While a little over a handful of arbitration eligible baseball players remain unsigned, most players who were eligible for arbitration have either gone to hearing or settled with their respective teams on single or multi-year deals.  The unsigned player who is garnering the most attention is David Ortiz, who has requested $16.5 million, while the Boston Red Sox offered Ortiz $12.65 million.  The gap, and player, are rather large.

Thus far, there have been more salary arbitration hearings than all of last year (there were three hearings last year).  The teams lead the players in number of victories, with a record of 3-2.  The only two team losses have been suffered by the newly minted Miami Marlins, who are among roughly five teams who subscribe to a “file-and-go” approach.  The file-and-go tactic is a measure adopted by teams in an effort to try to deter getting to the point of officially openly exchanging numbers just prior to arbitration hearing.  If the file-and-go team exchanges figures with the player, they will go to hearing, even if the split is extremely small (see: Emilio Bonifacio - $1.95 million/$2.2 million split).  The Marlins also happen to be one of the few teams that handles all arbitration preparation and the actual arguing of their side at hearing in-house.  The club’s overall arbitration hearing record is an abysmal three wins and seven losses.

Here is a list of the players/teams who have gone to hearing, along with their results:

• John Lannan lost to the Washington Nationals ($5 million/$5.7 million split).  Lannan is represented by Brodie Van Wagenen of Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
• Jeff Niemann lost to the Tampa Bay Rays ($2.75 million/$3.2 million split).  Tampa Bay is a file-and-go team, and has improved its record to 6-0 all-time (much different story than the Marlins).  Niemann is represented by Hendricks Sports.
• Anibal Sanchez defeated the Miami Marlins ($6.9 million/$8 million split).  No starting pitcher had ever received an arbitration hearing award this large.  Sanchez is represented by Eugene Mato of Mato Sports Management.
• Emilio Bonifacio defeated the Miami Marlins ($1.95 million/$2.2 million split).  A friend of Sports Agent Blog, Jay Reisinger, prepared and argued the case on behalf of Bonifacio.  Bonifacio’s agent is Paul Kinzer of Wasserman Media Group.
• Brad Bergesen lost to the Baltimore Orioles ($800,000/$1.2 million split).  Bergesen is represented by Paragon Sports International.

2012 Baseball Salary Arbitration Update (Teams Lead 3-2) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Several baseball legends were invited and contracted to attend, but Rosquete alleges that the poor organization by Gelvis led to many of the players backing out.  Former players anticipated to attend included Gaylord Perry, Pete Rose, Ken Griffey Sr, Ferguson Jenkins and several others.  Rosquete says that unfortunately, several players stayed true to their word and went to the event only to be subjected to continual lies, deception, and eventually nonpayment of their appearance fees and costs associated with flying to Venezuela.  These players include Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, and Juan Marichal.

As a result of these events and aside from the mental stress that was caused, the aforementioned Dan Rosquete has been retained to represent these players against Hablemos de Beisbol in hopes of recouping some of the players’ losses and appearance fees.  Rosquete has also retained the help of a local attorney in Venezuela to aid him in the civil breach of contract case, which Rosquete believes may in turn become a criminal case as well.

Former Baseball Players Including Goose Gossage Want Money From Venezuelan Baseball Fan Fest from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Let’s start things off simple. It is great news that the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the MLB owners and the MLBPA was agreed upon, and that baseball will continue without a gap for at least five more years. After the NBA and NFL lockouts, this is no small accomplishment. However, the good news coming from the CBA doesn’t extend far beyond the fact that it will prevent a labor dispute.

The owners have been blinded by their short-sightedness to save money in the short term, and the players are simply relishing in the fact that the minimum salary will increase by about 16% to 480,000, with a few other small free agency advantages as well. However, the people most hurt by the new CBA were the ones with no representation at the table, the amateurs.

I’m not complaining for the Strasburg’s and Harper’s of the world that will now be making a few million dollars less than before. I am talking about the majority of high school prospects that aren’t selected in the first few rounds. Due to the new slotting system with a soft cap, teams would be nonsensical to spend more than the 5% grace zone, having to pay a 75% luxury tax as well as forfeit a future first round pick, with even greater penalties if they spend more. Thus, all discussion must continue on the assumption that teams follow the new slotting system.

The new CBA rules state that any bonus of more than $100k provided to players drafted outside the top 10 rounds, will have that amount go against the team’s Signing Bonus Pool. These high school prospects, as well as the ones drafted in rounds 6-10 that will most likely only be offered less than $200k, are put into a very difficult situation. Unlike college basketball and football, even the top recruits are only offered partial collegiate scholarships, forcing the families to make up the remaining tuition. For many families, coming up with that tens of thousands of dollars for the next three years or four years is not an option; they are rather left with the decision to take that small signing bonus or attend a community college.

While $100-200k may sound like a goldmine to an 18 year old, this allure of instant money may only worsen the situation. However, the opportunity cost for accepting that money must be noted. That 18 year old will now be spending the next however many years making less than $2,000 a month. And what happens when the baseball dream dies as it does for 95% of all draftees? They are left with no college education, no real world skill set, and very little to fall back on. For families that cannot afford to pay for their child’s college education, the MLB is merely setting them up for a life of poverty.

There was an easy solution to this. Allow the teams to guarantee future college tuition to the draftees they choose, while not having it go against their Signing Bonus Pool. Honestly, who would this hurt? The owners would only have to provide those educations to the draftees as they choose. The leverage and signability effect by including future tuition is minimal and clearly outweighed. But rather, with no one at the table negotiating on behalf of the amateurs (the future of the game) they merely get overlooked and ignored. What do the current high school baseball players have to say about this? And their parents? Unfortunately, it does not matter.

The New MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement’s Negative Effect On High School Draftees from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

When I was contacted over the weekend by Brian Walton of TheCardinalNation.com and Scout.com with about six questions related to the baseball agent profession, I had no idea just why he was asking me those specific questions.  Now, after Walton published his piece titled, Dan Lozano and Albert Pujols’ 2004 Contract, it all makes sense.

Walton’s piece stemmed from an accusation embedded within the Deadspin story about Pujols’ agent Dan Lozano, which has attracted the eyes of everybody in the sports agent industry.  The accusation was that Lozano’s unfortunate financial situation led him to negotiate an unfavorable, below-market value contract for Pujols in 2004.  Walton’s article digs deep to try to determine whether that was actually the case.  Based on his findings, it appears that even if Lozano was truly interested in making a quick buck to save himself from financial straits, he certainly did not display such through his negotiation of Pujols’ contract.

Go ahead and read Walton’s article, because he does a fantastic job of looking into the 2004 Pujols deal, and he provides some nice space for my contributions.

Looking Back At Albert Pujols’ 2004 Contract from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Prior to last night, if baseball agent Dan Lozano was a stock, his rating would be “Buy, Buy, Buy.”  It is not a far-fetched claim to state that no agent, in any sport, has experienced the meteoric rise in popularity in the past few years that Danny Lozano has accomplished.  Lozano departed from Beverly Hills Sports Council (BHSC) in 2010, and took his major clients with him.  Those clients included Albert Pujols, Jimmy Rollins, and Michael Young.  These big names became clients of Lozano’s new Icon Sports Group.

In 2011, Lozano hit the recruiting circuit hard.  He signed Nick Swisher (formerly represented by Joe Bick), Yonder Alonso (formerly represented by Greg Genske), Carlos Beltran (formerly represented by Scott Boras), and Alex Rodriguez, amongst others.  It seemed like Lozano was on freaking fire.  Gary Wichard type of crazy, quick success.  But when one increases in popularity, the skeletons come out of the closets.  Those with gripes come forward to spill the beans.  If you read the post that was published yesterday on Deadspin, you will find that someone had a very large can of beans to fry.  Writes Barry Petchsky of Deadspin,

A plain manila envelope with no return address recently appeared on the desks of a number of media outlets, including ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, and Deadspin. Inside were names, documents, and photographs, all telling a story of Lozano’s rise to power by any means necessary.

Here is the money shot, which a former co-worker of Lozano’s said to Deadspin:

“You kind of accept that you’re getting into the sleaze. It’s a sleazy world. But Danny was King of Sleaze Mountain.”

One must read the entire story to understand the depth of the accusations and view the pictures that are attached to the post.  While reading Petchsky’s piece, Lozano does not come off as a “super agent,” but instead, someone who will go to any and all lengths (including hiring escorts) to gain and please clientele.

Albert Pujols, Jimmy Rollins, and Lozano’s other clients will undoubtedly read the article published on Deadspin.  The most interesting thing will be to follow their reactions and whether any of them publicly comment on what was written.

Baseball Agent Dan Lozano Gets Scorched By Deadspin from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

With speculation circling that Matt Kemp will sign a 8-year $160 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and an ESPN report stating that the Dodgers and Kemp’s agent are “moving in a positive direction and that he is optimistic an agreement will be reached,” I started thinking about some comments that Kemp’s agent, Dave Stewart, made to the media in the past.  Whereas this week, Stewart is talking about positive and productive discussions with the Dodgers, little over a year ago, Stewart’s tone was quite the opposite.

On August 21, 2010, T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times wrote an article titled, “Matt Kemp’s agent is an albatross around his neck.”  The title is mild compared to the first sentence of the piece, which reads, “Matt Kemp has a problem, one as big as his own half-hearted play at times and inability to hit an outside pitch — his agent Dave Stewart.”  Simers alleged that Stewart wrote the following to the LA Times: “Do you think for one moment I care about the town of L.A. or the fans there?”

I have a feeling that Stewart’s attitude has changed, with the Dodgers contemplating giving Kemp a hefty contract offer.

Matt Kemp May Have 160 Million Reasons To Care About The Town Of L.A. from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

In less than a month, Minor League Baseball will host its annual Winter Meetings.  This year, the four day event will be held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas.  As always, not all activities are open to the general public.  The PBEO Job Fair and the Baseball Trade Show tend to be the main attractions for the majority of attendees.  This is the 18th year that the Job Fair is occurring, and it appears to be an excellent venue for those looking to break into the baseball industry.  Roughly 300 companies will be in attendance at the Baseball Trade Show, including manufacturers and distributors of apparel, caps, gift items, on-field suppliers, and player equipment.

December 5, 2011:

• Bob Freitas Business Seminar (8:15 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.)
• PBEO Job Fair (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
• Opening Session (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
• Awards Luncheon (12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)
• Last time for MLB clubs to outright a player prior to the Rule 5 Draft (5:00 p.m.)
• Opening Night at the Baseball Trade Show (5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.)

December 7, 2011:

• PBEO Job Fair (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)
• Baseball Trade Show (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
• Presidential Election (4:00 p.m. – 5 p.m.)
• Gala (7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.)
• Last day for a player who declared for free agency to accept an arbitration offer from his former club (midnight deadline)

December 8, 2011:

• Closing Session (3:00 p.m. – 4 p.m.)
• Banquet (6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.)
• Major League Rule 5 Draft.

110th Annual Baseball Winter Meetings In Dallas, Texas from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

This could be the most bizarre On To The Next One stories we have covered to date.  New York Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova made his first Major League start in August 2010.  Perhaps he has the power to confuse batters with his pitches.  According to a variety of reports that I have read as of late, Nova has certainly confused me with his recent inability to choose, and stick with a sports agent.

On October 20, 2011, I wrote that Nova fired SFX, hired Greg Genske of Legacy Sports Group, and a couple of days later went back to his old reps at SFX.  At the time, I wondered what led Nova to leave SFX and then influenced him to return two days later.  Now, I am really left wondering what the hell is going on between SFX, Legacy, and Nova.

Yesterday, Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com tweeted, “Ivan Nova is now with Greg Genske of Legacy Sports, I have confirmed.”  If all reports that I have read are accurate, that means that in the span of a month, Nova has gone from SFX to Legacy, back to SFX, and once again to Legacy.  I suspect that more information will come out to clear up some of this confusion, but in the meantime, I remain bewildered.

On To The Next One [We Think?] – Ivan Nova from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

The most recent acquisition by Lozano is of Carlos Beltran.  Yesterday, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweeted that Beltran, formerly represented by Scott Boras of Boras Corp., has made the switch to Lozano.  It is rumored that Beltran interviewed many potential suitors prior to selecting Lozano as his new agent.

Now Lozano represents Albert Pujols, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Beltran, three of the hottest free agents this offseason.  I have a feeling that Lozano does not regret branching off from Beverly Hills Sports Council to start up his own practice.  But he will surely have his hands full over the next few months.

On To The Next One: Carlos Beltran from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Whether or not Terry Bross is the agent that used Bibi Jones in the recruitment of Major League Baseball players, this whole issue presents an interesting question.  Would an MLBPA certified agent’s use of a porn star to recruit Major League Baseball players be a violation of the MLBPA Regulations Governing Player Agents?  The following is Section 5(B)(5) of the Regulations:

Would a porn star be covered by the any other thing of value clause?  Sections 5(B)(5)(a) through 5(B)(5)(f) say nothing about providing a porn star for the purpose of inducing or encouraging players to use a person’s services (which should not be surprising).  However, those specific sections simply lay out per se violations.  If in fact tangible proof is proffered regarding an MLBPA certified agent having provided or promised to provide Bibi Jones to baseball players, how will the MLBPA respond?

Is Providing A Porn Star To An MLB Player An Improper Inducement? from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules