Players Reject MLB Owners’ Final International Draft Offer

MLB and its players association failed to reach a deal on an international draft, ending the last remnants of their collective bargaining negotiations that led to a 99-day lockout prior to the 2022 season.

The players rejected the owners final offer on Monday, which was the deadline for the two sides to reach a deal.

In March, the two sides agreed to table talks on an international draft and established Monday’s deadline. 

• With the deadline looming, MLB presented what it called its final offer, which included $191 million in guaranteed money for the top 600 international players. The MLBPA had proposed $260 million.
• The league proposed that non-negotiable amounts would go to each player, based on draft order, while the MLBPA proposed that slot amounts act as minimums.
• The two sides were also split on the maximum a team could offer to undrafted free agents, with MLB proposing $20,000 and the MLBPA twice that.

Quantifying the Qualifying Offer

Had the two sides reached an agreement, the qualifying offer system would have been eliminated. Under those rules, teams may offer their players that file for free agency a one-year deal at a set price.

Should the player reject the qualifying offer and sign with another team, the signing team will lose a draft pick to the previous team.

The qualifying offer for the 2022 season was set at $18.4 million. Only San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt accepted the offer out of 14 recipients.