Magneuris Sierra is not in the major leagues for his offensive ability. The Miami Marlins backup outfielder has a career OPS+ of 57, an absolutely dreadful number that would seemingly ticket him for Triple-A. However, Sierra has been a solid defensive replacement, seeing playing time at all three spots in the outfield.
That glove has led to plenty more chances in the lineup than one would have expected. Sierra had 138 plate appearances entering Sunday, a total that may speak more to the Marlins’ struggles in the outfield than to his ability.
Magneuris Sierra finally drives in a run for Miami Marlins in 2021
Unsurprisingly, Sierra had not exactly set the world afire in the batter’s box. He had produced a less than inspiring .234/.290/.266 batting line in his 138 plate appearances, hitting four doubles. While he had scored 18 runs, Sierra had not driven in a single run for the Marlins this season.
That is, he had not driven in a run for the Marlins until Sunday. That streak finally came to an end in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he laced an RBI double against Yu Darvish, driving in Lewis Brinson. Sierra later came around to score on a base hit by Starling Marte.
There are times when a player, through no fault of their own, just does not drive in a baserunner. Caleb Joseph did not drive in a run throughout the entirety of the 2016 season despite having 141 plate appearances. He had gone from hitting 11 homers and 16 doubles while driving in 49 runs in 2015 to hitting only three doubles in a disappointing season.
Fortunately for Sierra, he will not need to deal with such an ignoble feat. He drove in that first run of the season, allowing him to avoid the same fate as Joseph. Interestingly, Joseph managed to drive in two runs in 2020, although he received just nine plate appearances. At least Sierra will not need to worry about chasing that RBI going forward.
Miami Marlins outfielder Magneuris Sierra has finally driven in his first run of the year. At least he can avoid going the entire season without an RBI.