The Dodgers and Cuban baseball players: A brief primer.

Hector Olivera

Hector Olivera, 29, played second base for Team Cuba at the 2009 World Baseball Classic and 2008 Olympics. (Getty Images)

The Dodgers have been linked to four Cuban free agents this week, and if that’s not enough … no, that’s enough.

Here’s what you need to know about the quartet.

1. Yoan Moncada, infielder.

Moncada is still holding private workouts with the intent of signing with a team by Feb. 23. The Dodgers reportedly worked him out today.

The fact that the Dodgers have now seen Moncada twice in person, reportedly sending top-level execs both times, means they are serious about this. They’re comfortable to some degree with watching the best international free agents sign elsewhere from July 2015 to June 2016. Are the Cubs more comfortable with that idea? The Red Sox? The Yankees? That might be the deciding factor in who gets Moncada — next to the money, of course.

Moncada’s skills are no mystery. Read the scouting reports on MLB.com, BaseballAmerica.com and FanGraphs.com (which wrote two) and you get a good idea for what teams are drooling over.

Is he a fit for the Dodgers? The answer might depend on how strong their farm system is right now (or how it’s perceived within the front office). Sitting out a full year of international bidding wars will come at a cost. Just look at the last few years of the Frank McCourt era for a cautionary tale. The upside, potentially: A second baseman/third baseman of the future who can be turning double plays with Corey Seager for years to come.

2. Yadier Alvarez, RHP

Alvarez is 18 years old and wowed scouts throwing pitches like this in the Dominican Republic:

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, he’s already been compared to a young Ramon Martinez.

The Dodgers are reportedly among many teams watching Alvarez. He is subject to the same international signing bonus pool restrictions as Moncada (a lump-sum tax of up to 100 percent on his signing bonus, plus no signing bonuses larger than $300,000 during the next international signing period, which begins in July.) If the Dodgers are willing to pay the penalty for signing Moncada, they might as well stock up on penalty-eligible international players during this signing period. Right?

Is he a fit for the Dodgers? It’s too soon to say. Common sense dictates that the Dodgers might be willing to overpay on Alvarez this year if they are unable to sign a player of his age and caliber next year. But that might only be the case if they land Moncada.

3. Hector Olivera, second baseman

A rival executive whose team has scouted both Olivera and Moncada told me yesterday he wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers sign both players. That would certainly make for big headlines in February, but let’s take a step back.

Moncada is 19 and projectable. Olivera is a known quantity, a 29-year-old second baseman with some power. He batted .323/.407/.505 in 10 seasons in Serie Nacional, Cuba’s top league. For comparison’s sake, Alex Guerrero is a 28-year-old second baseman who batted .303/.386/.528 in Serie Nacional with a little more power. I haven’t seen Olivera in person, though you can read about his latest showcase here.

At least on the surface, it looks like the Dodgers already have a player similar to Olivera on their 40-man roster. The key difference: Guerrero is a converted shortstop who’s also spent time in left field at the minor-league level, while Olivera is a natural second baseman. He wouldn’t be subject to the international signing bonus pool restrictions but Olivera does pose a problem for Guerrero, who can’t be sent to the minors without his permission.

Is he a fit for the Dodgers? Not their current roster, no. Howie Kendrick is entrenched at second base for at least this season. There’s a logjam of veteran second basemen behind him (Guerrero, Darwin Barney, Justin Turner). Kendrick is 31 and can test the free agent market at the end of the year, so signing Olivera wouldn’t bode well for Kendrick’s longevity in Los Angeles. Or Guerrero’s.

4. Jorge Hernandez, RHP.

Hernandez, about whom I wrote extensively yesterday, is an interesting case. He isn’t exactly an unknown — he pitched in three Dominican Winter League games in November — but at least two well-connected international scouts I spoke with didn’t recognize his name. That might be because his international experience is so limited. He never pitched in a WBC for Team Cuba and didn’t pitch anywhere for about a year before showing up in the Dominican. Admittedly, there are some gaps here.

That said, Hernandez’s most recent Serie Nacional stats are solid. So is his stuff. His agent, Charles Hairston, clocked his fastball at 96 mph this week, which is consistent with reports out of the Dominican. At best, Hairston said, he’s Masahiro Tanaka: Hard fastball, devastating forkball, and a sidearm changeup that’s effective against lefties. At worst, he’s Sidney Ponson (also Hairston’s comp, though he preferred to compare Hernandez’s 6-3, 240-pound frame to a young Bartolo Colon). Yasiel Puig has some very strong praise for his former teammate, for whatever that’s worth to Andrew Friedman.

Is he a fit for the Dodgers? Maybe. Their starting rotation is fairly stable. Clayton Kershaw is signed through 2020, Brandon McCarthy through 2018, Hyun-Jin Ryu through at least 2017 (when he can become a free agent). But Zack Greinke and Brett Anderson are eligible to become free agents at the end of this season. A hard-throwing 23-year-old right-hander who could contribute regularly in 2016 isn’t a bad fit, in theory. A few more opinions on Hernandez wouldn’t hurt.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.