Occupation Sports Agent Website www.bhscouncil.com | Years active 6 | |
Born August 1, 1983 (age 33) ( 1983-08-01 ) Caracas, Venezuela Residence Los Angeles, California Employer Beverly Hills Sports Council Profiles | ||
Rafa nieves
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, Pablo Sandoval, Henderson Alvarez, Gregory Polanco, Kelvin Herrera, Francisco Cervelli, Rougned Odor and Alex Colome among others.
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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 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.
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 2, 2015 with a record breaking $16 million signing bonus for an amateur pitcher.
2016
In 2016, Nieves was instrumental on the Salvador Perez $52.5 million contract extension with the Kansas City Royals and he also negotiated Gregory Polanco's $35 million contract extension with the Pittsburgh Pirates 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.
2017
Nieves started representing Brazilian right-handed pitcher Eric Pardinho in January 2017. Pardinho, tabbed by MLB.com as "the new face of baseball in Brazil", represented his home country in the World Baseball Classic qualifier in 2016, and was clocked at 94 mph when he was only 15 years of age.