In fantasy baseball with auction drafts, why can't I bid zero dollars for a player?

Question

if no one raises the bid, I should be able to keep him.

Answer 1

Each league usually has two rules that apply here:
1) Minimum bid rule: To be set by the league commish, the minimum bid is usually a dollar, but I've seen it higher. It's easier to add and subtract whole dollar amounts, so that is why it tends to be at least a dollar.
2) Set Number of Players: Each team has to field an exact amount of players tbd in advance. Teams must take this very seriously and have to "save" enough money to ensure that they will be able to field this team. If teams could backfill their roster at the end of the auction with awful players for zero dollars it would eliminate this part of the competition, thereby making the game easier but also less fun, imo.

Answer 2

Generally, teams in your league probably want you to at least invest something for choosing the next player to be drafted. Really though, bidding a dolloar isn't much better

Answer 3

Maybe you can..check with the commissioner and try and get it a rule. From past experience, that has come up, and everyone voted it down.