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Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz cautioned against the immediate creation of an international draft for MLB.
“The system in the Dominican [Republic] is not ready to have a draft next year,” he told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Wednesday. “The Dominican is not the U.S. You can’t snap a finger and everything lines up to operate the right way. We’ve got a new president who’s trying to improve things. We need to do this slowly.”
As part of ongoing negotiations with the MLB Players Association over a new collective bargaining agreement, MLB has proposed an international draft to begin in 2024:
Alden González @Alden_Gonzalez
MLB has updated two elements of its international draft proposal: start date of 2024; 5% higher bonuses for each slot, starting at $5.5125M for the first overall pick. It’s 20 rounds, 600-plus picks, and undrafted players can sign for up to $20K, though they’re flexible on that.
Passan reported the proposed international draft garnered a “mixed” reaction inside the players union. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal painted an even bleaker picture as to whether the idea will become a reality:
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
International draft “non-starter” for Latin players and might not be acceptable to union even with major MLB give, sources tell <a href=”https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@TheAthletic</a>. Union in latest proposal still wants qualifying offer eliminated, as well as higher CBT thresholds and pre-arb pool than MLB has offered.
Bobby Abreu and Carlos Guillen spent 32 combined seasons in MLB. During an appearance on MLB Tonight on Monday, they both voiced their support for an international draft. Abreu argued that teams are too focused on prospects in their early teens at the expense of players who are aged 17, 18 or 19.
Baseball Prospectus’ Jarrett Seidler also laid out some of the problems with the current system:
Jarrett Seidler @jaseidler
But they also won’t. And the status quo here is bad. Really bad. The top players are agreeing to terms no later than 13-14 years old. Do you think a 13-year-old has real agency to pick between teams here? What do you think the adults are doing to showcase him for a contract?
But San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. joined Ortiz in voicing his opposition to what’s on the table:
Héctor Gómez @hgomez27
Fernando Tatis Jr.: “The International Draft is going to kill baseball in DR. It’s going to affect us a lot, because there will be many young people who used to give them the opportunity to get a bonus and with the draft it will not be the same ”, per <a href=”https://twitter.com/ElCaribeRD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@ElCaribeRD</a>. <a href=”https://t.co/KpUm6KEazb”>pic.twitter.com/KpUm6KEazb</a>
Tatis and Ortiz are both from the Dominican Republic, so they have added insight as to how a draft system might impact Latin-based players. Their perspectives could be shaped by the issues laid out by ESPN’s Marly Rivera:
Marly Rivera @MarlyRiveraESPN
And now, the process has gotten so out of hand, that the International Draft is being presented as the only solution. Source: “And the ultimate tragedy is that it probably is the most immediate solution, because no one did anything to curb it before. And that is on all of us.”
If current and former players from the Dominican Republic believe MLB has indirectly allowed the present situation—one with glaring inadequacies—to form, then it stands to reason those players might look skeptically upon any solutions presented by the league.
Based on Passan’s and Rosenthal’s reporting, an international draft may be dead in the water, rendering the entire discussion moot for the time being.
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