The yahoo article from Passan states, “When that failed, MLB opted for the nuclear option: shut down all player transfers immediately – and just before July 2, when the international signing season begins and Mexican teams can reap a majority of their windfalls.”
That would imply the ban didn’t take effect until the yahoo article and others, wrote about the ban. That would mean sometime in June. So I’m not sure what to make of Brian’s assurance it was in January but all the articles that wrote about the ban not being until June. I would think if the ban happened in January there would been a lot of articles written in January.