(CNN) -- The baseball players posed for a team photo of sorts -- but the signs they held had nothing to do with home runs or striking out. Two of them toted a Venezuelan flag with "SOS" scrawled across the top. One knelt in front with a sign that said "Pray for Venezuela." Another held a banner that read, "Lejos pero no ausentes" (far away but not absent). The Detroit Tigers teammates snapped the photo last week in a locker room in Lakeland, Florida, their spring training base. A group of New York Mets posed for a similar shot this week, holding Venezuelan flags as they stood beside a baseball diamond in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
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Venezuelan MLB players say they're worried about events unfolding at home
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Athletes share photos on social media expressing support for their country
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Some use #SOSVenezuela, used by opposition to draw attention to the crisis
Weeks of massive street protests in @placeholder have left at least 13 people dead, more than 100 injured, and dozens detained after clashes between members of the opposition, backers of the government, law enforcement and armed groups.
And statistics show that @placeholder represent the second largest group of foreign players in Major League Baseball.