In the seventh inning of Saturday's All-Star Series Game against Samurai Japan, Seattle Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano fractured his pinkie toe when he was hit by a pitch. Meanwhile, teams in need of a middle infielder received good news.
Cano is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, according to Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik. The second baseman took a Yuki Nishi pitch to his right foot and was replaced by Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros. Fortunately for Cano, the fracture will not require a cast or treatment and he'll be able to resume full workouts by December.
The MLB All-Stars lost 4-0 and were no hit by four Samurai pitchers on Saturday. It was their third loss in three games against the Japanese All-Stars, but they bounced back on Sunday with a 6-1 victory behind Justin Morneau's four RBIs. Altuve continued to fill in for Cano and went 3-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Game 5 is the final matchup of the series and will take place on Tuesday.
Also on Saturday, a source confirmed to MLB.com that Cuban middle infielder Yoan Moncada has been cleared by the league to be signed as a free agent, but he still must receive clearance by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. The timetable for that is unknown. The 19-year-old has already been garnering interest from a number of MLB teams and that should heat up in the near future.
Moncada is expected to land the largest signing bonus in the history of amateur players, which should be in the range of $30 to $40 million. Based on this prediction, only the Chicago Cubs and Texans Rangers will be prohibited from signing him because of their activity in signing international players over the past few seasons. Those who remain interested in Cuba's No. 1 prospect include the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels. Other teams are expected to jump into the mix now that he's been cleared by the league.
All 30 teams attended Moncada's showcase on November 12 in Guatemala City since professional baseball has seen a lack of talent among middle infielders as of late. Here's an assessment of Moncada from Baseball America's Ben Badler:
"In 2012-13, Moncada made his Serie Nacional debut for Cienfuegos, where he was teammates with White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Dodgers shortstop Erisbel Arruebarrena. Moncada performed well for a 17-year-old, hitting .283/.414/.348 in 172 plate appearances with 13 stolen bases in 18 attempts. Moncada also made his mark at the league's all-star game, where Cuba holds certain skill competitions in addition to a home run derby. Among the events are races to first base and around the bases. At the 2012-13 all-star game, Moncada won both races, beating [Rusney] Castillo, a 70 runner on the 20-80 scale, and Guillermo Heredia, a 60 runner who started in center field in the 2013 World Baseball Classic." He was also the best player in Cuba's 16U and 18U national leagues.
More on Moncada should be known in the coming days/weeks.
