The Houston Astros have outraced the competition to land Carlos Sierra.
Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reported the Cuban flamethrower has agreed to sign with Houston, though terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Sierra, 21, will be restricted to a contract under MLB's international signing rules. He had a showcase for MLB teams in October and has had multiple other workouts where he's looked impressive. The Astros came away particularly impressed, with Jerad Goodwin complimenting Sierra after going head-to-head against the Homeplate Chilidogs.
“He was as advertised,” Goodwin said, per Teddy Cahill of Baseball America. “He was very good. Dominated the lower half, hard slider. It was just a tough matchup, especially coming out first game where they traveled and did all that.”
As Sanchez wrote in an April profile, Sierra boasts a fastball he throws in the 90s at three different angles. He also boasts a slider, curve and circle changeup. Though his experience has largely been limited, Sierra most recently played for the Tenerife Marlins in the Division de Honor de Beisbol, Spain's top baseball division.
Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle put the signing in context:
Sierra will almost certainly start his MLB career in the minors, where the Astros will look to season his four pitches and get him throwing at a more consistent arm angle.
As Drellich notes, this isn't a massive deal; odds are he tops out as a back-of-the-rotation talent. That said, it's still a worthwhile move given his age and skill set.
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