MLB Allowing Teams to Contact Prospects, Scout Electronically During Hiatus

Major League Baseball has begun relaxing some scouting restrictions in advance of the abbreviated entry draft later the summer. 

All teams received a memo Friday outlining the new guidelines, according to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel:

"Teams are now allowed to use phone, email, text and video meetings to contact players, advisers, coaches and trainers, according to the memo, and they can ask prospects to take assessments, such as the neurodevelopment tests that have become common in recent years."

Clubs are still not permitted to visit with prospects in person or hold tryouts. All scouting activities were shut down in mid-March as the league suspended its season. 

As part of the deal negotiated between MLB and the players union, commissioner Rob Manfred has the discretion to shorten the MLB draft from 40 rounds to as few as five. While no official date has been set, ESPN's Jeff Passan notes it's likely to take place at the end of July. The same provision also allows Manfred to reschedule the international signing period to as late as January 1, 2021. 

For top international players like Yoelkis Cespedes—the younger, half-brother of New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes who recently defected from Cuba—that could mean waiting another year before getting into the minor leagues and developing their skills stateside. 

In the meantime, teams can still access MLB's Draft Prospect Link, which provides biographical and medical information on prospects to all 30 clubs. 

According to McDaniel, there are still large caveats to the relaxed scouting rules:

"Teams are now allowed to seek out data and video through third parties, according to the memo, and procure the same from players and their proxies, so long as the video was taken before March 27, 2020. That rule does not apply to the 300 best amateur players as deemed by MLB, who are required to send their data and video to the league before any individual team."

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly as it relates to the current rules, MLB is asking for part-time scouts who work for multiple organizations—both within and outside the league—to disclose their employment as MLB works to ensure no teams will circumvent the restrictions in place.