Major League players will be allowed to compete in winter leagues this season after Major League Baseball and the MLBPA reached an agreement.

There will be restrictions that will limit the participation of pitchers, but loosen the rules for position players, according to sources.

Serious negotiations between the parties in recent months invoked fears that players on 40-man rosters would be barred from playing this year.

The five-year agreement, reached Friday and ratified by the Caribbean Confederation on Saturday, will allow players to report within a week.