OFAC confirms stance on unblocking Cuban baseball players
Yoan Moncada and other Cuban baseball players currently pursuing Major League Baseball contracts officially cleared a major hurdle on Friday night.
According to Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs, Moncada's agent, David Hastings, along with other Cubans players who requested a “specific license” from the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, received an e-mail from OFAC confirming they will not grant a specific license to Cuban nationals who are already unblocked via the general license.
In other words, anyone who meets the government’s requirements for the general license, which Moncada and other Cuban infielders Hector Olivera and Andy Ibanez already have, is cleared by OFAC to sign with a major league team. Now it's up to MLB to revisit its guidelines and adjust in accordance with the new regulations.
"I'm pleased that the Administration has relaxed the process for Cubans leaving their island to pursue a career in baseball in America," Hastings said late Friday evening. "I will be interested to see Major League Baseball's reaction to the Department of Treasury's statement to me today saying that my player is, in fact, licensed to be signed by a team effective immediately and we no longer have to wait for the U.S. Treasury to clear my player because he has already complied with regulations that became effective on Jan. 16, 2015, in accordance with the president's announced policies to relax relationships between our two countries."
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How long it will take MLB to adapt is strictly a guess, but it shouldn't be long now that OFAC has confirmed its stance. As Yahoo Sports Jeff Passan reported this week, MLB, which currently requires Cuban nationals to obtain a specific license before granting them free agency — a process which can take up to six months to be finalized — has already said it would conform to the laws if OFAC confirmed changes to the process.
The letter itself is about as much confirmation as the league should need. However, MLB was expected to consult OFAC and all relevant branches of the U.S. government before making any changes official. That consultation is still likely to take place, but the results now appear to be a foregone conclusion.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
