Magneuris Sierra (born April 7, 1996) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

in the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Miami Marlins and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. The Cardinals signed him as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012 and he made his major league debut on May 7, 2017. In 2014, he was the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year after

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.386 with a .939

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

percentage (OPS).

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Sierra signed with the

as an international

in 2012. He made his

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

debut in 2013 with the

Dominican Summer League Cardinals The Dominican Summer League Cardinals or DSL Cardinals are a rookie league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals based in the Dominican Republic. The team plays in the Boca Chica South division of the Dominican Summer League. History The team fi ...

. In 2014, he played for the Gulf Coast Cardinals and was named the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .386 with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and a .939 OPS. Prior to the 2016 season, '' Baseball America'' ranked him as the sixth-best prospect in the Cardinals' system. He spent the 2016 season with the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peor ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, where he hit .307 with three home runs, 60

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs) and 31 stolen bases. The Cardinals added him to their 40-man roster after the season to protect him from being chosen in the Rule 5 Draft. Sierra started the 2017 season with the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Rog ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League. Because of injuries to José Martínez,

Stephen Piscotty Stephen Edward Piscotty (born January 14, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics. Piscotty played college baseball for Stanfor ...

, and

Dexter Fowler William Dexter Fowler (born March 22, 1986) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinal ...

, the Cardinals called Sierra up to the majors on May 7,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, and started him in

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

the same day in a 6−4 extra innings victory versus the

. His first major league hit was a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the sixth inning of his debut versus starting pitcher

R. A. Dickey Robert Allen Dickey (born October 29, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Bra ...

. After hitting safely in each of his seven games played (11-for-30), batting .367/.406/.367 .773 OPS with eight runs scored, the Cardinals

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

Sierra to the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. After his July 15 recall, he became the first Cardinals' player to hit safely in all of his first nine games (July 16).

Miami Marlins

On December 14, 2017, the Cardinals traded Sierra, along with

Sandy Alcántara Sandy Alcántara Montero (born September 7, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as an international free agent in 2013, and made his MLB ...

Zac Gallen Zachary Peter Gallen (born August 3, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Miami Marlins in 2019. Early life Gallen was born on August 3, 1 ...

, and

Daniel Castano Daniel Alexander Castano (born September 17, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Miami Marlins organization. He made his MLB debut in 2020. Amateur career Castano attended Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas. During ...

, to the Miami Marlins for

Marcell Ozuna Marcell Ozuna Idelfonso (born November 12, 1990), nicknamed "The Big Bear", is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins and St. Lou ...

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

ranked Sierra as Miami's seventh best prospect going into the 2018 season. He began 2018 with the

New Orleans Baby Cakes The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs) were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, ...

, for whom he batted .260/.287/.341 in 346 at bats. With the Marlins, he batted .190/.222/.211 in 147 at bats, and stole three bases in five attempts. He came in third to Minnesota Twins outfielder

Byron Buxton Byron Keiron Buxton (born December 18, 1993) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was the second highest-rated prospect in baseball according to MLB.com and Baseball Prosp ...

and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn in 2018 of all MLB players in average sprint speed, at 30.2 feet per second. Sierra spent most of the 2019 season split between the Triple-A

and the Double-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, but did appear in 15 major league games, notching a .350/.381/.425 batting line with 1 RBI. In 19 games for the Marlins in 2020, Sierra slashed .250/.333/.364 with 7 RBI in 44 at-bats. In 2021, Sierra played in a career-high 123 games (only 43 of which he started) and batted .230/.281/.268 in 225 plate appearances. On November 3, 2021, Sierra was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. Sierra became a free agent following the 2021 season.

Los Angeles Angels

On January 13, 2022, Sierra signed a minor league contract with the

. He had his contract selected on July 24. In the second inning of a game at Seattle on August 5, 2022, Sierra nearly hit his first home run, when he tried to stretch a triple into an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

and was barely thrown out at home. He would go on to score the decisive run on a

Taylor Ward Joseph Taylor Ward (born December 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball third baseman and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Ward was raised in Central Florida before moving to Indio, California, wher ...

sacrifice fly in the tenth inning as the Angels won 4–3. In a game at Oakland on August 10, 2022, Sierra hit an RBI single in the 10th inning, then an RBI double in the 12th inning, putting the Angels on top 5–4 to win and sweep the series. In a game on August 14, 2022, Sierra was once again thrown out at home trying for his first home run, which would have been a walk-off three-run

, in the ninth inning. He would later express frustration about being so close but missing out on the potential walk-off home run, saying, "I've always dreamed of having a walkoff homer. When I was rounding second, it was on my mind— 'I'm going to make it. I'm going to make my dream come true.' And then, I couldn't." Instead, he had a two-run triple that tied the game, the first game-tying triple in the 9th or later by an Angel since Gil Flores in 1977, forcing extra innings. The Angels would go on to win 5–3 in the 11th inning. Sierra is the only active MLB position player with at least 500

plate appearances In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

and no home runs. In a game on September 6, 2022, in which Sierra entered as a

pinch-runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

, he came to bat in the bottom of the 10th inning tied 4–4 with runners at first and third and one out. He bunted for a single on the first pitch he saw off

Andrew Chafin Andrew Gregory Chafin (born June 17, 1990), nicknamed "Big Country" and "The Sheriff", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs ...

to score

Andrew Velazquez Andrew Velazquez (born July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Squid", is an American professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore ...

and win the game. It was his first career

walk-off hit Walk-off may refer to: *an event in a sporting event where the game-winning score immediately ends the game, such as a walk-off home run in baseball, a touchdown or field goal that's scored when there's no time left on the clock or during the overt ...

. On September 28, the Angels designated Sierra for assignment. On October 13, Sierra elected free agency.

Atlanta Braves

On January 30, 2023, Sierra signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sierra, Magneuris 1996 births Living people Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Cardinals players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Johnson City Cardinals players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Miami Marlins players New Orleans Baby Cakes players Palm Beach Cardinals players People from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic Peoria Chiefs players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players Toros del Este players