The Auckland Tuatara could see their short stint in the Australian Baseball League come to an end thanks to a strong-arm effort from officials to make the Kiwi club play an Australia-based campaign despite not having the finances to do so.
1 NEWS understands the Tuatara are withdrawing from this year's ABL due to the infeasible financial costs of relocating to the team to Australia for the season due to the Covid-19 pandemic and current border restrictions in place in New Zealand.
An official announcement confirming their withdrawal is expected this afternoon.
1 NEWS understands the news doesn't sit well with ABL officials who could look to revoke Tuatara's team licence should they go ahead with the division.
However, it's also understood if the ABL were to take such a drastic action against the Tuatara, other ABL clubs could follow suit and not compete this season.
The Tuatara was established in 2018 as a new pathway for professional baseball in New Zealand, with the club transforming North Harbour Stadium into their home for the 2019 season and beyond.
The Kiwi side have transformed the traditional rugby ground for baseball.
In their second season, the Tuatara managed to finish third in the eight-team competition after finishing the regular season top of the Northeast Division.
The team has also been aggressive in recruiting talent from both New Zealand and overseas and at one point looked set to sign 12-time MLB all star Manny Ramirez before the Sydney Blue Sox swept in and secured him.
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