Five months into the Andrew Friedman regime, it’s becoming clearer and clearer how his Los Angeles Dodgers are going to operate. They covet roster flexibility. They prioritize growing high-end talent internally. They’re in the midst of assembling a think tank of behind-the-scenes people to investigate every little area in which they can improve. And when it won’t have a deleterious effect on the aforementioned areas, they will flex their Venice-quality financial muscle.

Hector Olivera with the Cuban team in 2009. (AP) More

The former three make the latter so very scary to the other 29 teams in baseball, which have seen the New York Yankees spend, spend, spend their way to middling results because they hemmed themselves in with an aging and inflexible core, biffed on the farm and never built the analytics warehouse a team with such financial resources warrants. It’s why Tuesday, even as the Dodgers gave more years and dollars to Cuban infielder Hector Olivera than any other team was willing, it was difficult to fault them with profligacy.

The $62.5 million Olivera is set to receive didn’t blow away the next-best offer like Los Angeles’ $42 million for Yasiel Puig did. The six years were one more than others were willing to offer. And the $28 million signing bonus – well, that was them doing their best Ronnie Coleman impersonation. The deal, first reported by MLB.com, is pending a physical, which should warrant close consideration.

Concern percolated about the health of Olivera’s right elbow, and while scrapping the deal at this stage is unlikely, the contract includes a rare provision: If Olivera needs Tommy John surgery at any point in the deal, the Dodgers get to tack on a seventh year for just $1 million, sources told Yahoo Sports. It is similar to the clause in Cardinals starter John Lackey’s contract that has him playing for the major league minimum this season because his ulnar collateral ligament failed and warranted surgery. Though the throwing arm is far less important for hitters than pitchers, the health of Olivera’s elbow loomed over negotiations with all teams.

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Never in doubt was Olivera’s bat, the sort of right-handed presence the Dodgers could use in a lineup larded with left-handed hitters. Olivera, 30 in April, impressed scouts at showcases and figures to slot himself somewhere near the top of the Dodgers’ lineup once he arrives. When that will be remains unclear. Olivera still needs a visa and some in-game fine-tuning, considering he has logged all of 273 plate appearances since 2011. A reported blood clot in his non-throwing arm kept him out in 2012, and his defection wiped out 2014.

In the short-term, Olivera looks like depth for the Dodgers. How soon he slots in at third base, his likely position, depends on his performance as well as incumbent Juan Uribe’s. Olivera could fill in at second base, too, though third is his likeliest landing spot, particularly with the paucity of free-agent third basemen this offseason.

The Dodgers faced an offseason with three empty infield positions with the pending free agency of Uribe, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and second baseman Howie Kendrick. Olivera’s signing more or less guarantees the Dodgers will stick with 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect Corey Seager at shortstop for at least a few years, and whether they decide to lock up Kendrick, deal for a second baseman or plug super-utilityman Kike Hernandez into the slot, they’ve got options, which is all the Dodgers ever want.

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