CUBA NEWS
Yahoo!
Defecting Baseball Players Throw Sports
Agent a Curve
Jessica M. Walker, Miami
Daily Business Review. Law.com, Wednesday
November 10, 2004.
After Cuban baseball standouts Maels Rodriguez
and Yobal Duenas defected to Mexico aboard
a fishing boat, they allegedly staged a
defection of another sort.
According to a lawsuit filed in Miami, they
abruptly switched agents, from MVP Sports
Management to Jaime Torres Sports Management.
Torres also represents their friend, Chicago
White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras. Miami-based
MVP claims that Torres and Contreras interfered
with its contractual relationship with the
two Cubans.
MVP president Henry Vilar said in an interview
that the agent defection occurred in April
in the Dominican Republic, where his agency
had arranged to have the two players establish
residency for the purpose of eligibility
for free agency under Major League Baseball
rules. He said his agency had signed a one-year
contract with the players in October 2003.
"As soon as we arrived and stepped
out of the airport, they asked to make a
phone call. Before we knew it they jumped
in a cab and fled," Vilar said.
Then, this past summer, Duenas and Rodriguez
showed up in Tampa at a New York Yankees
training camp, according to the suit. Both
were represented by Miami-based Jaime Torres
Sports Management. Torres has represented
such players as Ramon Castro and Roberto
Alomar.
On Nov. 3, MVP filed suit against the two
Cuban ballplayers, Contreras and Torres.
The complaint in Miami-Dade Circuit Court
claims that Contreras and Torres tortiously
interfered with Duenas and Rodriguez's contracts
with MVP by luring them away, and that Duenas
and Rodriguez breached their contracts.
"We were provided information that
led us to the conclusion that Jose Contreras
was involved," said David K. Friedland,
a partner at Lott & Friedland in Coral
Gables who is representing MVP. "He
and Duenas were close in Cuba."
Contreras, who defected from Cuba in 2002,
makes about $9 million a year as a starting
pitcher for the White Sox. He was traded
to the Sox by the New York Yankees this
summer.
Rodriguez, 25, a pitcher who has not yet
signed with a team in the United States,
was scheduled for treatment for a slight
shoulder injury before he switched agents,
Vilar said.
Duenas, 32, a second baseman who formerly
led the Cuban National League in stolen
bases, has signed a $60,000 contract with
the Yankees and now is playing in the Yankee's
minor league system.
Torres, who is a licensed Florida attorney,
did not return calls for comment. Phone
messages left for Rodriguez, Duenas and
Contreras with their teams or agents were
not returned before deadline.
Under Major League Baseball rules, if a
Cuban defector seeks U.S. residency, he
must enter the league's draft and thus has
less control over what team he will play
for and potentially get less money. But
players with residency in certain countries,
including the Dominican Republic, are exempt
from the draft, and as free agents they
can get considerably higher salaries and
other compensation.
Rodriguez and Duenas signed with MVP Sports
Management while in Mexico immediately after
their defection in October. MVP immediately
sought a country that would grant Rodriguez
and Duenas residency. In November, Vilar
was able to arrange temporary residency
in El Salvador, followed by permanent residency
in the Dominican Republic in April.
MVP contends that in El Salvador, it organized
a training schedule for the two players,
as well as workout sessions with major league
teams. MVP also paid for friends and relatives
of Rodriguez and Duenas to come to the United
States.
The friends and family members had defected
to Mexico at the same time as Rodriguez
and Duenas. Then, last fall, they tried
to enter the United States but encountered
problems with the Department of Homeland
Security. MVP helped them enter the United
States and arranged housing for them in
Miami, the lawsuit says.
In April, MVP got permission from the Dominican
Republic for Duenas and Rodriguez to immigrate
there, and arranged for training for the
two.
But upon arriving in the Dominican Republican
to meet the MVP agents and handle the immigration
processing, the two players ditched the
agents, according to the MVP lawsuit. At
the same time, Vilar said, the players'
friends and relatives in Miami moved out
of the MVP-provided housing in Miami. Vilar
said his agency tried repeatedly to contact
the two players, without success.
MVP is seeking compensation for the $500,000
it claims to have spent on Duenas and Rodriguez,
along with unspecified damages. Under their
contract with MVP, Duenas and Rodriguez
owe MVP 5 percent of their earnings, according
to the lawsuit.
Vilar estimated that Rodriguez, whose fastball
has been clocked at 100 mph, could have
signed a four-year contract for as much
as $25 million.
Under the contract terms, the players had
to give notice by Oct. 17 if they wanted
to end their relationship with MVP. The
contract also requires Duenas and Rodriguez
to refer all communications regarding their
representation to MVP.
Despite that agreement, MVP alleges, Contreras
contacted Duenas in El Salvador last November
and stayed in touch with Duenas and Rodriguez
about their representation, eventually convincing
them to change agents.
"We have knowledge that during the
time the players were playing in El Salvador
that [Contreras] was in contact with them,"
Friedland said. "Whether he was looking
out for his friends or looking out for his
agents, we don't know."
Friedland speculated that Rodriguez switched
agents because his major league contract
prospects didn't turn out to be as good
as he had hoped. "When things did not
go well, he was probably disappointed,"
Friedland said.
Friedland said Rodriguez damaged his career
by changing agents. "The opportunity
the Maels had was lost by changing,"
said Friedland, who pointed to the training
opportunities and medical care that MVP
planned to provide for Rodriguez.
"This is a kid who [threw fastballs]
in the 2000 Olympics at more than 90 mph,"
Friedland said. "He's not doing that
now."
Go to Law.com for legal
information and services on the web.
|
