On Monday, the Trump administration struck down an agreement originally conceived by President Obama that made it easier for Cuban ballplayers to come to the United States. Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation had reached an agreement in December following years of negotiation.
Because this is a complicated situation, we decided to answer some obvious questions related how Monday's development might impact Major League Baseball heading forward.
What was the reason for the original agreement?
Simply to make it safer for Cuban players to come play in the United States.
Was that necessary?
There are countless stories of Cuban players risking their lives to play in the United States -- Yasiel Puig, among others, had to entangle with human traffickers to complete his journey.
Were there any other benefits?
The original agreement, which required the MLB team to pay the Cuban team as part of the acquisition process, curbed that by making it legal for players to come play in the United States and hastened the process for them to become eligible to sign.
How much was the Cuban team supposed to get?
Per the MLB-CBF agreement, 25 percent of the player's signing bonus was to go to their old team.
What about the Cuban government?
The players would have had to pay a four percent income tax on their earnings.
Why is the Trump administration pushing back?
The current administration has pushed back on much of the work to patch relations with Cuba. Here, specifically, the Trump administration is said to disagree with the assertion that the Cuban Baseball Federation is separate from the Cuban government.
How does this affect Cuban players hoping to sign with MLB teams?
At minimum, it makes the process more difficult. As pointed out at NBC News, the Treasury Department would have to make the players "exempt from the prohibition."
Has MLB responded to the news?
Yes. Here's the statement issued by the league:
BREAKING: MLB releases the following statement on the Trump admin’s change over Obama agreement where Cuban players could safely entering the US to play baseball: "We stand by the goal of the agreement, which is to end the human trafficking of baseball players from Cuba."
— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) April 8, 2019
Is there any hope for a new agreement?
The Trump administration is reportedly open to working with MLB on a new arrangement. It's unclear what that would entail.
