Infielder Yoán Moncada goes to get some reps subsequent month. Per Francys Romero on X, Moncada will play for Cuba within the upcoming Premier12 match, which is about to happen in a number of international locations in November.
He’s probably blissful to get the taking part in time, as he solely bought 45 plate appearances over 12 video games in 2024. That was principally attributable to damage, as Moncada suffered a left adductor pressure in April and didn’t come off the IL till mid-September. Even when he was again with the membership, the Sox didn’t play him a lot, preferring to present the work to youthful gamers with extra potential to contribute in the long term.
Moncada is about to change into a free agent. The Sox have a $25MM membership choice to maintain him round for 2025 however they may definitely go for the $5MM buyout as a substitute, since he hasn’t been his greatest self shortly.
Advertising and marketing himself to different golf equipment in free company will probably be a problem after an basically misplaced season, which is unquestionably a part of the rationale he’s planning to place his spikes on and play subsequent month. He was additionally restricted by accidents within the earlier two seasons, taking part in simply 196 video games over 2022 and 2023 whereas hitting .234/.288/.386 for a wRC+ of 86.
Although he’s been damage susceptible of late and has seemingly been round endlessly, it’s simple to overlook that he nonetheless hasn’t celebrated his thirtieth birthday, which will probably be in Might. His high-profile defection from Cuba was over a decade in the past, however he was simply a youngster at the moment. He went on to signal an enormous cope with the Pink Sox, when that was nonetheless potential underneath the previous novice spending guidelines, later getting traded to the White Sox as a part of the Chris Sale mega commerce earlier than signing a notable extension with Chicago.
However he’s nonetheless comparatively younger and was in good kind as not too long ago as a number of years in the past. In 2021, he stayed wholesome sufficient to play 144 video games for the Sox. He slashed .263/.375/.412 that yr for a 120 wRC+. He additionally acquired stable marks for his glovework, as he often does, resulting in a tally of three.7 wins above substitute within the eyes of FanGraphs.
The current accidents and tepid efficiency will each ship him to free company and knock down his incomes energy on the open market, nevertheless it’s potential that some golf equipment will view him as a robust bounceback candidate who may probably present robust return on a modest funding.
