MLBPA counters MLB’s international draft proposal; sides still far apart
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The Major League Baseball Players Association has countered MLB’s original proposal for an international draft with one of its own — a plan that would allocate significantly more money to international players and address pre-draft requirements that the union considers discriminatory in nature, sources told ESPN.
The two sides face a July 25 deadline to agree on some form of an international draft, which MLB has sought for the better part of the past two decades. In an effort to entice the MLBPA, MLB offered to get rid of the qualifying-offer system — which constrains the market for a handful of mid- to upper-tier free agents every offseason — if the two sides agree to a version of an international draft. If they don’t, the international market and the qualifying-offer system will remain status quo.
The union presented MLB negotiators with a written proposal Friday and the league came away displeased by the demands, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The two sides are believed to be extremely far apart, sources on both sides said, but this was a momentous step nonetheless considering it was the first time the MLBPA has agreed to any form of a draft for international players.
The league’s proposal from March — a 20-round, hard-slot international draft that would begin in 2024, with $5.51 million going to the No. 1 overall pick and a total of $181 million in guaranteed spending for the top 600 international players — remained on the table this week. The union countered with a 20-round draft without hard slots that would allocate at least $260 million to the top 600 international players, according to sources. The league proposed a limit of $20,000 for undrafted players and the union countered with $40,000.
Money will be a major sticking point in the negotiation over an international draft, as it was during the recent 99-day lockout that nearly torpedoed the 2022 season. At this point the league doesn’t seem inclined to allocate more dollars…
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Source : espn
