The Trump administration is nixing MLB's historic deal with Cuba

Cuba baseball player.
(Image credit: Luis Acosta/Getty Images)

The Trump administration's hardening stance on Cuba — especially because of the Cuban government's support for embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — will have some major ramifications for Major League Baseball.

While Cuban players have historically had to undergo grueling, life-threatening defections to play in the United States, MLB and its players' union struck a deal with the Cuban government in December that would have created "a safe, legal path" for Cuban players to sign with MLB teams after reaching a certain age or accruing enough service time. The only catch was that the MLB team acquiring the player would pay a fee to the Baseball Federation of Cuba — and that turned out to be enough for the White House to put a stop to the deal.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.