Major League Baseball’s Cuban Agreement was once scrambled by The White House, in the light of Donald Trump
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Major League Baseball and The Donald Trump administration did not walk on the same path once in the past, The White House scuttled Major League Baseball’s historic agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation, arguing that the sport’s governing body is part of the Cuban government and that the agreement violates United States trade law.
The letter which was obtained by ESPN, underscored the reversal of a policy from former President Barack Obama’s administration that intended to soften relations between the U.S. (Major League Baseball) and Cuba.
“The objective,” Major League Baseball said, “is to end the dangerous trafficking of Cuban baseball players who desire to play professional baseball in the United States.” The White House, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, tweeted, “Cuba wants to use baseball players as economic pawns – selling their rights to Major League Baseball.”
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sent a letter to MLB on Friday that said “payments to the Cuban Baseball Federation are not authorized … because a payment to the Cuban Baseball Federation is a payment to the Cuban government.”
Major League Baseball and the Cuban Government finally reached an agreement to stop trafficking of Cuban ballplayers
“Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) jointly announced today an agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation (FB) that will provide Cuban baseball players with a safe and legal path to sign with a Major League Club.”
“The FB becomes the fourth foreign professional baseball league to enter into an agreement of this nature with MLB, joining Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), and the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).”
Under this agreement, the FB must release all players under contract to the FB who are at least twenty-five (25) years old and have six (6) or more years of playing experience (known as “Foreign Professionals” under MLB rules) to sign with Major League Baseball Clubs.
The FB may also release younger players to sign with Major League Clubs. Once a player is released by the FB, he is free to negotiate and sign with any Major League Club without leaving Cuba, subject to the same collectively bargained rules applicable to all international players.
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Yagya Bhargava
(611 Articles Published)