Yaisel Sierra

Yaisel Sierra Pérez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 168 lb.

• Born June 5, 1991

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Yaisel Sierra pitched five seasons in Cuba's Serie Nacional, four of them for Holguin and one split between Holguin and Sancti Spiritus. He began as a 19-year-old with Holguin in 2010-11, allowing five hits, four walks and four runs in three innings.

In 2011-2012, he was 1-1 with 3 saves and a 5.33 ERA. He started 2012-2013 well (2-0, Sv, 2.70 in 20 G) but the Perros did not qualify for the second half so he moved to Sancti Spiritus, for whom he was even better (2-2, 7 Sv, 1.80). For the season, he tied for 10th in the Serie Nacional in saves.

He became a full-time starter for Holguin in 2013-14, when his record was 6-6, 3.92 in 25 games (18 starts). He gave up only 79 hits in 101 innings that year, but walked 64 while striking out 79. He was second in the league in walks (four behind Wilber Pérez) and was third with 16 hit batsmen (behind Ismel Jiménez and Danny Betancourt). He was with Cuba when they won the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games and did very well in limited time (3 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 WP, 1 UER, 3 K) for the Gold Medalists.

He then had a rough season in 2014-15, ending up at 5-12, 6.10 with 11 saves in 36 games. He cut his walk rate a little, to 31 in 62 innings, but gave up 70 hits. He tied Danni Aguilera for 4th in saves but also led in losses (two more than Vicyohandri Odelín).

Sierra defected in 2015 and on February 21, 2016, it was reported that he had signed a six-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $30 million, provided he could complete all remaining immigration formalities. It was the latest in a long series of multi-million dollar deals given out by the Dodgers to Cuban players, but only a few, most notably that given to OF Yasiel Puig, had paid dividends so far. Given Sierra's spotty record in Cuba, his contract was considered another risky move, although money seemed to be of little concern to the Dodgers and their bottomless well of cash.