WASHINGTON — The Trump administration canceled a four-month-old deal between Major League Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation on Monday, saying that the federation was part of the Cuban government and trade with it was illegal under current law.
The announcement came less than two weeks after the start of the 2019 baseball season, and just days after the federation released the names of 34 Cuban players it said were eligible to sign with Major League Baseball. Some of those players were expected to be signed and playing this year.
Mariners reliever Roenis Elias left Cuba in 2010, traveling via boat to Mexico and then to the United States to play baseball.