ATL may fortify Olivera bid; LA, SD are threats
The Braves hope Cuban personnel hold sway over attracting Hector Olivera. (Getty Images)
PEORIA, Ariz. — The Braves, who recently met with top Cuban free agent Hector Olivera, may up their original bid a tad but aren’t expected to get close to the $50 million figure bandied about (nor certainly the $77 million mark rumored in one place) and may be counting on their attractiveness as a team with a Cuban-born manager, Fredi Gonzalez, a Cuban-born bench coach, Carlos Tosca, and other nonmonetary things.
The Dodgers and Padres are seen as potential favorites who could come closer to the $50 million mark or exceed it, but are not ruling out the Braves as a threat, despite the expectation Atlanta won’t have the high bid.
Speaking of Gonzalez and Tosca, an executive with another interested team said, “That does give them [the Braves] an edge.”
The Braves, who met with Olivera a couple days ago in Orlando, as Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com first reported, are said to very much like Olivera, a hitting savant who has a career .323 batting average, .407 on-base percentage and .505 slugging average in his 10-year Cuban career. Olivera, a third baseman, has wowed teams in games and workouts with his hitting ability. However. Atlanta may be leery of overdoing it after its two big purchases in the last regime, Melvin Upton Jr. and Dan Uggla, wound up with albatross contracts.
Of course, as another team in the bidding put it, the Dodgers could “blow everyone out of the water,” if they so choose — though there is no evidence to support a rumored $77 million LA bid. The Giants, who lost Pablo Sandoval this winter, have interest but don’t seem especially optimistic. The Marlins, who could also hold an allure for a Cuban star, also are said to be in play.
Los Angeles definitely has an interest, though it has well-liked Juan Uribe at third this season and seems to have concern about Olivera’s somewhat mysterious elbow situation, at least to the point of requesting a second MRI beyond the one taken in the Dominican — though it isn’t known what the first MRI showed. Scouts who have seen him recently say he appears to be throwing well.
The Padres, who have looked at several Cuban players in A.J. Preller’s new regime (and scored big with the unknown Cuban pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne in the Josh Byrnes tenure), remain an interesting entry. While other teams aren’t sure where the Padres are getting the money (not only have they acquired three big-time sluggers and signed an ace pitcher, the low-revenue team made $20 million in stadium renovations this winter) and speculate as to whether they may wind up with a cash crunch, despite rising ticket sales.
Olivera, who also could play second base or a corner outfield spot, is expected to make a decision fairly soon.
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