by Philip Baudhawpe for American Baseball Perspective

July 11, 2019: Asheville, North Carolina

Baseball just went truly international.

The PEBA Board of Directors made their highly anticipated announcement today and it is indeed, in the words of Steve Rucker, Head of the PEBA Players Union, ‘historical, revolutionary and the great equalizer for international baseball.’

The Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance has had a long-standing working agreement with the League of the Rising Sun that was designed, in part, to protect the Japanese League both financially and assure the growth and development of their talent pool.

Today, both Leagues took hold of that agreement and began to tug and tear away at it, and in doing so, blur the line that separates the two.

Board lead spokesman, San Antonio GM, Matt Higgins met the press to announce the details behind a plan that will allow teams of the two leagues to directly trade players between one another – albeit on a limited basis.

In the past, there were but three ways players could move between the two leagues: by having their contracts expire and becoming free agents; through the posting process that allowed PEBA teams to, in essence, partake in a silent auction of one bid for certain, specially designated, Japanese players; or through the transfer process that allows Japanese-born players who pass through PEBA waivers to be sold to the highest LRS bidders.

After the announcement, Higgins spoke to me and several other writers about the process. “John (former Commissioner, John Rodriguez, Sr) was very much in favor of maintaining the separation of the two leagues, even though there was a small faction of us who were interested in opening it up and letting free trade reign. He wanted to make sure the LRS survived.” One only look at LRS balance sheets to realize that revenues have rocketed over the years.

Higgins continued, “Junior (PEBA’s second Commissioner and John, Sr’s son of the same name) was very much like his father on this issue, though he was certainly more open minded and I fully believe if he were here today, under the circumstances, he’d be all for it. When he stepped down, and the Board took over, it was one of the topics we addressed first. We like to think that this plan is in the best interest of baseball’s future – both here and abroad, and yet it is considerate of our Founder’s wishes to see the LRS protected.”

“Frankly, I don’t think we’d be here so soon if it were not for the $7M transfer deal that Aurora struck for Yamasaki,” Higgins said “and the $23M deal that Kuwana gave to ‘Quagmire’. It really kind of struck home, the idea that they are starting to rake in the dough in Japan and don’t need the same protection’s they once did.”

And yet, as you’ll see, protecting the still soft underbelly of the LRS is still paramount. So here are the fundamentals of the plan:

Trades between the leagues will be allowed during a specific – yet broad, window of time that will begin after the end of the LRS championships and run until July 1^st of the following year. That covers most of the PEBA offseason and takes us just about to the mid-season mark.

PEBA teams will be allowed only 2 trades with teams from the LRS – while LRS teams may make up to 4 deals with PEBA teams. In either instance, teams will be allowed only one deal between them and a partner. The considerable size of the PEBA to the LRS makes this an almost obvious need.

A team can trade a maximum of 3 players in any one deal and a cash cap of $2M per transaction is included – with the unique stipulation that any cash inclusion is to be considered a player, making the maximums 3 players or, 2 players and cash. Teams cannot deal draft picks.

One might think that the trading of players between the Leagues would make the older posting/transfer mechanisms obsolete, but I would argue that with only a $2M cash cap on trades, teams who are looking to make a greater financial gain will have to look to the older system to realize more cash

All other PEBA-LRS contractual trade stipulations will be enforced, and as is the case normally for each league, deals during the annual Winter Meetings will be treated uniquely and will not count against the ‘trades per season’ maximums – thus making the 2/4 rule null and void during those four days of meetings.

Higgins was quick to point out that it’s still a bit of a work in progress, but that all parties – the PEBA Board, the leaders of the LRS and both leagues union leaders have agreed in principle on the plan.

The LRS’ gaijin rule – allowing no more than 4 non-Japanese born players on their 25-man roster, will remain. “Japan is a nation founded upon deep traditions,” Higgins said, “and anything that would diminish Japanese baseball tradition – including reducing the number of Japanese-born players in the league, is not in the LRS’ interests.” I think it’s fair to see this viewpoint as a mechanism that will prevent there from being an overwhelming flood of bodies across the Pacific.

Word spread around quickly, with the expected mixed feelings. Perhaps the most vocal commentary came from Denny Hill, GM of the Palm Springs Codgers who replied, “You kids get off my lawn!!!”