Scott Miller of Bleacher Report has an exclusive report that Major League Baseball fined the San Diego Padres for holding an illegal international workout this summer prior to the signing period.
The violation: flying prospects from Venezuela to Aruba for a workout exclusively for the Padres, providing them airfare, paying for their hotels and providing meals to them and, in some cases their parents. This is a violation of MLB rules related to international signees. One presumes because, like with college athletics, it could be seen as some sort of inducement to sign with the Padres than with someone else.
No one from the Padres is commenting, but Miller reports that this is not the first time Preller has been involved with an international signing violation, having once been suspended while heading up the Rangers’ international operation.