Yoan Moncada, Still Unsigned

The ongoing Yoan Moncada saga is reminiscent of the Masahiro Tanaka signing chronicles of last offseason. We all know how that panned out with the Dodgers passing on signing the Japanese pitcher even though I really wanted the Dodgers to add him to the rotation. The Yankees were the ones to sign Tanaka. He ended up having a great MLB debut season before he partially tore his UCL. Of course no one could have predicted that Tanaka would become hurt before he was signed, but the risks surrounding signing these expensive international free agents are there.

Last offseason the Dodgers didn’t shell out the cash for Tanaka, and that was still during Ned Colletti’s last winter as GM. The Dodgers had the funds, but they didn’t feel like they needed Tanaka when they already had a solid rotation including Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Hyun-jin Ryu. In hindsight, the Dodgers probably made the wise non-move in not outbidding the Yankees or the other heavyweights for Tanaka, and they might once again pass on Moncada in order to curb their spending.

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While the Dodgers have excellent pitching aside from the backend of the rotation question marks, they do not have a third baseman who can take over for Juan Uribe once his contract is finished this year. Corey Seager seems to be sticking at shortstop, and if they saw him as the future third baseman they should have begun the transition awhile ago. With Seager slotting in at short for years to come, and Howie Kendrick hopefully being re-signed next winter for second base, the third base conundrum will be the focal point for the Dodgers if they don’t sign Moncada.

Unless the Dodgers plan on trying to make Alex Guerrero a third baseman (no way this happens), the Dodgers will need to either sign Moncada, trade for a third baseman, shift Seager to third or sign Uribe for another year. Juan Uribe still has Gold Glove defense at third, and even the younger Seager probably can’t catch up to a lot of the balls Uribe snags at the hot corner on a daily basis. I like Seager at short, and I don’t mind another couple of years of Uribe.

The new front office regime has been working to make the roster more flexible with long-term viability, and one of the biggest weaknesses of the roster is of course third base. The position has been a problem area for the Dodgers for many years, and last time I checked Casey Blake was still retired.

I won’t get too terribly upset if the Red Sox or Yankees sign Moncada, because the two-year signing ban on pool-eligible  international free agents is a restriction which may end up hindering the Dodgers from adding talent during that span. The Dodgers new player development division has been actively delving back into the international free agent market, and it would be a detriment to shut the door on possibilities for two years in order to sign one big name.

Conversely, Yoan Moncada could be that one big name that the Dodgers could use to really cement their infield for years to come. An infield of Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Corey Seager and Yoan Moncada sounds really fun.

The Dodgers are one of the teams who have worked out the 19-year old Cuban prospect, and his signing decision could be coming soon.

According to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com, Moncada is expected to wrap up his private workouts by Monday, February 23rd and make his decision shortly after.

After Yasiel Puig stole all our hearts, it’s easy to see why the Dodgers have an interest in the highly touted Cuban prospect Moncada. Combined with the Dodgers need for infield depth, the pricey prospect could be the first big signing by Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi since taking over from Ned Colletti this offseason. Then again, the Dodgers could pass on Moncada and his expensive cost.

The Dodgers have repeatedly said they want to go with youth, and a left side of the infield manned by Moncada and Seager is a fantastically fresh and talented way to shape a successful infield for years to come.