NEW YORK — President Barack Obama plans to attend the Tampa Bay Rays’ exhibition game in Cuba on March 22.
Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting, tweeted the news Tuesday after Major League Baseball and the players’ association announced arrangements had been finalized for the game against the Cuban National Team in Havana.
“It adds a great dimension to the trip, and it’s going to shine an even greater spotlight on the events and on Major League Baseball,” Rays President of Baseball Operations Matt Silverman said.
It will be MLB’s first trip to Cuba since the Baltimore Orioles played there in 1999. The game will be televised by ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
“During a time of historic change, we appreciate the constructive role afforded by our shared passion for the game, and we look forward to experiencing Cuba’s storied baseball tradition and the passion of its many loyal fans,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
Manfred drew the Rays on Nov. 13 from a bin of teams that wanted to make the trip.
U.S. teams played spring training games in Cuba before Fidel Castro’s revolution, but none appeared there from March 1959 until the Orioles faced Cuba’s national team in Havana in March 1999.
Mariners: Seattle finalized a major league contract with Cuban outfielder Guillermo Heredia.
Heredia has not played competitive baseball since 2014 and defected from Cuba last year.
METS: Yoenis Cespedes and Noah Syndergaard decided to ride horses into camp, then took them for a romp around the spring training complex.
Cespedes wore a cowboy hat. Syndergaard was more cautious, wearing a Mets helmet.
“I didn’t get bucked off, so that was nice,” Syndergaard said.
CUBS: NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta will start Chicago’s season opener. The Cubs, coming off a 97-win season and appearance in the NL Championship Series, open at the Los Angeles Angels on April 4.
MARLINS: Right-handed reliever Carter Capps was awaiting a second opinion on an MRI of his right elbow, fearing an injury that would end his bid for the closer’s job before spring training games even begin.
Capps met with a doctor after undergoing the test, Manager Don Mattingly said. Capps throws a 100 mph fastball, but he missed the final two months of last season because of right elbow soreness and sat out three months in 2014 for the same reason.
The Marlins had expected him to challenge incumbent A.J. Ramos for the closer’s job, but Capps was sidelined when warming up to throw batting practice.
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