MIAMI (AP) Two Texas Rangers executives have testified they never discussed bringing Cuban ballplayers to the U.S. illegally with a Florida sports agent on trial for allegedly smuggling players.
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels and assistant GM Mike Daly told a Miami jury Tuesday they never knew that outfielder Leonys Martin planned to cross the U.S. border in Texas illegally and never talked about it with agent Bartolo Hernandez.
Daniels and Daly are the first two defense witnesses in the trial of Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada. Prosecutors rested earlier Tuesday.
Martin signed a $15.5 million contract with the Rangers after he was smuggled from Cuba in 2011. Martin now plays for the Seattle Mariners.
Hernandez and Estrada insist they ran legitimate businesses and did not bring players into the U.S. illegally.
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