Former Major Leaguer Hector Olivera has signed a contract with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League, reports Robert Murray of FanRag Sports (via Twitter).
The 32-year-old Olivera hasn’t played since early in the 2016 season thanks first and foremost to a domestic abuse arrest and conviction that caused clubs to steer clear of him even when he was effectively available for nothing. Then a member of the Braves, Olivera was arrested in April 2016 and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery of a woman who was reportedly hospitalized and had visible bruising. He was sentenced to 90 days of jail time, though he seemingly only served 10 of those days as the other 80 days of the sentence were reportedly suspended by the judge.
Olivera is technically still being paid on the six-year, $62.5MM contract he signed with the Dodgers — one of the most ill-fated signings not only in recent memory but in Major League history — and will continue to be paid under that contract through the 2020 season. Beyond his off-field transgressions, Olivera simply never produced in either the Major Leagues or the minors, posting a collective .245/.296/.378 line in the Majors and a .238/.264/.333 line in Triple-A. Those both came in small samples, partially because Olivera also had difficulty staying healthy.
Olivera’s contract became almost immediately regrettable for the Dodgers, who traded him to the Braves barely two months after signing him. Atlanta GM John Coppolella has candidly called that trade a misstep that “still haunts [him].” Atlanta salvaged some value by then dumping Olivera’s contract on the Padres as a means of acquiring Matt Kemp in a trade that saved the Padres about $28MM. That trade was an obvious salary dump from the get-go, but the Padres made that point all the more clear by releasing Olivera immediately after acquiring him — a definitive statement that they wanted nothing to do with the player or his off-field behavior.
The hope for Olivera, presumably, is that strong play on the independent circuit can potentially serve as an avenue back into affiliated ball, though even at a minimal cost, many teams (if not all 30 teams) will undoubtedly refuse to even consider Olivera. The public relations difficulties that would stem from signing someone with his recent criminal record would likely outweigh whatever minimal on-field upside the signing itself may bring.
Oh yeah he was a thing.
Just another player on a growing list of failed Cuban signings by the Dodgers
Except they flipped him for Alex Wood and the pieces that lead to rich hill and thompson.
Something that continuously gets overlooked by people that love to bash Cuban signings…
Throw Moncada into that same exact conversation. Even if he never touches a major league field again, he was still worth every penny for the Red Sox.
Why because the Sox sent him to the White Sox? I’d love to hear your reasoning Priggs89?
62 million dollars for 30 games in the majors….quite a haul.
Not only a public relations nightmare but apparently the guy can’t play.
I wonder what all knowing Ben Badler would have to say today based on his scouting report of this guy back in 2015.
Rocky you just mixed olivera and moncada into 1 person. Moncada was easily worth it for the red sox. Olivera was easily worth it for the dodgers. Both teams built them up to be traded for assets. The braves and padres were the ones who got screwed but it was because they traded for him. They didn’t sign him
Maybe so dodgerfan711!
But, when the Sox got Moncado, I don’t think they had trading him for anybody on their mind. DD wasn’t in the house yet and he was being groomed as the next infield phenom for the Sox. Of course, DD comes on the scene and everything changes. Deja vu!
As far as Olivera is concerned, not too familiar with the Dodgers mindset when they picked him up but he still got a boatload of money for questionable skills that couldn’t be verified other than Cuban stats.
I will definitely say it was a bad signing by the dodgers. But it doesn’t matter at all because it didn’t hurt them.
Grandal is Cuban, and he signed with the Dodgers. Is he a failed signing?
He did not sign with the doyuers
He signed with the reds and was traded to the padres for a blockbuster trade and was later traded to the doyuers for kemp
Shows how much of a bandwagon fan you are
And even that he was drafted from the university of Miami and got popped for ped use. That made him tradable plus with that blown out knee from the home plate collision
You sound salty the padres got fleeced in the Grandal trade. To top it all off you then traded Kemp ( who is on fire this season) for someone who is out of the leauge. Stop trolling padres fan
Really dude yes correct one of the douse of recent trades genius Preller trading best young catcher in game
As is always the case, if he can somehow perform to a .350/.500/.600 line someone will take a chance on him regardless of history due to second chances.
Exactly, enough time passes people won’t remember the domestic anyway. Hell Vick got a second chance after killing plenty of dogs, Jerome Simpson got a second chance after drug trafficking and the whole 2005 Vikings team got a second chance after a sex party. As long as it happened in college (See Joe Mixon) or video doesn’t exist when it happens in the pros people don’t care. Baseball tends to be less forgiving though, which I applaud.
Why are they called the skeeters
They are named after mosquitoes
Never want to see him anywhere near Atlanta again.
He’s gonna go down there and rip up that league and someone will take a chance on him. And then I hope that team doesn’t win again
Convicted domestic abuser. I wish him nothing but the worst of luck getting back into playing shape.
I wish someone would pay me $50 million dollars to get 24 major league hits.
Never a good thing to have violence issues and a ton of money.
Stay out of baseball for good! also to mention Rusney Castillo & Alex Guerrero”
But, but, but….Cubans!
Yeah, he won’t be considered for a job unless he actually starts hitting and then, a la Matt Bush, all the moral arguments will dissipate and we’ll get to endure announcers remarking on his “heroic” comeback and how he’s “really grown as a human being.”
Huh, I knew baseball contracts were fully guaranteed but didn’t realize it could withstand even a jail sentence. Is there ANY cause other than the player forfeiting it that can wipe out a contract?
I’m only thinking, but if you are in jail, suspended, or banned from the league then your contract would be halted until reinstatement. Someone can correct me but Reyes and Chapman were suspended without pay during their investigations
Preller and the Padres chose to release Olivera as soon as he’d served his suspension but before his September conviction, so I believe in doing so SD forfeited its rights to any possible remedy beyond not having to pay Olivera during his suspension.