Insider Reveals The Latest MLB Labor Talks

You are probably enjoying the 2022 MLB season at the moment, but you probably remember that it almost doesn’t happen over an international draft.

Yes: as the league and the MLB Players Association negotiated the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in March, things almost reached an impasse over the international draft.

The two sides agreed to set a July 25 timeline to solve the issue once and for all.

Well, MLB insider Jeff Passan has some news on that front.

“In a meeting today, the Major League Baseball Players Association offered the league an international draft proposal, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN. It differs significantly from the league’s proposal. There is a July 25 deadline to reach an agreement on a draft,” he said.

He also wrote that, “the int’l draft nearly scuttled collective-bargaining talks at the height of the lockout. The sides agreed to kick the can down the road. Accepting a draft is linked to the death of the qualifying offer. But the union wants more money for players, among other things, to say yes.”

The int’l draft nearly scuttled collective-bargaining talks at the height of the lockout. The sides agreed to kick the can down the road. Accepting a draft is linked to the death of the qualifying offer. But the union wants more money for players, among other things, to say yes.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 8, 2022

Negotiations Between The League And Players Aren’t Over

In other words, the two sides still have some negotiations to do.

The 2022 season is not in jeopardy, as everything about it has already been agreed to.

However, the issue of the international draft needs to be solved once and for all, because it involves the future of many young prospects and ballplayers from several locations.

The league wants a new system than the one that has been working for many years, and change, if done, needs to be approached progressively, not suddenly.

Some players have spoken against an international draft in the past, so there is work to be done by the league.