The Legacy Agency and Peter Greenberg & Associates have joined forces to form one of the bigger agencies in baseball, one with offices on both coasts and strongholds in many countries.
In a deal announced Monday, TLA bought the Greenberg company. The newly-formed group will represent more than 60 major leaguers (including 23 All-Stars) and 70 minor leaguers.
Legacy CEO Mike Principe will lead The Legacy Agency, with baseball principals Greg Genske, Brian Peters and Scott Parker from Legacy plus Peter and Ed Greenberg coming from the New York-based-Greenberg group.
The head office will be in New York, with an office in Newport Beach, where Genske, a lawyer who took over Jeff Moorad's old business, is based. Peters is based in Houston and Parker in San Francisco.
One of the big advantages for Legacy is that the acquisition now gives them a major presence throughout Latin America, South America and Japan. Legacy was already one of the more powerful agencies for U.S.-based players, with CC Sabathia, Adam Dunn, Carl Crawford, Angel Pagan and many other stars.
One advantage for the Greenbergs is that TLA has a marketing arm based in New York. The Greenberg group, run by Spanish speakers Peter and Ed, has long represented Johan Santana and Jose Reyes and also represents Martin Prado, Wilton Lopez, Ruben Tejada and others.
When Sabathia, a Legacy client, set the record for the largest contract for a pitcher with his $161-million, seven-year Yankees deal, he broke the mark previously held by Santana, who had signed a $137.5-million, six-year deal negotiated by the Greenbergs with the Mets.
"I am very excited about this,'' Peter Greenberg said. "We've had opportunities in the past. But this was a perfect fit. Obviously, their contracts speak for themselves. But it's a chance to join with good, respected, professional people, and a chance to grow.''
"I am very pleased. I think it's outstanding,'' said Genske, the Legacy executive director and president. "It's a very complementary practice. You're talking about people who operate at the highest level, both with contracts they get and how they approach the business, the integrity and sense of ethics they have.''
The two groups have had strongholds in different locales, with Legacy also having a presence in Puerto Rico along with mainland U.S. The Greenbergs have long been a force in Venezuela, Nicaragua and other South and Latin American countries.
The group is off to a nice start this winter, as infielder Maicer Izturis, a longtime Greenberg client, signed a surprising $9-million, three-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
