And Moncada's a teenager, so this blows past their spending limit for this international free agent season. So that'll also cost them:

-100% tax
-forfeiting their int'l free agent spending pool for the next period

So obviously, people think he's pretty good. Consensus seems to be that he's not a shortstop longterm, which is sort of a "no shit" when you see a picture of him. And he might not be an infielder that much longer. But it doesn't really matter because the speed/power thing will work.

This all provokes two questions. The first was one I had to ask myself, which is when I title transaction posts do I put the amount of money the player is getting or the amount of money the team is paying. Apparently, it's the player. The second question is "what the hell is Boston doing?" and the answer appears to be pretty simple: acquiring the best players, regardless of where they play on the field. Moncada might be good enough to be an MLB starter right now, but between the rust from the defection process and his age, the Red Sox are pretty well justified treating him as a "draft/sign for need" prospect instead of an immediate asset.

But they also went on a spending binge this winter and the options for Moncada when he is (inevitably, everyone hopes) an MLBer appear to be:

-3B, presently occupied by a new multi-year contract
-SS, presently occupied by their graduated former #1 prospect
-2B, presently occupied by incumbent, fan favorite, former MVP, signed for seven more seasons
-LF, presently occupied by a new multi-year contract
-CF, presently occupied by either their OTHER big money Cuban import *or* their present #1 prospect *or* former bigshit prospect JBjr.
-RF, probably occupied by one of the two candidates that don't win the centerfield job

The real answer is probably that Sandoval will pudge past the limits of thirdbase this season, right when Mike Napoli's contract expires and Moncada is ready. Or something. But it's sort of fascinating how much ready and near ready talent they've committed to for the next half-decade without much consideration for how to fit it all on the field at the same time. If you've got money, that seems like the awesomely inelegant answer: make it a great problem for the future.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/02/details-on-the-runners-up-for-yoan-moncada.html

Details On The Runners Up For Yoan Moncada
By Steve Adams
Earlier this morning, the Red Sox reportedly struck an agreement with Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada, landing the 19-year-old switch-hitter with a $31.5MM signing bonus that will cost the team $63MM due to the 100 percent luxury tax it faces for exceeding its international bonus pool. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted shortly after the agreement was struck that the Yankees offered $25MM with a willingness to go to $27MM. Here are some more details on the tail end of a free agency that resulted in the largest signing bonus an international amateur has ever received…

The Yankees, Red Sox and Brewers were the three finalists for Moncada, tweets Sherman. However, the Dodgers may have offered the most money, but it came with a price; L.A. was willing to go to $35MM on the condition that Moncada wait until July 2 in order to sign. Doing so would have given the Dodgers unrestricted spending next period, giving them a shot at all the top prospects on the market without the Yankees and Red Sox to compete against. It’s also been reported that Yadier Alvares can’t sign before July 2, so the Dodgers likely could have made a run at both.
Indeed, Sherman tweets that the Dodgers are waiting until the new signing period begins on July 2 to spend significantly, and they plan to be very aggressive when that time comes.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman badly wanted to sign Moncada, tweets Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York, but he couldn’t convince owner Hal Steinbrenner to spend any more than the reported $27MM figure. The GM told reporters, including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link), that New York was asked to make its best offer yesterday. He was subsequently informed that it was not sufficient.
There was “a feeling from some” that Moncada wanted to end up with the Yankees, but the team simply viewed it as too risky to spend $60-70MM on a prospect, reports Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York (All Twitter links). The Yankees feel that they can buy a proven Major Leaguer with that type of money in the future, and the Red Sox ultimately valued him more, Marchand adds.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writes that the Padres were also considered finalists along with the four teams mentioned by Sherman. One team involved in the bidding, Passan adds, was so confident in Moncada’s abilities that they believed him to be capable of jumping directly into the Majors. Instead, he’ll head to the lower levels of Boston’s minor league system.
Via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter links), the Brewers‘ interest in Moncada was sincere. GM Doug Melvin believes that he was the first of any GM to submit a formal offer, but the team learned quickly that they wouldn’t be able to sign Moncada
Ben Badler of Baseball America notes (Twitter links) that some of the biggest winners in this scenario are Hector Olivera and next signing period’s crop of international amateurs. As Badlery points out, Olivera is being pursued by a number of teams who were also interested in Moncada, but the Red Sox aren’t involved in his market. Moncada signing with Boston means that Olivera didn’t lose a suitor. As for the rest of the international amateurs, they and their trainers are rejoicing, Badler says. The Red Sox were already over their bonus pool, so Moncada signing with them prevents another team (e.g. the Dodgers or Brewers) from going over their pool, giving the next wave of players another suitor.

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"Walleye, a lot of things are going to go wrong in your life that technically aren't your fault. Always remember that this doesn't make you any less of an idiot"

--Walleye's Dad

The kid looks like hes gonna be a great player. He could be shit but I think he has the tools for it. I think all the hype is gonna be worth it.

I'm guessing he'll come up later in the year unless an injury happens or he's really raking it in the minors. Next year he'll probably be at 3B with Ortiz gone, Napoli to DH, Panda to 1st.


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TWITTER : Heinz21st

IG : H_N_Z

Sandoval to first. Ortiz probably still DH.