Dodgers: In the Final Year of a $30 Million Deal, Yaisel Sierra is Running Out of Time
When the Dodgers gave Yaisel Sierra a $30 million deal right out of Cuba, there were a lot of questions. He was 24-years-old and many viewed him as MLB-ready, but it was still a massive gamble.
As it turns out, it was a gamble that did not pay off at all. Sierra has battled with his share of injuries and issues that have ultimately kept him from making his big league debut. At 30-years old, his time with the Dodgers might have already run out.
Sierra is playing in the final year of his 5-year deal with the Dodgers in 2021. He has once again had to battle through injuries though and was just activated off of the injured list by OKC. Sierra came into a game on Monday night and struck out the only batter that he faced.
Dodgers Related: Muncy Downplays His Oblique Issue
One look at Sierra‘s minor league numbers over the years will tell you everything you need to know. He struggled with control and flat out could not stay healthy throughout the course of his 5-year contract with the Dodgers.
He missed the entire 2018 season with a shoulder injury and appeared in just 3 games at the Arizona Fall League in 2019. Unless something miraculous happens to him in 2021, the Dodgers spent a good chunk of money on a big gamble.
Sierra has appeared in 10 games for the OKC Dodgers and allowed 13 earned runs across 6.1 innings of work. For a guy that was supposed to slot in as a bullpen piece pretty quickly, that’s quite a bust under the Guggenheim regime.
Dodgers: Chris Taylor Passes Juan Soto in All-Star Game Voting
I thought he had been DFAed years ago. Seriously, there have been enough high profile misses (Guerrero, Olivera, Arrocharerer etc) in recent years that the international scouting process should be looked at. On the other hand, whoever is in charge of assessing Venezuelan catchers (Ruiz, Cartaya) should be put in charge of the whole division.
Indeed.
For a team that is as rich as the Dodgers, a good metaphor is this, $30MIL is equatable to $30 pesos in Dodgerland.
I wonder how much they pay in insurance against failures like this?
Cut and Run from this loser! Who has had a bad bet? You win some you lose some… Time to Cut and run!