International Talent Committee unveiled

What Minor League baseball players do on the diamond will not change, but how and when many of them arrive could be altered in the near future.

Major League Baseball and its players association announced Thursday morning an eight-member International Talent Committee concerned with the development and acquisition of international players. It will meet bimonthly and convene its first meeting on or before Jan. 15, 2012.

A result of the recent labor agreement, the collective will consider a range of topics, including a potential worldwide draft, the age at which international prospects can sign professional contracts, a First-Year Player Draft that reincorporates players from Puerto Rico, and whether a new system -- and perhaps new teams and leagues -- is necessary to continue the growth of unsigned players abroad.

Relations with the Mexican League as well as leagues in Korea, Japan and Taiwan will also be up for debate, along with regulations on agent interaction as well as acquiring players from politically charged Cuba.

MLB executive vice president for labor relations and human resources Rob Manfred and MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner, who replaced Donald Fehr in 2009, will co-chair the collective.

Executives Kim Ng (MLB senior vice president of baseball operations), Sandy Alderson (Mets general manager) and Andrew Friedman (Rays executive vice president of baseball operations) will fill out Manfred's side of the table, while Weiner hand-picked MLBPA director of player relations Tony Clark, union senior advisor Rick Shapiro and special assistant Stan Javier. Clark and Javier, a native of the Dominican Republic, enjoyed lengthy playing careers.