Cuban infielder Hector Olivera is officially a Dodger, and he believes he'll be able to help the big club in Los Angeles in about a month or possibly less.
The Dodgers have plenty of options at second and third base right now; Howie Kendrick has hit well as their second-sacker while a rotation of Juan Uribe, Justin Turner and Alex Guerrero have manned the hot corner. General manager Andrew Friedman said he loves having depth, and Guerrero was one of the reasons Olivera decided on the Dodgers in the first place.
"There are Cubans on that team, No. 1, and I'll have a chance to play with them,'' Olivera said. "I think I can do a great job with the Dodgers.'' In addition to Guerrero, the Dodgers also have catcher Yasmani Grandal and outfielder Yasiel Puig on the roster to make Olivera feel at home.
Cuban teen Yoan Moncada generated the most headlines this offseason but Olivera is the more MLB-ready player. He is already 30 years old and has a track record of solid hitting over 10 years in Cuba's Serie A league. He came with injury concerns too; elbow trouble created fears of potential Tommy John surgery, and a blood clot kept him out of action all of last season.
Recent tests showed that Olivera does not need the Tommy John surgery however. "I don't know where that rumor came from,'' he said."I had a bit of inflammation in Cuba. There was word I needed Tommy John surgery, but it was just muscle fatigue because of the all the showcases and workouts I did (in the Dominican Republic).''
His new teammate Guerrero knows what Olivera can do, and predicted big things.
"He's a good hitter,'' Guerrero said. "I would say he should hit 12-18 home runs (per season), in that range. He hits for average, hits a lot of doubles. He's versatile, fast.''
For a team missing Puig and Carl Crawford, that kind of production would be a blessing.
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