Braves’ Olivera is more comfortable, and it shows
LAKELAND, Fla. – The Braves wanted to play Hector Olivera as much as reasonably possible this spring to help him get comfortable with his new position and revamped swing. The strategy is working.
The Cuban third baseman-turned-left fielder led the majors with 14 hits and ranked fourth with a .438 batting average before Tuesday, when Olivera had his first day out of the lineup in a week. He’s 14-for-32 with three doubles, one walk and one strikeout, and had the fifth-most at-bats in the majors.
“That (at-bats total) is just a byproduct of we want to see him playing left field and have myself and the coaches feel more and more comfortable of running him out there,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “But yeah, he puts the ball in play.”
Through an interpreter, Olivera said, “I’m gaining a lot of confidence. Playing almost every game in spring training has helped me gain some confidence that I can carry over to the big leagues.”
Gonzalez said the Braves still can’t be sure of what kind of player Olivera is, but he believes the soon-to-be 31-year-old has a better chance to show them now. A better chance to be the player that scouts raved about when he became the center of a bidding war last winter after defecting from Cuba.
“We’ve seen him juice some balls, but we don’t know if this guy is going to be a nine-home-run guy or a 15-18 home run guy,” Gonzalez said. “We might not know that until later this year. But it’s nice for him to get comfortable in the United States, all those things we’ve talked about. Get his family here, just think about baseball.”
Olivera made his major league debut for the Braves in September after a whirlwind year that saw him defect and go through the process of being declared a free agent, eventually signing a six-year, $62.5 million deal with the Dodgers after they blew away the Braves and everyone else bidding for his services.
Just he was just heating up with the Dodgers’ Triple-A team, Olivera sustained a pulled hamstring that would linger more than a month. He was traded to the Braves in July while dealing with the injury.
The Braves were the seventh American team that Olivera played for last season, including six minor league teams in two organizations. The Braves were the seventh set of new teammates for a guy who spoke no English and was trying to get acclimated to all the radically different aspects of life in the United States.
All that while thinking of family he was trying to get out of Cuba and a sister in need of a kidney transplant.
“It’s a lot more confident as far as the second year, being in the United States,” Olivera said. “Breaking into the major leagues last year was a little bit of a change, but it feels good (now). I feel confident.”
The Braves sent Olivera to the Puerto Rican winter league and had him switch positions to left field, believing that the former second baseman would have an easier time learning to play the outfield than third base and thus being able to focus more on his most important skill — hitting.
He worked with Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer on his swing for three weeks in Puerto Rico, and also worked with Braves outfielder instructor Bo Porter in Puerto Rico and in one-on-one sessions in Florida after reporting to camp more than a week before position players were due. He reported in great shape, stronger and fitter than a year ago.
“All the training I did before spring training has been useful,” he said. “Coming to spring training, working with all the coaches and making the daily adjustments, all the little things that the coaches are asking me to work on.”
He’s not going to win a Gold Glove in left field, but his defense has improved steadily and he’s even been able to make adjustments and recover on some difficult wind-blown fly balls in the afternoon Florida sun.
“He doesn’t take things for granted,” Gonzalez said. “There’s nobody that works harder than him. He’s here early, he works, and as coaches, that’s what you want to see and what he gives us. He gives us that every single day.
“He feels more comfortable (in his second year). He knows the coaching staff, knows the routine on how to be a major leaguer. From that standpoint that’s a burden that he doesn’t have to worry about anymore.”
