MLBPA rejects MLB’s final offer for an international draft

The qualifying offer system will remain in use going forward.

The Players Association rejected Major League Baseball’s final international draft proposal Monday. There will be no international draft for this CBA and the qualifying offer system will remain in effect going forward. The MLBPA released a statement after rejecting the proposal.

As is usually the case when issues arise between the league and the players, this impasse came down to money. The players wanted higher guarantees with hard slotting for the draft system. The league wasn’t willing to meet those financial demands.

“Players made clear from the outset that any International Draft must meaningfully improve the status quo for those players and not unfairly discriminate between those players and domestic entrants. To this end, the Players Association made a series of proposals aimed at protecting and advancing the rights of International amateurs.”

The league issued its own statement in regard to the negotiations.

It is an unfortunate, but not entirely unexpected turn of events. While the league is correct that the current internationals system is often corrupt, there are financial incentives associated with going with a draft system. The union sought more guaranteed money and that was simply something that the league was never really going to give up.