Fansided

MLB allows Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada to become international free agent

By Brandon C. Williams

You may not know the name Yoan Moncada today, but you will once the Cuban phenom finds a home with an MLB team. Photo credit: MLB.com
You may not know the name Yoan Moncada today, but you will once the Cuban phenom finds a home with an MLB team. Photo credit: MLB.com /
facebooktwitterreddit

Cuban phenom Yoan Moncada is finally cleared to sign with any Major League Baseball team, as the 19-year-old’s path was assisted by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

More from MLB

The Next Big Thing From Cuba is now free to sign with any Major League Baseball team.

Let the bidding (and it will go pretty high) begin.

With help from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Yoan Moncada was cleared to become an MLB free agent on Tuesday, opening the door for the 19-year-old infielder to begin his American professional career. Moncada will begin private workouts at the end of the month, yet many expect he will be signed before then.

Moncada was able to take advantage of a recently amendment of Section 515.05 of the Cuban Asset Control Regulations in order to sign with an MLB team. Rewrote last month, the rule opened the door for  “any individual national of Cuba who has taken up permanent residence outside of Cuba, provided certain required documentation is obtained and the individual is not a prohibited Cuban government official or prohibited member of the Cuban Communist Party.”

He moved to Guatemala late last year and gained residency along with having documents to meet the new requirements. Moncada is also subject to MLB’s international signing guidelines, which allots each team a $700,000 base and a bonus pool based on the team’s record the previous year to used in the July 2-June 15 signing period.

Know this: Moncada is going to get a whole lot more than just $700K.

Why? Well, when you’re a middle infielder and your skill set is compared to Cubs slugger Jorge Soler and Dodgers star Yasiel Puig (oh, yeah: his speed grades out at 70 on the 80 scale), chances are very, very good Moncada is going to be a teenage millionaire in the near future.

The Yankees and Red Sox are projected to be the favorites, with the Pinstripes envisioning Moncada to be the potential long-term fixture at short now that they’re facing Life After Jeter. The Rays are also joining their AL East roomies in finding a possible cornerstone in their rebuilding process.

Cubs and Rangers fans will have to groan over the fact their teams cannot spend more than $250,000 (which Moncada would probably sneer at) on an international player until July 2. D’oh!

Moncada, who played professionally at age 16 with AL Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu when the two played at Cienfuegoes, is projected to make his MLB debut at some point this season, which should make you hope your favorite team pulses enough cash out of the ATM to woo a player who may be the best in the recent wave of Cuban standouts.

More from FanSided

Home/MLB