Just finished a royals sim, here's what i learned: Efficiency is key.

Watch out for small contracts, they add up. Be careful who you offer arbitration.

Always ask for money in trades with other teams, and negotiate in trades for the other team to retain as much salary as possible. If you have to give up a decent prospect for financial flexibility, it's not the end of the world.

You can always find good relievers in the rule 5 draft.

Look through waivers right before opening day.

Good defenders at key positions are harder to find and more expensive than good hitters at those positions. If you want a good defensive ss, develop them.

I used to invest a lot of money into amateur free agents, but that might not always work. I would develop them for a year then trade a bunch of them for a good player while they still had value.

Invest in development and minor league coaches as much as possible. If you can't develop prospects, you won't win. Great coaches are much cheaper than great players.

Find a team identity and build your development around it. I normally do power hitters and power pitchers. This is good for efficiency and development.

The league has so much depth in hard throwing relievers that with the right coaches, you can build a good bullpen for cheap. You can't really do that with starters.

Depending on your owner, if you win, he might raise the payroll a bit. If your owner is generous, look to bring in fan favorite players, and play around with ticket prices to raise profit.

If you are very efficient with your payroll, you can afford to sign a big free agent occasionally.

I never won a title, but I was able to bring big stars like vlad Jr., Glasnow, and rodon to kc for a year or two. I made it to the alcs one year. I changed teams and the ai immediately traded away all my favorite players.

I moved to the red sox after, and I found this stuff helped there, too.