It was an emotional scene earlier this week when Rays outfielder and Cuban defector Dayron Varona saw his family for the first time in three years when the ballplayer returned to Havana for the Rays exhibition vs. the Cuban national team.
But the next time Varona returns to play baseball on the Caribbean island, he could be playing for the Cuban national team once again.
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Cuban baseball commissioner Heriberto Suárez told Fox Sports that the Cuban baseball federation would consider welcoming back MLB defectors to play for the national team for events such as the World Baseball Classic. That means the Cuban roster could include MLB stars such as Jose Abreu, Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Fernandez and Yasiel Puig, among others.
Suárez said that any such pact would need to be part of a new agreement among the Cuban and American governments, MLB and the MLB Players' Association.
In order for a deal of that magnitude to be authorized, Fox Sports believes the Cuban government would need to receive a "release fee," thus allowing Cuban players to maintain their citizenship while signing with an MLB team, but also pacifying a regime that wants a piece of that profit. Problem is, the current U.S. embargo against Cuba prohibits such actions.
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While no deal is imminent, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred shared MLB's stance on the subject saying, "Federations (in the World Baseball Classic) ought to put the best teams out there … That serves to make the event the best it can possibly be. That's a decision they have to make. We certainly would be open to it."
MLB is also expected to have a new agreement on the Cuban player movement finalized for the next collective bargaining agreement, which should be implemented before the end of the year.