stated<\/a> on Mendez\u2019s Instagram account. An MLB source said Mendez is still listed in the MLBPA\u2019s agent database.<\/p>\nAt least one other player also entered into agreements with Mendez to invest in his academy, according to MLB sources. Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza took out multiple loans against future earnings while being represented by Mendez and invested some of that money in Mendez\u2019s academy, according to sources briefed on the matter but not authorized to speak publicly. It\u2019s unclear if Peraza\u2019s transactions with Mendez, which sources believe may be bigger than Rojas\u2019, are part of the MLBPA\u2019s probe.<\/p>\n
Rojas and Peraza both left Mendez and Rep 1 Baseball\/Klutch in 2023. Peraza\u2019s current agent, Dan Lozano (MVP Sports Group), said his client would not comment on the matter.<\/p>\n
Future earnings agreements like the ones Rojas and Peraza signed have become a common \u2013 and occasionally controversial \u2013 part of minor-league baseball, one that has disproportionately impacted Latin players. Athletes can receive up-front payments in exchange for a percentage of their pre-tax income if they reach the big leagues. If a player doesn\u2019t make it, they don\u2019t have to repay the money. By being in the big leagues, both Rojas and Peraza are on the hook for more than 20 percent of their pre-tax earnings.<\/p>\n
In January 2016, the same month that Big League Advance, one of the firms that Rojas used, was founded, the MLBPA sent a confidential memo to player agents warning that \u201cthe future earnings BLA is seeking are significant\u201d and agents should \u201cproceed with caution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, star Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. sued Big League Advance in San Diego County Superior Court, alleging the company locked him into \u201can unlawful and exploitative arrangement.\u201d In 2017, when Tatis was a teenage minor-league prospect, BLA gave him $2 million in exchange for 10 percent of his future earnings. Tatis is in the midst of a 14-year, $340 million contract with the Padres. He owes BLA 10 percent of his earnings as long as he\u2019s in the big leagues.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 7, 2025, the MLBPA sent an email to all certified agents, making changes to agent regulations effective as of Jan. 1. The first change prohibits loans from players to agents. The second clarifies and emphasizes existing rules against agents offering compensation directly or indirectly to a player.<\/p>\n
Mendez has operated a baseball academy under a variety of names during the last decade, including the Yasser Mendez Professional Baseball Academy, the International Baseball Company and sometimes a combination of the two. He registered the 4Pro International Baseball Academy in May 2018, listing the address as a house in Orlando. Weeks later, Mendez announced he took a job with Rep 1 Baseball, calling it \u201cone of the most important Baseball Agencies in the world,\u201d and hashtagging Koras\u2019 name.<\/p>\n
In August 2018, MLB announced a Latin America trainer partnership program \u2013 encouraging safe and ethical practices of developing young talent \u2013 that included Mendez and 4Pro. The academy is located in Valencia, Venezuela, at the 4ProCity sports complex. That facility\u2019s Instagram page identifies it as \u201cBy Yasser Mendez.\u201d A court filing earlier this year said Mendez owns 90 percent of the shares in the Venezuelan company behind the academy. Mendez is still listed on MLB\u2019s site as part of its \u201cTrainer Partnership Program.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo of Phillies\u2019 Johan Rojas: Rich Storry \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n