BASEBALL : A’s Expected to Re-Sign Sierra for $30 Million Over 5 Years

Ruben Sierra’s agent said Saturday that the outfielder plans to re-sign with the Oakland Athletics, a deal that is expected to be worth about $30 million over five years.

“Nothing’s complete yet,” Bob Woolf said. “But I expect everything to be finalized within the next two or three days.”

Sierra, 27, was traded by the Texas Rangers to Oakland on Aug. 31 with reliever Jeff Russell and pitcher Bobby Witt for outfielder Jose Canseco. Sierra, who rejected several multiyear offers from the Rangers, hit .278 last season with 17 home runs and 87 runs batted in. He was paid $5 million.

Sierra and Mark McGwire were among 11 free agents who rejected arbitration offers from their former teams Saturday. Seattle outfielder Henry Cotto was the only one to accept, and former Toronto shortstop Manuel Lee agreed to a $3.4-million, two-year Ranger contract that could make the deal worth $5.1 million over three years.

Of the 30 players offered arbitration on Dec. 7, 17 have signed and two have accepted. The other was the A’s Harold Baines, who accepted arbitration Friday.

Those rejecting were Milwaukee outfielder Robin Yount, Minnesota outfielder Randy Bush, Seattle pitcher Mark Grant, Chicago Cub pitchers Jeff Robinson and Dave Smith, Houston pitcher Rob Murphy and San Francisco outfielder Chris James. They may continue to negotiate with their 1992 clubs through Jan. 8; if unsigned by then, they may not re-sign with their teams until May 1.

Yount reached a tentative agreement with the Brewers on Dec. 3, a deal thought to be worth about $3.5 million.

Lee, who made $1 million last season with the Blue Jays, gets a $600,000 signing bonus, $1.6 million in 1993 and $1 million in 1994 from the Rangers, who have a $1.9-million option for 1995 with a $200,000 buyout. He also can earn $100,000 a year in performance bonuses--$25,000 each for 400, 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances.

Meanwhile, Texas became the first team to sign one of the 38 players made free agents Friday when they were not offered contracts by their teams. The Rangers agreed to a one-year contract with outfielder Doug Dascenzo, who batted .255 with 20 RBIs in 139 games for the Cubs last season.