MLB Hopes For Rule Changes on Cuban Market

The relationship between the United States and Cuba are hopefully on the mend and the relationship between the Cuban government, their players and Major League Baseball may be as well. In years past Cuban-born players simply defected from their native country, established residency elsewhere in the world and waited a year or longer to get unblocked by the United States before pursuing their MLB career. MLB wants this to change and have proposed news rules that will specifically affect the Cuban amateur and professional player market.

Currently there is an embargo on Cuban imported goods and players which forces the players to establish residency elsewhere and keeps the league from setting up similar deals like they have with the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization in Japan and the Korean Baseball Organization in Korea. It would be unlawful for teams to send some sort of monetary compensation back to Cuba so the league is looking for a bit of a loophole in the way of non-profit entity creations that will help develop baseball on the island of Cuba. 

In theory the team that acquires a Cuban-born player would donate money to this fund as compensation for the player. The difference between this non-profit fund and simply sending the money to the team is that this is non-taxable income and this would not directly or indirectly head to the Castro's and the Cuban government. It is unclear whether the United States Treasury Department will agree to this or approve the deal, stay tuned.