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Ortiz, Tatis speak out against international draft

David Ortiz is among members of the MLB community against the league holding an international draft. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

David Ortiz, Fernando Tatis Jr. speak out against international draft

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 3/9/22

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.

Fernando Tatis Jr.: "The International Draft is going to kill baseball in DR. It's going to affect us a lot, because there will be many young people who used to give them the opportunity to get a bonus and with the draft it will not be the same ”, per @ElCaribeRD. pic.twitter.com/KpUm6KEazb
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) March 9, 2022

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.

I reached out to David Ortiz, and in a 25-minute conversation, he outlined his issues with the international draft. He is not fundamentally opposed to the idea. What bothers him is the potential rapidity of its implementation. He believes more time is necessary for it to happen.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 9, 2022

Ortiz: “The system in the Dominican is not ready to have a draft next year. The Dominican is not the U.S. You can’t snap a finger and everything lines up to operate the right way. We’ve got a new president who’s trying to improve things. We need to do this slowly.”
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 9, 2022

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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