Hector Olivera signs with the Dodgers

Hey dak and Hawk, did y'all catch that fella losing it over our interest in signing Olivera via the BA link dak shared? He is afraid signing Olivera means we trade Peraza not realizing that Olivera also has experience at third and that there already questions about him being able to stick at second in the future. I responded to him there letting him know that Olivera, if signed, is more likely to play third here long term. Hopefully that will calm him down a bit. :)
 
Braves1976 said:
Hey dak and Hawk, did y'all catch that fella losing it over our interest in signing Olivera via the BA link dak shared? He is afraid signing Olivera means we trade Peraza not realizing that Olivera also has experience at third and that there already questions about him being able to stick at second in the future. I responded to him there letting him know that Olivera, if signed, is more likely to play third here long term. Hopefully that will calm him down a bit. :)
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Where would Jace play?

Or would we move Peraza to CF long-term?
 
Heyward said:
Where would Jace play?

Or would we move Peraza to CF long-term?
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I am not convinced Jace is going to prove to be a starter in the Majors, though I wouldn't rule it out either. I do believe he is someone that can move around to get AB's at various positions. He could even get reps and eventually play some outfield and fill a role like Omar Infante once had with us. Further, I wouldn't move Peraza to CF because I like him at second too much and I want to give Smith among others a shot there first. Maybe down the road I could see considering it but not before exploring other options.
 
Braves1976 said:
Hey dak and Hawk, did y'all catch that fella losing it over our interest in signing Olivera via the BA link dak shared? He is afraid signing Olivera means we trade Peraza not realizing that Olivera also has experience at third and that there already questions about him being able to stick at second in the future. I responded to him there letting him know that Olivera, if signed, is more likely to play third here long term. Hopefully that will calm him down a bit. :)
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Ha, that guy needs to simmer down. Olivera is more of a 3B in the long run. Has a good arm and his range may play at 2B next year, but probably not much beyond.

Braves have some advantages in signing Olivera in my view . . .

1.) The other teams with reported interest play in pitchers parks: SD, SF, OAK

2.) They are close to Cuba compared to the teams noted above. I assume that the new regulations w/ Cuba allow easier visitation, and presumably he has family there?

3.) Braves have already had a successful transaction with his "agency".

The only concern I have is price. Hard to know what his market value is. If it's anything close to 4 / $40m I'd want to stay away.
 
Saturday post on MLBTR:

MLB sent a memo to teams today instructing them not to sign Cuban players, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan reports (all Twitter links). MLB said it hoped to receive advice from OFAC “early next week,” hoping to receive assurances that the league won’t be getting itself into trouble if Cuban players falsify their identities. If it does get those assurances, players like Moncada, Olivera and Ibanez might become eligible to sign right away.
 
dak said:
Ha, that guy needs to simmer down. Olivera is more of a 3B in the long run. Has a good arm and his range may play at 2B next year, but probably not much beyond.

Braves have some advantages in signing Olivera in my view . . .
1.) The other teams with reported interest play in pitchers parks: SD, SF, OAK
2.) They are close to Cuba compared to the teams noted above. I assume that the new regulations w/ Cuba allow easier visitation, and presumably he has family there?
3.) Braves have already had a successful transaction with his "agency".

The only concern I have is price. Hard to know what his market value is. If it's anything close to 4 / $40m I'd want to stay away.
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It is hard to guess about the price because that could go up if he really impresses a team in a private workout or showcase. Plus teams like the Giants may want him badly given their future needs at third after missing out on other Cuban players. I did note that McDaniel projected him to get a multi-year deal in the 20-40 million range. Time will tell.

PS: I could see our prior success with his agency helping us, at least I hope so too.
 
rico43 said:
Saturday post on MLBTR:

MLB sent a memo to teams today instructing them not to sign Cuban players, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan reports (all Twitter links). MLB said it hoped to receive advice from OFAC “early next week,” hoping to receive assurances that the league won’t be getting itself into trouble if Cuban players falsify their identities. If it does get those assurances, players like Moncada, Olivera and Ibanez might become eligible to sign right away.
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Yea, I saw that. It would be nice if we could work out a deal very soon with Olivera and be ready to sign him right away before another showcase in Feb.
 
Maybe part of the Braves front office plan all along was to stack up on pitching and capitalize on the influx of Cuban hitters. Would make sense.
 
thethe said:
Maybe part of the Braves front office plan all along was to stack up on pitching and capitalize on the influx of Cuban hitters. Would make sense.
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That plan would actually make sense too unlike other ideas about what we're doing. Sign three or four of the cheaper Cuban hitters we like and if you hit it big on one or two that could be huge.
 
Braves1976 said:
That plan would actually make sense too unlike other ideas about what we're doing. Sign three or four of the cheaper Cuban hitters we like and if you hit it big on one or two that could be huge.
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Yup. Get lucky with one of those guys and then Peraza is ready to lead off next year to go along with a top starting rotation. All of a sudden you are looking at a wild card team again with a top 10 farm system.
 
Even further, lets say that Seitzer proves to actually be worth something as opposed to the two headed disaster from the last few years and BJ/CJ/Tron/CB improve by 5% from their last years performances. Is 5% that much to ask for? Maybe with someone like BJ but I'm not sure it is with the others. Despite what the popular sentiment is around here there is clearly a plan moving forward and its slowly taking shape.
 
thethe said:
Even further, lets say that Seitzer proves to actually be worth something as opposed to the two headed disaster from the last few years and BJ/CJ/Tron/CB improve by 5% from their last years performances. Is 5% that much to ask for? Maybe with someone like BJ but I'm not sure it is with the others. Despite what the popular sentiment is around here there is clearly a plan moving forward and its slowly taking shape.
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Hopefully both BJ/CJ can bounce back enough to be moved in a trade. I expect Simmons to bounce back a bit. I am not expecting much from CB but I do hope he proves me wrong. Further, it seems to me the popular sentiment is more I'll believe it when I see it as far as having a good plan. I don't think any of us question that there is a plan though, but is it a good plan? Time will tell.
 
I almost think this must be the plan if we're seriously trying to contend by 2017 . . . this, and/or hope the some of the pitchers develop and trade from depth. Right now there's no hitting, and precious little help on the way.
 
Julio3000 said:
I almost think this must be the plan if we're seriously trying to contend by 2017 . . . this, and/or hope the some of the pitchers develop and trade from depth. Right now there's no hitting, and precious little help on the way.
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If you look at what is available on the free agent market as far as offense next off-season and before 2017. It just doesn't seem like that is going to help much without costing an arm and a leg. Just look what we paid in both money and years for a player like Markakis this off-season.
 
Speaking of Olivera, it seems some Braves sites you cannot disagree with other Braves fans about signing Hector Olivera (esp. those that don't even know how to spell his name). The editor at this Braves site had wrote an article about him saying he didn't buy our interest and that he made no sense for us. I disagreed and went into detail about why and not long after I posted my reply both it and the editor's post disappeared as if no comments had been made.

Update: Hmm, now that post at that other Braves site is back up with my response and another editor's reply. That makes me wonder if the editor reads this forum and/or posts here too.
 
Braves1976 said:
Speaking of Olivera, it seems some Braves sites you cannot disagree with other Braves fans about signing Hector Olivera (esp. those that don't even know how to spell his name). The editor at this Braves site had wrote an article about him saying he didn't buy our interest and that he made no sense for us. I disagreed and went into detail about why and not long after I posted my reply both it and the editor's post disappeared as if no comments had been made.

Update: Hmm, now that post at that other Braves site is back up with my response and another editor's reply. That makes me wonder if the editor reads this forum and/or posts here too.
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There's nothing like a good conspiracy theory on a cold winter's day.
 
rico43 said:
There's nothing like a good conspiracy theory on a cold winter's day.
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Haha, I was hoping to get him to respond here if he at least reads this forum. I prefer some sort of home field advantage you know? Nah, I am JK. :)

That said, who knows why the posts there disappeared for an hour only to show back up with a reply.
 
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