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MLB cancels Dominican showcase amid word of boycott

Ben Badler / Twitter

Major League Baseball has cancelled its Dominican national showcase amid word that trainers and players planned to boycott the event, a gesture of protest against the league's reported push to implement an international draft.

"Due to the lack of cooperation from the independent trainers, the Dominican Republic National Showcase has been cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience," the league told its teams, according to Baseball America's Ben Badler.

Under the collective bargaining agreement, which expires Dec. 1, the signing of international amateurs - players aged 16-22 with less than five years of experience in a professional league recognized by MLB - has been governed by a bonus pool system that allocates each team a specific budget based on their record the previous year. Though penalties are enforced to prevent teams from exceeding their bonus pools, these sanctions haven't done much to deter clubs from spending aggressively in the international market; in the past 18 months, both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox have incurred penalties of more than $31.5 million for exceeding their bonus allotments to sign highly coveted Cuban youngsters.

As such, the proposed international draft - which, should it be ratified in the new CBA, would begin in March 2018 and consist of 10 rounds, according to ESPN's Buster Olney - could dramatically curtail the amount of money going to international prospects and their trainers.

Following the cancellation of the showcase, a group known as the independent association of trainers of Latin America issued a statement clarifying the intent of their boycott.

"We do not consider this a victory," the statement read. "We are not against MLB in any way, shape or form. We appreciate everything MLB has done. This is not a fight against MLB, this is a fight against the draft."

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