The Los Angeles Dodgers have been extremely active over the past few international signing periods, adding the likes of Alex Guerrero, Kenta Maeda Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu, among several others.
More than one month after reportedly agreeing to a six-year, $30 million contract, the 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.
Prior to being declared a free agent who was eligible to sign with a club, Sierra left Cuba last April and established residency in the Dominican Republic. While the contract was made official over one week ago, he had yet to report for Spring Training.
According to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Sierra finally arrived at Camelback Ranch on Monday, though he is not yet cleared to join his new teammates:
Cuban pitcher Yaisel Sierra was at Camelback Ranch today, but still has unresolved paperwork before he's cleared to work out.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 29, 2016
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.
The 24 year old 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.
As more time passes without Sierra participating in Spring Training, it decreases the likelihood of him potentially making an impact with the Dodgers during the 2016 season.
