SOURCES: OVER 100 PLAYERS REJECT DRAFT COMBINE PHYSICAL; VOID DRAFT BONUS GUARANTEE

According to sources close to the event, only 70 percent of players who attended the 2022 MLB Draft Combine opted to take Major League Baseball’s pre-draft physical. Those who didn’t take the physical have currently voided their guarantee of receiving 75 percent of their future draft slot bonus. 255 players attended the event. Roughly 180 of those players took the physical.

A new piece of the collective bargaining agreement executed this winter guaranteed amateur players 75 percent of their slot bonus in the MLB Draft. Only players designated as “Top 300” prospects were eligible for that guarantee, so long as they took Major League Baseball’s pre-draft physical. The clause was added to the new CBA to help protect amateur players from being used as pawns for teams to either save money or procure future draft picks awarded to them after failing to sign their draft picks. Some have referred to this new clause as the “Kumar Rocker Rule”, though Rocker never submitted a pre-draft physical in 2021. The New York Mets eventually drafted him in the first round and failed to sign him after he “failed” his physical.

As things currently stand, more than 100 players designated as “Top 300” players in the 2022 MLB Draft will still be able to negotiate deals with teams under that 75 percent guarantee. According to sources, most of the players who elected to forego the physical were older players who lack leverage to return to school and improve their draft stock for 2023.

There isn’t a long history of “top” players receiving less than 75 percent of their slot bonus. In fact, in some cases, players made more money than they likely would have had they been required to take 75 percent of their slot bonus.