The Atlanta Braves have reportedly been trying to trade left fielder Hector Olivera since his arrest for allegedly assaulting a woman.
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MLB Executive ‘Can’t Believe’ Braves Asked About Olivera Trade
Monday, April 25
Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported the trade rumor regarding Olivera, citing two sources. Olivera was arrested on April 13, was placed on administrative leave thereafter and may face a lengthy suspension in the future.
The 31-year-old had a career in Cuba before defecting to the U.S. and initially signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as recently as March 2015 on a six-year, $62.5 million contract.
But before Olivera even played a game for Los Angeles, he was traded to Atlanta last July in a three-team deal.
“We look at this as the first building block to building the team,” said Braves president of baseball operations John Hart of Olivera at the time of the trade, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. “We think this guy is versatile enough. He can play third, he can play second or he could play left field. But we just liked the bat and we felt this was going to be a good piece.”
The immense investment Atlanta has made in Olivera has not panned out to date. Although he is a versatile defender, Olivera has yet to play enough to justify his huge contract, logging only 98 MLB at-bats in 30 games with a .245 average.
The Braves appear intent to cut their losses already but may have a difficult time trading a player who could face an assault conviction.
Olivera is not only on administrative leave and in limbo while his assault case plays out, but he’s also uncertain to return to his current club even if he is acquitted.
Other MLB players to recently go through the league’s domestic violence policy feature New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Colorado Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes. The latter is still on paid leave, while Chapman is serving a 30-game suspension even after charges were dropped in his case.
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