After several months of uncertainty, the Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada finally found a destination in the free league agency.
The Cienfueguero, with nine years of experience in the best baseball in the world, will play next season with Los Angeles Angels in exchange for five million dollars. According to a Report Of MLB, the team had not confirmed the agreement because it was pending medical examination.
Moncada, 29, must join the Los Angels discipline and fight for the postalist post, one of the open fronts that has the novena directed by Ron Washington. Last year, without going far, the position was a real black hole, to the point that 11 players passed by and none completed more than 55 games.
Anthony Rendon and the Utitys Scott Kingerry, Kevin Newman and Luis Rengifo will be the immediate competition of Moncada to defend the so -called “hot corner” of the Californian team, which drags nine seasons in a row with a negative record and ten without accessing the Playoff.
For the Cuban it will be an opportunity to resurface after Eight contests In the Chicago White Sox, where he lived periods of high and low because of the injuries. In the last three campaigns, for example, 278 games were lost due to various physical issues and their performance also experienced a considerable decrease, with an offensive line (average/average embasted/Slugging) of .236/.291/.387.
His PAHO in that period was .678, more than 100 points below what he achieved between 2018 and 2021 (.791). In this period, it could be said, he achieved his best results in Major Leagues, in the first order because he could stay healthy and participate in 87 % of the clashes (477 of 546 games) of his squad.
Moncada was one of the best valued baseball talents when he signed with Boston in early 2015. At that time he received a bonus of 31.5 million dollars, but before turning two years in the Red Sox he was exchanged for Chicago. There began a new adventure that had as a summit the 2019 season, in which he towed 79 races, scored 83, hit 64 extrabases and 25 homers, with PAHO of .915.
After that performance the White Sox offered him an extension of five years and 70 million, with an option from the club for 25 million by 2025. The southern Chicago franchise decided Do not exercise this clause and hit a five million bonus at the end of last campaign.
Moncada’s firm with Los Angels is great news for the Cuban Navy in Major Leagues, which still has men of great value in recent times such as José Abreu, Yasmani Grandal and Yulieski Gurriel.
