When David Ortiz speaks, baseball players in his native Dominican Republic tend to listen. That’s why his opposition to MLB’s proposal for an international draft is such a big deal.
In a voice message sent to a group chat of players, Ortiz came out strongly against the international draft, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. MLB is proposing the draft in its continuous labor negotiations with the players to purportedly curb corruption in the training of young players outside of the U.S. Currently, only players from the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico are eligible to be drafted.
But Ortiz thinks rapidly implementing the draft would create more problems instead of offering solutions. He explained his viewpoint in a follow-up phone call with Passan.
“The system in the Dominican is not ready to have a draft next year,” Ortiz said. “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.”
Fernando Tatis Jr., another prominent Dominican star, ripped the proposal as well. Currently, international players who sign with MLB teams can receive sizable signing bonuses. An amateur draft would limit players’ earning potential.
Passan further articulated Ortiz’s views in a tweet thread.
MLB appears to already be listening to Ortiz and Tatis. The league is now proposing the international draft not start before the 2024 season, reports Newsday's Tim Healey.
MLB canceled the first two series of the season last week. The league’s latest deadline for canceling games is Wednesday.
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