Why Did the Atlanta Braves Trade Wood… and Peraza?

Jul 24, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; A Cincinnati Reds hat on top of third base in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Hector Olivera

I still find myself in shock – not because of the trade itself, but that the Braves actually managed to land Hector Olivera.  Period.  But let’s take a dispassionate look at the pros and cons here, in the form of an FAQ of the common objections:

Q.  What about reports that Olivera might be older than 30?

A.  Not true.  There were several cases of age/name fraud in the Dominican Republic for a while with 17-19 year olds trying to pass themselves off (with adult assistance) as 16 year-olds to get big bonus monies when they signed.  But that was in the D.R.  There was no incentive or motivation to do such a thing in Cuba, and that government had a much better handle on things like documentation of birth records.

Moreover, those who keep tabs on such things have observed these players for a bunch of years in the Cuban leagues and their names/ages/records are well known.

Q.  Okay, well what about the fact that he is 30, then?

A.  True enough, though I would argue that he’s a 30-year-old with a lot less mileage on his body than a comparable 30-year-old American-born player.

Olivera has been playing organized ball in Cuba since 18, yet has no record of playing more than 90 games in any year.  Moreover, he missed all of 2012 with a thrombosis injury in one arm, played mostly DH in 2013 in a partial rehab effort, and missed 2014 due to his defection from the island.

I had expressed my own concerns about the Braves trying to ink a 30-year-old to a 5+ year deal back at the beginning of the year when Atlanta’s interest first surfaced, but I worked past that, figuring that if they were ever going to sign an older player, this would be the guy.

Would it be wise to mention how old Chipper Jones was while still playing at a high level?  No, probably not.

Q. Injuries.  First the blood clot thing; now a Tommy John problem?

A.  Clearly, that was an unknown element leading up to his signing.  But frankly, I’m not real sure what else the guy needs to do or say:

• The Dodgers looks at the medicals and signed him
• Once he arrived, they immediately put him onto a field with their rookies team
• A week later, they moved him to their AA Tulsa club
• A week after that?  AAA Oklahoma City until a pulled hamstring stopped that train.

All he did in the meantime was hit a combined .348 with an .885 OPS – and AAA was even better.

Q. All right, but what if something comes up anyway?

A. The Dodgers didn’t just blindly declare that there wasn’t an arm issue.  There must have been some inkling of concern, for they put in a clause to give them another contract year at $1 million if a TJ ligament surgery was needed somewhere along the line.

So suppose that does happen:  for position players, the concerns are not nearly as serious as those for pitchers.  The rehab period is more like 8-9 months, so depending on the time of year that might be involved, less than a full season could be lost.

Next: So Why Go After Olivera?