THE YANKEES ARE CHECKING OUT A CUBAN SECOND BASEMAN...

Just when you thought maybe, MAYBE Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela would get a shot at second base... it appears the Yankees just can't get enough.

According to Baseball America, the Yankees are looking at a kid named Hector Olivera.

According to Ben Badler, "...second baseman Hector Olivera is the best Cuban player out there. Olivera is also right up there with Yasiel Puig as one of the most fascinating players to ever leave the island, a mixture of premium talent, performance, health issues, a lack of recent looks and age...

The Yankees re-signed Chase Headley this month to a four-year, $52 million contract, so they’re set at third base. Yet they also have a hole at second base after shipping Martin Prado to the Marlins. The long-term solution could be Moncada, with the Yankees looking like a favorite there having already gone over their 2014-15 bonus pool, owning the deepest pockets in the game and lacking young, impact talent at the upper levels of the system.

There’s no guarantee that Moncada will be a Yankee though, and even if he is, he’s not going to help in 2015, and maybe not in 2016 either. The Yankees could go with Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela at second base, but Olivera would be an upgrade over either player. Yankees international scouting director Donny Rowland has been around long enough to have seen Olivera in his prime, the Yankees haven’t spent much money this offseason and they are certainly a team that’s shown comfort giving big contracts to players in their 30s. If the Yankees want Olivera, he would be a good fit in New York."

(In Photo: Yoan Moncada)
That's right you saw the name Moncada in there. Remember Moncada? Yoan Moncada? The Yankees are apparently "in" on him too.  We wrote about that in  WILL THE YANKEES SNAG CUBAN, YOAN MONCADA?  It was back in November that the Yankees were very interested in him, a Cuban and an infielder, but right now, we still don't know if that's going to happen either.  The best part about Moncada is he's 19.  Olivera is 30.

Here's the reality of Olivera... he's a good pickup if the Yankees can get him and if they can see a showcase and fall in love, he could almost be an immediate 2nd baseman for the Yankees. But that raises the question of Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela.

My question is, why can't the Yankees just play their kids? What's this fascination of going after everyone they read about?

Look, there is no question I would love a "Puig type" player on the New York Yankees... I just don't see the Yankees being serious about these Cuban players.  They always seem to look like the "favorites", just to later on, peter out.

Stay tuned...

You've made BYB the fastest growing Yankees fan site in history. Now shop at the Bleeding Yankee Blue store!  Follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and LIKE Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook!