An orphan team is a dynasty roster whose manager has left the league mid-stream, leaving the team intact and available for a replacement owner to adopt. The league keeps running; one franchise simply changes hands, inheriting the previous manager’s players, draft picks, and cap situation as they stand.

Orphans are a dynasty-specific problem because the rosters are permanent. In a redraft league an absent manager just doesn’t come back next year, but a dynasty roster is a multi-year asset that can’t be left unmanaged without warping the whole league — a neglected team stops making trades and waiver moves, which distorts the competitive balance for everyone.

Handling orphans well is squarely a commissioner’s job: recruiting a replacement, deciding whether the incoming manager inherits the roster as-is or gets relief, and keeping the transition from becoming an excuse for a fire-sale. It’s one of the recurring mid-season exceptions a league constitution should anticipate.