NEW YORK (AP) – Fred Claire can see the day when Major League Baseball teams open academies for prospects in Cuba.
“It’s absolutely a natural, just as the Dominican was and Venezuela. You go to where the talent is,” the former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager said Wednesday. “The high talent level for Cuban players is still there.”
That talent has faced obstacles getting to the U.S. since 1961, when the United States terminated diplomatic relations with Cuba. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the two nations were re-establishing relations.
The path to the major leagues for Cuban players has often involved smugglers who bring them out of the island nation for a price. It’s hard to foresee exactly how that will change in the short-term, or whether MLB teams will be allowed to invest resources in the communist country.
“While there are not sufficient details to make a realistic evaluation, we will continue to track this significant issue, and we will keep our clubs informed if this different direction may impact the manner in which they conduct business on issues related to Cuba,” MLB said in a statement.