Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com is reporting that the agent for Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada, received the necessary notification from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday night stating that his player is now an unblocked national.
In other words, this now clears the way for Moncada to sign with any MLB team of his choosing.
Sanchez also adds that Moncada, 19, has worked out privately for the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Rays and Brewers, and that the Cubs, Phillies and Cardinals have also shown interest.
January 28
Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada is close to being cleared to sign with an MLB team according to reports from Baseball America and Yahoo Sports. He continues to conduct private workouts for several interested teams.
The Dodgers and Yankees held a private workout for Moncada this past week and several industry sources say both of them are frontrunners to sign Moncada.
Baseball America said the 19-year-old switch-hitter would immediately become one of the game’s top prospects as soon as he signs with a team.
According to what team sources told reporter Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets have done their due diligence on Moncada, but do not view him as a realistic option given their budget and financial constraints.
Top talent evaluator Ben Badler of Baseball America recently said that the Cuban infielder is a dynamic player with premium bat speed, an enticing combination of power and speed along with a strong track record of hitting.
He also added that while all 30 MLB teams would undoubtedly love to have Moncada, his high price tag ($30 million bonus plus $30 million tax) limits his signability to big market teams like New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.
“That’s why you can comfortably count out teams such as the Indians, Twins, Royals, Pirates, Athletics and Mets when it comes to handicapping the Moncada sweepstakes.”
Moncada, who has abundant speed and power, has been compared favorably to Dodgers star Yasiel Puig.
While discussing international free agency at the Winter Meetings, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters that while the Mets had been mostly bystanders in foreign markets over the years, that was going to soon change.
“We haven’t been in that category,” he said. “I expect we will be in that category, soon.”
Many took that to believe that the Mets would be players for Korean shortstop Jeong-ho Kang and five-tool prospect Moncada.
Alderson also told reporters the Mets were considering a bid on Kang and that they were very interested, but a month later on the eve of the bidding deadline he announced the Mets were out.
A day later the Pittsburgh Pirates won the rights to Kang and ultimately signed the 27-year-old infielder to an $11 million, four-year contract on Friday.
Reports have suggested that Moncada will likely receive a signing bonus in excess of $30 million and in addition to that there will be a 100 percent penalty for any team who signs him.
Besides the Yankees, the San Francisco Giants also worked out Moncada last week. The Phillies. Dodgers, Rangers and Cubs are also very interested and held private workouts previously.
There have been no reports linking Moncada to the Mets.
