January 13th, 2016 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka On what was arguably their busiest day yet this winter, the Dodgers appeared to have finally come out of hibernation on Tuesday morning with the announcement of three new additions to the team.
Within minutes of announcing that former Toronto Blue Jays general manager (and reigning Sporting News Executive of the Year) Alex Anthopoulos had been hired as the Dodgers new Vice President of Baseball Operations (not to be confused with their Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations position currently held by Josh Byrnes), the Dodgers announced that they had acquired 21-year-old minor league infielder Erick Mejia from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-handed pitcher Joe Wieland – a move that not only added much-needed infield depth to the Dodgers farm system but also opened up a spot on their 40-man roster – but more on that in a moment.
Erick Mejia
(Photo courtesy of scout.com)
Through four minor league seasons Mejia has a career batting average of .273 with one home run and 42 RBIs in 133 games played. The Villa Mela, Dominican Republic native was acquired by the Mariners as an amateur free agent in June of 2012. But perhaps his biggest asset and what undoubtedly captured the attention of the Dodgers ever-growing front office is his speed. In his four professional seasons, Mejia has accumulated 49 stolen bases – an element that has been noticeably missing from the Dodgers offense over the past several years. At 21-years of age, Mejia figures to begin the 2016 season at either Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga or Double-A Tulsa.
Minutes after announcing the Mejia acquisition, the Dodgers announced that they had also acquired 27-year-old minor league utility infielder/outfielder Rob Segedin and a player to be named later (or cash considerations) from the New York Yankees in exchange for infielder Ronald Torreyes and left-handed pitcher Tyler Olson, both of whom had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week.
Rob Segedin
(Photo courtesy of Tampa Yankees)
A native of Old Tappan, New Jersey, Segedin was selected in the third round of the 2010 First Year Player Draft by the Yankees out of Tulane University. In his six minor league seasons Segedin has a combined slash-line of .272 / .350 / .408 for an impressive .757 OPS. He has spent most of his professional career as a third baseman (265 games) but has also played right field (66 games), first base (48 games) and left field (44 games).
But perhaps the biggest news of the day was the announcement that the Dodgers had signed 24-year-old right-handed Cuban pitcher Yaisel Sierra after a tryout in front of several interested major league teams. Although the Dodgers have yet to make the signing official, several sources are reporting that it is a six-year deal worth $30 million.
Yaisel Sierra
(Photo courtesy of diariolasamericas.com)
Although Sierra’s Cuban numbers are not what you would consider overwhelming, he has a career mark of 16-21 and an ERA of 4.23 in his five seasons in the Cuban National Series (CNS). And while most of Sierra’s 131 appearances have been as a reliever, it is believed that the Dodgers see him as a potential starter.
“I worked 24/7 for my slider and changeup,” Sierra told reporters through an interpreter. “I was very excited to throw my slider and changeup because they don’t throw that kind of pitch in Cuba.”
It was the aforementioned Joe Wieland trade that created a spot on the Dodgers 40-man roster for Sierra even though the signing has not been officially announced yet.
While all of this was going on with the Dodgers on Tuesday morning, the biggest news of the day for LA sports fans came on Tuesday evening when it was announced that the St. Louis Rams were finally returning to Los Angeles after more than two decades. And while this has nothing to do with the Dodgers, it did for Dodgers part-owner Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who posted this on Twitter following Tuesday night’s announcement:
Posted in 
Three new players, none of whom are likely to make the team in 2016.
Sierra may make an appearance with the Dodgers in 2016.
Mejia is only 21 and essentially replaces Peraza in the depth chart although he hasn’t hit as well as Peraza. Wieland was backed up both with the Dodgers and the OKC Dodgers. He had fallen on the depth chart so I hope he can make it to MLB with the Mariners.
Segedin is more depth. Possibility of helping out in LA during the season and fulfilling a need at OKC.
The original home of the NFL Rams was Cleveland, Ohio, from 1936 to 1945. In 1946 the team moved to Los Angeles. Interestingly, should the Chargers decide to join the Rams in Inglewood within the next year, the Chargers would be returning to their original home where they began play in the LA Memorial Coliseum. The two teams shared the Coliseum in 1960 before the Chargers moved on to San Diego the following year.
Wonder what affect the return of the NFL will have on fixing the Dodger blackout situation? If they don’t get that fixed soon, they may rank in L.A. sports as high as Slow-pitch Horseshoes.
The Dodgers have the finest front office in all of baseball. Now if only they could just clear up the murky waters that has become of their major league roster. Too many questions with Spring Training on the horizon.
The questions will be answered. Might not be what we expect or even think we want but will clear up coming out of ST. If the front office is the best in baseball they will deal with it in the best way possible. They still have impediments in big contracts in the outfield that may take time to mitigate.
Coming to take you away – Zaidi born in Sudbury, Ontario and Anthopoulos in Montreal.
So with Canadian passports they can visit Cuba anytime they want? That explains a lot.
Hadn’t thought of that Craig. Seems convenient though until the US-Cuba situation is finalized.