Timeline: Top prospect Yoan Moncada's path to the White Sox roster
After the White Sox bolstered their farm system in a late-night trade with the Yankees Tuesday, Chicago recalled top prospect Yoan Moncada from Triple A Charlotte to make his Chicago debut.
The 22-year-old infielder has been a notable figure for several years now, dating back to his playing days in Cuba. Here's a timeline of his trek to the major leagues for a second time.
August 2011: Moncada stars in U-16 World Baseball Championship
As detailed in a Baseball America feature, Moncada begun to make a name for himself in the scouting community as a 16-year-old. In the seven-game World Baseball Championship tournament he slashed .417/.563/.667 while earning an all-star nod. In Cuba's under-16 national league that year, he hit .500 (!) over 158 plate appearances and stole 15 bases in 15 attempts.
June 2014: Moncada leaves Cuba to pursue career in MLB
Moncada's story of leaving Cuba is different than the dramatic tales that have been told about Yasiel Puig, Jose Fernandez and others. He played two seasons with Serie Nacional Cienfuegos and was subsequently granted his release by Cuba's National Baseball Commission. The Cuban government then allowed him a visa and passport to pursue a baseball career in the United States. He held private workouts with teams, most of which expected him to sign for more than $30 million. Because he carried the label of an amateur free agent and teams were bound to strict international signing budgets, anyone wishing to sign Moncada near his $30 million price tag had to pay 100 percent on every dollar spent over their allotted pool of bonus money. That inflated his real price to $60 million.
February 2015: Red Sox sign Moncada for $31.5 million
Overage tax included, Boston committed roughly $63 million to edge out the competition for Moncada. The previous record contract for an international amateur free agent had been $8.27 million given by the Diamondbacks to Yoan Lopez.
September 2016: Moncada makes major league debut with Red Sox
The Red Sox plucked Moncada out of Double A as 21-year-old September call-up. He had been labled Baseball America's top prospect in baseball at that point, hit over .300 in in Single-A and emerged on the major league roster as a .285 hitter in Double-A. But his debut didn't play out as fairytale as some hoped. Moncada walked in his first major league plate appearance and scored a run. He collected a pair of hits in each of his next two games, which amounted to the only hits he'd collect in eight games with the Red Sox. His major league slash line currently reads .211/.250/.263.
December 2016: Boston acquires Chris Sale in trade that sends Moncada to White Sox
Moncada served as the centerpiece to the Red Sox deal to acquire a new ace. He joined the White Sox with another one of Boston's top prospects, Michael Kopech, in addition to Luis Alexander Basabe and Victor Diaz.
July 18, 2017: White Sox recall Moncada from Triple A
Chicago called up Moncada on Tuesday after a blockbuster trade with the Yankees. In 80 games with Triple A Charlotte, Moncada is hitting .282 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs. He's primarily played second base, a position the White Sox have received little to no production at. On a team that has no intentions of playing baseball in October, Moncada should get a shot to be an everyday player.
