The last big signing of the 2014-2015 offseason occurred on Monday. Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada has finally found an MLB team after spending months conducting private workouts and trying to get clearance to work in the United States.
The 19-year-old Moncada agreed to a deal worth $31.5 million with the Boston Red Sox, which is the largest bonus received by an international amateur player, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Boston will also have to pay an additional $31.5 million in taxes because they exceeded their bonus pools by 15% during the current international signing period, so it comes out to $63 million total.
The length of the deal has not yet been disclosed and the Red Sox haven't confirmed it.
Sanchez also notes Moncada was weighing offers he received from five other teams, but it's unknown exactly who. The Cuban prospect conducted private workouts for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays within the past six weeks. The Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers were considered to be the frontrunners for his services.
He was a highly sought-after commodity once it was reported he defected from Cuba and was pursuing an MLB contract.
"He's electric," one scout told Baseball America. "When I saw him at the 18U World Championship in Taiwan, he did what good hitters do. He has tools, he's athletic and he has a chance to hit for power. It's bat speed that you don't see except from the select few. The guy has different bat speed from everyone else, period. It's a beautiful swing too from the left side, which is better than his right-handed swing."
Moncada was subject to the bonus pools because he is under the age of 23 and did not play professional baseball in his home country for at least five years. As a result, the Red Sox will now face further penalties on top of the 100% tax - they cannot sign any pool-eligible players for more than $300,000 in the next two signing periods, which will significantly affect what they can do on the international market.
It'll be interesting to see how the Red Sox use him in the future because it's widely believed Moncada will be a second or third baseman at the major league level. Boston just signed third baseman Pablo Sandoval to a five-year deal and they have second baseman Dustin Pedroia for another seven seasons.
We'll provide an update once the full details of the deal are disclosed.
