Cuban baseball player César Prieto, a highly touted 22-year-old infielder, ditched the Cuban national team Wednesday and defected to the United States. Prieto and his then-teammates arrived in Florida on Wednesday to compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament. Hours after the team’s arrival, the Cuban Baseball Federation released a statement confirming Prieto’s departure. The player hopped in a car outside the team hotel almost immediately after their bus arrived, according to baseball journalist Francys Romero. Because of the frosty diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, the easiest...

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