Updated 04:45 AM EDT, Tue, Mar 19, 2024

Boston Red Sox Commits to Signing Cuban Infielder Yoan Moncada

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Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada will officially become a member of the Boston Red Sox with a $31.5 million signing bonus.

According to a report from Fox News Latino, Moncada's representative, David Hastings, hopes that the contract will be finalized by the end of the week. A contract that costs $63 million is in store for Moncada due to the tax "exceeding the international signing bonus pool, a provision in baseball's collective bargaining agreement."

Red Sox owner John Henry had this to say: "I think we're more discerning than ever, despite what people might write this week," Henry said Tuesday, Fox News Latino quoted. "With high-ceiling players, you have to take risks, especially on young players."

The 19-year-old professional baseball star is one of the first players to leave Cuba legally, Yahoo Sports wrote. When the United States government finally gave him his permit to work in the country after months of waiting, Moncada was courted by multiple teams, including the Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and Milwaukee Brewers, Yahoo Sports added.

Henry also expressed his confidence in his team's ability to develop Moncada's abilities. The player is scheduled to have physicals in Boston and Florida on Wednesday, Fox News Latino noted.

"There have been a number of Cuban players who've come into the game that have really produced, and there've been some that haven't over the years. But I think we've done our homework, and we expect a lot," Henry explained, as quoted by the news outlet.

Moncada is also set to head into "the standard salary scale once he arrives in the major leagues: three seasons near the league minimum, then three in arbitration." The total outlay for his first six seasons could reach up to $100 million, Fox News Latino noted.

Yahoo Sports described Moncada as "a brutishly athletic five-tool player, a ballplayer masquerading in a linebacker's body." He has an ability to hit "for power and contact plus a good glove and a strong arm," Yahoo Sports added, prompting the five-tool label with him into the major leagues.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said that the other teams' interest in Moncada proved to be a competitive process in acquiring the player, Fox News Latino reported.

"There are $150 million contracts that end up being good values, and there's $500,000 contracts that end up being bad values, and everything in between," Cherington added, as reported by the news outlet. "So the exercise is to identify the player, identify what you think he's worth and then see if you can acquire him for that."

Moncada's Red Sox signing bonus is the highest amount for an international player under 23, exceeding Cuban pitcher Yoan Lopez's $8.27 million deal with Arizona Diamondbacks last month, according to Fox News Latino.

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