More than one month after reportedly agreeing to a six-year, $30 million contract, the Los Angeles Dodgers finalized the signing of Cuban right-hander Yaisel Sierra on Feb. 21. Sierra received a $6 million signing bonus, will earn $1 million this season and receive annual raises over the lifetime of the contract.
Sierra left Cuba last April, established residency in the Dominican Republic and was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball in late December. Prior to the signing being made official, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was uncertain when Sierra would report.
“It’s a complicated process. It’s just going to take time, and there’s not a ton of transparency to how that works in terms of timing,” he said at FanFest on Jan. 30.
“But, we’re hopeful we’ll have him in Spring Training when pitchers and catchers report.” After signing the 24 year old on Feb. 21, the Dodgers indicated Sierra would arrive at Camelback Ranch in the coming days.
However, manager Dave Roberts said the club is still waiting on their latest Cuban import, per ESPN’s Doug Padilla:
“At this point and time, we are still trying to get him over here and I haven’t heard in the last day and a half about [an updated] status,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re still anxious.”
In four seasons spent pitching in the Cuban League, Sierra was 16-21 with a 4.23 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. He spent the bulk of his career working as a relief pitcher, though the Dodgers intend to develop Sierra as a starting pitcher.
Sierra pitched exclusively out of the bullpen during the 2014-15 season. He finished that year with a 6.10 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and averaged eight strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, Sierra started just 25 of 131 games pitched over five seasons.
