Sources: MLB plan would ban preps from draft, slash bonuses - ESPN

Major League Baseball proposed widespread changes to its amateur-entry system that would cut annual signing bonuses by more than $150 million annually, make high school players ineligible for the domestic draft and institute an international draft, sources told ESPN.

The proposal, made at a collective bargaining meeting with the MLB Players Association on Thursday, called for the domestic draft to be shortened from 20 to 12 hard-slotted rounds and the amateur signing bonus pool to be nearly halved to $200 million, according to sources.

The international draft, which would cover all amateur players outside of the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, would also be 12 rounds with a $200 million bonus pool, sources told ESPN.

The amateur-entry plan comes after MLB's initial proposal to institute a salary cap system to govern the game. With the Dec. 1 expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, the sides are in the midst of the highest-stakes bargaining in a generation, with players vehemently opposed to a cap.

They chafed likewise Thursday at MLB's amateur proposal, saying the proposals «fall woefully short» and players would lose $1 billion over the course of the next five years compared to the current system. While the current international signing system opens each January, the first draft, the league proposed, would take place in late 2027 or early 2028.

«Today, MLB made another set of proposals that are flat out bad for baseball, ones that would cripple the next generation of players and damage the future of our game,» the MLBPA statement said.

The most pertinent elements of MLB's proposal, sources said, include:

• A minimum draft age of 20 for domestic players and raising the minimum age for international