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Baseball Agency Adds Many New Latin American Clients In 6 Month Span

Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management has added numerous clients in the span of 6 months.
Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management has added numerous clients in the span of 6 months.
Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management has added numerous clients in the span of 6 months.

Many players selected by MLB organizations have signed since the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft ended roughly a month ago.  Just yesterday, the 2013-14 international signing period began, and already, certain players have also signed agreements with MLB clubs.  This can understandably be quite a busy time of year for a baseball agency that represents many Latin American players, since Puerto Ricans are eligible to be drafted and young foreigners from popular baseball countries such as Venezuela and Dominican Republic are now able to be signed.

MDR Sports Management is one of those full-service sports management firms that specialize in representing Latin American baseball players.  Its most recent negotiations included a $900,000-plus deal that consisted of a signing bonus and incentive for Puerto Rican catcher/third baseman Victor Caratini, a second-round pick for the Atlanta Braves in the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft, and a $900,000-plus deal for Erick Julio, a 16-year-old Colombian RHP for the Colorado Rockies, that consists a signing bonus, future educational funds and progressive bonus, making it one of the largest deals made in that country.

MDR has stayed very busy in addition to the craziness surrounding the MLB First-Year Player Draft and the opening of the international signing period.  Over the past 6 months, MDR has signed a total of 13 new players, including Venezuelans Jesus Sanchez, RHP for the Milwaukee Brewers, Jonathan Herrera, infielder for the Colorado Rockies, Henry Rodriguez, infielder for the Cincinnati Reds, and Eduardo Escobar, infielder for the Minnesota Twins; Dominicans Jonathan Villar, infielder for the Houston Astros, Rhiner Cruz, RHP for the Houston Astros, and Santos Rodriguez, LHP for the Chicago White Sox; Cuban player Leonys Martin, centerfielder for the Texas Rangers; Puerto Ricans Rene Garcia, double-A catcher for the Houston Astros, Roberto Perez, triple-A catcher for the Cleveland Indians, Jorge Fernandez, rookie catcher for the Minnesota Twins and Rookie Victor Caratini, third baseman and catcher for the Atlanta Braves; and Colombian Erick Julio, rookie RHP for the Colorado Rockies.

“We are extremely happy with our recruiting efforts and glad to have these new clients on the team,” said Melvin Roman, president and CEO of MDR Sports Management. “Our goal as a company is to provide good representation to Latin American ballplayers.”

And that is exactly what MDR has been busy doing.  The company now has 53 clients from a mixture of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Cuba.  Among MDR’s most valuable clients are St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jaime Garcia, Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana and Texas Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.