In the past, names like Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa, and Joe Mauer got drafted straight out of high school. Under a bold new plan by team owners, that would not be possible. As per the new proposal, all US-born talents must be two years removed from their high school graduation to be eligible to be drafted. This means thousands of young players would be blocked from turning pro early. They would have to play college baseball instead.

However, veterans like former Boston Red Sox utility player Jeff Frye did not hide their anger about the plan.

“Idiots! The MLBPA should tell them to shove it! The MLB talent pool is already diminished because there are only 20 rounds, so let’s make it even worse by only having 12 rounds! The owners are getting richer by the minute, and they’re trying to cut costs on draft picks? The MLB players need to STRIKE!” Frye said.

Frye went on to tag Elon Musk, asking him to start a new league challenging MLB! So, in terms of their new draft proposal, MLB is neither getting the current players on their side nor the former ones. But MLB stands firm with its vision.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, “The proposal, made at a collective bargaining meeting with the MLB Players Association on Thursday, called for the domestic draft to be shortened from 20 to 12 hard-slotted rounds and the amateur signing bonus pool to be nearly halved to $200 million.”

The league argues that modern college baseball programs can develop pro-ready talent faster and cheaper than before. They say college players get more money from sponsors and use better training facilities now. By cutting the draft by 8 rounds, MLB also heavily reduces the total signing bonus money. This allows teams to use strict, set prices for every draft pick, giving owners total control over how much they spend.

So, MLB clearly wants to create steps for a new talent that starts with school baseball, then college baseball, MiLB, and finally the major league. But players are pushing back hard against this idea.

“If the goal is to continually grow our game and create more interest from youth baseball. How does it make sense to severely decrease the opportunity to get to pro ball by shortening the draft by another 8 rounds?” Dodgers veteran Justin Turner posed a question via X.

Surely, this would limit the opportunities for the new talent. For instance, former big-league catcher Erik Kratz was drafted in the 29th round back in 2002. But in the new proposal, he would not have been allowed to get into the draft. On the other hand, it is going to help the team owners. Just when MLB is pushing hard for a salary cap to limit the owners’ costs, trimming down the rounds would also save enough for them.

While the draft limits have got the current and former players united, there is one MLB proposal that has them somewhat divided.

MLB’s salary cap proposal has a few takers

There are a few former players who sided with MLB in implementing a salary cap.

“Yes, there should be one, because it has to be fair to everybody,” Yankees veteran Mariano Rivera said last month. “It makes the competition better.”

Implementing a salary cap would limit the excessive spending by teams like the Dodgers and Mets. It would create equality with the low-spending teams, but it comes at the cost of the players’ rights. For instance, Shohei Ohtani would not have fetched a $700 million deal with the salary cap in place. But if he deserves it, why not offer the same?

“Of course, they’re always gonna go after the people spending the most,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said, criticizing MLB for the salary cap push.

MLBPA already rejected the proposals.

“MLB made another set of proposals that are flat-out bad for baseball. Ones that would cripple the next generation of players and damage the future of our game,” MLBPA’s official statement reads.

So, with both parties already at loggerheads over the salary cap, MLB’s draft proposal just added fuel to the fire. Frye is calling the players for a strike over the draft proposal, which might become real by December. There are already a few proposals and counters offered, but a consensus has yet to be reached. In the end, the risk of a lockout is only growing stronger with each passing day.