As negotiations between the MLB’s owners and the MLBPA continue, the possibility of the league instituting an international draft has become a fairly significant issue on the table. On Wednesday, a pair of baseball superstars from the Dominican Republic—incoming Hall-of-Fame inductee David Ortiz and Padres slugger Fernando Tatís Jr.—railed against the idea.
Per Dominican baseball reporter Héctor Gómez, Tatís told El Caribe that an international draft would “kill baseball” in the Dominican Republic.
“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,” Tatís added, per Gómez.