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Not a big deal for me. The coach attributes are random and I fired every coach in my Cardinals franchise and hired generated coaches.

Joe Torre was in the game last year and he was C rated as a manager. Most world series wins in 50 years.

@StinkyMcPooter_XBL said:

"The developers also clarified that future Live Roster updates are now being specifically tuned toward Franchise realism, longevity, and stability. Bigger ratings updates for MLB and MiLB players are expected during key milestones like the All-Star break, Trade Deadline, and end of the regular season."

Anyone want to take a stab at what this all means?

If they want realism they should fix pitcher stamina and home run derby late in games in manage mode.

@Graeves-_PSN said:

We already know every year this game will be full of bugs that need patched thru out the year. Its been this way since 2006, nothing new this year and no reason to believe it will ever change because its impossible.

The problem is they tend not to patch fixes into the current game and instead wait until next year's game. You have to buy the new game to find out what and if they fixed the issues.

In manage mode pitcher stamina is broken and when a team has a lead late it becomes home run derby for the losing team. Not particularly surprising since they brought March to October developers into franchise.

It appears to me manager attributes are a random dice roll. Joe Torre was in the game last year and his was C as a manager. A as a hitting coach.

Lineup logic is based upon recent performance. Their is a hidden confidence boost for position players. Confidence for pitchers is shown and is based upon recent performance.

Some of the changes weren't properly tested.

Did not fully test everything they put in the game.

Does anybody know which dirt template was used in each of the MLB stadiums? The reason I ask is because I use manage mode in press box view and lighter colored dirt makes it difficult to pick up the baseball.

Thanks for any replies.

According to a developer named Brian several years ago HR/9 doesn't matter when playing games.

Aren't quirks just a reflection of attributes?

The bots are taking over.

I believe confidence is overwhelming stamina in MLBTS26. I've stopped being realistic and playing the game as it is currently designed - if my starting pitcher has high confidence I leave him in the game until he wins or loses. My bullpen is a mess.

Manage mode. Default sliders.

What's interesting is this got more replies to "wrong forum" than when I posted detailed content regarding a major issue with franchise mode.

@VF1S_Rick_Hunter_PSN said:

I wonder if anyone has tracked whether the CPU automatically rules out pitchers that start the game under a certain energy level. This could explain, as maybe Abreu is last man in the bullpen that day. Otherwise seems like a bug...thanks for submitting either way.

For Senga, I can understand continuing to roll with a starter that is having an awesome game.

They had two men sitting on the bench in the bullpen but the issue is the apparent removal of the penalty for pitchers with low stamina for CPU pitchers. Abreu has 20's stamina. Senga has 70's stamina. Neither should show that many innings or pitches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKf2zDUDAk

@VF1S_Rick_Hunter_PSN said:

I'm one who said the game was too easy. Even with self imposed limits for # of trades, only trading for players that realistically should be on the block, trading away good talent in return (not 3 C prospects), auto-scouting, and a lower than allowed team budget, I was able to win 7 championships with the Angels in 23 seasons. And I'm only playing on manager mode, so I'm not even manipulating the game with my ability to work the controller.

As for trading, my issue previously was rebuilding teams were acquiring rental players and not doing enough to move their own rental players, while playoff teams were moving their franchise players that were under good team control. The trade block hadn't been "up" during spring training, which I know has been fixed. CPU teams were only trading one player for 1-3 players; no multi-player for multi-player trades, which I also believe has been fixed.

Had to shelve MLBTS26 right after starting, so one month into 2026 didn't give me enough time for judgment. Hope to get back to it next month.

Were you simming and adjusting sliders?

I originally posted this and couldn't delete it but I'll repost it. I use manage mode. Manage mode is CPU vs CPU. No user input. Therefore for those who use the controller I don't know if this exists but it does exist for the CPU. Default sliders.

About 10 years ago the developers instituted an attribute penalty when stamina reaches 25%. The penalty increases as the pitcher approaches 0 stamina.

The first two videos show a relief pitcher Bryan Abreu with 23 stamina who threw 8 shutout innings and 115 pitches. He was at 0 energy for most of that. On the player card it is referred to as stamina. In the game it is referred to as ENG - energy just above CFD - confidence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKf2zDUDAk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWtkja1hj0A

I recorded the next two videos today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsCeZslStJw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWtkja1hj0A

125 pitches. complete game shutout. He was at zero energy in the 7th inning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDacpULBNXw

His confidence is maxxed out.

I could post a dozen videos like this. I'm not sure if they removed or altered the stamina/energy penalty or if confidence is overriding the low stamina but this is a major change in MLBTS26. It's also possible this is part of the stated desire to make franchise mode more difficult for the user. I'm also not sure if it only impacts the CPU team because I don't use the controller to play the game. In manage mode both teams are CPU. Whatever the cause this is unrealistic. Bug report submitted.

This was the original topic.

@GilesT7787_XBL said:

Why can't we trade like normal games? I want to have feedback so I know what is a good trade. I'm trying to have fun and this system isn't it.

If you watch the franchise promo video the developer said every franchise player she talked to said the game was too easy so they implemented "fog of war".

I agree it's a mess.

@UncleRico420266_XBL said:

So I found out that the reason so many coaches and managers are missing from MLB The Show 26 is because the MLBPA (the players' union) officially cut off their licensing program in late 2024.
Before this change, coaches and managers were part of a "group license" handled by the union. They used to get annual checks—roughly $50,000 each—just to have their names and faces in the game. However, due to tax and legal issues, the union stopped those payments and ended the group deal.
MLB The Show 25 (last year) was likely safe because the contracts for that game were signed and locked in before the cutoff. But for MLB The Show 26, the developers (Sony/SDS) no longer had a "one-stop shop" to buy everyone's rights. Since they’d now have to negotiate with hundreds of coaches individually, they simply replaced about half the league with generic, fake models instead.
Also the reason you still see guys like Stephen Vogt, Kevin Cash, and Terry Francona is that they are former players. Sony likely already owns their rights through separate "Legend" or retired player contracts, so they can keep them in the game easily. But for others like Aaron Boone, if a separate individual deal isn't reached, they get swapped out for a generic placeholder. I hope this makes sense and clears the confusion.

Perhaps not having to pay $50,000 each to the coaches has allowed them to hire more developers. I started with a Cardinals relocated franchise and the first thing I did was fire all the coaches.

@TheRupster12_XBL said:

Stuck in the bullpen...and you can't get out of it

At the moment.

In manage mode this just happened to me. Several years ago this bug existed in manage mode and they finally patched it. There was a workaround but I can't remember what it was.