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#pounditThursday, March 28, 2024

Report: MLB bans transactions with Mexican League over ‘corruption’

Major League Baseball has reportedly banned teams from signing any players who are affiliated with the Mexican League due to questions and concerns over how contracts have been negotiated.

In a letter sent to teams on Tuesday that was obtained by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, MLB said that “corruption” and “fraud” have resulted in the league pulling the plug on teams being able to directly negotiate with players from the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB). According to the letter, evidence shows that LMB teams have been falsely reporting the percentage of a player’s signing bonus that the team kept. Teams have kept as much as 75 percent in some instances.

MLB would prefer to deal with a system more like the one Japanese and Korean leagues have in place, in which players negotiate their own contracts and the foreign team receives a posting fee that is typically in the range of 25 percent of the contract’s value. With the LMB, teams own players’ rights and can sell them. LMB teams often sign agreements with 15-year-old players just so they can take a cut of their contracts if an MLB team signs them when they become eligible at 16.

Passan notes that MLB tried to negotiate a new policy with the Mexican League over the past year but cut ties altogether when an agreement could not be reached.

“We are unwilling to continue the current system in light of recent fraud we have discovered in the player transfer process,” the letter to teams said.

Dodgers starting pitcher Julio Urias, long considered one of baseball’s top prospects, forfeited most of his signing bonus to LMB team Diablos Rojos when he signed with L.A. Some current MLB players that came from the Mexican League include Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva, who has 16 homers on the year, and relief pitchers Victor Arano, Hector Velazquez and Roberto Osuna. The LMB also has several former MLB players who are trying to work their way back, but that door has been shut for the time being.

We have seen how posting fees with foreign players can seemingly get out of hand, but a lack of transparency is the issue with the Mexican League. MLB is hoping the freeze-out will help nudge things in the right direction.

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