Fernando Tatis Joins Bad Bunny’s Agency Despite MLBPA ‘Death Penalty’

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s newest representation is blacklisted from the Major League Baseball Players Association. 

On Tuesday, the Padres star agreed to a management deal with Rimas Sports, the agency co-owned by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny. 

In the announcement, Rimas said it will “expand [Tatis’s] portfolio as an athlete, businessman and philanthropist,” while overseeing marketing and brand relations, among other services. 

A year ago, the MLBPA revoked the agent certification of William Arroyo, Rimas’s main agent and denied certification to company executives Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda after a union investigation found the agency gave a $200,000 interest-free loan and a $19,500 gift as a way to bribe players to sign with Rimas. Rimas also offered concert and NBA tickets to players they didn’t represent, the investigation found. The MLBPA also fined Rimas $400,000 for misconduct. Rimas referred to the punishments as a “death penalty.” 

“At Rimas Sports, we uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity of our industry,” the company said in a statement issued to ESPN in April 2024.

The agency launched in 2023 and within a week of its existence, the MLBPA received evidence that Rimas offered players cash and gifts to switch agencies. Rimas specifically targeted Latin players, with Hall of Fame catcher Iván Rodríguez serving as an ambassador for the agency. 

Mets catcher Franciso Alvarez, Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, and Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.—all natives of Venezuela—-are represented by Rimas. 

In October, federal arbitrator Ruth M. Moscovitch upheld the MLBPA’s five-year suspensions of Assad and Miranda and reduced Arroyo’s to three years. 

While barred from negotiating with teams, Rimas can still help players seek endorsement deals and off-field partnerships. Given that MLB free agency is linked with a player’s service time, Rimas can represent players for years before their client would need a new on-field contract (outside of arbitration), by which time Arroyo’s suspension could expire. 

Luckily for Tatis, he likely won’t need a new baseball contract anytime soon. In 2021, he signed a 14-year contract extension with the Padres for $340 million, which was negotiated by Dan Lozano of MVP Sports, one of the biggest agents in baseball. The contract came with a no-trade clause and no opt-outs. 

A spokesperson for the MLBPA declined to comment about Tatis’s decision to sign with Rimas. 

In his court testimony, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said “he has never seen so many violations of so many different regulations over a significant period of time,” Moscovitch wrote. 

Jennifer H. Rearden, a U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of New York, set a Feb. 18 deadline for the suspended agents to file a response to the union’s motion to confirm the suspension, but the date passed without any court filings.