MLB Looking To Build Ties With Cuba If U.S. Lifts Embargo

Baseball Getting Ready In Case Cuban Embargo Is Lifted

MLB officials are “quietly preparing to re-establish a relationship with Cuba” if the U.S. lifts its trade embargo, according to Michael Schmidt of the N.Y. TIMES. Three baseball sources said that MLB is “contemplating a strategy for teams to sign Cuban players in an effort to create an orderly system for acquiring talent from the island.” MLB Senior VP/Baseball Operations Joe Garagiola Jr., who is “coordinating baseball’s discussions on Cuba,” said, “There may not be any significant changes with our relationship with Cuba in the near term, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think about these things.” Schmidt notes baseball officials “have reached out to business executives, university professors and Cuban-born players to learn more about the intricacies of baseball, and life, there.” Discussions between baseball and the State Department “could soon take place.” A report earlier this month said that MLB “is also considering moving a minor league team to Cuba and building training academies similar to those that nearly all teams have in the Dominican Republic” (N.Y. TIMES, 4/26).