Cuban defector Chapman fires agent

Are They Experienced?

Cuban pitching phenom Aroldis Chapman has fired the representative who helped him gain free agency, his former agency confirmed Saturday.

Edwin Mejia, of Athletes Premier International, had represented Chapman soon after he defected from the Cuban national team in July.

Mejia had started negotiations with several major league teams, but Chapman switched to veteran agents Randy and Alan Hendricks, Randy confirmed to ESPN The Magazine on Saturday.

The brothers represent such stars as Kendry Morales and Andy Pettitte.

It’s unclear when Chapman made the switch, first reported by the Florida Spanish newspaper El Nuevo Herald on Friday.

“Athletes Premier International is greatly surprised and deeply disappointed that Aroldis Chapman has decided to change agents,” the agency said in a statement. “The agency has put forth a lot of time and effort towards helping him achieve his goal of becoming a major league pitcher and he gave us no indication that he was unhappy with our advice or the way he was treated. We will have more to say about this matter at a later date, but in the meantime we wish Aroldis luck in his future endeavors.”