I have to admit, I've seen these complaints before and just assumed players were talking about 1 of 2 things...either the temporary position change that happens to every player, or they didn't build their player correctly, which I've personally done before. That said, this happened to me last night, and I'm livid about it. I have 8 RTTS players that I cycle through. Yesterday, I started playing my Control Freak SP, playing Spring Training in his 2nd season. About halfway through Spring Training, the skipper calls me in and tells me they're going to move me to Closer. I definitely don't want to be a Closer with this player, as I already have a Closer that I play...don't want 2 of them. But, I go along, thinking it's going to be temporary. Same day, my agent calls me and asks my thoughts about it. I tell him I want nothing to do with Closer, I want to be a starter. So, I played the ENTIRE [censored] season as a Closer, without so much as hearing back from my agent...the whole [censored] year. Then, after the season ends, I'm offered a 5-year contract as a Closer. I try negotiating it, and of course, get declined, and have to accept 5 years. THEN I hear back from my agent, and I tell him, I want to be a starter, or I want out of Detroit. His response: "[censored] son, there's nothing I can do for you, you just signed a 5 year deal". As FYI, this Starter plays for the Tigers, and his baseline attributes were solid enough for him to be #2 starter behind Fulmer, even as a 2nd year guy.
There are so many problems with this. Even for those making the argument "that's baseball"...well, no, it isn't. In real life, if your agent doesn't contact you about an issue you've raised with him, for the whole season, you fire that agent and get a new one. Hell, if it went on for a month, you fire him. There is no argument or justification for this. The system is flawed. The fact that your agent contacts you in the offseason, every year, AFTER you've already signed a contract, just makes no sense at all. What is the point of having an agent?
What is the solution?
Add a gameplay setting to toggle permanent role changes off/on. That way, players that like the "realism" of being forced into a different role can still have it, and everybody else can remain in their chosen position.
Give the agent more pull early in the season, while trades are still happening, and when the issue is fresh. If I tell my agent in Spring Training that I don't like the position change, I want to hear back within a month, at the latest. My request for a trade should be made right then, not in November.
The offseason conversation with the agent needs to move to BEFORE your contract offers. That way, he can try to address your concerns before it's too late. Why in the world are we telling our agent we want to be traded or moved to our preferred position after the contract is signed?