Mets hope to play exhibition games in Cuba

NEW YORK -- The Mets are among several teams that have asked Major League Baseball to be considered for potential exhibition games in Cuba next spring, assistant general manager John Ricco said Wednesday.

"We put our name in," Ricco said at the General Managers Meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. "I have no idea where that stands. I don't know what the criteria is."

Commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier Wednesday that several teams have similarly expressed interest, and that the competing clubs -- if the games do take place -- may ultimately come from a lottery system. MLB began exploring the possibility of games in Cuba after the U.S. re-established diplomatic relations with the country last December.

The Mets have not played outside United States and Canadian territory since 2003, when they faced the Dodgers for a pair of exhibition games in Mexico City. But the Mets did face the Marlins for a regular-season series in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 2010, and played exhibition games against the Blue Jays in Montreal last March.

The Mets do not have any Cuban-born players on their roster; outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who played for them last season, is now a free agent.