The recent events in Venezuela involving the removal of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. military forces are, first and foremost, much, much larger than baseball. The matter is also not the type of subject typically covered on an episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast.”
However, the situation in Venezuela does have baseball implications, so on Tuesday, Jordan Shusterman and FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen discussed how the U.S.-Venezuela conflict is affecting MLB teams, players, coaches and scouts in a country that is a significant source of major-league talent.
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“There’s a lot of elements to this that are both interesting and harrowing and concerning,” Shusterman said. “And the reality is I think we’re going to ask more questions than anything in this conversation, but it’s something that we wanted to have space to do.”
The most pressing concern is, of course, the safety of individuals in Venezuela. Some current big leaguers, including Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio, are in their native country for the winter or to play in the Venezuelan winter league. Some teams have international scouts and other staff in the country. Last but not least, there are many amateur prospects in Venezuela, some of whom are slated to sign pro contracts when the window to do so opens Jan. 15.
For the full discussion between Shusterman and Longenhagen, check out the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast.”
A worsening situation in Venezuela
According to Longenhagen, FanGraphs’ lead prospect analyst, MLB teams have been aware for some time of the crisis in Venezuela and the potential need to remove individuals from the country.
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“Even around winter meetings … there was already smoke and anticipation among some of my sources that this was a volatile situation, that they might have to extract their young employees from Venezuela in a rushed, potentially harrowing fashion, depending on how things transpired with our government and theirs,” Longenhagen said.
“There were some teams who anticipated this and were already dealing with a lot of the red tape that goes into immigration and work visas and … the logistics of getting Venezuelan players from there to the United States or … the Dominican Republic.”
It’s worth noting that some of the safety concerns and immigration hurdles in Venezuela are not new or unique to the current events, though the situation is considered much more dire now. For example, prior to 2015, there was a Venezuelan summer league, and more MLB teams had a presence in the country, but that has declined over the past decade as the situation has worsened.
“Venezuelan players often showcase in Colombia as a result of how difficult it is to get personnel from the United States in and out of Venezuela,” Longenhagen said.
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“There’s already been a gradual exodus in terms of a permanent presence because the reality is it’s just not safe,” Shusterman said. “But that hasn’t stopped a lot of really promising and important Venezuelan players from signing, making it to the big leagues, becoming superstars, becoming faces of our sport.”
Varying responses among MLB teams
Longenhagen said some teams are more prepared than others to handle this situation and take care of their personnel in Venezuela.
“It runs the gamut right now, how prepared any given individual team is for this,” Longenhagen said. “And I think the fact that it seems to be on each individual team at this moment to try to maneuver and navigate the situation is potentially concerning.”
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Longenhagen mentioned that he has talked to individuals who work in international scouting who are hoping MLB will direct them on what to do or step in to remove players and staff from harm’s way if necessary. Several teams have reportedly checked in on their players currently in Venezuela to make sure they are safe.
The international signing period — in which amateurs from predominantly Latin American countries, including Venezuela, sign their first pro contracts — begins Jan. 15. In the cases of some teams, the prospects who are going to sign next week are already in the Dominican Republic or the United States at a team’s complex. In other cases, those amateur players are still in Venezuela and could face difficulty leaving.
The U.S. imposed temporary flight restrictions in the Caribbean on Saturday, the day of the military operation. Since 2019, the United States has suspended direct flights to and from Venezuela.
Impact on international tournaments
The Venezuelan winter league is in the midst of its season right now. Games were paused for four days over the weekend but resumed Wednesday. Chourio — who hit an extra-innings home run for his team, Aguilas del Zulia, on Friday in its playoff opener — is among the current MLB players competing this winter. Mets infielder Luisangel Acuña is another. Notably, the winter league teams that are based in Caracas, the nation’s capital, were already eliminated.
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Typically, following the conclusion of the winter leagues in the Dominican, Venezuela and Mexico, there is a Caribbean Series tournament featuring the champions of those leagues. That tournament was supposed to be held in Venezuela this year but will now be held in Mexico instead, and Venezuela will not participate.
“My understanding is that the Venezuelan league has decided, ‘We’re not sending anybody. You can’t go to this other league that took the tournament out of our country,’” Shusterman said.
What about the World Baseball Classic? The international tournament begins March 5, and the Venezuelan team is set to compete in a group along with the Dominican Republic, Israel, the Netherlands and Nicaragua, with games held in Miami. As of now, Venezuela is still expected to participate, but the situation remains fluid.
“The reality is we are talking about the safety of players that are people, first and foremost,” Shusterman said. “All of this is way bigger than baseball.”
