Infielder Yoán Moncada is going to get some reps next month. Per Francys Romero on X, Moncada will play for Cuba in the upcoming Premier12 tournament, which is set to take place in multiple countries in November.
He’s likely happy to get the playing time, as he only got 45 plate appearances over 12 games in 2024. That was mostly due to injury, as Moncada suffered a left adductor strain in April and didn’t come off the IL until mid-September. Even when he was back with the club, the Sox didn’t play him much, preferring to give the work to younger players with more potential to contribute in the long run.
Moncada is about to become a free agent. The Sox have a $25MM club option to keep him around for 2025 but they will certainly go for the $5MM buyout instead, since he hasn’t been his best self in a while.
Marketing himself to other clubs in free agency will be a challenge after an essentially lost season, which is surely part of the reason he’s planning to put his spikes on and play next month. He was also limited by injuries in the previous two seasons, playing just 196 games over 2022 and 2023 while hitting .234/.288/.386 for a wRC+ of 86.
Though he’s been injury prone of late and has seemingly been around forever, it’s easy to forget that he still hasn’t celebrated his 30th birthday, which will be in May. His high-profile defection from Cuba was over a decade ago, but he was just a teenager at that time. He went on to sign a huge deal with the Red Sox, when that was still possible under the old amateur spending rules, later getting traded to the White Sox as part of the Chris Sale mega trade before signing a notable extension with Chicago.
But he’s still relatively young and was in good form as recently as a few years ago. In 2021, he stayed healthy enough to play 144 games for the Sox. He slashed .263/.375/.412 that year for a 120 wRC+. He also received solid marks for his glovework, as he usually does, leading to a tally of 3.7 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs.
The recent injuries and tepid performance will both send him to free agency and knock down his earning power on the open market, but it’s possible that some clubs will view him as a strong bounceback candidate who could potentially provide strong return on a modest investment.
positively_broad_st
Dude is going to be a Marlin in 2025…
Samuel
positively_broad_st;
Hard to read Peter Bendix at this point.
Even harder to read the Marlins with Gabe Kapler as an Ass’t GM.
avenger65
A sox-related news flash: On local radio it was revealed that Reinsdorf hadn’t told anyone about his alleged plan to sell the team, that when Pohlad announced he was selling the Twins, the commissioner and everyone else already knew about it. Also, Dave Stewart is a buddy of larussa, so there’s another red flag. Reinsdorf seems to be threatening to sell the team unless he gets his new stadium. What a pinhead.
rhswanzey
This has Tampa Bay written all over it
whosehighpitch
Nobody is signing with Tampa until they figure out where they are playing
stymeedone
That depends on what other offers they get.
metsin4
Why will they not need players?
This one belongs to the Reds
I guess he is hoping to hit some missiles for Cuba.
Acoss1331
Buyer beware, he’s a headcase. He will make stupid baserunning mistakes, and will flub the ball at 3B. Very erratic in all aspects. Good luck to him wherever he goes. Probably a minor league deal or a very heavily-incentivized major league deal, even less than the 5 million Tim Anderson got from Miami a year ago.
HalosHeavenJJ
He’s going to want to go some place he’ll have a chance to play and prove himself.
A club will need to take a gamble on him that shouldn’t cost much.
He’s actually a great fit here. Third base is open 100+ games per year and Rengifo should start at second and spell SS until he gets traded at the deadline, leaving Moncada 2B once a week or so.
He’d get plenty of looks in camp and throughout the year. If he sucks, no big loss. If he happens to bounce back, great.
Atlanta Jack
Sure hope the Cubs sign him.
Unclemike1525
He should just stay there.
southi
I could see the braves taking a chance on him to pair with Kelenic in left field IF they are able to alleviate the logjam with Soler and Ozuna.
AA likes buy low candidates.
metsin4
Why would they sign a 3b to play the outfield?
southi
To be honest I admittedly remember some of the discussions a few years ago that they considered giving Moncada outfield time. I mistakenly assumed that he had actually spent at least a few innings there.
With that said there are multiple examples of infielders who also played more than adequately in the outfield. I would think that Moncada could also do so fairly easily. It would certainly expand his potential landing spots and his value.
GO1962
If Turang takes the place of Adames at shortstop for the Brewers, the Brewers could sign Moncada and revive his career.
Wiscokid#frackle
Joey Ortiz will probably slide into short. Leave Turang at 2B. I could see the brewers bringing him in for a camp tryout and the minors for depth. They are thin at 3rd unless Tyler black suddenly snatches the job. Black might also be better suited for 1B, so Moncada could be a fit at the right price.
stymeedone
Moncada is such a unique case. He didn’t seem very good defensively at 2B. He has lost the past 3 seasons and nothing indicates he has overcome his injury affliction. When he was healthy, he seemed solid at 3B. A contender is not going to want to count on him, so he would likely be a bench option. A rebuilding team will want to play their long term options, and no one is going to sign him to a long term agreement. In fact, any contract will likely have games played incentives in it. He needs to find a non contender who doesn’t have a prospect ready to take over at 3B, and is on a budget. Maybe Toronto?
Blackpink in the area
He could have value to a rebuilding team by keeping their 3b prospect in AAA until mid-season and then either trading him or letting him go if he doesn’t bounce back. Not sure what team exactly that is but it could make sense.