Rob Manfred took this week's Major League trip to Cuba very seriously, ordering nearly every important official under him to join him on the trip.

The commissioner is in Cuba because "it puts a focus on the need to get a system that allows players to go back and forth freely."

Players often employ desperate and dangerous methods to try to escape Cuba for the United States and the opportunity to play in Major League Baseball.

"I think a deal on Cuban player movement will come in the context of the next CBA," Manfred told a small group of reporters.

Formal negotiations between MLB and the Players Association are scheduled to begin in April to work on a new collective bargaining agreement before the current one expires on Dec. 1.