MLBPA rejects MLB's proposal for international draft, leaving qualifying-offer system in place

The Major League Baseball Players Association rejected MLB's «final» proposal for an international draft on Monday, meaning the existing qualifying-offer system will remain in place.

Talks on an international draft nearly scuttled negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, which came amid a prolonged, owner-imposed lockout that lasted until March 10. In an effort to incentivize the union, MLB tied the adoption of an international draft to the removal of the qualifying-offer system — whereby teams lose draft picks as compensation for signing certain mid- to upper-tier free agents every offseason, a mechanism that naturally suppresses the market for those players.

Latin American players, largely favoring a free-market system and concerned about how the livelihoods of those tasked with developing young players in their home countries would be impacted, were adamant against an international draft. The MLBPA and MLB ultimately agreed to table discussions during CBA negotiations, setting up Monday's deadline. Failure to reach an agreement would maintain status quo.

The union announced its decision about eight hours before the midnight EDT deadline for an agreement, timing specified in the March 10 lockout settlement. The MLBPA did not formally vote on the concept of an international draft; they submitted the proposal to union leaders on Sunday and agreed not to accept it, with no pushback, two union sources told ESPN.

«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,» the MLBPA said in a statement announcing its decision.

MLB's offer from March — one it says had been