UPDATE: Jon Heyman confirms the deal is done between the Dodgers and Sierra. Sanchez adds the Dodgers have "pulled ahead" in the negotiations.
yaisel sierra in agreement for 6-year deal with dodgers
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 12, 2016
Sources: #Dodgers have pulled ahead in Yaisel Sierra sweepstakes due to structure of the offer, deal expected to be six years/$30-$35M.
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) January 12, 2016
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UPDATE: The Dodgers are not alone in the Sierra sweepstakes. Keep in mind, the Marlins were interested in the right-hander recently.
Sources confirm @JeffPassan report. Dodgers in mix for Yaisel Sierra. Adds player is still actively negotiating with at least one more team.
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) January 12, 2016
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Rumors from Monday hinted that three more Cuban players were on their way to the MLB. Make it four, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cuban right-hander Yasiel Sierra are close to a contract agreement.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports says the Dodgers and Sierra are "nearing a deal" that is "believed to be for around $30 million and would cover six or seven years." FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal also confirmed Passan's report.
The Miami Marlins were also said to be pursuing Sierra over the weekend, but the Dodgers' spending power has likely foiled their plan.
Sierra, 25, defected from Cuba in April in hopes of landing an MLB contract. The league declared him a free agent in December after he was unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Because he is a free agent, he's not subjected to the international spending pools assigned to each team every year. The Dodgers have already exceeded their spending limits for this year's international signing window, but adding Sierra will not incur further penalties.
Sierra has spent the past five seasons in Cuba's Serie Nacional, mostly as a reliever. He was 16-21 with a 4.23 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 221 strikeouts in 131 games (25 starts), totaling 300 innings over that span, with his best campaign coming in 2012. That year he went 4-2 with a 2.20 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 57 strikeouts in 41 games (four starts) with two teams.
The right-hander pitched at the Perfect Game WWBA World Championships in Jupiter, Fla., earlier this year, which was his first game action in a few months, according to Teddy Cahill of Baseball America. Here's what Cahill wrote following Sierra's performance:
"His fastball sat in the mid 90s, peaking at 96 mph. He used his slider as his out pitch. All four of his strikeouts came on his slider, and a particularly tough 87 mph slider led to a broken bat groundout to end the second inning. He also showed one changeup.
"Sierra said he is particularly pleased with the progress of his secondary pitches over the last few months."
Ben Badler of Baseball America ranked Sierra the No. 13 prospect in Cuba back in April and said the youngster's "stuff and loose arm make him one of the best young Cuban pitching prospects." However, he noted Sierra will need to improve his control in order to reach his ceiling, so the Dodgers will likely have to work on his mechanics fairly extensively it looks like.
Sierra, once the deal is confirmed, will join the rest of the Dodgers' 2015-2016 international signings, including Kenta Maeda, Yadier Alvarez, Starling Heredia, Ronny Brito, Oneil Cruz, Christopher Arias and others.
