MIAMI (AP) — It’s a second day of testimony for Miami Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in the trial of a Florida sports agent and a baseball trainer accused of smuggling players out of Cuba.
Hechavarria is scheduled Tuesday to be cross-examined by attorneys for agent Bartolo Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada. His testimony comes as Marlins spring training is in full swing.
Prosecutors say Hernandez and Estrada illegally brought players like Hechavarria out of communist Cuba to sign lucrative Major League Baseball contracts using a speedboat smuggling network and faked documents. The pair, who took a hefty percentage in return, is charged with alien smuggling and conspiracy. No players have been charged.
Hechavarria signed a $10 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010 and was traded to the Marlins in 2012.
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