MLB works to tap into talent-rich, massive neighbor to the south - Mexico

Jorge L. Ortiz | USA TODAY

NASHVILLE - Six Mexican-born players participated in baseball’s playoffs in October, a large representation for a country that produced only nine players on Opening Day rosters this past season.

Commissioner Rob Manfred wants to see those numbers increase substantially, and he’s now making headway toward that goal.

Officials from Major League Baseball and the Mexican summer league (LMB) got together during this week's winter meetings to continue talks on an agreement that would overhaul the player-acquisition system between them and likely enhance the Mexican presence at the game’s highest level.

MLB has already extracted one major concession from Mexican club owners, who just dropped the onerous practice of blacklisting prospects who signed directly with big-league clubs, preventing them from playing in their home country. That was a way to coerce homegrown players to sign with Mexican teams, who then had the option of selling their rights to MLB clubs in what has become a significant source of income.

The Mexico City Diablos Rojos, for example, sold pitching prospect Roberto Osuna to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011 for $1.5 million and lefty Julio Urias to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 for $450,000.

LMB president Plinio Escalante told USA TODAY Sports the 16-team circuit felt it had to defend its interests against poaching by American clubs. But recent approaches from MLB, capped by Manfred’s visit to Culiacan in October, have made Mexican officials open to a partnership.

“We wanted to make sure MLB understood this was not like Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic or Venezuela, where there’s no summer baseball league so they can come in and sign anyone,’’ Escalante said in Spanish. “But things change, and MLB has approached us seeking an agreement where they could share some of the costs of scouting, development, etc.

“MLB said they couldn’t make a business deal with the Mexican league if we kept imposing those kinds of sanctions (blacklisting) on players because they infringe on human rights, and we had pondered that as well, so we agreed to that.’’

During the winter meetings, LMB officials formalized the new policy and lifted sanctions on nine players. However, the parties are still far from reaching agreement on what kind of financial contribution the Mexican league would receive and how the new system would function, likely through a draft instead of allowing American teams to sign amateurs as free agents the way it’s done in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Any deal would have to be approved by the MLB Players Association, which opposes the blacklist and LMB’s reserve system, under which teams can acquire a player’s rights when they’re as young as 13 and keep them in perpetuity.

Even with that gap to be bridged, signs of the warmer relations between the sides have been evident in the 11-day tutorial on coaching, scouting and training that MLB personnel held in Culiacan in October, followed in mid-November by a showcase for Mexican players in Monterrey that was attended by about 40 scouts from 27 teams. MLB has also agreed to share expertise in business and marketing practices.

In addition, MLB can dangle more exhibition games in Mexican soil – the Houston Astros will play the San Diego Padres in Mexico City in late March – and regular-season games may not be far away.

“We’re very interested in having a positive relationship with the Mexican leagues,’’ Manfred told USA TODAY Sports, mentioning also the winter league. “Just like with every other country, we want the best athletes in the world playing Major League Baseball. In my visit to Mexico, both professional leagues could not have been more forthcoming in terms of their willingness to work with us.’’

MLB plans to open an office in Mexico City next year as part of its plan to grow the game internationally. With a population of 124 million, the USA’s neighbor to the south represents a huge, relatively untapped market, both as a source of players and fans.

Even though soccer clearly remains the leading sport in Mexico, baseball has a strong enough foothold that the Central American nation delivered the largest foreign audience for the World Series in 2013 and 2014 (this year’s numbers are not available yet). And baseball’s popularity – particularly strong in the northwest – has been growing, with research indicating 21% of fans adopting the sport in the last year.

But the number of Mexican players in the majors remains stubbornly low.

“As a sister country,’’ agent Scott Boras said, “we need to advance what we do with youth baseball there quite a bit and really grow that to where we can get a higher return on the populace to major league talent.’’

That wouldn’t happen without reforms to a long-entrenched system that many Mexican players found unfair, restrictive and punitive.

Once a prospect signed with an LMB team, he could only pursue a career in the majors if his rights were sold by the Mexican team, which was required to give the player just 25% percent of the purchase price. Sometimes the asking prices were so high that MLB clubs balked, denying the player a chance to seek his fortune in the U.S.

“If it weren’t for that system, there would be more Mexicans playing in the United States, in the majors and minors,’’ said St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia, a native of Reynosa. “There’s a lot of talent in Mexico.’’

Prospects who signed directly with an MLB team risked getting blacklisted, as happened to the likes of catcher Sebastian Valle, outfielder Rogelio Noris and pitchers Marco Camarena and Edgar Osuna, among the nine players just freed to play at home again.

Osuna, who at 20 was the youngest player in the majors last season, said he felt forced to sign with the Diablos Rojos around the time he turned 16. Six months later they sold him to the Blue Jays.

“Nobody wants to take the risk to sign and not get to the big leagues. Then, what do you do?’’ Osuna said late in the season. “It’s a very big risk. (If you fail), you can’t play in Mexico. We considered it, but it was too big a risk.’’

That’s one of the reasons for the huge disparity in player output between Mexico and other Latin countries. There were 83 players from the Dominican Republic and 65 from Venezuela on Opening Day rosters this year, even though their respective populations are dwarfed by Mexico’s.

During his visit, Manfred made it clear MLB did not intend to supplant the player-development efforts of the Mexican summer league – which has been operating for 90 years and provides an alternative for players not under contract with U.S. clubs – but rather establish a stronger partnership. MLB already has a solid relationship with the Pacific winter league (LMP), where American prospects sometimes go to polish their skills.

“I think they’re amenable to trying to help us get more Mexican players in the big leagues,’’ Manfred said, “and we certainly recognize strong Mexican leagues are important to the growth of the game.’’

Escalante said MLB clubs are particularly interested in signing prospects between ages 16-19 so they can develop them in their preferred way, and he added that Manfred stressed he’d like to see more Mexican players reach the majors and get there quicker.

A bigger presence figures to promote interest among Mexican fans in watching their compatriots on TV, as was the case when popular Oaxaca native Vinny Castilla was slugging home runs for the Colorado Rockies in the 1990s, prompting Televisa to show their games.

“MLB had fallen behind in spreading its product in Mexico,’’ Escalante said, pointing out the NFL, NBA and even the NHL have made inroads in his country. “That’s what they’re working on now, and we’re happy about it, because having more baseball on television benefits us.’’