Cuba lost two more ballplayers.

Two players from the Cuban team competing in the Caribbean Series have defected, according to a tournament official.

The official, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the Cuban federation has not confirmed the defections, said shortstop Dainer Moreira was one of the players. A person familiar with the Cuban team said the other one is pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez.

If confirmed, the defections would be the latest blow to Cuban baseball, which has suffered a talent drain in recent years as All-Star-quality players like Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Aroldis Chapman and Yoenis Cespedes have escaped from the Communist island to pursue their fortune in Major League Baseball.

According to the article, these players are not necessarily major league caliber. It appears that changing US relations with Cuba may encourage this sort of thing:

To gain free agency for MLB purposes, the players would have to establish residency in a third country. However, the process of becoming eligible to sign with a major league team has become less onerous since President Obama announced in December that the U.S. and Cuba would normalize relations.

Maybe this will eventually lead to Mark Cuban owning a team in Havana, which he can then name after himself!