Yoan Moncada, the 19-year-old Cuban phenom who has worked out for the Dodgers among several other teams, has been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball according to MLB.com and Yahoo.com.
Declaring Moncada a free agent was a matter of time. Moncada reportedly established residency in Guatemala months ago. The U.S. government recently changed its policy toward Cuban defectors, no longer requiring a specific license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control for a player to sign with a major-league team. Under the new policy that applies to Moncada, according to Yahoo:
Players who present sworn affidavits to Major League Baseball stating they are residents of another country, have no intention of returning to Cuba and are not Cuban government officials can sign with major league teams immediately, sources said. MLB distributed a memo to teams Tuesday afternoon outlining the changes.
According to FanGraphs.com, the competition for Moncada is limited because of the MLB-imposed restrictions on signing international players.
The heavy favorites are the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers, with my best estimation that the price will be around $40 million on the bonus and another roughly $40 million going to MLB as a penalty, along with a two-year ban on international signings over $300,000. … Moncada has had private workout for other clubs, including the Rays, Padres, Rangers, Tigers and Giants, but these clubs have publicly said they’re almost certain they won’t be able to afford where Moncada’s price tag likely ends up.
The Rangers and Cubs are the only two teams that can’t sign Moncada right now, because they’re finishing up their penalty year for going over their international pool last year (the penalty recently was changed to two years, but Texas and Chicago broke it when the penalty was only one year). Sources indicate both teams are trying to convince Moncada to wait until July 2nd (when sanctions on both clubs will end) to sign, but it’s extremely unlikely that Moncada will wait that long and take the Red Sox and Yankees out of the bidding, as Boston and New York start their two-year penalties on July 2nd for going over this year’s pool.
As is always the case with a young Cuban player, the hype exceeds any evidence of his potential. According to MLB.com,
Moncada is the most celebrated young prospect to leave Cuba since Yasiel Puig and Jorge Soler signed lucrative contracts with the Dodgers and Cubs in 2012. The 6-foot, 210-pound Moncada debuted for Cienfuegos in Cuba’s Serie Nacional at age 17 and hit .277 during parts of two seasons. He made a name for himself by dominating the 16-and-under and 18-and-under leagues in Cuba.
