Rafa Nieves

Rafa Nieves
Born (1983-08-01) August 1, 1983
Caracas, Venezuela
Residence Los Angeles, California
Occupation Sports Agent
Years active 6
Employer Beverly Hills Sports Council
Website www.bhscouncil.com

Rafa Nieves is a MLBPA certified sports agent at Beverly Hills Sports Council. Along with founding partner Rick Thurman, Nieves represents many baseball players including Salvador Perez,[1] Pablo Sandoval,[2] Henderson Alvarez,[3] Gregory Polanco, Kelvin Herrera, Francisco Cervelli,[4] Rougned Odor and Alex Colome among others.

Career

Originally from Venezuela, Nieves moved to the United States at the age of 16 when he was signed by then Detroit Tigers' scout Ramon Peña. He would then go on to play for the New York Yankees organization for one year where he later became a free agent [5] and eventually retired. Following his baseball career, Nieves began working at Beverly Hills Sports Council in 2011 and soon after helped create the Latin Division of the agency, which focuses on Latin American clients. Nieves’ personal experience and ability to speak both English and Spanish fluently allows him to relate to the unique transition the Latin players experience.[6]

2015

Nieves, along with Rick Thurman, represented Cuban star pitcher Yadier Alvarez. Alvarez, who possessed a fastball that reached 99 mph, signed a professional contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 2nd, 2015 with a record braking $16 million signing bonus for an amateur pitcher. [7]

2016

In 2016, Nieves was instrumental on the Salvador Perez $52.5 million contract extension with the Kansas City Royals[8] and he also negotiated Gregory Polanco's $35 million contract extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates[9] making it the first big offseason of his career.

On May 17, 2016 the Pittsburgh Pirates announced a 3-year $31 million contract extension with Francisco Cervelli. That same day, Cervelli wrote a story for The Players' Tribune announcing his contract and thanked his agents Nieves and Rick Thurman.[10]

MLB All-Star Clients

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/08/04/Labor-and-Agents/Labor-and-Agents.aspx
  2. ↑ http://www.sfgate.com/giants/shea/article/Pablo-Sandoval-Barry-Bonds-Josh-Donaldson-3-6847074.php
  3. ↑ http://sportsagentblog.com/2015/08/05/on-to-the-next-one-henderson-alvarez/
  4. ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pirates-Blog/2016/05/17/That-s-Amore-Francisco-Cervelli-agrees-to-three-year-contract-extension-with-Pirates/stories/201605170176
  5. ↑ https://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/6yrfa02.html
  6. ↑ http://www.bhscouncil.com/about/
  7. ↑ http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/07/dodgers-to-sign-yadier-alvarez-other-top-international-prospects.html
  8. ↑ http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/salvador-perez
  9. ↑ http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pirates-Blog/2016/04/05/Pittsburgh-Pirates-announce-contract-extension-for-outfielder-Gregory-Polanco/stories/201604050159
  10. ↑ http://www.theplayerstribune.com/francisco-cervelli-re-signing-pittsburgh-pirates/
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.