For Boston Red Sox fans, news has broken that is about as big as the snow piles in the Boston area. The Red Sox have won the sweepstakes and have agreed to a deal with the Cuban star prospect Yoan Moncada. The deal is still working out the finer points pending a physical, but it is rumored to be in the $30 million area with a record bonus for an international signing. Plus, let’s not forget the tax the Red Sox will be paying on this signing, doubling the total investment cost right off the bat. Moncada is just 19 years old, but he is at the top of the crop of players coming over from Cuba right now. He is highly touted, and the Red Sox, who already have had a busy winter, just landed another piece to their makeover.
After leading the league in runs, and winning the World Series in 2013, Boston finished in last place last season. This offseason has seen them re-tool with the likes of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval added to the roster. Being only 19, Moncada figures to spend some time in the minors just to get acclimated to the process at the very least. Moncada would arguably be classified as one of the top minor league prospects in the game from day one. The time in the minors might also be used to try and determine the best positional fit for the youngster as well.
Moncada is a middle infielder by trade, but the Red Sox are conceivably set at those positions. They have Dustin Pedroia at second base, once top-prospect Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, along with Mike Napoli at first, and the new man Sandoval at third. With so much depth already, General Manager Ben Cherrington and manager John Farrell will have a challenging, but welcoming task in fitting all of the dynamic pieces together out on the field when the time comes.
After a down year, the Red Sox are certainly back on the map. The signing of Moncada may not play a factor on the field in 2015, but it certainly sets Boston up for a promising future of contending. They already have one of the top farm systems in the game, and with this signing the talent pool only deepens for Boston. If Moncada can deliver as expected, Red Sox Nation can look back to this winter as a memorable one, and not just for the record snow fall.
Lot of grammar and othere errors here, including missing words. Had to stop reading. Good article premise…but slow down.