Sources: MLB proposes amateur-entry overhaul
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- MLB proposed cutting amateur signing bonuses by more than $150 million annually and shrinking the domestic draft from 20 to 12 hard-slotted rounds, with the bonus pool nearly halved to $200 million.
- The proposal would create a 12-round international draft with a $200 million bonus pool covering amateur players outside the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, first targeted for late 2027 or early 2028.
- MLBPA blasted the proposals as 'flat out bad for baseball,' saying players would lose $1 billion over five years — including $400 million from this year through 2027 — versus the current system.
- The plan would set a minimum domestic draft age of 20 and raise the international age minimum from 16 to 18, effectively barring high school players from the domestic draft.
- Other elements include capping undrafted-player bonuses at $10,000, reducing the draft lottery from six picks to four, eliminating competitive-balance picks, and allowing traded picks only for the immediately following draft.
- MLB framed the overhaul as a response to growth in college baseball — citing NIL, expanded scholarships, and revenue sharing — plus 'continued international corruption.'
- The proposal came at a CBA meeting with the Dec. 1 expiration of the current agreement looming, alongside contentious negotiations over MLB's separate salary cap push.
Why it matters: MLB is betting that routing amateur talent through college will produce better-developed players and reduce costs. With the union projecting a $1 billion player loss and the CBA expiring Dec. 1, the two sides remain far apart heading into what the source calls the highest-stakes bargaining in a generation.
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