To help clarify some confusion that occurred last year, Exco has added a rule to the ZiPS bidding process. The language is here:
This will hopefully clarify the confusion that often occurs for players who get caught between zips posting/they sign with a team after zips have been posted, foreign players coming back to the states, and players who we are waiting to be posted on the spreadsheet that Dan S never does anymore.ZiPS bidding will last until the DMB season disc is released. Until that time, players must be posted for bidding and run for 24 hours before being signed. The only players who will be eligible to be signed as free agents are those who were posted on the ZiPS bidding thread or whose teams were posted and 24 hours has passed. Once the season disc is released, players are eligible to be signed as free agents.
Essentially:
Players go through zips bidding after being posted on FG for 24 hours. If no players are posted, players are free agents
Players returning from foreign leagues BACK TO MLB are posted and run for 24 hours. If there are no bids, players are free agents
Any player caught in the weird universe of not getting posted to FG or sign with a team whose zips are already posted but they don't have a projection must be posted until the disc is produced
Once the disc is released and JP notifies everyone, ZiPS bidding will end.
