It had been a poorly held secret that the Dodgers had locked up slugging infielder Hector Oliver and relief prospect Pablo Fernandez. Well, now it's official. After recently attaining both a visa and coming to California to complete a team-physician physical they are now Dodgers. With regards to Hernandez, via a
Dodger press release:
Fernandez, 25, has a 32-30 career record with 40 saves and a 3.59 ERA
in 177 games (21 starts) in seven seasons with Holguin (2007-14) and
Matanzas (2012-13). The Cuban fan favorite has been a staple in the
league's All-Star Game during his career, garnering the most All-Star
votes in 2013-14 and earning both the win and MVP honors at the 2011-12
game.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder had his best season in 2011-12, earning
recognition as the Series Nacional Pitcher of the Year with a
league-leading 1.52 ERA and going 7-4 with a club-record 18 saves in
95.0 innings over 35 appearances with Holguin. That season, Fernandez
closed out the first extra-inning no-hitter and third combined no-hitter
in Cuban history with a 1-2-3 10th inning on March 13, 2012 to preserve a 1-0 win.
Fernandez last pitched during the 2013-14 season, posting an 8-8
record with six saves and a 2.83 ERA in 27 games (one start). He issued
only 10 walks in 57.1 innings in 2013-14 and excluding intentional
walks, he has issued only 87 walks in 414.0 career innings, less than
five percent of his 1751 batters faced.
The Dodgers brass had this to say about the recent signings:
"We are excited to be adding two players to our organization that have
consistently demonstrated their talent in Cuba as well as in
international competition," said Dodger President of Baseball Operations
Andrew Friedman. "We look forward to adding them to our organization
and are confident they will be able to contribute to the Dodgers in the
near future."
In celebration of Fernandez's signing with the Dodgers I made the above fantasy card
for him. I used a photograph grabbed online at
CubaDebate.cu/Ricardo López Hevia and the 1972 Topps Baseball card
design.
Below are his career stats from Cuba, via
Baseball-Reference:
----------------
Back in March I had made a "Welcome" post for Hector Olivera, so I'll link to that
here. There is a fantasy Baseball card I created, some background, links and videos of him. I would also suggest checking out Jon Weisman's post on the trade
here.
As you may know, Olivera is the big fish in this announcement. He is thought to have signed a six-year contract worth over $60Million, and there were rumors of an affordable seventh year added on should any arm problems related to his elbow occur. Fortunately, via
Jon Heyman on twitter that doesn't appear to be the case.
What we should expect is that he'll likely find his way to Los Angeles before the season is over. Whether that is sooner or later is dependent on how quickly he acclimates himself to the game. I suspect they'll give him ample time to get his swing in order and plenty of work on the field to truly see what he can do. If he ends up whacking the cover off the ball then someone is going to get traded to make room for him.
Per a
Dodger press release:
Olivera, 30, has a .323 career batting average with 96 home runs and
433 RBI, appearing primarily at first base and second base, in 10
seasons with Santiago from 2003-2014. During the course of his career,
Olivera has posted a .407 on-base percentage, while drawing more walks
(367) than strikeouts (251). He stole a career-high 21 bases in 22
attempts in 2007-08 and has 55 steals in his career.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder has posted a batting average of better than
.340 on three occasions, while hitting double-digit home runs in five
consecutive seasons from 2007-08 through 2011-12. During the five-year
period between 2006-11, Olivera was one of the most durable and
productive players in Cuba, ranking among the league leaders in games
played (432, 5th), runs (406, 2nd), hits (563, 4th), doubles (122, 1st) and total bases (899, 4th).
In the 90-game Serie Nacional season, Olivera has recorded career-best
marks with 17 home runs (in 60 games in 2011-12), 71 RBI (in 84 games in
2008-09) and a .353 batting average (in 84 games in 2007-08). He last
played in 2013-14, hitting .316 with seven home runs and 38 RBI in 73
games.
Hopefully, he's as polished as his resume suggest.
As you can see below I made another fantasy card for Olivera, but it's far from my best work. Since I am pressed for time and far too busy, this will have to do.
Below are his career stats from Cuba, via
Baseball-Reference:
