Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada, one of the mostly highly touted and most sought after Cuban prospects in 20 years, has finally agreed to a contract with a major league club. He’ll be joining countryman Rusney Castillo with the Boston Red Sox, and the bonus he’s getting is a ridiculous $30 million.
BREAKING – Source: Cuban INF prospect Yoan Moncada agrees with Red Sox on a deal in $30 million range. Check http://t.co/mkcBseoZWQ.
— Jesse Sanchez (@JesseSanchezMLB) February 23, 2015
Boston will be forced to pay an additional $30 million as a tax to MLB for Moncada because they exceeded MLB’s cap on signing international amateurs. The club also won’t be able to sign any international amateur for more than $300,000 over the next two signing periods.
Moncada is only 19, and won’t be pressing for a spot in the majors in 2015. However, he’ll be joining a loaded Red Sox farm system, and because of Boston’s infield strength at the major league level, the Sox won’t need to rush him to Fenway Park. Moncada’s upside has been compared to that of Robinson Cano and Chase Utley, and seemingly every team in the majors was chasing him.
His signing is quite a coup for the Red Sox, and caps off an offseason that saw them sign both Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval while trading for Wade Miley and Rick Porcello. Talk about an overhaul without losing much…
