Major League Baseball continues to look at different ways to add international talent to a game that’s been infused with stars from outside of the states.
One possibility has been to hold an international draft similar to the annual amateur draft MLB conducts during the summer.
According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, this could come to fruition as early as next year.
“Major League Baseball is discussing a 20-round international draft concept, with a goal of implementing the draft as soon as 2020, with 2021 another possibility,” the report read. “MLB officials met yesterday with international club personnel in Miami and told them that owners are in support on an international draft and want it in place as soon as possible.”
The most-recent idea would include 20 rounds with teams being able to trade selections. Every pick would have a hard slot value, similar to the NFL Draft. The example is that if a team selects a player at a slot value of $1 million, said player would sign a contract worth that amount.
This has been gaining steam for some time now. The current system allows players to commit to signing with teams at the young age of 13 and 14. This draft would certainly change that.
It would also put MLB’s 30 teams on equal footing, something that has not necessarily been the case when it comes to signing international players.