The White Sox will not exercise their $25MM club option for Yoán Moncada’s services in 2025. He will receive a $5MM buyout instead. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR reported the news this afternoon on X.
This has been the expected outcome for a while. Moncada has had some good performances in the majors but the past three seasons have seen him underperform, miss significant time due to injury or both.
Moncada appeared in just 208 games during the 2022-2024 seasons due to various injuries. That includes just 12 games in the ’24 campaign, as a left adductor strain kept him on the injured list for most of the year. Even when he came off the IL, the Sox didn’t play him much, preferring to give that time to younger players who could be part of the next competitive window.
Even when on the field, Moncada hasn’t performed especially well of late. He has hit .236/.291/.387 since the start of 2021 for a wRC+ of 88. With that performance, it’s unsurprising that the Sox would balk at giving Moncada another $20MM to stick around for one more year.
That leaves Moncada as a buy-low bounceback candidate in free agency this winter. He was once a high-profile defector from Cuba and highly-regarded prospect with the Red Sox, heading to Chicago as part of the Chris Sale trade in December of 2016.
It took Moncada a few years but he finally had his long-awaited breakout in 2019, launching 25 home runs and slashing .315/.367/.548 for a wRC+ of 139. When combined with his strong defense, he was worth 5.2 wins above replacement that year, in the eyes of FanGraphs.
Going into 2020, the Sox bet on Moncada by giving him a five-year, $70MM extension which included a club option. He struggled a bit in the shortened 2020 season but bounce back with another strong campaign in 2021. But then, as mentioned, the past three seasons have been very disappointing, leading the Sox to turn down the option today.
Despite the may ups and downs in his journey, Moncada is still relatively young, not turning 30 until May. He will likely find some club willing to make a small bet on his past pedigree, perhaps on a deal loaded with incentives, on account of his many health issues.
The third base free agent market is headlined by Alex Bregman, but most of the other options are bench/utility guys like Paul DeJong, Gio Urshela and Amed Rosario. The trade market could feature Nolan Arenado or Eugenio Suárez, but it’s unclear how available either player is while Arenado’s no-trade clause could complicate matters. Moncada is obviously a risky play right now but also has demonstrated upside.
What a long strange trip it’s been for Moncada. Who knows what might have been for him without the injuries.
BigB: We got to see how good he was in 2019, then he got COVID. That definitely effected him in ’20 and ’21 as well as his situation with his family, who he could not get out of Cuba. Hopefully someone with a need for a standout third baseman will sign him.
Yankees? High upside player who could be a steal.
He’ll just be stealing your money.
An obvious outcome, just like the new Nile album kicking major ass.
One of the easiest decisions of their off-season.
When the White Sox don’t even want you…
Rick Hahn will never run another MLB club again.
I could see him taking an Assistant GM with another club, maybe the Cubs.
This extension looked pretty reasonable at the time it just didn’t pan out.
I’d take a 25 year old Moncada for 5/70 vs Rendon makes Hahn look like a genius.
He has plenty of faults, but I don’t see this as one.
Mr. Reinsdorf please sell the team. Terrible brand of baseball from ownership to low minors. Ask the Southside.
chose Moncado instead of Burger. Costly dec9ision. Burger could be a Konerko type.
You saying that reminds me of when they chose Danks over Buehrle.
Giants writing all over
Screams Angel
Yep and if he ok with it. We’re so freaking far from competitive we’ll need a couple of lottery tickets to hit.
yankees should kick the tires. he might outperform the djlm/berti/oswaldo 3-headed monster