From what I'm reading he's a hard throwing fringe SP/potentially pretty good reliever. He's somewhere between 23-25 (Keith Law's article says 23, Wikipedia says born in 1991. The deal is 6 or 7 years for 30 million.
Dodgers Nearing Deal With Yaisel Sierra By Jeff Todd | January 12, 2016 at 8:56am CST The Dodgers are closing in on a contract with Cuban righty Yaisel Sierra, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Sierra is expected to receive a guarantee of around $30MM over a term of six or seven years, per the report. Seems he's similar to Montas, not quite 100MPH, but power arm/2 pitch guy
Dodgers Nearing Deal With Yaisel Sierra By Jeff Todd | January 12, 2016 at 8:56am CST Sierra, like Maeda and Olivera, is more or less MLB ready, though he’s probably more likely to see big league action out of a pen in the near term. The Dodgers’ rotation is already arguably somewhat overloaded, though, so Sierra could factor as a 2016 relief piece while looking to tap into his starting upside down the line. The 24-year-old seems to come with a fairly intriguing ceiling. While he didn’t post good results in his most recent action in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, he is said to have a mid-90s fastball with a good slider. The ready comp is Reds’ righty Raisel Iglesias,with Ben Badler of Baseball America explaining (subscription required) that Sierra has more physical tools but less polished command than did Iglesias when he signed.
9:50am: There is “at least one more team,” along with the Dodgers, in active negotiations with Sierra, MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez tweets. Bet it's the DBacks Lol
For the reported price and scouting reports, seems like we could reasonably expect him to be in the bullpen, hopefully could be a set up guy I don't think they currently see him as a starting option, but that's possibly his ceiling to be a spot starter Considering the free agent market didn't have many relief options, this seems like a good way to hopefully improve the bullpen although how unknown he is can be scary
Dylan Hernandez @dylanohernandez 2m2 minutes ago #Dodgers plan to develop Yaisel Sierra as a starter, but could use him as a reliever, depending on their needs.
Nice So, you hope one of Sierra and Montas can stick as a SP. if not, people seem fairly confident they can be good to great relievers
I don't like it, honestly. But I guess that's why I'm sitting at home and not in the FO. Hope it works out well.
This guy doesn't have the ceiling of Montas. Montas is a frontline starter if everything comes together, or potentially a dangerous back of the bullpen pitcher. Sierra is a middle of the rotation starter or could be middle relief if he continues to have the command issues that have plagued him recently.
I was moreso speaking to the role he may have this year Again, of course he doesn't have the 100MPH heater like Montas, but is a 2 pitch guy
Dylan Hernandez @dylanohernandez 2m2 minutes ago #Dodgers plan to develop Yaisel Sierra as a starter, but could use him as a reliever, depending on their needs. Didn't see that, so same rout as Pablo Fernandez, but hopefully to better results for 30MM of course.
Just seems like we have such a high volume of middle of the road ceiling international players getting guaranteed money. I trust the FO though and I know I'm generalizing.
That's fair. You'd hope a couple hit, and there are legit concerns about Yaisel based on scouting reports. Just cautiously optimistic this dude could be a good reliever Really need two of Yaisel, Cotton, Hatcher, Yimi and Baez to take a step up and have a lethal 7-8-9 back end (add Montas to that list)
It is nice to see all the depth in the system now, plus there are still some big names out in the Int'l market. Even if all these guys don't contribute to the club at the big league level, many could be used for trades down the road.
