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

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

Hill was traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Arizona Diamondbacks only a couple of months ago.  The Blue Jays received second baseman Kelly Johnson in return for Hill and utility infielder John McDonald.

While Hill had a very impressive season in 2009 (.286 batting average, 36 home runs, 108 RBI), he has dropped off quite a bit ever since.  In 2010, he batted only .205 and prior to being traded to Arizona in 2011, he was batting a mere .225.  However, Hill picked up his performance after he was traded to Arizona.  In 33 games with the Diamondbacks in 2011, Hill batted .315 and hit 12 doubles.

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

Last week, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com wrote the following:

Scott Boras’ latest attempt to free-agent-nap another marquee player — in this case, as first reported by Fox’s Ken Rosenthal, Mets dynamo Jose Reyes — was nothing new, other agents say.

Now, technically, there is nothing illegal about it, as long as Boras reports all contact with other agents’ clients to the players’ association, as required by the new agent rules. But it serves as more evidence that it isn’t just happenstance when high-profile free agents (such as Rafael Soriano and Jayson Werth this past winter) abruptly switch to Boras on the verge of their free agency. True, it’s only business — but that doesn’t mean it’s a particularly pretty part of the business.

Interesting choice of words with “free-agent-nap.”  Further, it is interesting that Stark included Jayson Werth’s name amongst those who have been “free-agent-napped” by Boras, since Werth has stated, after Stark’s story was published, that he was never solicited by Boras.  In fact, Werth first reached out to Boras after his friends and former teammates told him good things about the agent.

Prior to signing with Boras, Werth was represented by Jeff Borris (try not to get confused by the similar pronunciation of last names) at Beverly Hills Sports Council.  Werth was “shopping” for a new agent and certainly did not use any coupons in his selection of Boras.  I expect that Boras took a fair commission on the fantastic 7-year, $126 million contract he negotiated for his client.

Jayson Werth Was Not Free-Agent-Napped By Scott Boras from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Alex Rodriguez has been around the block when it comes to representation.  In 2007, he dropped Scott Boras (only concerning marketing) in favor of Madonna’s agent, Guy Oseary.  Then, in 2008, Rodriguez hired William Morris Agency (WMA) for marketing purposes.  In 2010, Rodriguez dropped all ties to Boras, terminating his relationship with Boras Corp. with regards to negotiating baseball contracts.  Many people believed it did not matter based on the likelihood that Rodriguez would no longer play after his current contract ends.  This year, Rodriguez changed marketing agents again, hiring Steve Loy of Gaylord Sports Management.  And finally, A-Rod has just hired a new agent to handle any future baseball contracts.  The lucky new agent is Dan Lozano, who broke off from Beverly Hills Sports Council (BHSC) to start his own agency with clients like Albert Pujols, Nick Swisher, Yonder Alonso, and now Alex Rodriguez.  Let’s hope that A-Rod does not change his mind any time soon for the sake of Mr. Lozano and Mr. Loy.

Dan Lozano’s Empire Expands With Addition Of Alex Rodriguez from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Proformance is the company run by one of the best names in the business – Bean Stringfellow.  The company represents guys like Billy Wagner, Ervin Santana, Duaner Sanchez, and Jose Bautista.  Their hope is that Enright can start showing the skill that he displayed when he was selected as a 2nd round pick by the Diamondbacks in the 2007 MLB Draft.

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

Yonder Alonso

Earlier this offseason, Alonso left Legacy Sports for Dan Lozano, the agent of record for Albert Pujols, who recently ditched Beverly Hills Sports Council (BHSC) to set up his own agency along with some others who worked at BHSC.  Reportedly, Lozano is recruiting many players who grew up playing in the South Florida market, and may have also signed Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles and Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins.  Do not forget that Lozano recently picked up Nick Swisher from Joe Bick, as well.

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

While Nick Swisher did not sign Scott Boras (he ended up going to Dan Lozano), Michael Bourn has made the move to Boras Corp.  Bourn was previously represented by SFX.  Prior to SFX, Bourn was represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.  Some guys really have a problem picking an agent and sticking with him.

Boras gets Bourn at a great stage of his career.  He is going into his 2nd season as an arbitration eligible player and should be heading towards the most productive years of his career, as he is only 28-years-old.  Bourn has already established himself as a great fielder, racking up 2 Gold Gloves, and is a speed demon, owning the stolen base record for the past 2 seasons.

Take a look at this list of Scott Boras clients.  It makes you realize just how powerful he is in the business of baseball.

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

Baseball

• Dan Lozano says Spring Training or bust [Pujols' Agent Sets Deadline For Extension Talks].
• Lozano’s old firm gets some love [Beverly Hills Sports Council Finds Relief].
• $369.5 million spent on disabled list players last season [High cost for DL'd players concerns MLB].
• I love Chien-Ming Wang’s Silver Slugger clause [Players show they have a little creativity].
• Not an easy task, but off-field stupidity could lower the amount a team has to pay a player [Trying to void an MLB contract: Three case studies].

Football

• Mike Florio wonders whether the UFL will make it past 2011 [Huyghue says UFL “will catch up on our bills”].

Soccer

• Rohan Ricketts understands the value in having an agent you can trust [Diary of a Pro Footballer: The Truth About Footballers and Agents].

Sports Law

• A hybrid of MiLB contracts and Generation adidas [What Would Paying Student-Athletes Look Like?].

Shabbat Shalom: Friday Wrap-Up (1/21/2011) from Sports Agent Blog - Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Beverly Hills Sports Council (BHSC) probably could not care whether Enright has a good 2011 or struggles in his second year.  That is because Enright has dropped BHSC for Greg Genske and Kenny Felder of Legacy Sports.  Add Enright to the list of losses for BHSC in 2010.  Others include Dan Uggla, Albert Pujols, and Mike Gonzalez.

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