Dodgers: Superstars Push Back on International Draft Concept

Fernando Tatis Jr. and David Ortiz both are not completely on board with an international draft.

The latest chapter in the CBA negotiations seems to be MLB's desire to start an international draft. The international draft appeared to be the major roadblock for a deal getting done on Wednesday.

Two MLB superstars, both gave their thoughts on how the proposed new draft system would affect baseball prospects in their home country of the Dominican Republic.

Newly elected Hall-of-Famer David Ortiz wasn't as strongly opposed, but cautioned that the new system needs to slowly be integrated. As of Wednesday, the league's proposal was to start the international draft in 2024.

ESPN's Jeff Passan did a brief phone interview with Ortiz to get this thoughts on the matter.

"The system in the Dominican [Republic] 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."

Ortiz's opinion aligned with Tatis Jr.'s - the international draft will have a significant impact on Dominican baseball prospects.

"Baseball is such a big thing in the Dominican. Baseball keeps kids off the streets. We don't want that to walk away from us. We want it to get better...at the end of the day, I don't want those kids to be affected by it...Dominican has baseball to make your way out. That's it. You have to be careful."

The new system would likely affect the Dodgers. During the Friedman regime, the Dodgers have been very successful in mining the international talent pool. LA is adept at drafting, scouting, and developing international talent. Starting a draft could reduce some of LA's advantages when it comes to that department.