Panel to study international draft

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NEW YORK -- Mets general manager Sandy Alderson, Tampa Bay executive vice president Andrew Friedman and retired player Tony Clark have been appointed to a committee to study whether baseball should have an international draft.

Retired player Stan Javier, Kim Ng of the commissioner's office and Rick Shapiro of the players' association also will be on the committee, which is co-chaired by union head Michael Weiner and MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred.

The committee, established in the new collective bargaining agreement, will hold its first meeting by Jan. 15.

Currently, the June draft is limited to players who are residents of the U.S., U.S. territories and Canada, with residents of other nations free agents.

The committee will discuss several issues, including: whether international amateurs should be subject to a draft; whether there should be a single worldwide draft or a separate international draft; the age for signing international amateurs; which draft Puerto Rican players should be in if there are multiple drafts; and how to deal with players leaving Cuba.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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