3:45pm: Olivera’s change in representation has expanded the number of teams that have interest, sources tell MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link). Olivera’s previous representatives had been pushing a $70MM figure, which likely ended the interest of several teams before it began. It’s possible that new agent Greg Genske of the Legacy Agency hasn’t been so aggressive in his initial talks with clubs.
3:28pm: The Padres and Dodgers have also done physicals on Olivera, per Badler and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
2:42pm: The Marlins are also interested in Olivera, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Miami is known to like Olivera, though it has not been tied to him much of late — particularly since trading for Dee Gordon and Martin Prado. Though the immediate fit is not clear, Olivera likes the idea of playing in Miami and the team had conversations with his now-former representative, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.
Atlanta has already done a physical on Olivera, though the team is not alone in that regard, Ben Badler of Baseball America tweets.
8:57am: The message from Braves sources is that Olivera is not a high priority and that the club feels some uncertainty in how his skills will translate in the big leagues, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Twitter links). It remains unclear whether the team is playing coy or Olivera’s camp is pushing Atlanta as a buyer, O’Brien adds.
7:48am: The Braves have made a contract offer to Cuban free agent Hector Olivera, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Reports suggested yesterday that Atlanta was paying plenty of attention to Olivera, though how much the team is willing to spend remains in question.
In the aggregate, it remains unclear whether Atlanta’s rather well-publicized pursuit of Olivera means that the team will challenge at the top of the market for his services or whether it will instead provide only a landing spot if Olivera’s price tag falls. It probably will not take long to find out: Olivera had been expected to sign shortly after being declared a free agent (which occurred late Friday night), and with Opening Day less than a month away will surely not be far off from a decision.
As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explained yesterday, Olivera looks to be a near-term fit at second and long-term option at third for Atlanta, which figures to give top prospect Jose Peraza a shot at they keystone before long. The club has dealt away talent this offseason but also brought in several veterans as it attempts to reshape its roster without undergoing a full rebuild.
