▲Zhuang Chen Zhong'ao (left), Li Chenxun (right)
The World Series has just ended, the news that the major leagues are about to close, due to the imminent expiration of the labor agreement on December 1 this year, from the beginning of the season the players' union and the major leagues have been unable to reach a consensus, the current indications, the major leagues are ready to close the museum. Although the new minor league season will not be affected, the signing of international players is also part of the collective agreement, which is bound to make it difficult for Taiwan amateurs to sign contracts with American teams.
Through the wooden stick league, black panther flag, Yushan Cup, Wang Zhenzhi Cup and big and small cups, Taiwan has cultivated many good players with overseas strength, plus the U18 Chinese team won the world championship in 2019, the just-concluded U23 World Cup Chinese team 6th place, there have been players who have performed well, several players have been locked by the American team, in addition to close observation, but also entered the negotiation stage.
At present, the international player signing system not only has quota restrictions for each team, but also has made some changes due to the epidemic, for example, the annual signing period starts from July 2 to mid-June of the following year, and changes to January 15 to mid-December of that year. The amount of signing amount that could have been traded has also been changed to not be traded, and the signing amount of each team has a ceiling and cannot be exceeded as in the past.
▲Lin Zhenwei
Since Taiwan is a free competitive market, players are more selective, not only can negotiate with multiple teams, but even allow teams to use the quota of different years to flexibly use, in order to strive for better conditions. However, this advantage has changed dramatically after the expiration of the collective agreement.
The first is the signing time, although the signing period in 2021 is in mid-December, but the labor agreement expires on December 1, and any ongoing affairs, including the free agent market, the rule five draft, etc., will be suspended due to the closure of the major leagues, and must wait until the new version of the labor agreement is signed before there is a chance to deal with it, so most of the clubs intend to end all international player signings before the closure. According to the US media "Baseball America", the start of the next signing year is bound to be postponed, it will not be the original January 15, as to when the international market can be restarted, it still depends on the progress of labor negotiations.
▲ U23 World Cup Lin Yumin
For Taiwanese players who are obsessed with chasing their dreams, the uncertain time they can sign is probably not the worst news. A number of US media pointed out that the proposed plan of the management, including the long-rumored international draft, will completely change the way international rookies join the major league system. The international player draft system can not only negotiate with the team that selects the player, but also has a corresponding recommended amount for each pick; the current system is negotiated by the player and the team, allowing the team to compete freely. In the absence of competitiveness, it is difficult for players to increase their value.
Players who are negotiating will not be affected by the collective agreement if they choose to sign with the team that uses the 2021 quota; the team that chooses to use the 2022 quota is full of variables, not only uncertain about when to sign the contract, but more likely to face a change in the signing system, resulting in the collapse of the amount negotiated with the team. Players must therefore carefully consider when making decisions to ensure that the dream of challenging the world stage is not hindered.