Buster Olney has a report today that Major League Baseball is pushing for an international draft as one of the key changes in the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement. The initial concept would start in 2018, and would be a ten round draft held over two days, with the minimum age for players being 18 by 2021.
Olney said that this proposal would also include MLB operating facilities in the Dominican, in order to help cut back on some of the problems there with corruption of bonuses and performance-enhancing drugs. Overall, the draft seems like it would be structured similar to the regular draft every year for US players.
I think this would be a great thing for the Pirates. It would give them a fair shot at some of the most sought after players, without having to worry about a bidding war or agent games. It would also allow them to sign the lower bonus guys after the draft that they’ve had so much success with. Olney notes that this change would benefit small-market and mid-market teams, due to the perception that the current system benefits big market teams like the Cubs and Dodgers, noting that those teams have a significant advantage.