Should The Yankees Pursue Hector Olivera?

Boy, wouldn’t it have just been easier for everyone if the New York Yankees had just given Robinson Cano what he wanted? Over the past 12 months, the question and so-called solutions have been suggested and discussed ad nauseum, to the point that until the next Robinson Cano-type talent dons pinstripes, we will continue to make more suggestions. 

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From Brian Roberts to Kelly Johnson to Stephen Drew to Martin Prado, and now, the coming battle between rookies Jose Pirela and Rob Refsnyder, the search for Cano’s heir lingers on. Well, add another name to the fold, as Cuban defector Hector Olivera could be in the mix to become a Yankee if the price is right per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. The 29-year old according to Baseball America, is big league ready now–a guarantee the Yankees don’t have with Pirela or Refnsyder, but he’ll come at a cost. No, not draft picks, just cold, hard cash. Ben Badler of B.A., suggests in that same report, that Olivera could fetch a Yasmany Tomas-type deal, in the 6-year, $68.5 million dollar range or more.

Would the Yankees, who this off-season, have taken a very non-Yankees approach to the winter, go back to their former ways, and instead of letting homegrown talent develop and ascend to the Bronx, open the pocket book and give an unproven talent big boy money to ensure that at minimum, Olivera performs not up to Cano standards, but better than what’s they’ve had since his departure?

Olivera isn’t without damage, as he missed all of the 2012-13 season due to a blood disorder, and as Badler points out, scouts have been unable to see him work out recently as a result of that illness. That’a huge risk, one that hasn’t been posed by previous Cuban defectors such as Tomas, Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, and Yoenis Cespedes. Olivera is a right-handed power hitter, and it should be noted, that when he did return from his illness, he spent more time as a designated hitter than he did as a second baseman. You can read into that all you want, whether his manager was attempting to keep his bat in the lineup, while not risking any further damage or sickness by overexerting him in the field, nobody knows. Prior to his missed time, he put up seasons of 10,16, 14, 16, and 17 home run seasons, respectively. Once he returned, he hit 7 more in 273 plate appearances.

Personally, the risk, because of the money attached to him is too great, the Yankees are better off passing on this one. As the pressure continues to mount of finding a solid, everyday second baseman, the Bombers must be careful not to overreact because past experiments have failed. By all accounts, Brian Cashman is more than satisfied going into spring training with Pirela and Refsnyder deciding the who will be the Yankees’ second baseman, but never count out a big league-ready player, with pop in his bat, who won’t cost the Yankees anything but time and money.