Earlier this week, a detailed report by Will Hobson, Teri Thompson, and Christian Red of the Washington Post reported that the Atlanta Braves are one of a few teams involved in a Department of Justice investigation of MLB activities in Latin America related to international signings, including players from Cuba.
While the report does not feature too many specifics regarding the extent of the investigation’s impact on the Braves, here’s what we know:
- One focus of the investigation is uncovering “buscones” or other third parties who force international signees (especially from Cuba), to remit, forfeit, or otherwise send a large portion of their baseball earnings in exchange for services rendered (including, in Cuba’s case, passage [read: smuggling] off the island nation.