Which Top Suitor Needs to Win Yoan Moncada Sweepstakes Most?
It's good to be Yoan Moncada.
The Cuban infielder is on the verge of cashing in a monster payday. Once he signs with a big league club, the switch-hitter will immediately become a top-20 and possibly even top-10 prospect in all the minor leagues, per Ben Badler of Baseball America.
As Dave Cameron of Fox Sports explains, big-money clubs will have a big advantage in the race to land the super-prospect. Since Moncada is just 19 years old, he has to be signed to a minor league deal where all of his earning comes in the form of a signing bonus.
According to Cameron, the winning team will then have to pay an "almost equivalent fee to the commissioner's office" for exceeding its international signing bonus allotment. Essentially, the highest bidder will have to pay double for the right to ink Moncada.
What follows is a look around the league at which clubs not only have the required financial firepower to pull off such deal, but which ones also have the greatest need to sign Moncada. The ranking logic is simple.
From the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, the teams are ranked in order of how badly each one needs to sign the power-hitting infielder based on the composition of its big league roster and the standing of its minor league system.
5. Boston Red Sox
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The Boston Red Sox are one of the front-runners in the race to sign Moncada, per Kiley McDaniel of FanGraphs.
However, it's unclear just where exactly he would play, as the Red Sox already have a stockpile of infielders. At Fenway Park, the top names on that list include Dustin Pedroia, Pablo Sandoval and Xander Bogaerts. There's also Mookie Betts, who is slated to play in the outfield in 2015 but who rose through the minor leagues as a second baseman.
On the farm, the Red Sox also have Garin Cecchini, Rafael Devers and Deven Marrero. All three of those infielders rank among the organization's top 10 prospects, per MLB.com.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
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It remains to be seen whether the Philadelphia Phillies will make a push for Moncada.
"We have been pursuing a lot of things with some of the Cuban players and also some kids in the Dominican, Venezuela, and other countries," said general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., via Bob Brookover of The Philadelphia Inquirer. "If we feel like it's the right thing to do, we'll make a move."
The rebuilding National League East team can use as much young talent as possible, but Moncada isn't necessarily the best fit from a positional standpoint. According to Marc Carig of Newsday, most MLB executives expect that Moncada will end up at either second base or third base.
The Phillies already have Chase Utley anchored at second. The veteran is under contract through the end of 2015 and has vesting options for each of the next three seasons after that. At third base, the Phillies have Cody Asche on the major league roster and prospect Maikel Franco, who is nearly big league-ready.
As a result of that infield situation, the Phillies remain stationed in the No. 4 spot on the list.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
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As GM Farhan Zaidi explained, via Jim Bowden and Casey Stern of MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, the Los Angeles Dodgers have the "checkbook" to sign Moncada. Zaidi added that the Dodgers would be willing to do just that if the club's assessment of the Cuban "matches" his price tag on the market.
There's certainly room for Moncada in the Dodgers' infield of the future. Second baseman Howie Kendrick and third baseman Juan Uribe are both set to become free agents at the end of 2015. Aside from those veterans, the team's most accomplished infielders include the likes of Justin Turner, Alex Guerrero and Darwin Barney.
In the minor leagues, the NL West team has Corey Seager, who has spent his time at shortstop but will likely end up at third base. Per MLB.com, Seager is the No. 13 prospect in all of baseball, but after him, the Dodgers are lacking for impact infielders.
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2. New York Yankees
4 of 5The New York Yankees are one of the leading contenders in the Moncada sweepstakes, per Ben Badler of Baseball America. As Badler reports, the team already set up a private workout for the Cuban. With an array of aging veterans littering the club's roster, bringing in a 19-year-old phenom is exactly what the Yankees need to do.
The only reason why New York doesn't claim the No. 1 spot in these rankings is that the team's farm system actually isn't devoid of promising infielders. The two most prominent examples are third baseman Eric Jagielo and second baseman Rob Refsnyder.
The Yankees selected Jagielo with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2013 MLB draft, and he's already become the team's third-best prospect, according to MLB.com. Refsnyder is in the mix to win a big league job after dismantling the upper minor leagues in 2014. Last year, the right-handed hitter swung at a clip of .318 and checked in with an .884 OPS while splitting the season between Double-A and Triple-A.
1. San Francisco Giants
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Like the Yankees, the San Francisco Giants have already held a private workout for Moncada, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. Badler cites "several sources" who claim that the team's owners want the Giants "to get more involved in the Cuban market."
Signing Moncada would be a great place to begin, as it's easy enough to see how the rising star would fit perfectly at AT&T Park. Joe Panik has taken over at second base, but the future at third base is cloudy now that Pablo Sandoval has joined up with the Boston Red Sox. Casey McGehee will occupy that spot for now, but he's only under team control for the 2015 season.
The farm system isn't going to provide any answers, either. Per MLB.com, none of San Francisco's top 10 prospects are infielders.
Note: Video courtesy of YouTube.com. All salary information courtesy of Cot's Baseball Contracts on BaseballProsepctus.com.
If you want to talk baseball, find me on Twitter @KarlBuscheck.
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