Five teams are willing to bid over $70 million for Cuban infielder Hector Olivera, according to Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com. However, Olivera is not officially a free agent by Major League Baseball, but he will be very soon.
Many teams see him as a second baseman who can also play shortstop, but the Los Angeles Dodgers would rather play him at third base during 2015. Speaking of the Dodgers, they are the favorites to sign the Cuban.
According to Baseball America, the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Dodgers had a "notable presence" at his showcase on Feburary 11. He will continue private workouts with teams through the coming weeks.
Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that the Los Angeles Angels are "looking at" Olivera. However, Fletcher says that it is "too early to say" how serious the Angels interest is.
The 29-year-old has a very good chance of breaking Rusney Castillo's record six-year, $72.5 million deal with the Boston Red Sox last season.
In Cuba, Olivera batted .316/.397/.464 during his entire career.
At age 18, he had a .319/.367/.455 batting line and never looked back. He has value with his bat, but has been versatile on the field. Olivera has played first base, second base, shortstop, third base and left field during that rookie season. After a new coach stepped in, Olivera became the regular second baseman. He hit .326/.362/.454 in his second season.
He was selected as an All-Star in 2007-08. He slashed .353/.467/.542 with 11 home runs and career-high 21 steals over 96 games.
From then on, he became a dangerous hitter and one of the best in Cuba. Over the next four seasons, he averaged a .331/.428/.579 batting line and hit a total of 65 home runs.
In 2014, the veteran slashed .316/.412/.474 over 73 games. He added seven home runs and walked 38 times. Since then, the infielder has defected from Cuba.
Regardless of what happens, Olivera will be making a ton of money playing in the MLB. It will be intresting to see who he signs with, but only time will tell.