2:50pm: The deal won’t be for “big money,” according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Sierra is not viewed as a major pickup, but Houston is quite high on him.
2:24pm: The Astros have reached agreement on a deal with Cuban pitcher Carlos Sierra, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Sierra, 21, will be subject to international signing rules. Terms of the deal are not yet known.
Interestingly, Sierra was permitted to leave Cuba legally to play in Spain, with plans to come stateside, because he was able to achieve Spanish citizenship. This past season, Sierra looked strong as he pitched in the Canary Islands for the Tenerife Marlins in the Division de Honor de Beisbol, the top baseball league in Spain.
As Sanchez wrote back in April, Sierra boasts a 90+ mph fastball that he can hurl at three different angles. He also throws a slider, a curveball, and a circle-change. Back in October, Sierra displayed his stuff in a showcase for MLB teams and he obviously made a strong impression on the Astros. Sierra showed his stuff again earlier this month and the cash-flush Dodgers were one of eight clubs on hand for that session, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweets.
Unlike many Cuban players who must defect in order to establish residency elsewhere, Sierra was granted Spanish citizenship due to his grandfather’s roots. He left Cuba legally, flying from Havana to Madrid in February.
The IFA news has been quiet for too long.
Why not sign Gordon instead they go and sign cuban
Because Gordon will cost $100M and this guy will cost a fraction of that.
That’s not the point
“Big money”. To me the major league average is big money!
You’re a major league baseball player?
Does this take the Astros out of contention for Kaz/Gallardo to bolster their rotation
If the price is right it’s a low risk high reward move. I would guess it’s a minor league deal with a spring invite. Good job by the Astros front office for getting him.
He’s only 21, and will cost international spending funds…It will be a multi-year deal…
The main question is how much, but considering he wasn’t a highly sought after guy, it should be that much…in terms of being ridiculous due to teams bidding against eachother…
I think it is a really good, fairly out of the box signing, for a quality arm that should be ready in a couple years.
If Luhnow likes him I like him. That’s usually the best approach. When he was with the Cardinals we were getting talent in all parts of the draft. You rarely get a sure thing in the draft it’s all about seeing a guys skill and potential and bringing him in to evaluate and develop him. He’s 21 so you basically just drafted a college pitcher except he doesn’t cost the pick. If he pans out great but if not it didn’t cost much so it’ll be easy to part ways
Astros like him due to multiple pitches already, and all of them with good command and velocity. He’ll probably go to A ball. It’s just Luhnow restocking the farm to make up for one of the minor league players he’s lost in the Ken Giles trade.