MLB - NEWS & NOTES

Dodgers, Cuban pitcher Yaisel Sierra finalize $30M deal

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? The Los Angeles Dodgers and Cuban pitcher Yaisel Sierra have finalized a $30 million, six-year contract.

The 24-year-old right-hander will get a $6 million signing bonus in the deal announced Sunday.

Half of the bonus is payable 15 days after the contract is approved by Major League Baseball and Sierra obtains all permissions needed to enter and work in the U.S. The other half is payable on Dec. 15.

The team said Sierra is expected to report to the team's spring training camp in Glendale, Arizona, in a few days after his visa issues are resolved. The sides agreed to the deal last month.

He will earn $1 million this year, $2.5 million in 2017, $3.5 million in 2018, $4 million in 2019, $5.5 million in 2020 and $7.5 million in 2021.

Sierra pitched five seasons in Cuba's Serie Nacional with Holguin (2010-14) and Sancti Spiritus (2012), going 16-21 with 25 saves and a 4.23 ERA in 131 games. He pitched for the country's gold medal-winning national team in the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.
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Wow!

 

This may be a really huge signing for the Dodgers.

 

CBS has the Pirates ranked 9th in their Power Rankings. I don't think anybody is expecting them to get into the playoffs this season. They have a lot of question marks with their starting pitching. Lost some power with Walker and Alvarez gone. How is Neise going to pitch? Locke changed his delivery, how's that going to work out? No Burnett? They have some question marks. Many here are saying this could be a break out year for Marte, if he stays healthy. He could be the best player on the team if Cutch wasn't here.......Cards are ranked 8th and they have the Cubs at #1 if they stay healthy and don't have any sophomore jinxes......They have the Giants improved which I think is correct. Could be interesting if the Bucs pitching comes through.......

 

There reportedly is a trade in the works that would send Michael Saunders to the Angels, prospects to the Reds and Jay Bruce to the Blue Jays. It is apparently on hold due to the medical records of a player. That player is widely expected to be Saunders and his knee.

 

Current odds to win the 2016 World Series -

Top of the board: Chicago Cubs at 7/1

 

i don't know how LA can still sign these foreign players as there is an odd rule of just how many you can sign etc and they are maxed out. i don't get how they sign guys when they are maxed out and can't sign anyone till the second period which is in june or july ??

 

Phillies working out...

 

Tigers workout...

 

hopefully those black clouds over the tigers camp aren't a sign of things to come ? yikes.

 

Bruce's stats are not good over the years. He strikes out almost once a game in some seasons and more than once a game in others. He can hit a HR on occasion but he makes a lot for that kind of production. Not sure he's worth the money he makes. I looked him up because he was pretty bad against the Pirates pitching.......

 

yeah igloo bruce hasn't been good in years...

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on...do-orioles-deal-hits-snag-because-of-physical

Gallardo hits snag due to physical !

 

cool hats...

 

Those rules are for players under the age of 23. 23+ are just free agents.

 

that makes sense. thanks. appreciate the clarification.

 

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) ? Outfielder Jay Bruce wasn't surprised the Cincinnati Reds may have come close to trading him as part of a three-team deal that appears to have fallen through.

Bruce said Tuesday he followed reports he was headed to Toronto as part of the Reds' rebuilding. Outfielder Michael Saunders would have gone to the Los Angeles Angels, with the Reds getting more prospects.

"Awkward is not the word," Bruce said before Cincinnati's first full-squad workout. "I'm reading the same stuff you are reading. It's obvious what's going on. They're trying to get something done. I really don't have answers."

Bruce said nobody from the Reds had informed him of a deal in the works. Cincinnati has traded starters Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, third baseman Todd Frazier, left fielder Marlon Byrd and closer Aroldis Chapman since the middle of last season. Second baseman Brandon Phillips blocked two trade proposals.

Bruce is one of the few remaining high-priced veterans left to deal, so it's no surprise that the Reds are exploring trade options. He gets $12.5 million in the final season of a six-year, $51 million deal, which includes a $13 million club option for 2017 with a $1 million buyout.

"My wife got here last night and hasn't unpacked her bags yet," Bruce said. "It could have happened that we were back on the move again. It's a tough thing to juggle. It's a very, very thin line to walk as an organization too."

Manager Bryan Price liked the way Bruce reacted to the trade discussions.

"Our good fortune is we've got a real pro in Jay Bruce, who is handling this stuff unbelievably well," Price said. "It's challenging. The trading deadline is challenging. The offseason when his name keeps popping up and everything blows up last night, it doesn't make things any easier. This generation is kind of getting conditioned to the fact that it is the lay of the land now."

 

Josh Hamilton has injured knee and will start season on DL

SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) ? Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton will start the season on the disabled list because of an injured left knee.

Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine said the five-time All-Star, bothered by swelling in the knee, received a stem cell and platelet rich plasma injection Monday, when he was examined by Dr. James Andrews.

Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP, will be on crutches for seven-to-10 days and is projected to need eight weeks of recovery time. Levine said Hamilton likely would start a minor league rehabilitation assignment in late April and the Rangers hope he will return to their lineup in early May.

Levine says "the reason we are giving him an eight-week program is so we don't cut any corners and give him a full spring training."