MLB, union, Cuba unite to halt trafficking of baseball players
HAVANA—Major League Baseball (MLB), its players’ association and the Cuban Baseball Federation reached an agreement that will allow players from the island to sign big league contracts without defecting, an effort to eliminate the dangerous trafficking that had gone on for decades.
The agreement, which runs through October 31, 2021, allows Cubans to sign under rules similar to those for players under contract to clubs in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
“For years, Major League Baseball has been seeking to end the trafficking of baseball
players from Cuba by criminal organizations by creating a safe and legal alternative for those players to sign with major league clubs,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement on Wednesday. “We believe that this agreement accomplishes that objective and will allow the next generation of Cuban players to pursue their dream without enduring many of the hardships experienced by current and former Cuban players who have played Major League Baseball.”
Depending on the quality of future players, the agreement could mean millions of dollars
in future income for the cash-poor Cuban federation, which has seen the quality of players and facilities decline in recent years as talent went overseas.
The agreement marks a step forward in US-Cuba relations during a time of tensions between Cuba and the Trump administration, which has pledged to undo President Barack Obama’s 2014 opening with the island.
MLB said the deal was allowed by amendments to the Cuban Asset Control Regulations of March 16, 2016, that established the provisions of a general license from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The league said OFAC confirmed to Major League Baseball in a letter dated September 20, 2016, that an agreement with the Cuban federation would be valid.
“Baseball has always been a bridge between our two nations, facilitating people-topeople connections and larger agreements that have brought our countries closer together,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.
Any disputes between MLB and the Cuban federation are subject to resolution by the International Chamber of Commerce.
EMPHATIC WIN
Super Sonic delivers an emphatic five-length victory in the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) Chairman’s Cup at the Saddle and Clubs Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite. The win is worth P1,200,000 for owner Sandy Javier, who also banks the P70,000 prize as breeder of the winning horse in the race held in honor of the late Philracom Chairman Benedicto Kalaw Katigbak, the “Millennium Transition Chairman,” who was head of the commission from 1998 to 2001.