Cuba HAVANA, CUBA – MAY 09: The Cuban flag flies in the outfield as kids play baseball on May 09, 2015 in the Alamar subarb of Havana, Cuba. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

With the relationship between Cuba and the United States improving after the embargo was lifted and travel restrictions were loosened, it seems the two countries are now working on collaborating to enjoy their shared national pastime together.

The Washington Post reports Cuba’s government under Raul Castro is using baseball in an attempt to solve some economic trade problems with the U.S. The two countries have been talking for months to figure out how to allow Cuban players to come to the states to play baseball legally, and without risking their lives doing so.

In recent months, we’ve seen an MLB agent arrested on charges of human trafficking related to a Cuban player’s pilgrimage to America, and another agent stopped representing a 16-year old Cuban after reportedly receiving death threats from the player’s Dominican investor.

Steps have slowly been taken towards diplomacy between the two neighbouring countries, and the move would be the next step in building a positive relation between the Communist regime and the States. President Obama is set to visit Cuba this month and plans to watch a game between the Cuban National Team and the Tampa Bay Rays – just the second game played on Cuban soil by an MLB team since the Cold War.

The Rays aren’t the only MLB team who may play a game in Cuba, as Heriberto Suarez, Cuba’s baseball commissioner, is working on getting the Washington Nationals to visit and play a game against the national team as well, and then have the team visit the United States to play a game in 2017. Playing against Washington would certainly be symbolic. Those plans are still just talks and have plenty of diplomatic hurdles.

While an agreement is unlikely to be reached during Obama’s visit, it’s a positive step in the budding relationship.

According to the Post, the holdup in negotiations seems to be money, and how much should go from MLB to Castro’s government. Currently, the embargo blocks American businesses (like Major League Baseball) from doing business with Cuba.

There may not be an immediate solution to the issues between the two countries related to trade, but it’s a step in the right direction that the U.S. and Cuba are hashing it out and using baseball as a backdrop to finding a solution to their previous embargo.

[Washington Post]

About Liam McGuire

Social +Staff writer for The Comeback & Awful Announcing. Liammcguirejournalism@gmail.com