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Rumors: Dodgers Are ‘Heavy On’ 18-Year-Old Yadier Alvarez

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Rumors have been surrounding the Los Angeles Dodgers in recent days, as they are expected to be finalists for a pair of Cuban infielders.

Yoan Moncada and Hector Olivera have been working out for teams in the past few weeks, and the Dodgers have been in attendance. They are expected to be in the mix for both. Also, they were linked to another Cuban in right-hander Jorge Hernandez, who is looking for a work visa in the U.S. Well, now there’s another Cuban prospect and once again the Dodgers are among the teams rumored to be interested.



According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, an 18-year-old Cuban pitcher is the next big name from the country:

Alvarez worked out in the Dominican Republic with the Dodgers in attendance via Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:

Alvarez would be subject to international signing limits because he’s 18 and hasn’t pitched at least five years in the Serie Nacional. Reports have the teenager in the mid-90s with a plus-slider and change up. He’s listed at 6’3, 175 pounds, but still has time to fill out due to his young age. Because of the rules in place, the Dodgers could sign both Moncada and Alvarez, but it would have to during the signing period that ends in July.

While it’s all just speculation at the moment, it appears the Dodgers could have even more of an international presence this year.

Vincent Samperio

Vince is currently the Associate Editor and Social Media Manager for Dodgers Nation. Hailing from San Pedro, CA and a student at Cal State Long Beach, Vince has previously written for the Daily 49er and LASF Magazine.

7 Comments

  1. Just sign them all already. And by all I mean Moncada, Alvarez, and Olivera! Save us all this mystery and misery.

    1. Sounds great! Olivera can platoon with Uribe this year with Moncada in AAA, and then in 2016, we’ll have an infield of Moncada, Seager, Olivera, and Gonzalez. If we still have Kendrick, we’ll simply buy out Crawford and stick Olivera in left since he has some outfield experience. One can only hope.

      1. Olivera is a righty, so I don’t see why he would need to platoon with Uribe. Uribe’s bat was fine last year, he just had issues staying healthy (again) with only logging 103 games. Olivera isn’t without health issues though; I read something about some serious sounding issues with his left biceps. Either way, Olivera is attractive because he wouldn’t need much of any seasoning in the minors – he is basically major league ready. That, and he doesn’t fall under the amateur international signing rules/penalties/etc.

        That said, I think he is the bottom priority for us given that we already have a solid infield and bench to back up that infield. So he would be a luxury, not a necessity for us. Moncada and Alverez provide long-term solutions for our team though. Moncada, from what most reports say, needs a few years in the minors, and needs to get better defensively. Alvarez is only 18. But, now that I’ve seen his delivery, he is certainly projectable, has sound, repeatable mechanics that don’t appear to put a ton of strain on his body, and from the workouts he has done, shows a plus fastball and plus potential slider. He also has a change up that will likely be average, with flashes of plus potential. Being only 18, he has plenty of time to fill in, and out, and develop into a solid mid to front-line starter. If we nab him, we will have three excellent pitching prospects under the age of 19 come next season: Urias, Holmes, Alvarez! That is a very exciting prospect!

        1. Great analysis! Olivera would seem like a luxury now that I think about it. I guess I used the word ‘platoon’ wrong when I meant he and Uribe can split time at 3rd (and maybe he can fill in at 2nd on occasion as well, but maybe he would rather be a full-time starter on another team instead).

  2. The agents for these Cuban players are doing an excellent hype job. The timing is right. We are all tired of waiting for Spring Training to start and we have the second coming of Ramon Martinez and Adrian Beltre coming out of Cuba or so they say. Of course the incredible raw talent of Puig helps the hype. It will be interesting to see what develops. The Dodgers have had a very poor Farm System, thank you McCourt !, but now have lots of money and are especially position player poor so it makes sense to buy as many as you can get. Let’s hope they do so.

  3. with the giants winning 3 ws in 5 years and our last one in 88 the tribe is restless and demands something be done now. will these cubans with so little big league experience be the answer? maybe maybe
    not but hey its not our hundreds of millions of dollars being thrown around so why not go for it 🙂

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