According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada is officially free to sign with a big league team after Major League Baseball “changes its rules regarding Cuban players.”
Moncada is a 19-year-old star in the making with almost limitless potential. He is a switch hitting middle infielder, who appears to have all of the defensive tools to stick at shortstop. Moncada has incredible speed and a lot of pop in his bat as well. He hit .273/.365/.406 in 195 plate appearances in Cuba’s most advanced league last season.
Moncada is a very impressive talent, but his skills are relatively raw. He will need some time in the minors before making the jump to the MLB level. He is expected to land a deal worth somewhere in the range of $40-$60 million.
Because of his age, Mocada is subject to international bonus pool spending restrictions. In order to sign Moncada, teams will have to blow past their bonus pool restrictions, which makes for heavy tax penalties and future international limitations. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have already blown by their restriction, so there is little holding them back from singing Moncada to a large deal. Since Moncada is now clear, Boston and New York should be considered the favorites as he is expected to sign quickly. However, if this drags along, the Red Sox and Yankees could miss out as they need to sign him before June 15th before their spending restrictions from this period kick in.
The Yankees and Red Sox are likely the current favorites, but there are plenty of other teams involved. The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers have been all over Moncada throughout the process, but neither team could sign him until after July 2nd due to blowing past their spending limits last season. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies are among the other teams who have shown strong interest in the young potential All-Star.
One thing is for sure, no matter where he ends up, Moncada has a chance to strongly improve the future of an organization.