With collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations between MLB and the Players Association (MLBPA) expectedly at a standstill over the potential implementation of a salary cap, conversations have shifted to other areas.
The league office is making a push to generate more favorable terms for the annual MLB draft and the creation of an international draft, according to Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
The league is proposing both the domestic and international drafts would go 12 rounds, and that each draft would come with its own $200 million signing-bonus pool and hard slots, where an inflexible amount of money is tied to each pick.
MLB’s proposal also included age requirements for draftees, effectively eliminating the practice of high school amateur draft picks and an incremental increase for international players.
Starting with the 2028 domestic draft, the league wants domestic draftees to be at least 20 years old by Sept. 1 of that year, and will require them to be at least two years removed from high-school graduation.
MLB is also raising the signing age for international amateurs by a year: currently, they have to be 17 by Sept. 1 of the year they join a team. Now, they’d have to be 18.
In both instances, MLB wishes to have a draft that more closely resembles the NFL. Specifically, the goal is to overhaul the flexible bonus pool system that allows teams to spread their money where they want. In its place would be a draft process similar to the NFL’s rookie wage scale, but for bonuses.
Additional proposed changes include reducing the draft from 20 rounds to 12 and significantly shrinking the signing-bonus pool, which would reduce compensation for draftees.
As for the international draft, this is not the first time the league office has attempted to pressure the MLBPA into accepting. One key sticking point during CBA negotiations in 2022 was a potential international draft.
In effort to get a new CBA done, the league and union were poised to implement an international draft if they could agree on terms. MLB’s final proposal was poorly received by the players, who ultimately rejected it.
While the league office has put its own spin on why they believe an age limit is beneficial, there is no meaningful reason for it to be made.
In the NFL, players become draft eligible once they are three years removed from high school. The rule makes sense in football, where physicality is inherent to the nature of the game. An 18-year-old will be at a disadvantage against someone in their physical prime a majority of the time.
Baseball does not share that problem, which is why picking high schoolers has been common practice since the inaugural MLB Draft in 1965.
Odds of the MLBPA accepting terms in the latest proposal are essentially zero. However, agreeing in principle to an international draft could have some legs, given the 2022 negotiations.
MLB changes format for 2026 Home Run Derby
In other news, MLB is making another significant change to the Home Run Derby. The 2026 event will be ditching the clock and moving back to a swing-based system.
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