SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A prosecutor in the Dominican Republic says a prominent baseball trainer is still under investigation in an immigrant smuggling case despite his defense lawyer’s statements to the contrary.
Prosecutor Milciades Guzman says a judge’s decision to release Edgar Mercedes does not mean he’s in the clear. Guzman said Thursday that Mercedes is one of six men suspected of illegally helping Cuban baseball players enter the Dominican Republic so they could seek major league contracts in the U.S.
Mercedes was briefly detained May 31 — until a judge ruled there wasn’t enough evidence to hold him and set him free. Mercedes and his lawyers say the charges were dropped but Guzman says that is “totally false.”
Mercedes helped Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes obtain a $36 million contract with the A’s.
