ive avoided the mlb games, since i have a 360 and have repeatedly read that all mlb games for xbox are crap

my son really wanted one.. so corrie picked him up a new copy of 2k9 for like $20.. meh
he has been playing a franchise, and doesnt care about the bugs and the pain in the ass controls

now he is playing with the 'create a player'
he created a player.. and saw where you can add it to a team from the main management screen.
but doesnt see it in the free agent list for his franchise

will it only show on new franchises created? (I read online that created players can be used in franchise mode)... or is there a trick to getting the player into an existing franchise?