I'm all in on Moncada, you never get the opportunity for players of this talent level at this age available on the open market. With the smaller payroll this season, there should be money left in the bank to make a run at him. I think he ends up signing for between $20-$30M, and would get twice that if not for the penalties.

When does Moncada's fate get decided? Tough to follow the new int'l rules.

When does Moncada's fate get decided? Tough to follow the new int'l rules.

He's been cleared by MLB, declared a free agent. But he has not yet been cleared by OFAC (US government). Usually it happens the other way around. But both need to be done before anyone can move on him.

 

Likely after that he starts engaging with teams - but he may also make a strategic decision to wait until after 7/2, because different teams are then available to him for signing.

 

I'm all in on Moncada, you never get the opportunity for players of this talent level at this age available on the open market. With the smaller payroll this season, there should be money left in the bank to make a run at him. I think he ends up signing for between $20-$30M, and would get twice that if not for the penalties.

 

 

The problem is there's a good chance we end up exceeding the 2014 payroll by the time all is said and done with this offseason.

 

If you ask most posters here, choose solutions for LF, RHSP and back-end bullpen OR spend the money on Moncada and don't add anything more to payroll from the current level, the majority will go with the first option, especially after 7 seasons without a playoff appearance.

 

Obviously, we'd love to do BOTH. But how realistic is that? Not very.

The problem is there's a good chance we end up exceeding the 2014 payroll by the time all is said and done with this offseason.

 

If you ask most posters here, choose solutions for LF, RHSP and back-end bullpen OR spend the money on Moncada and don't add anything more to payroll from the current level, the majority will go with the first option, especially after 7 seasons without a playoff appearance.

 

Obviously, we'd love to do BOTH. But how realistic is that? Not very.

 

 

i just don't like giving that much as a bonus up front.

Good read.

 

http://philliesminorthoughts.com/yoan-monc...mount-of-money/

 

The other missed opportunity is saying that rather than spend on Moncada you are just going to spend all that money internationally with the penalty anyway. So what does $40M buy you in Latin America? For that $40M, you could buy every member of Baseball America’s Top 30 International prospects (a task the Yankees got 33% completed). No one on the market has Moncada’s upside, but that is a lot of potential and safety in numbers that could be bought for the same cost. Either way, you remove yourself from the international market for the next two seasons (although the ability to trade slots lessens that blow).

 

Has there been any discussion anywhere on whether the Cuban government is potentially going to get a cut of his money? I ask with no evidence to back this up. Just that Cuban defectors have been getting such huge contracts the last 4 years and now he's the first (as far as I know, ever) who was allowed to leave the country freely, go to Guatemala to establish residency in order to go to the MLB.

Another good read, less baseball ability-related, moreso just the crazy story of Moncada trying to come stateside to play in the MLB.

 

Yoan Moncada's Weird Story of Defection

 

For several months, Moncada was able to live in Guatemala in relative anonymity. Despite being a prized prospect and despite news of his exit from Cuba being known in baseball circles, most industry people had no idea where he was. Some speculated he was in Los Angeles. Some said he might be hiding in the Dominican Republic. But MLB.com writer Jesse Sanchez's story on November 2 announced to the baseball world that Moncada was living in Guatemala. Hastings said that article changed everything.

 

 

There is another Yoan that is also subject to the penalties, 21 year old RHP Yoan Lopez.

 

The 21-year-old is a flamethrower who can hit triple digits on the radar gun. He fashioned a 3.12 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 11 walks over 49 innings for Isla de la Juventud in Cuba’s Serie Nacional. That was his last season before he defected from Cuba.

 

He was previously declared a free agent by the Major League Baseball. Lopez, who has residency in Haiti, must be cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury before he can sign with a team. He held a showcase on November 8 and will show off his talent in front of big-league scouts next week. Lopez is 6-foot-4 and weights 190-pounds. He offers a cut-fastball, changeup, curveball and a slider.

There is another Yoan that is also subject to the penalties, 21 year old RHP Yoan Lopez.

 

The 21-year-old is a flamethrower who can hit triple digits on the radar gun. He fashioned a 3.12 ERA with 28 strikeouts and 11 walks over 49 innings for Isla de la Juventud in Cuba’s Serie Nacional. That was his last season before he defected from Cuba.

 

He was previously declared a free agent by the Major League Baseball. Lopez, who has residency in Haiti, must be cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Department of the Treasury before he can sign with a team. He held a showcase on November 8 and will show off his talent in front of big-league scouts next week. Lopez is 6-foot-4 and weights 190-pounds. He offers a cut-fastball, changeup, curveball and a slider.

Reads like a copy - can you link the source please?