Freddie Freeman Called MLB's 'Money Issue' Draft Plan 'Ridiculous' and It's a Shot at Every Young Baller

Alright, Mariners fans, we gotta talk about something bigger than tonight's score. Freddie Freeman, dude, he just went OFF on MLB's latest proposal for the amateur draft. And when I say went off, I mean he dropped the R-word: "ridiculous." This isn't just some tweak, this is a full-blown overhaul that could change the future of baseball as we know it, and honestly, it sounds like a raw deal for young players and maybe even for our M's down the line.

MLB's Wild Plan to Gut the Draft

So, what's got Freddie so fired up? MLB dropped some ideas in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations that are seriously whack. Picture this: no more high school players allowed in the draft. Seriously. You gotta go to college. Not only that, they wanna chop the draft rounds from a solid 20 down to just 12. And to add insult to injury, the signing bonus pool? Halved. Yeah, *halved*. Players would have to wait until *after* their sophomore season of college ball to even enter. And for our international prospects, it's the same deal, a 12-round international draft. It doesn't take a genius to see this ain't about "improving the game" for the fans or the players.

Freeman Spits Truth: "It's All About Money"

When a reporter asked Freeman about this whole mess, he didn't even try to hide his disgust. He called it "ridiculous" plain and simple. He went on to say it's "crazy to me" and that the league is "only focusing on lowering costs for owners rather than on any improvements to the competition."

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Ouch, but he ain't wrong. "That's all just a money issue," he said. He even threw a jab at the league, saying "I think maybe now the fans will start seeing that it’s just money. Because that’s just cutting. It’s all about money." The man knows what he's talking about, too. He came out of Orange El Modena High School himself, got drafted in the second round by the Braves, and it launched his legendary career. He said, "I loved coming out of high school. It got me into the professional ranks. It got me into being able to develop into that organization and how they expect you to play. They believed in you at such a young age." You hear that? *Believed in you at such a young age.* That's what this proposal rips away. And it's not just Freddie, the MLBPA is straight up fighting this. They put out a statement saying MLB's ideas are "flat out bad for baseball" and "would cripple the next generation of players and damage the future of our game." They're "committed to bargaining in good faith," but these proposals "fall woefully short." This whole thing is just MLB's opening move, thankfully. But the players, led by guys like Freeman, are making it clear they're not having it. Our future Mariners, the next Julio Rodriguez or Cal Raleigh, could be impacted by this. The player's association is gonna fight anything that delays these young talents from entering the league and developing. This isn't just some abstract proposal, folks, this is about the soul of the game and giving every kid a shot. Stay tuned, because these negotiations are just getting started, and the stakes for the next generation of baseball are massive.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.