More than one month after agreeing to a six-year, $30 million contract with Cuban right-hander Yaisel Sierra, the Los Angeles Dodgers finalized the deal on Feb. 21. Sierra’s contract includes a $6 million signing bonus and annual increases in salary.
The 24 year old will earn $1 million this season. Sierra’s contract with the Dodgers surprised some National League officials, who believed it to be too lucrative of a deal for a pitcher with command issues.
In fours season pitching in the Cuban League, Sierra was 16-21 with a 4.23 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. His time working exclusively as a reliever during the 2014-215 season was far from a success as he finished with a 6.10 ERA in 62 innings pitched.
Despite signing with the Dodgers more than one week ago, it wasn’t until Tuesday morning that Sierra’s paperwork issues were resolved and he was cleared to participate in workouts with his teammates at Camelback Ranch.
That included the right-hander throwing his first bullpen session, some video of which is provided by J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News Group:
Dodgers senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes recently stated the club would develop Sierra as a starting pitcher. However, manager Dave Roberts indicated on Tuesday that Sierra will be utilized as a reliever.
