*Photo from Bleacher Nation*
After weeks of rumors surrounding the 2020 MLB draft, a decision has been made. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the draft will be cut down from 40 rounds all the way to 5. After the draft ends, teams will be able to sign as many undrafted free agents as they'd like for a maximum signing bonus of $20,000. The draft was previously set to be 10 rounds long, but the players association rejected the proposal from MLB due to a change in bonus pool money.
In previous 40 round drafts, teams could spend as much bonus pool money as they wanted with penalties coming into effect if teams spent more than the allotted money. The players association rejected MLB's proposal due to those rules changing. The slotted signing bonuses for each pick will be the same as they were in 2019, as opposed to how it regularly changes, which is a raise of 3 percent.
The fallout will affect more than just baseball teams. It affects players who may not get drafted because of the shorter draft, and they might lose a chance to play pro baseball because of it, because they might not have any college offers on the table. The good players will find somewhere to play, but it's the middle and bottom tier that gets hurt the most. This also comes after the proposal to cut minor league baseball in the offseason, which also impacts several players and has drawn intense criticism.
The draft news comes in as MLB is reportedly readying a proposal regarding the play of the 2020 season to be sent to the players association sometime next week. The draft will likely take place June 10-11 as planned, but it will not be held in Omaha, Nebraska, as originally intended. The MLB previously shortened the draft from 50 rounds to 40 in 2012. The Detroit Tigers hold the first overall pick in the 2020 draft.
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