The June 10 MLB Draft will be only five rounds, the lowest in history and half as many as what had been recently discussed.
Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel were first with the report. Ernest Dove has the full details:
SOURCE : 2020 mlb draft rules set:
*Will occur on June 10th
* 5 rounds
* Teams can utilize their allotted money as they see fit.
* Undrafted player signing period begins on 6/13 (20K max bonus)
*Draft signing deadline is 8/1— Ernest Dove (@ernestdove) May 8, 2020
While the league and Players Association agreed to hold a draft in March, they did not specify how many rounds it would be. The two sides agreed that it would be either five or 10 rounds, far fewer than the usual 40.
Undrafted players will be limited to a $20,000 signing bonus.
According to Passan, the league submitted a proposal that would have resulted in a 10 round draft, though in a unique way. It basically would have been two five-round drafts, where the slot money for rounds 1-5 could only be spent on those picks, and slot money for rounds 6-10 can only be used on those rounds.
While each pick comes with a designated bonus slot total, most players sign for more or less than that amount. This allows teams to potentially save money on some draft picks to give more to others, usually to convince them to sign out of high school or to forgo a senior season of college.
The league also proposed a limit of five undrafted players at $20,000 — the maximum bonus such a player can receive — and an unlimited number on players at $5,000 or below.
The NCAA is adding a year of eligibility for its spring athletes, meaning that every player selected will have the option to go back to school, thus creating some negotiating power with the teams that draft them. Breaking the draft up into two parts would have given teams an advantage again since they will have less money to spend, especially in the second draft. It appears as though the Players Association objected to that, and that's why the proposal was rejected.
The Pirates will have six picks in the upcoming draft, including seventh overall and a competitive balance Round A pick at 31st overall. Their draft bonus pool will be $11,154,500. They would have had a slot allocation of $1,036,800 for Rounds 6-10.
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