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The Strange Days of Hector Olivera

By Wayne Cavadi

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It has been an interesting ride for Hector Olivera since officially being declared a Major League free agent. Grading on the Curve looked into the Cuban infielder who is widely considered the next best International star on the market earlier this winter. He has since been courted by several teams. The past few days have brought about questions about his health and landing spot.

Last week, Yahoo Sports reported that Olivera had injured his ulnar collateral ligament and could be on the brink of Tommy John surgery. This was detrimental news to those scouting Olivera as he already had a red flag due to past injuries. He missed the entire 2012-2013 season with a blood clot in his bicep and when he returned the following season, he played nearly all of his games at designated hitter, not second base where he made his claim to fame. 

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Olivera’s camp quickly refuted the report and it has since subsided. His spokespeople vehemently denied the injury concerns, explaining that Olivera is ready to go and had in fact already passed four physicals. Still, teams must proceed with caution. Olivera isn’t like the other Cuban superstars signing mega-deals in baseball the past few offseasons. Olivera is entering his age-30 season, and with injury concerns, rumored or not, it has to make some teams weary.

Now that Olivera is healthy, he is focusing on the offers that are about to come rolling at him. In yet another twist to his offseason, Jeff Passan tweeted out that he has changed his agent:

Olivera is rumored to be in the hunt for a deal somewhere in the $50 to $70-million range. Due to his age and free agency, Olivera is not under the same international bonus pool structure that other Cuban prospects, such as Yoan Moncada, has been. He will surely have to pass one more physical before a team dumps that much money at him.

One such team in hot pursuit is the Atlanta Braves. MLB.com reports that Braves’ skipper Fredi Gonzalez has made several visits to scout Olivera. The signing would make sense logistically, but unfortunately not financially based on the Braves’ recent spending habits.

Olivera projects as a Major League second or third baseman. Chris Johnson struggled last season after his 2013 breakout campaign. Johnson is both light hitting and average at best defensively, so Olivera would be on the fast track to the bigs should Johnson start off slowly yet again. Jose Peraza, the Braves’ top prospect and once-second baseman of the near future, is going to experiment in centerfield with the injury to Melvin Upton, Jr. and the inconsistent Eric Young, Jr. as their current replacement. Should Peraza succeed and shift to centerfield, that leaves another opening for Olivera.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are another favorite to land Olivera, as they have the bank roll to bring him on board. With Corey Seager heating up the pipeline, the Dodgers have their future locked down at either second or third base, wherever Seager eventually settles. Howie Kendrick and Juan Uribe are the current second and third base options, so there is room for Olivera to contribute.

The Padres are in the hunt as well. They are rumored to be in for $50 million, making it an official bidding war. Their huge offseason shows that they aren’t afraid to dive in and grab big names. Should Olivera come aboard, are the Padres admitting defeat in the Jedd Gyorko experiment? Are they not confident in the recently acquired, and injury prone, Will Middlebrooks?

The big thing about signing Olivera is not so much his injury history, but his age. The team that signs him needs to have room for him to contribute immediately. Olivera is going to be 30 years old. He is not going to improve much more, nor does he have time to figure it out in the minor leagues should he get the $50-million he wants. It will certainly be interesting to see how this unfolds in the coming days.

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