Dodgers Finally Make Sierra Signing Official

It took a while, but the Dodgers officially announced the signing of Cuban pitcher Yaisel Sierra.

The Dodgers added yet another pitcher, as they announced the signing of 24-year-old Cuban pitcher Yaisel Sierra on a six-year, $30 million deal.

We first knew Sierra was going to be a Dodger more than a month ago, but issues with his visa kept the deal from becoming official earlier.

Baseball America had a great writeup on Sierra after it was first announced he would be a Dodger. The title of that post was “Dodgers Betting on Stuff Over Performance with Yaisel Sierra”, and writer Ben Badler went on to explain that while Sierra’s numbers in Cuba were poor, his stuff was better than his numbers would show and his delivery and body all point to more potential that he’s shown.

Sierra has a career 4.23 ERA in 131 Cuban National Series appearances, only 25 of which coming as a starter. 18 of his 25 career starts came in 2013, when Sierra posted a 3.92 ERA in a career-high 101 innings. He’ll have to work on his control, as the best SO/BB rate he’s ever posted is 1.77, which came in his final season in the CNS in 2014.

While the results were poor, Badler still likes Sierra’s arsenal of pitches. Here’s an excerpt from his writeup on Sierra.

"Still, Sierra’s stuff is impressive, with a fastball that sat at 91-94 mph and touched 96 in Cuba, reaching 97 since then. His fastball has good life, enabling him to get swings and misses on that pitch in the strike zone. His slider flashes as another plus pitch with tight spin and late tilt. Sierra also threw a splitter when he was in Cuba, though he has since ditched that pitch in favor of a changeup. Like many Cuban pitchers, Sierra used to throw from multiple arm angles in Cuba, getting more movement on his pitches when he dropped down to a lower arm slot, though he now pitches exclusively from a higher arm angle."

Sierra had a showcase in Florida in October, which Dustin Nosler of Dodgers Digest wrote about here. He seemingly showed scouts exactly what they needed to see mechanically and with his stuff.

Since Sierra is older than 23 and played in Cuba for more than five years, he isn’t subject to international signing limits and the $30M won’t be taxed as it would have been. The Dodgers will still be shut out of major international signings after July 2nd, so it makes sense that they’re going wild in this signing period. Bring me Lazarito and one or both of the Gurriel brothers, and we’ll all be happy. Also remember everyone, this one is Yaisel, not Yasiel.

Next: A Closer Look at Austin Barnes

Sierra was added to the 40-man roster and according to ESPN’s Doug Padilla, he’s expected to join the team Monday or Tuesday in Camelback Ranch. To make room for Sierra, Frankie Montas was placed on the 60-day DL following rib surgery last week.