Cuban Defector Seeks Freedom From MLB Policy

— -- In an action that could lead to changes in the way Cuban baseball players are treated by Major League Baseball, recent defector Rolando Viera has threatened to take legal action against the commissioner's office unless he is declared a free agent.

The commissioner's office was served Tuesday with a copy of an impending lawsuit by Viera, ESPN.com learned. Viera's attorney, Alan Gura, said the request for a temporary restraining order against MLB placing Viera in the June 5-6 draft will be filed on Thursday in federal court in Tampa, Fla.

Viera, a 27-year-old, left-handed pitcher who left Cuba a month ago, is working out in Tampa in preparation for a showcase for scouts.

Major League Baseball regards Cuban defectors differently than other foreign players, forcing them into the draft unless they acquire residency in a third country. Viera argues that the policy violates federal civil rights laws that prevent employers from discriminating based on national origin.

Gura, who was hired by Viera's agent, Joe Kehoskie, said Viera is asking to be treated the same as players from the Dominican Republic, Mexico and other foreign countries where prospects are automatically regarded as free agents.

"Cubans are the only ones that baseball requires the commissioner's office to sign off on" as free agents, Gura said. The only other prospects forced into the draft are players from the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, where the amateur system, labor laws and access to scouts are considered similar.

Lou Melendez, baseball's vice president of international operations, denied that baseball discriminates against Cubans. Even if a player is a Cuban citizen and has not yet acquired his U.S. resident card with the Immigration and Naturalization Service -- a process that takes a minimum of one year -- baseball regards a Cuban player as a U.S. resident if he is now making his home in the U.S.

"If you're a resident of the U.S., you go into the draft," Melendez said. "The word 'resident' means one thing to the INS. But for Major League Baseball purposes, it means he's living here, receives mail here and has no intention to return."