U.S. Senator Marco Rubio "took to Twitter" on Thursday to argue against an MLB agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation "intended to make it safer for Cuban players to reach the big leagues," according to Jim Turner of the NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA. Rubio, "expressing hope that President Donald Trump or the U.S. Department of State will intervene, called the agreement 'both illegal and immoral.'" He also questioned a "'terrible one-sided' provision that allows the Cuban Baseball Federation to collect fees from teams that want to sign Cuban players." The proposed three-year agreement, announced Dec. 19 by MLB as a way to "end the dangerous trafficking of Cuban players," allows players from Cuba to sign with North American teams under rules similar to arrangements now in place with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. While the deal was marketed as allowing players and their families to "travel safely and lawfully between the U.S. and Cuba," Rubio sees the proposal as "essentially paying the Communist government and potentially limiting the incomes of Cuban players, who now often reach the U.S. through more hazardous routes that involve smugglers and landing in countries such as Mexico or the Dominican Republic." Rubio wrote, "Under this agreement: -- the Cuban Govt controlled baseball Federation will get 20% of total value of each MLB contract signed by a Cuban player. The regime will impose a new income tax on the players earnings, even though the income is being earned by playing in the U.S." (NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA, 12/28).
