Community Forum

Hey SDS and MLB The Show community!
Here is my idea for a new and improved franchise trade system, as well as advancements to the fog of war! I’ve been a franchise mode player for years, and I can confidently say that these new features will greatly improve the overall experience, especially when it comes to franchise mode!
My biggest issue with franchise mode is the trade system. I know what you’re probably thinking: "We overhaul it every year," but that’s not exactly what I’m going to talk about! What I’m suggesting isn’t a change to the logic behind trades, but rather the experience of trading itself.
You see, in real life, big trades in the MLB are a drawn-out process. Teams interested in a player typically start reaching out in the offseason, or even at the trade deadline, and sometimes these discussions continue into the next offseason or trade deadline. It’s a long sequence of offers, counteroffers, and negotiations before a trade actually happens—or doesn’t.
This very philosophy has already made its way into The Show this year, when you revamped free agency. Players don’t just take the first deal offered to them. If you offer them a deal that’s too low, they’ll get discouraged, and it may affect their willingness to negotiate with you. This forces users to be more strategic when offering contracts, as too many bad offers could result in losing out on a player altogether.
I think implementing this same kind of logic into the trade system would be just as effective. Currently, the game tells you whether or not a trade will be accepted based on a simple bar at the top of the screen, which shows your chances of success. There’s no real consequence for offering a bad trade. The only thing that happens is that you either will or won’t acquire the player based on that bar, even before the trade is submitted.
Now, I’ll come back to my trading system in a second, but I need to mention that with this new logic, I suggest adding a fog of war mechanic. For example, during the offseason, you could click on a player and ask a rival team to meet with you about potentially trading for that player. Here’s where things get interesting:
With my proposed system, the user would have to employ the same strategy that’s now required in free agency when proposing trades. If you offer a trade to a team that’s underwhelming or clearly unfavorable to their front office, the team could reject it outright.
Additionally, the players that rival clubs list as potential trade targets—whom they’d potentially accept in exchange for one of their players—might change. Perhaps they now feel you’ve insulted them, so they’re asking for better players before even considering your new offer.
When using this new system, you won’t know whether your trade offer will be accepted or rejected right away. Teams can have a list of players they’d like in return, but that doesn’t guarantee an immediate trade. In the offseason, many teams might just be feeling out their options, weighing what they could get in return before making any decisions.
This is where fog of war could add a sense of uncertainty. You might get an animation where the team says something like, “We do like your offer, but we think it’s best to wait and see how the season unfolds.”
Then fast-forward to the trade deadline. Just like in real life, teams become more inclined to make trades as their playoff hopes either strengthen or crumble. Many teams could be fighting for the same player, and it all comes down to how many times you’ve met with the GM. Did you send too many low offers, to the point where they won’t accept it? Teams can become desperate and reach back out to you to see if your offer is still on the table. Or, they can hold strong and wait for a better offer—whether from you or another club.
As the days get closer to the deadline, other teams’ offers remain unknown to the user, adding another layer of uncertainty. This is where the availability of each player could become much harder to acquire, and teams might now demand better prospects in return. You’ll have to decide quickly if you want to send a trade with better prospects that has a much higher chance of being accepted, or risk it and send in a lowball offer that might get the job done because you heard a rumor that their trade talks with another team have cooled off.
Alternatively, if the team feels they’re not receiving any worthwhile offers, they might begin to feel the pressure to trade the player, settling for a lesser deal. This would be similar to how free agent asking prices can drop if players wait too long to sign—teams, in a sense, “settle” for what they can get when they haven’t received a better offer by the deadline.
In summary, for anyone who takes the time to read this, I would like to propose a trade experience system that more closely resembles the real-life MLB trading process. With everything I mentioned, I also believe adding a countdown to the trade deadline—one that cannot be skipped or paused—would introduce a sense of urgency and pressure when making these trades, making the game’s trading experience feel much closer to an actual MLB GM’s experience. Any other features that would enhance the realism of trading in MLB The Show would also be greatly appreciated.
If you do take the time to consider my suggestion, I would be grateful to hear your thoughts. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Hey SDS and MLB The Show community!
Here is my idea for a new and improved franchise trade system, as well as advancements to the fog of war! I’ve been a franchise mode player for years, and I can confidently say that these new features will greatly improve the overall experience, especially when it comes to franchise mode!
My biggest issue with franchise mode is the trade system. I know what you’re probably thinking: "We overhaul it every year," but that’s not exactly what I’m going to talk about! What I’m suggesting isn’t a change to the logic behind trades, but rather the experience of trading itself.
You see, in real life, big trades in the MLB are a drawn-out process. Teams interested in a player typically start reaching out in the offseason, or even at the trade deadline, and sometimes these discussions continue into the next offseason or trade deadline. It’s a long sequence of offers, counteroffers, and negotiations before a trade actually happens—or doesn’t.
This very philosophy has already made its way into The Show this year, when you revamped free agency. Players don’t just take the first deal offered to them. If you offer them a deal that’s too low, they’ll get discouraged, and it may affect their willingness to negotiate with you. This forces users to be more strategic when offering contracts, as too many bad offers could result in losing out on a player altogether.
I think implementing this same kind of logic into the trade system would be just as effective. Currently, the game tells you whether or not a trade will be accepted based on a simple bar at the top of the screen, which shows your chances of success. There’s no real consequence for offering a bad trade. The only thing that happens is that you either will or won’t acquire the player based on that bar, even before the trade is submitted.
Now, I’ll come back to my trading system in a second, but I need to mention that with this new logic, I suggest adding a fog of war mechanic. For example, during the offseason, you could click on a player and ask a rival team to meet with you about potentially trading for that player. Here’s where things get interesting:
With my proposed system, the user would have to employ the same strategy that’s now required in free agency when proposing trades. If you offer a trade to a team that’s underwhelming or clearly unfavorable to their front office, the team could reject it outright.
Additionally, the players that rival clubs list as potential trade targets—whom they’d potentially accept in exchange for one of their players—might change. Perhaps they now feel you’ve insulted them, so they’re asking for better players before even considering your new offer.
When using this new system, you won’t know whether your trade offer will be accepted or rejected right away. Teams can have a list of players they’d like in return, but that doesn’t guarantee an immediate trade. In the offseason, many teams might just be feeling out their options, weighing what they could get in return before making any decisions.
This is where fog of war could add a sense of uncertainty. You might get an animation where the team says something like, “We do like your offer, but we think it’s best to wait and see how the season unfolds.”
Then fast-forward to the trade deadline. Just like in real life, teams become more inclined to make trades as their playoff hopes either strengthen or crumble. Many teams could be fighting for the same player, and it all comes down to how many times you’ve met with the GM. Did you send too many low offers, to the point where they won’t accept it? Teams can become desperate and reach back out to you to see if your offer is still on the table. Or, they can hold strong and wait for a better offer—whether from you or another club.
As the days get closer to the deadline, other teams’ offers remain unknown to the user, adding another layer of uncertainty. This is where the availability of each player could become much harder to acquire, and teams might now demand better prospects in return. You’ll have to decide quickly if you want to send a trade with better prospects that has a much higher chance of being accepted, or risk it and send in a lowball offer that might get the job done because you heard a rumor that their trade talks with another team have cooled off.
Alternatively, if the team feels they’re not receiving any worthwhile offers, they might begin to feel the pressure to trade the player, settling for a lesser deal. This would be similar to how free agent asking prices can drop if players wait too long to sign—teams, in a sense, “settle” for what they can get when they haven’t received a better offer by the deadline.
In summary, for anyone who takes the time to read this, I would like to propose a trade experience system that more closely resembles the real-life MLB trading process. With everything I mentioned, I also believe adding a countdown to the trade deadline—one that cannot be skipped or paused—would introduce a sense of urgency and pressure when making these trades, making the game’s trading experience feel much closer to an actual MLB GM’s experience. Any other features that would enhance the realism of trading in MLB The Show would also be greatly appreciated.
If you do take the time to consider my suggestion, I would be grateful to hear your thoughts. Thank you for your time and consideration.