Yaisel

Sierra

Sierra was signed to a six-year, $30 million contract back in 2016, but he hasn’t progressed at all, and had a whopping 13.78 ERA and 2.94 WHIP in his work for Triple-A Oklahoma City over 23 games and 16 1/3 innings.

The 24-year-old hurler hasn’t quite progressed as quickly as the Dodgers had hoped. He owns a 7.16 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 48/17 K/BB ratio across 49 innings on the season. He’ll continue to function as organizational depth in the minor leagues.

The 24-year-old hurler isn’t yet eligible to be signed by a major league team, but could gain that clearance soon. Sierra pitched professionally for five seasons in Cuba, compiling a 3.74 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 166/135 K/BB ratio over 238 innings. He is expected to command a deal similar to the $27 million that Raisel Iglesias received from the Reds.

Before that happens, the Dodgers will need to finalize Sierra’s six-year contract. “There’s not a ton of transparency to how that works in terms of timing,” said Friedman. Compared to some of the other Cuban prospects we’ve seen in recent years, Sierra is a bit of a wild card. His ERA in Cuba was only 4.23 and most of his appearances came out of the bullpen. Sierra defected to the United States last April.

Sierra defected from Cuba in April 2015 and impressed an audience of more than 350 scouts and baseball officials during an October workout in Jupiter, Florida. Now he is free and clear to sign his first MLB contract. Sierra’s numbers from Cuba aren’t all that enticing -- 4.23 ERA, 1.49 WHIP in 300 innings -- but the young right-hander is considered a big talent and will likely be seeking more than $30 million guaranteed.

He’s expected to land a bigger contract than Raisel Iglesias, who signed a seven-year, $27 million pact with Cincinnati in 2014. Pitching is clearly a priority for the Marlins, who have also shown interest in left-hander Wei-Yin Chen and just signed Edwin Jackson. Sierra defected to the United States from Cuba last April. He owns a 16-21 record across 131 appearances for Holguin and Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series.

The deal is believed to be for around $30 million over six or seven years. The 24-year-old defected from Cuba last April, but was just recently declared a free agent by MLB. Sierra’s numbers in Cuba weren’t dominant -- 4.23 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 -- but he’s said to have big-time stuff. The Dodgers will likely try him as a starter first, but he could be an impact reliever at the very least.

The deal is expected to be for $30-35 million over six years. Sanchez reports that the Cubs and Marlins are among the other teams who have made a “strong push” for Sierra, but it sounds like the Dodgers are getting close to the finish line on a deal.

Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports that the deal is worth $30-35 million. It’s a large guarantee for someone who could turn out to be a reliever, but the Dodgers can afford to take the gamble.

Heyman continues to note that there are no holdups in the deal and that it’s expected to be in the range of $30-31 million. The Dodgers had hoped that he would be in camp by now, but it sounds as though he’ll report at some point next week when the deal becomes official. They will try him out as a starter, at least initially, but he could eventually be used in the bullpen.