansion teams conduct a six-round draft, choosing from unprotected players, to reach a roster size of 18.

If any existing teams cut down to just 17 players, they then would make selections from the free-agent pool to get to 18 players.

Phase Four: March Draft

All teams (apart from trades) begin this phase with 18 players.

In the first round, expansion teams will select 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th. Existing teams fill the other 15 slots in order of best record among non-playoff teams, followed by reverse order of record among playoff teams.

Expansion teams will then receive sandwich picks 16-19.

In the second and third rounds, the draft order shall be: Five existing teams in reverse order of winning percentage, followed by four expansion teams, followed by the remaining six existing teams in reverse order of winning percentage. The four expansion teams then get one sandwich pick each at the end of the second and third rounds.

For rounds 4-14, the order shall remain: Existing teams in reverse order of winning percentage, followed by four expansion teams, followed by the remaining six existing teams in reverse order of winning percentage.

At the draft’s conclusion, barring trades, existing teams would carry 32 players and expansion teams 35.

Divisional alignment for 2012 (confirmed Nov. 1, 2011)

Division A

Hickory
Savannah
Springfield
Wisconsin
Satellite Beach (Steve Nieroda)

Division B

Bushwood
Chatfield
Superior
Iowa (John Renbarger)
Michigan (Ken Crawford)

Division C

Applegate
Bismarck
Margaritaville
SGP
English (Rick Lackey)

(Added Nov. 25, 2011):

Playoff format:

- 6 teams make the playoffs.
- 3 division winners
- 3 wild cards, non-division winners, based on win percentage
- Two division winners with the best win percentage get byes for the first round.
- Third division winner and Wild Card team with the best win pct host first round of playoffs, best of 7.
- Two advancers take on division winners with the byes, with the bye teams home field advantage.
- Two advancers from the pennant round meet in World Series, and the team with the better win pct gets home field advantage.

 

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