The Trump administration is moving to end an agreement allowing Cuban baseball playersto sign contracts directly with Major League Baseball clubs, a change that requires Cuban players to once again cut ties with the Communist nation before signing a major league deal.
Last year, 25 Cuban-born players played in at least one major league baseball game.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control told MLB attorneys in a letter Friday that it was reversing an Obama administration rule allowing the major leagues to pay the Cuban Baseball Federation a release fee equal to 25 percent of each Cuban player’s signing bonus. The payment mechanism was similar to agreements MLB has with leagues in China, South Korea and Japan.
In exchange, the Cuban federation had agreed to release all players aged 25 and older with at least six years of professional experience. – READ MORE