I guess we all thought wrong when we believed the signing of James Shields would be the final move the San Diego Padres made this offseason. The team has an expensive Cuban prospect on their radar and could land him as well.
According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, "sources say San Diego is working out Yoan Moncada today and plans to be aggressive in bidding for him." Last week it was reported the Padres had the financial flexibility to sign Shields, which they have already done, but perhaps ownership opened their pockets even deeper. The 19-year-old Moncada is expected to land a contract between $30 million and $40 million, which would be a record for an international amateur player.
Additionally, if the deal exceeds the Padres spending pools for the 2014-2015 signing period, they would be forced to pay a 100% tax on Moncada's contract.
Based on their current middle infield situation with Alexi Amarista at shortstop and Jed Gyorko at second base, it makes sense why they would pursue Moncada, who is a switch-hitting middle infielder that can also hit for power. However, his price tag is overwhelming for a prospect, especially since he made only 367 plate appearances in Cuba's professional league, Serie Nacional. Moncada was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball last week after a undergoing a long process to be cleared to work in the United States.
Nonetheless, Moncada dominated the junior leagues in Cuba and is believed to be the top prospect in his native country. Here are his stats provided by Baseball America's Ben Badler:
"Back home in Cuba's 16U national league that year, Moncada was the country's top hitter, batting .500/.643/.918 in 158 plate appearances, leading the league in batting average, OBP, slugging, home runs (8) and walks (37) while going 15-for-15 in stolen bases."
"Moncada stepped up to the country's 18U national league in 2012, where he again led the league in batting average, OBP and slugging by hitting .434/.543/.648 in 152 plate appearances with a league-best 20 steals in 24 tries."
San Diego traded their No. 2 prospect, shortstop Trea Turner, to the Washington Nationals earlier this offseason in the deal that yielded them outfielder Wil Myers. However, they still have plentiful middle infield options in their farm system with second baseman Cory Spangenberg (ranked No. 5 in their top 10), second baseman/third baseman Fernando Perez (ranked No. 7) and shortstop Jose Rondon (ranked No. 9).
The New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be the top suitors for Moncada, although the Dodgers may be having second thoughts about the prospect. Don't be surprised if Padres GM A.J. Preller sneaks in and makes another big move.
