David Ortiz, Fernando Tatis Jr. speak out against international draft
Of all the issues at the forefront of the MLB lockout, the matter of holding an international draft has only recently become a known sticking point the public has been made aware of. And it's one that San Diego Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. and Boston Red Sox great David Ortiz are vehemently against.
Reactions within the MLBPA to the proposed draft are reportedly mixed, but Tatis made his stance clear in a recent interview with news outlet El Caribe, saying an expanded draft "will kill baseball" in his native Dominican Republic.
Ortiz, whose voice among the baseball community is even louder, told ESPN's Jeff Passan the concept of the international draft is not fully formulated enough for the league to implement.
The current ruling only covers the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, but the owners' new proposed draft would cover other countries, including the Dominican Republic, which has long been the home to the best baseball talent in the world. As Passan explains, the league's position is that expanding the draft would guarantee more money for international draftees while also curbing "the corruption that is rife in the international market, with early signings, financial kickbacks, and trainers giving performance-enhancing drugs to teenage boys..."
As CBS Sports notes, it isn't readily clear how much of a sticking point the international draft is in the current CBA negotiations, especially with all the other economic issues both sides still have to hammer out. Regardless, those comments from Ortiz and Tatis will carry plenty of weight.
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