Geoffrey Moncada (AC Milan via Getty Images)
Geoffrey Moncada, AC Milan's technical area director, spoke to DAZN ahead of the match against Genoa
It’s a good match to prepare for the final
it’s important to win because it always gives confidence."
"Last year it was an incredible match with Olivier in goal
we know what we have to change and do better for the future."
he works a lot every day at Milanello with his staff
The Coppa Italia has nothing to do with it
On Friday we play a tough match at San Siro against Bologna
and it’s important to see him play a match."
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The Los Angeles Angels placed third baseman Yoan Moncada on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a right thumb strain
originally hurt his thumb in mid-March and had been trying to play through the injury
He is batting .190 (4-for-21) with two doubles and four RBIs in eight games in his first season with Los Angeles
Moncada signed a one-year, $5 million deal in February following eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox
In related moves, the Angels promoted infielder J.D. Davis from Triple-A Salt Lake and designated left-hander Jack Dashwood for assignment
He began his rehabilitation assignment with Single-A Inland Empire over the weekend
“It would be awesome to have his presence back,” manager Ron Washington said
“We’re forcing him to play nine innings tonight
And I certainly hope he makes it through.”
More news: Angels Give Up Unthinkable MLB History in Loss to Tigers
Moncada was placed on the injured list on April 10 due to an injury to his right thumb
with two doubles and four RBIs in eight games
Yoán Moncada has done a nice job defensively at 3B so far. pic.twitter.com/MY2EatGLSk
The exact return of Moncada remains uncertain
though he has been fielding balls for a few weeks and feels well doing so
leaving his hitting as the final aspect of his recovery
The thumb injury has been lingering since spring training
which has carried over into the regular season
resulting in a couple of missed games and subsequently being placed on the IL
More news: Angels' Ben Joyce Suffers Injury Setback, No Timetable for Return
Angels batters are struggling to generate consistent offense
making the return of Moncada even more important
as he can provide some offensive relief after what has been a tough couple of weeks
The Angels re-evaluated Moncada after Sunday's game and he can return as soon as the three-game home series against the Toronto Blue Jays that kicks off Tuesday
“It just depends on how he feels,” Washington said this weekend
we’ll give him a chance again tomorrow to see if everything is well
And then we'll just make a decision after tomorrow on how much longer he needs to stay.”
More news: Kenley Jansen Gets Brutally Honest About Struggles in Angels' Blowout Loss
For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI.
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Moncada (thumb) confident he'll be ready for Opening DayMarch 17th
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Third baseman Yoán Moncada has been dealing with a deep bone bruise in his right thumb
but he took grounders without any issues on Monday and is confident he’ll be ready for Opening Day against the White Sox on March 27
There’s at least a chance that Moncada could open the season on the injured list -- he’s still not cleared to hit or throw -- but Moncada said his goal is to get ready in time for the opener
and manager Ron Washington was more optimistic on Monday than he was on Sunday
“I feel like I'm gonna be ready for Opening Day,” Moncada said
Moncada, 29, was signed to a one-year deal worth $5 million on Feb
15 to be the club’s starting third baseman
But he’s dealt with injuries in recent years
including playing in just 12 games with the White Sox last year because of a left adductor strain
said he believes the trainers have a good plan for him to overcome this latest obstacle
He said he sustained the injury on Wednesday when he accidentally hit this thumb too hard on his glove
we’ll be implementing more things to get better and get ready.”
Washington said he was pleased to hear Moncada was feeling better on Monday
but he noted the Angels will have a backup plan just in case
who dealt with left hamstring tightness recently but has been back in the lineup
will get most of his reps at third base going forward
with veteran Tim Anderson the most likely candidate there
“There wasn't any [ligament] damage,” Washington said of Moncada
And we all recover from deep bruises differently
Gonna keep working and hope that when Opening Day shows up
who was signed to a Minor League deal on Feb
looks increasingly likely to make the team
but he has been clicking recently and has provided solid defense at second and short
the more comfortable I've been feeling,” Anderson said
And just being on top of things that I've been working on every day
It’s probably the most comfortable I’ve ever felt in spring.”
Kevin Newman is also on track to be the Opening Day shortstop with Zach Neto starting the year on the injured list after undergoing right shoulder surgery in November
There’s another bench spot up for grabs between J.D
with Davis likely having the slight edge because he can play third and bats right-handed
Scott Kingery also could find himself in the mix if Moncada opens the year on the injured list
No. 1 prospect Christian Moore and Kyren Paris also remain in camp
but it looks more likely that they will open the year in the Minors to get more seasoning
as they’ve both had some hiccups defensively
“They have taken tremendous strides,” Washington said
“But it's the little things that you gather by playing the game
and they're going to be good baseball players
they just got to keep gaining experience by being on the field and having an opportunity to react to those things.”
Angels tidbits• Closer Kenley Jansen left Spring Training to attend his mother’s funeral
But he’ll be back and throwing again on Tuesday
and he’ll be ready for the start of the season
• The Angels are still deciding on who will be their No. 2 hitter this season. Taylor Ward will lead off, Mike Trout will hit third and Jorge Soler will bat cleanup. Newman, Anderson and Rengifo are all candidates. A lineup resembling their potential Opening Day lineup will come Wednesday
• The Angels optioned reliever Michael Peterson, which clears things up in the bullpen. It’s a good sign for Rule 5 Draft lefty Garrett McDaniels, while No. 7 prospect Ryan Johnson remains in camp and is a wild card to make the roster
New Mexico - It was announced Friday morning that a pair of Aggies have been recognized by the Conference USA office
Emma Bunch has been named the CUSA Player of the Year for the second straight year and also earned a spot among the league’s first team all-conference selections
Marley Moncada was named Third Team All-CUSA following her third season with the program
Bunch becomes just the fourth golfer in CUSA history and first since FIU’s Meghan MacLaren (2015-16) to garner back-to-back player of the year honors
Bunch is also one of just two individuals to appear on the 2025 First Team All-CUSA list after also receiving a first team selection in 2024 – joined by WKU’s Catie Craig
was once again the Aggies’ top performer and is currently maintaining a scoring average of 71.6 across 27 rounds
85 in the nation by Scoreboard and sits at No
securing the title at the Golfweek Fall Challenge and the Spring Break Shootout
Bunch posted eight top-15 finishes this year
including seven top-10 finishes and four top-5 finishes
She also recorded a team-best six rounds in the 60s during her junior campaign
she has finished in the top 25 in 20 of her last 21 tournaments
Bunch most recently finished tied for first at the CUSA Championship where she shot a 210 (-6) across the three-day tournament in St
she was named the CUSA Golfer of the Week four times to serve as the only player in the conference to earn more than two weekly awards
Bunch also finished tied for 11th at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in a field of 72 of the top amateur golfers in the world to finish tied with SMU’s Mackenzie Lee for the lowest score by a first-time competitor in this year’s field
also finished the year as one of the top 15 ranked players in CUSA according to Scoreboard to garner the first all-conference selection of her career
Moncada played in nine rounds for the aggies and logged a season-best finish (T22) at the Dale McNamara Invitational after shooting a 224 (+11) across the three-day event
She finished the year with a 75.6 scoring average and submitted a season-low round of 71 in the opening round of the Golfweek Fall Challenge in Pawley’s Island
Moncada also competed as a member of the Aggie squad at the inaugural NB3 Match Play at Twin Warriors Golf Course in Santa Ana Pueblo
Adrian Ochoa is ABC-7’s Sports Director
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By CiberCuba Editorial Team
The Cuban Yoan Moncada, one of the Major League players who represented the island in the V World Baseball Classic
is increasingly close to returning to action with the Los Angeles Angels in the Major Leagues
after missing several games due to an injury to one of his hands
According to the specialized journalist Francys Romero on Facebook
the 29-year-old designated hitter continues to make progress in his rehabilitation process for his right thumb
which resulted in him being placed on the 10-day injured list
it is expected that Moncada could be activated this weekend or
His return would be good news for a team that needs to improve its offense
the former Chicago White Sox player is batting only .190 (21-4) this season
It is expected that Yoan Moncada will return to play this weekend or at the beginning of next week
the Cuban player is completing his rehabilitation process and could be activated soon to enhance the offense of the Los Angeles Angels
Yoan Moncada has had a modest start in the 2025 MLB season
His return is anticipated to contribute more to the Angels' offense
Yoan Moncada has dealt with frequent injuries over the past four seasons
These injuries have limited his participation to fewer than 220 games in four years
impacting his consistency on the field and his performance with the teams he has played for
The return of Yoan Moncada is good news for the Angels
His comeback could provide a significant boost to the team's lineup
which is aiming to improve its performance in the current MLB season
A team of journalists committed to reporting on Cuban current affairs and topics of global interest
we work to deliver truthful news and critical analysis
MLB Trade Rumors
By Steve Adams | April 10
10:46am: The Angels have formally announced Davis’ selection to the big league roster. Moncada is indeed headed to the 10-day injured list due to a right thumb sprain. Left-hander Jack Dashwood has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for Davis
signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the winter
The eight-year veteran didn’t originally make the cut this spring but has gotten out to a strong start with Triple-A Salt Lake
slashing .297/.357/.486 with a pair of homers
four walks and eight strikeouts in 42 plate appearances (9.5 BB%
75 overall pick by the Astros back in 2014
Davis debuted with Houston briefly in 2017
He didn’t get much of a look that year or in 2018
and the ’Stros traded him to the Mets ahead of the 2019 campaign
Davis was a productive hitter for the Mets and Giants
batting a combined .268/.352/.443 (119 wRC+) with 63 homers in just over 1800 plate appearances
but he also walked in 10.2% of his trips to the plate
Davis’ numbers slipped closer to average in the final season of that stretch
and he experienced a pronounced downturn at the plate in 2024 when he batted just .218/.293/.338 in 157 plate appearances between the A’s and Yankees
Davis actually cut his strikeout rate a few points last season and still made hard contact at a strong 43.7% clip
but his ground-ball rate spiked to a career-high 61.4%
a deluge of even well-struck grounders isn’t a recipe for success
Davis saw his ground-ball rate settle in just shy of 47%
signed a one-year deal this offseason that guaranteed him $5MM
He’s battled thumb pain throughout spring and the season’s early stages
He’s appeared in only eight games and tallied just 27 plate appearances
six walks and eight strikeouts (.190/.370/.286)
A ballyhooed international signing and one of the focal points of the failed White Sox rebuilding efforts
Moncada looked destined for stardom early in his career — so much so that Chicago signed him to a five-year
Given the switch-hitter’s .315/.367/.548
that contract seemed like a sound investment
But Moncada’s output in subsequent seasons has routinely been sapped by injuries
He appeared in only 404 games over the life of that five-year pact (which
included the shortened 2020 campaign) and hit just .244/.326/.395 along the way
That was roughly league-average production
much loftier expectations when signing him to that deal
The 27-year-old Dashwood was added to the Angels’ 40-man roster ahead of the 2024 Rule 5 draft
He only pitched 10 innings in Double-A last year due to injury
but Dashwood posted a 15-to-1 K/BB ratio in that time and followed that truncated season with a big performance in the Arizona Fall League: another ten innings with just four runs on 10 hits and a huge 17-to-2 K/BB mark
The 6’6″ southpaw has been rocked for a dozen runs through his first two Triple-A frames this season
The Angels will have five days to trade Dashwood
after which he’ll need to be placed on waivers
It’s possible he could be waived prior to that five-day mark as well
the Halos will get a resolution on his DFA within the next week
Los Angeles Angels Transactions J.D. Davis Jack Dashwood Yoan Moncada
It’s hard when the guy you’re paying a guy $35 million per year to allegedly play third but actually be a welfare brat
He’s seeing fastballs more than half the time
typically hitters see fastballs a little over 35% of the time
but they are not going to roll over either
There are very few pitchers that throw fastballs 35% of time
He has seen fastballs 65-68% of the time since 2011
You will see every player on the team is facing the same amount of fastball since they are all facing the same pitchers
They have already tried to throw him up in the zone
They will make more adjustments and eventually find something that works
The next 6 games against the 2 Texas teams will tell us a bit more about this team
They need to win at least 3 of the next 6 games if they are legit
but I heard something completely different yesterday
I don’t think it’s as high as you think it is
They will look for a hole in Paris’s swing
Adell is hitting over 400 on breaking balls
They typically don’t throw fastballs to players that can hit them
They will start throwing breaking balls to Paris
You can go to baseball savant and go to Mike Trout page
It will give you the breakdown of pitch tracking
and cutters are all classified as fastballs
Now that i see you only have Soriano at 2.3% when he throws mostly sinkers
You must be referring specifically to 4 seamers
You are mostly going to pitch up in the zone with 4 seamers
You are not to pitch up in the zone with sinker
so it is not like he doesn’t have a hole in his swing
That’s where I’m looking and that’s where I got the data
and their opinion was Paris was receiving an abnormally high percentage of hittable fastballs based on his past track record
It’s hard when the guy you’re paying $35 million per year to allegedly play third is actually just a welfare brat
So it’s really not pathetic to have a mlb player off the bench playing once a week
This ignores who is taking the starting spot
Which means ur going to see a lot more of Tim Anderson
Not good the Angles to be trying to compete with two players that failed for the White Soxs
It’s really not doom and gloom because Paris wasn’t playing now he’s starting and he’s been the hottest hitter even since spring training
4 homeruns in the last 5 games and like three game winning hits
Uncle – Rengifo doesn’t have to play CF with Paris and Adell
Right now we have enough healthy depth to cover this
Why is anyone talking about Anderson or Moncada
Why do people talk about neto moving to second base
Real talk it’s actually a blessing not a curse the infield is going to be how it’s should’ve been to start the year
Neto didn’t show a lot of range last year and he has a surgically repaired shoulder
And Anderson is likely a better shortstop
the Angels have not shown any sign they are moving him off short
Paris and Schanuel being our infield next week
I wouldn’t mind if moancada plays first every once in awhile for schanuel because he has looked like crap
Paris can play center once a week to let Anderson play
Thats first place in the AL Angels too you little boy nasty
Disclaimer not saying they will win the world series
Fine maybe he hasn’t looked at the standings
but Texas has played more games so it’s possible
Puts them a game behind Texas with one less game played so atleast a tie is possible
you should check things before you say them then
Either it’s probably in response to people saying the angels will be lucky to win 40 games
Yes several people said it probably the same person with 5 accounts but it was said
Another series win from the dumpster diving angels with no prospects
I’m glad it’s silenced the detractors
All they can say is 5 million dollars for moancada is crazy which is the going rate for a backup
It works out for Davis because he might stick with the club
I think Lopez is gone in a week hopefully players are using his torpedo bat while they can
Yep I would say they suck so bad they can’t compete with the whitesox
I would ask if you watched any games or have anything to support your claims
but your probably like Chris Matthew’s
Not when you consider that Rendon and Moncada are injured (i.e.
the projected starting 3B and backup 3B) and now Rengifo will likely be starting at 3B
with JD Davis simply taking a bench spot as the 26th player
This is fairly decent depth considering the scenario
Its much harder to see Moncada on the field
3rd base is a vast Angels vortex of nothingness
@nukeg I’m guessing Rengifo will just take over 3rd at some point this season
and everything will be fine with Neto at short and Paris at 2nd
The Angels signed Rendon and Moncada to play 3B
It appears ownership is trying but the players are China dolls that have no interest once signed
And here I had such high hopes for the Angels
They’ve got some exciting young players and were going to be one of the big surprises of this season
But now that has all been shut down with the addition of JD “waaaaaa” Davis
Neto is playing short in the minors already so he’s coming back very soon
Moancada and rendon on the dl was expected Paris came out of nowhere and is raking so they aren’t needed
I don’t think Davis gets cut unless Moncada comes back
Moncada was supposed to be the everyday 3B and now that’s Davis
But Davis is either starting at 3B or a bench bat for the foreseeable future
So i agree moancada was the third baseman until Paris emerged he came out of centerfield pun intended
Lopez hasn’t even played but once and a pitched out of the bullpen he’s definitely going to be cut
It might come down to Davis or Anderson down the line
Newman i think is safe because he’s a good defender
Lugo could be the 4th outfielder and occasional 2nd baseman
@Rex Seeing as the front office has been cutting minor league guys and has difficulty admitting when its wrong about signing people
I wouldn’t be surprised if its Noda or Kavadas
as both Lopez and Newman were signed to major league contracts
I don’t think we will see Moncada for a while on the 10 day disabled list
I’m sure he’s going need to go Salt Lake City for rehab
he’s a decent backup/ defensive replacement
I wouldn’t mind Davis taking some time away from Schanuel he’s looking like crap defensively
Rex – Spot on to me with just about everything you said
I will add that Newman is not making much and he can not only solid D
but he is also good at a number of positions
who Wash has gotten back to where I think he is the best defensive player on the team
I am not so sure about Moancada’s glovework
His bad defense twice with men on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs cost 4 runs in a 1 run loss
He also did this in bad form and moved his body out of the path of the ball
This was not hit overly hard and I am sure Wash took note
Kellin – I think the release of Crouse
was that got hurt and another team might not want to add someone like that to the 40 man roster
If that is the case the Angels could resign him to a minor league deal and have him off the 40 man roster
Yeah that’s why I think Lopez is on his way out
He’s a glove first player that looked bad so far
Probably because he hasn’t played very much
but Anderson has done enough to stick around he atleast fits Washington style if he can’t hit he does enough small things to stick around
Yeah Washington said something about moancada
He said it was bad form when you leave your feet your glove goes up and he needed to plant his feet to keep the glove down
Moancada has looked good before his injury so who knows if that was part of the problem but it’s also a finger injury so probably not
but he’s mad they didn’t protect him
I don’t see why they didn’t cut Lopez and put him on the IL or even cut dashwood earlier
It’s grasping at straws but now he’s definitely not coming back when he’s healthy next year to save guys that aren’t in the plans and on the way out
Crouse brought up his era in the majors and high strikeout rate in the minors and said he was disappointed they released him
and told him about how he was out for the year after
Rex – If Crouse passes thru the Angels try to resign him right after that he could then use the Angels staff and medical personnel for his injury
There is risk but you can’t load up your 40 man and this really is the best time to do this because other teams will see this as a riskier clame for a player that will take up a roster spot for over a year
Yeah it but it seems like it pissed him off
They told him he torn his lat three hours after he was released
They could’ve stuck him on the IL but arte probably didn’t want to pay for his rehab
Sounds like he’s a future padre or dodger since he’s from the area
Rex – Crouse is still not a sure thing and he would have to come off the IL sometime and will need that space as they like to promote guys and every player that gets to the majors needs a roster spot that he keeps when is sent down
That roster spot is hard to keep for someone like him
The timing helps the Angels keep him because other teams are in the same boat
except they have less Idea about his injury
I think in the short amount of time the process will take and if try to sign him at that time
knowing the facts better than anyone may pass
This all may have very little to do with his pay
but so is most of the bullpen because they all had small sample sizes
I think his performance in spring training was injury related
He would be a nice piece next year with kenley being a free agent
They probably have guys they need to protect next year
I just like crouse and feel like there was room to sneak him in
He’s very much not happy with the Angels and won’t be coming back
The whole thing looks bad on the Angels front office
I really can’t understand why they did that
considering he pitched well for the team last year
and as far as I’m aware of was doing well in the minors
but a flyball pitcher who can’t throw strikes needs to have an exceptional KRate survive
I’m guessing it’s came down to paying for his rehab
maybe they feel like he wouldn’t have a spot next year
But yeah that’s why I said arte like trading prospects for goilito and Lopez and putting the whole team on waivers two weeks later
Hopefully there’s a another guy in the minors ready to breakout next year
I just don’t see the reasoning behind it
I told them it’s a bad way to evaluate a pen using ERA
Who cares what the pen’s ERA is when the outcome of the game is not in the balance
It’s been an important part of this team’s start
This isn’t the pen of the last half dozen years
Stephenson coming back in June and health of the others is more than enough
You were alluding that he’s doesn’t strikeout enough
I get it’s just a sample size I just don’t get why they did what they did
All I said is he needed an exceptional KRate
There is very little wiggle room for flyball relievers with poor command
I just don’t get why we kept saurez for so long because of his untapped potential hehe
They should have more relievers ready next year so maybe that was the thinking behind it
Just sounds like he was looking forward to playing with the halos next year
I definitely would rather him over a waiver wire pickup
I seldom understand why this organization does things the way it does
I couldn’t believe Moncada got $5mil guaranteed
“Cobb got 15..moncada for 5″…As far as I’ve heard
Cobb doesn’t have the reputation of quitting on his team or being a malingerer
Angels are under the first tax so the price doesn’t matter
He’s going to be a backup with how Paris is playing so it doesn’t matter to pay 5 million for a decent but limited third baseman ( injured) because they don’t need him full-time
go ahead and tie them together with the use of a dead gameshow host
@spooky go ahead and try to say the angels suck
Moancada on the IL isn’t a big deal is my point
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim currently playing in Tampa has a nice ring to it
They will hit at least 400 HR in that stadium
Over-Under on games played by Moncada this season
🥱 Moncada – true to form collecting his $$ from the training table
Exactly doesn’t matter rengifo is the third baseman
newman and Anderson split shortstop until neto comes back
Jack Dashwood admittedly deserved to be DFA’d based on performance
He will have more HRs than Rendon by All-star game
you and I will tie Rendon in HRs over the ’24 and ’25 seasons at no cost to the Halos
we need to sue the Angels for providing same output as Rendon
Yoan Moncada returns to his home of the injured list
they both exceeded their limits last year or earlier
Maybe his dream is about moore hitting two homeruns
The prophecy of Denzel Washington hasn’t happened yet
I don’t even look at it until we are at least 40 games in
I think the Angels brought in some great mentors for the young core
and D’Arnaud all seem to be impacting the young core in a positive manner
They have all had success at one point and they Angels haven’t had a lot of these guys around
I think Anderson will be perfect for Neto to learn from
Yeah Hendricks and Tyler Anderson have me nervous or atleast I’m ready for some clunkers
Like how they have a seasoned vet in every position to help the younger players out
I didn’t know how tim Anderson would be in the clubhouse
He definitely doesn’t have many friends
That’s probably because he’s a old school guy
hard slide to knock the ball out type of player
but that’s definitely a Washington player
Playing time is going to get tight for him once neto gets back
and Anderson might be down to one game a week
Maybe Moancada gives schanuel a break at 1st
Two times through the rotation and he has been their best starter
I agree that there will be days ahead where he gets knocked around
I thought he was already done and he would come out the gate looking like Matt Harvey
I have no idea why the Angels made the rotation with Soriano and Kochanowicz back to back and then two soft tossers like Anderson and Hendricks back to back
Why would you put 2 sinker ballers in row
Seems like they should alternate the sinker ballers and the soft tossers rather than going with two similar pitchers back to back
and it almost caught Hendricks luckily d’arnaud went to the mound and changed things up
Luckily Hendricks has a good pitch mix i think he went to the changeup
I think it’s pretty clear to me that the reason they have been throwing the same type of pitchers back-to-back is because those teams have bad numbers against that type of pitchers
or they have good career stats against that team
It really has worked out well that they have been able set it up so good this far
I have heard more than one of the other team’s fans complain about facing them
Cardinal fans were complaining about how they knew they would probably have to face Hendricks before the season even started
This approach underscores the importance of organizational depth and the ability to adapt quickly to player injuries
ensuring that team performance remains consistent throughout the season
Wasn’t Dash Jackwood in some kind of movies
There shouldn’t be commas around “notably” when it’s used in that context
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Moncada puts his thumb to the test with rehab assignmentMay 4th
ANAHEIM -- Angels third baseman Yoán Moncada is nearing a return
He began a rehab assignment with Single-A Inland Empire on Saturday
the Angels shuffled their bullpen before Saturday night’s game against the Tigers
calling up right-handers Touki Toussaint and Michael Darrell-Hicks while lefty Jake Eder was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake and lefty Garrett McDaniels landed on the 15-day injured list with left biceps tendinitis
who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a bruised right thumb on April 10
started at third base and went 0-for-2 with two walks against Lake Elsinore
Angels manager Ron Washington said he’s hoping Moncada will return soon and provide a much-needed boost to the lineup
“It would be awesome to have his presence back,” Washington said
who signed a one-year deal worth $5 million in the offseason
with two doubles and four RBIs in eight games before going on the IL
The Angels could use his ability to get on base
as their .268 on-base percentage entering Saturday ranked last in the Majors
He also would provide an upgrade defensively
as Luis Rengifo has struggled at third base and is better at second
Washington said there’s no exact timetable for when Moncada will return but he has been fielding grounders and hitting from the right side for several weeks
His last step is hitting from the left side
He originally injured his thumb in Spring Training and tried to play through the injury before suffering a setback on April 4
He played again on April 9 but left after striking out in his lone at-bat and was placed on the IL on April 10
Moncada is a career .254/.332/.423 hitter in 10 seasons but was limited to 12 games with the White Sox last year because of a left adductor strain
Washington said the Angels will take his rehab assignment day to day
He also could move up to Salt Lake before returning
“It just depends on how he feels,” Washington said
Washington also said the Angels needed fresh arms
which is why Toussaint had his contract selected from Salt Lake and Darrell-Hicks was recalled
who had a 4.62 ERA in 25 1/3 innings with the Angels in ’22
had a 5.32 ERA with 19 strikeouts and 14 walks in 22 innings with Salt Lake this year
has a career 5.39 ERA in seven MLB seasons
Darrell-Hicks had a 6.75 ERA in 6 2/3 innings with the Angels in April but rolled off 4 2/3 scoreless innings after scuffling in his first two outings
The 27-year-old had a 6.75 ERA with 10 strikeouts and five walks in 10 2/3 innings at Triple-A
“And we certainly needed him to be back here
And I hope he comes here with his veteran presence
because he’s got some weapons that can help us.”
whose contract was purchased from the White Sox on March 30
was sent down after posting a 7.71 ERA in three appearances
including allowing two runs and recording one out in Friday's 9-1 loss
McDaniels, a Rule 5 Draft pick from the Dodgers who must stay on the roster all season
including allowing three runs in one inning in Thursday’s 10-4 loss
The 25-year-old pitched with diminished velocity and told the training staff about his discomfort
“It’s just something that recently came up
but we’re trying to protect him,” Washington said
I don't think he would know how to go out there and pitch with a little bit of pain
Yoan Moncada could be just what the doctor ordered
The switch-hitting infielder has always had a world of talent albeit somewhat unrealized
There have been glimpses of a player with considerable upside
a mixture of general inconsistency coupled with injuries have hindered his ability to progress as a player
Moncada had been dealing with a strained thumb
but was ultimately put on the IL on April 10
Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register mentioned Moncada and the progress he's making with the thumb injury
With the participation baseball activities ramping up
it appears as if the Angels could be receiving some help sooner than later
More news: Angels Manager Reveals Why Mike Trout Was Removed From Wednesday's Game
finally started taking some swings left-handed in the cage
Moncada has been hitting from the right side for more than a week and he’s been doing defensive drills throughout his time on the injured list," Fletcher wrote
“He said he didn’t feel anything (when swinging left-handed)
you never know what’s going to happen,” [Manager Ron] Washington said
“We’ve just got to keep going and keep ramping it up
and then we can get him back on the field.”
Moncada's numbers to begin the 2025 season won't exactly blow anyone away
he did accumulate a respectable .370 on-base percentage
This would rank Moncada first on the team for a player with more than one appearance
Two #Angels hitters have an OBP above league average: Yoán Moncada (who played 8 games before getting hurt) and Nolan Schanuel.I’d have Schanuel leadoff for that reason
No one is expecting Moncada to suddenly morph into an elite player
there's plenty of playing time available for Moncada to grab in a low-pressure situation
he was considered a can't-miss prospect
he could be the type of player emerging later than most
If he can be even develop into a league-average player
More news: Angels Make Major Change to Starting Rotation
For more Angels news, head over to Angels on SI
The Los Angeles Angels agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with free agent third baseman Yoan Moncada
probably rounds out the Angels' lineup for the 2025 season
Moncada notably plays the position previously occupied by Anthony Rendon
who has been a disappointment since signing a seven-year
Angels general manager Perry Minasian indicated throughout the offseason that
the organization can't necessarily count on Rendon
who played in less than a third of the Angels' games and produced only a .666 OPS over the past four seasons
By adding Moncada, who has played strictly third base over the past seven seasons, Rendon no longer has a clear pathway for playing time. He can spell Moncada at third base on occasion and perhaps replace the left-handed-hitting Nolan Schanuel at first when the Angels face a tough lefty
the Angels will undoubtedly find a consistent place for him in the lineup
with the designated-hitter slot also an option
Moncada, a 29-year-old switch-hitter, also has something to prove. Once the jewel of the Red Sox farm system, Moncada broke out in 2019 and turned in a solid season with the Chicago White Sox in 2021
But he has slashed just .236/.291/.387 while playing in only 208 games over the past three seasons
for a White Sox team that lost a record 121 games
sitting out five months because of an adductor strain
The White Sox declined Moncada's $25 million option
Now, he represents the latest addition in an Angels offseason headlined by the trade for corner outfielder Jorge Soler and the signing of starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi
Moncada also represents some necessary insurance for Rendon
who's heading into his age-35 season and has been beset by injuries to his oblique
"We have to be open to at least looking at that spot and seeing if there are other alternatives that will make us better," Minasian said during the winter meetings in December
"Obviously a healthy Anthony Rendon makes us better
but with the last four years being the last four years
we need to take a look at what else is out there."
Giorgio Furlani and Geoffrey Moncada (AC Milan via Getty Images)
On one side, there are the Rossoneri who no longer have anything to ask from the league, but they hope to win the Coppa Italia also to earn the right to a spot in the Europa League. On the other side, the Rossoblu thank Patrick Vieira for having led them to a calm salvation after the great initial fear. One of the few with additional motivation is Morten Frendrup
who has been in Geoffrey Moncada’s sights for months
Youssouf Fofana has never had a real alternative this season
An important gap that the Rossoneri intends to fill in view of the next season: Geoffrey Moncada is studying the possibility of Morten Frendrup
one of the best-performing midfielders this Serie A season
The evaluations are mainly about his adaptability to Milan’s tactical setup
the red and black club already knows that Genoa would not want to go below 20 million euros
This upcoming summer will mark Frendrup’s farewell to Genoa
and could close the deal at the end of the season
Milan enjoys the player’s preference and must now decide whether to strike or not: tomorrow evening’s match at the Marassi seems exactly like a classic final exam
Angels add veteran Moncada as primary option at 3BFebruary 16th
TEMPE, Ariz. -- After enduring plenty of highs and lows during his eight-year stint with the White Sox, third baseman Yoán Moncada is ready for a fresh start with the Angels
Moncada’s one-year deal worth $5 million became official on Saturday and he joined the club for workouts on Sunday. He’s set to be the club’s starting third baseman, as veteran Anthony Rendon will be undergoing left hip surgery that is expected to cause him to miss significant time
so I'm taking advantage of it,” Moncada said through interpreter Marco Peralta
“I had a couple offers from different teams
but I really enjoyed the expectations that the Angels have
And obviously being able to have the chance to play with Mike Trout really motivated me.”
Angels manager Ron Washington views Moncada as his primary option at third and said he’s already enjoyed working with him defensively
“He's a very talented guy and he's certainly got a lot of baseball left inside of him,” Washington said
“We're gonna stay in the process and give him opportunity with the Angels to bring it out
I think he can be a guy that can be someone you can count on
Moncada didn't quite live up to the sky-high expectations that traveled with him to Chicago in December 2016
That’s when a 21-year-old Moncada was acquired by the White Sox from Boston as part of a five-player trade that sent left-handed ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox
Moncada entered 2016 as MLB Pipeline’s No. 7 overall prospect, and by the start of his first season with the White Sox, he was the No. 2 prospect
Some considered him a faster version of Robinson Canó
But by the time he reached free agency this offseason
one 20-homer season and no years with more than 12 stolen bases with Chicago
Moncada knows he has plenty to prove while joining the Angels on a one-year deal but said he’s not trying to put any extra pressure on himself in his new environment
“I just want to be a player that's able to help out my team,” he said
and just be able to help whatever way I can.”
when he slashed .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs across 559 plate appearances
But Moncada’s upside as a hitter has often been capped by strikeouts
and he recorded a K rate above 30% in 2017
The 29-year-old infielder has been hampered by injuries in more recent seasons and has missed at least 58 games in each of the past three years. In 2024, a left adductor strain suffered on April 9 limited Moncada to only 12 games
“It’s very unfortunate that I have that history of injuries
but now I'm very thankful that those injuries are gone in my past,” Moncada said
and I feel just ready to go and play baseball.”
Defensively, Moncada came up as a second baseman, but he was moved to the hot corner in 2019 and has been serviceable since. He has compiled 11 Outs Above Average over the past six seasons
although his OAA total is minus-1 since the beginning of 2023
But Moncada will benefit from the tutelage of Washington
Goins and Moncada were teammates on the White Sox from 2019-20
Moncada was also teammates with Anderson from 2017-23
forming a middle infield pair for two years before the former moved to the hot corner
“I really feel like this group of coaches is going to help me a whole lot,” Moncada said
he's really good at his infield defensive drills
and our infield coach is really good at that as well.”
and Paolo Scaroni of AC Milan (Getty Images)
The sporting director is not an easy figure to identify. As reported by Corriere dello Sport
the odds were rising for Tony D’Amico (sporting director of Atalanta)
has locked down his sporting director by declaring that he will have the enormous task of creating
Among the circle of management associates, there are also Gerry Cardinale, the owner of the club, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, senior advisor. While the former, a few days ago, was in Italy precisely to try, unsuccessfully, to mend the rift with Paratici, the latter instead put forward Igli Tare
Furlani also met with the former Lazio man but without a 100% positive outcome
that could see the confirmation of the current corporate structure
especially because Moncada is studying precisely to take on that role within a club
Moncada day to day after exiting home opener with injuriesApril 5th
ANAHEIM -- It all started out so promising
Superstar Mike Trout delighted the sold-out crowd in the home opener with a homer in his first at-bat at Angel Stadium this season in the first inning
And the Angels tacked on three more runs in the third
keyed by two-out hits from Nolan Schanuel and Jo Adell
Moncada also couldn’t handle a grounder with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth
which scored two runs and proved to be the decisive blow
But manager Ron Washington sounded confident that all three will avoid the injured list
“Rengifo has some [hamstring] tightness and I didn’t want to take any chances
but he should be good tomorrow,” Washington said
“Moncada aggravated his thumb a little bit
so I probably won’t have him in there tomorrow
And Zeferjahn has some [hamstring] tightness
but Trout showed that he’s starting to shake off his early-season slump
as he homered for a second straight game and also drew a leadoff walk in the third that led to a three-run rally
Trout crushed a 98 mph fastball from right-hander Gavin Williams to right-center
as he was able to get the pitch that was located up and away
But Rengifo was forced to leave the game after that three-run inning
as he injured his left hamstring while running the bases on Adell’s go-ahead two-run single
It’s the same hamstring that kept him out of action during Spring Training
tried to build on his dominant first start of the year that saw him throw seven scoreless frames against the White Sox but was undone by a solo homer from Ramírez in the first and a game-tying
But he did strike out a career-high nine batters and left with the game tied with one out in the sixth
“I felt great tonight but I just missed a couple pitches
especially to Ramírez,” Soriano said through interpreter Manny Del Campo
“He’s a very smart hitter and a really good hitter
Zeferjahn replaced Soriano but left the game after throwing a pitch to Bo Naylor
as he injured his right hamstring a few pitches earlier
He tried to test it out with a practice pitch and had to leave the game
but he said he was feeling better afterward
“I felt it a couple pitches before I came out
we got it early and I'll be able to get back out there
And think it was just little cramp/tightness-type thing.”
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Left-hander Reid Detmers came into the game and walked Naylor and Gabriel Arias but appeared to be getting out of the jam by getting Brayan Rocchio to ground to third
Moncada couldn’t handle it on his sliding attempt
“I think if he would’ve stayed on his feet and reached down there
Moncada also had trouble with a grounder in the seventh that was ruled a hit
He then left the game after striking out in the seventh
as he reinjured his right thumb that plagued him during Spring Training and nearly caused him to miss Opening Day
But he’s hopeful he’ll be able to return in a few days
but nothing serious,” Moncada said through Del Campo
“It happened on my last swing in my last at-bat
I’m going to do everything possible I can do to be back as quick as I can.”
During the usual episode of DAZN’s podcast Step on Football
offering his personal prediction on the future of Sergio Conceição
tying it to the Rossoneri’s management structure:
"In my opinion, Conceição wants to stay
if he shows consistency with this change of formation
I think he has figured out how to take charge of the dressing room
how to make peace with players like Fofana and Pulisic
Fofana wasn’t untouchable at the start—now he is
He was in and out of the lineup because I think there was some friction at the beginning
but now he’s understood how to find the right balance
He’s used the same starting XI four times in a row
Conceição has Milan in his hands right now
He can have a strong end to the season and win the Coppa Italia
would do well to listen to him and give him what he wants
Milan is in such confusion that they don’t even know who to appoint as sporting director
Ibra all want to remain in control—and Conceição is the right man for them."
Milan won't appoint a new sporting director
and the current ones will remain in charge
and Conceição will get much more out of it."
By Nick Deeds | March 16
Rengifo started the club’s spring game yesterday at third base and declared to reporters (including Fletcher) that he would be ready for Opening Day
but acknowledged that Rengifo does have enough time to be ready for the start of the season so long as he avoids any further setbacks
it’s easy to imagine that versatility being key to Angels’ plans for Rengifo in the near future
In other positive injury news, Fletcher relays that shortstop Zach Neto has been making progress as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery
Neto has already been ruled out for Opening Day
but isn’t expected to miss much of the regular season as he’s already ahead of his expected schedule
The 24-year-old has yet to progress to facing live pitching
but is preparing for game action by standing in the box for the bullpen sessions of his teammates and is currently throwing from 105 feet
nearly the full length from shortstop to first base
The Halos’ top hitter by both bWAR and fWAR last year
Neto figures to slide back into his job as the club’s everyday shortstop sometime in April as things stand
Los Angeles Angels Notes Luis Rengifo Yoan Moncada Zach Neto
He’d be a great relief pitcher who gives up walkoffs
I’m not sure what’s worse: a front office who keeps thinking they can rely on habitual injured players or a medical and training staff who suck at their job
Signing injured guys knowing your medical staff sucks would seem to be a front office issue
definitely not a logical thing to be doing
Part of me would like to extend Rengifo but the injury thing is a real concern
Hopefully he has a blistering May/June and we get a great return for him
I predict we finally get our first 100 loss season this year
Fangraphs projects 76 wins and PECOTA says 74 wins
both projecting another last place division finish for your Halos
Our angels will be 1st or 2nd place a d win the west
Let us know when and if you return to reality
He’s obligated to respond on mlbtr with nonsense
but it wouldn’t surprise if the Sacramento a’s edge them out
Angels have never lost 100 games because they have always been on some level of win-now mode
The big difference is that they foolishly switched from a pitching/defense organization to offense and top heavy WAR
the latter of which failed due to constant injuries and struggles by their stars
Not even an end of his rope Frank Robinson
Maybe I’m stuck in the age of superstars
But even though I love O’Hoppe and Neto
This team now has the make up of a team that has to pile on an endless list of 1-3 WAR payers in order to compete
unless the Angels are the same point they were going into 1995 when their young players suddenly broke out and turned a team that had one winning season since 1986 into a juggernaut lineup
Perry added some players that are incrementally better than the guys they replaced and they add up to the Angels being 4 or 5 wins better than last season
If Trout is healthy for 100 games then maybe 7-8 wins better
We have the same problem this year that we’ve had for the last decade or more – pitching
Guys like Suarez have a moment of solid performance and the Angels think that’s their new normal and hang on to them for years waiting for them to repeat it
I can name countless others with the same result
No team in history has batted their way to a World Series
the only bright spot with our pitching staff is the back end of the BP
He has shown that he can’t hit major league pitching yet there he is in a platoon in CF
Dude’s never had a full year in the minors
The Angels ruined his development because of it
Of course moncada is our starting 3rd baseman
Davis is a consistent league avg to 1 WAR guy and Yoan has had a few 4-5 WAR years
Moancada wasn’t really hitting in spring training
This just means Anderson will be the 2nd baseman
It’s probably better it’s happening earlier so we can see how Davis
and Anderson look instead of just losing before the season starts by them opting out for not making the roster
that moves to definitely will if Rengifo is hurt
As a White Sox fan I hope they do well and bring joy to your club
As always with Moncada the question is will he be healthy
Newman and Rengifo will probably get more games at 3B than he does
It is nice to hear good injury news for the Angels for a change
It would be so nice to have both of those guys ready even close to opening day
Hopefully Moncada’s thumb injury is minor
Prov 356: I hope you’re doing well sir; God Bless
Things are great and we’re blessed beyond what we deserve
I don’t know anything about Christian Moore except he has all of 98 plate appearances in AA where he whiffed almost 30% of the time
What is with their constant rushing of prospects to the majors
Poorly run franchise with no depth that is very shortsighted
At least in terms of drafting college players and skipping most of the minor leagues
Angels may be tapping into something that leads to a change in MLB’s approach to drafting and rebuilding
Much of MLB is talking about what the Angels are doing
Even if it doesn’t result in a winning team this year or the next
why keep drafting out of high school and waiting years and years for most of these kids to either quit
The last first round pick the Angels took that has already gotten an All Star pick at some point in his career was CJ Cron (All Star in 2022 with COL) who was the 2011 draft pick
Now Neto likely will get one but that’s hardly the draft model to prop up as elite
It’s not like there wasn’t talent in the areas where they have been drafting either
Most players are better off skipping out farm system
NCAA Baseball is a minor league system all on its own
Troy Glaus was drafted out of college and won the AL HR crown just 3 years later
The NFL drafts their next starting QB right out of college
Angels are proving or just showing that baseball’s minor league system could just be arbitrary to the whole process of building for the future
Jim Edmonds was drafted at 18 and didn’t get called up until he was 23
Might have broken out earlier if he had gone to college
Jim Abbott never played a minor league game after the Halos drafted him out of Michigan
the economic state of MLB is such that most organizations have to build from within these days just to be competitive
Gone are the days when a team could just sign Moises Alou to 3 year contract and get a possible .300+/30 HR/100 RBI season without breaking the bank
And I think MLB may possibly be looking towards a time when teams finally just draft their next star bat or ace starting pitcher out of college and right to the MLB roster
just a much shorter stint in the minors to get ready
I think Perry Minasian is probably thinking about something like that
I think Nolan Schanuel holding his head above water so soon after being drafted is pretty remarkable
Angels may be onto something with quicker rebuilding
The “player development” staff in the Angels farm kills players instead of makes them MLB ready
I would lean towards college pitchers over HS pitchers
I intentionally double counted multiple winners (Kershaw
since that meant that they were even better than just an ordinary draft pick
because there are a lot of good players that have never been named MVP
He cooled off and got hurt maybe he was playing through a injury
Some teams collect prospects like Pokémon cards
and never get called up or can’t make adjustments to hit in the mlb
Schanuel probably isn’t going to be a super star
With 15 hrs isn’t terrible for someone that had under 20 games in the minors
It just different philosophies with the same results because the draft is hit n miss
I think the Angels best lineup has Rengifo in the outfield and Tim Anderson at SS
That moves Neto to second and gives the Angels the option to DH Trout exclusively
that’s what I’d do with Trout at this point
I liked the possibility of Sheets getting some ABs this season too
Anderson’s bat has been nonexistent the past two seasons and the Angels traded for Jorge Soler to be the DH
I agree that Trout should become a full time DH at this point in his career
probably won’t happen until 2026 or 2027
because that may be too late to keep his potent bat in the lineup regularly
Did you see that throw from RF he made Friday
Opposing team had the scouting report on that arm
He missed the cutoff by a country mile and just nothing behind it
There’s a reason Ward got moved from RF to LF
Everyone ran second to third on Ward back when he was in right
He seems to have some strange amalgamation mashup of the Angels/White Sox circa 2021
he’s not likely to give up playing the OF just yet
if Trout is the DH than Soler is in the OF and thats not good either
his bat is nonexistent and his defense isn’t what it was
Neto is arguably the Angels best player right now so why move him off of his position for an aging veteran whose range is diminishing and has gone 400 AB’s since his last Home Run
Andersons legs may be shot as he was unfortunately felled by an injury during a rundown w the Sox
but he’ll give 100% when on the field
Ironically both TA and Moncada had exceptional runs in the World Baseball Classic for teams USA and Cuba before getting felled in the snake bit ’23 season
Anderson hit .300+ in consecutive seasons when he had it going
don’t discount the guy because he has been through some difficult times
You haven’t watched TA play in the past few years or this spring
In his entire career TA never put up a single season as good as Neto was last season
hitting over .300 in MLB these days is very difficult
Anderson has done it multiple times over a season
TA bonded really well w Trout when they were leading Team USA at the World Baseball classic
If anyone can get them going collectively it’s Wash
Kinda like the Angels as a dark dark sleeper
Been a long time since Anderson has been even an average MLB hitter
The last two season he has a .544 OPS and 51 OPS+
Wash said before today’s game that while he was hopeful that Neto and Moncada would be available soon
that today we would see pretty much the opening day lineup
Anderson will not be the SS for the Angels
He will either opt out or start the season with the Bees and hope he can return to actually hitting the ball
I like Anderson to return to form this year
Time to burn the whole thing down and start fresh
They have a lot of rookies and young players in starting roles as it is
The key issue isn’t whether they have young talent; it’s about how those players are developed and integrated into a cohesive
A “youth movement” without the proper supporting infrastructure—a solid farm system
and strategic long-term planning—does not guarantee success
the Angels’ problem isn’t just about player acquisition; it’s about roster mismanagement
and failure to build around their marquee players like Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout
If the team is unwilling to align its financial and roster decisions with a more patient
The true “burning down” needs to occur not in the personnel
which remains structurally flawed and inconsistent in terms of long-term success
Simply relying on rookies without addressing the fundamental issues around the team’s infrastructure could lead to another cycle of mediocrity
The Angels didn’t have a pitching lab until this season
the spring training facility had the weight room in a tent for years
and the major league players were housed and worked out on the minor league side
The Cardinals’ “pitching lab” is an abandoned Little League field in East St
Some enthusiastic staffer hung an old mop bucket on the back stop horizontally
There is a sign painted on cardboard wired to the fence that says “throw it here”
Mo and the front office expect this “investment” to begin paying off any time now
The rest of the league will be intimidated by the Cardinals’ “process”
Angels could be two or three front line starters from competing legitimately
The Angels are one ancient owner selling or leaving this plane from being able to build a competitive organization and MLB team
Unless you’re the Dodgers and spending endless amounts of money on your roster
Halos are in a MUCH better position personnel-wise this Spring than last Spring
Also think development is heading in a positive direction
I suspect Yoan Moncada has posters of Anthony Rendon on his wall
Moncada is going to hit this year and Angels fans will be happy that they have salvaged two seasons of 30M on Rondon
Just hope that Kyren Paris and Matthew Lugo make the team
They both have looked good in spring and certainly deserve it
Arte and Wash will take the veterans to Anaheim and when the team is in last place by Memorial Day and Trout goes home for the rest of the season they’ll cut them and bring up the kids
He’s looked good both at the plate and in the field
Should be first called up for an outfield spot as soon as there is an injury
Lugo has been primarily an infielder and only recently shifted to outfield
he could bring tremendous versatility to the roster
I understand that he’s unlikely to make it
but he deserves a spot ahead of Moniak and JD Davis
Maybe ward gets traded and they decide between adell and moniak
it’s definitely a make or break year for both of them
Lugo will definitely make his MLB debut this season
you know there will be injuries not long into the season
he had respectable minor league numbers of .252/.380/.424
but if he’s more like his old self – and remember
he *just* turned 23 – he could be helpful
I’m very curious how this plays out for him
Anticipating big step forward for Jo Adell this year
He has been so horrible for so long that most of us have lost hope
Hopefully it’s nothing serious with Moncada and looking forward to seeing Neto play again
I get thumb soreness playing my Playstation as well lol
Already keeping an eye on Rengifo for your Yankees I see lol
Writer says Christian Moore had a “phenomenal Spring.” Is he watching these Spring games
a positive showing for a close to MLB ready prospect
“The club’s top offensive performer last year aside from Mike Trout
who was limited to just 29 games due to injuries last year.”
Is Christi0an Moore really having a ‘phenomenal” spring
Might as well put Moncada in the DL and keep Anderson
and Keiboom up and hope one of them catches lightning in a bottle
If the Angels keep Rendon on the roster and he doesn’t play at all in 25 as expected
they at least get insurance to pay 75-80% of his salary
Best thing for the club is if he would retire and I think it only counts half his salary against the cap
Moncada was brought in as insurance for Rendon
But who was brought in as insurance for Moncada?
Would have loved to see my team pick him up last year on a trade
but his defense is worse than the metrics say
Plus he will throw to wrong bag often just mental gaffes that makes you shake your head
despite the lack of respect from the national media
and over the last few games many veterans have started to crush baseballs joining these youngsters in the land of the locked in
one Angels veteran has not yet found his groove and could find himself left without a job after landing on the IL
Yoan Moncada has hit just .190/.370/.286 so far on the season
and now finds himself in a position that's become most familiar to him in recent years
Moncada mysteriously hurt his thumb back in spring training though no one could seem to pinpoint the moment the injury occurred. His prognosis for opening day was in doubt, however, the injury was not considered severe and he avoided an IL stint, until now
but it's a huge blow for the former No
Moncada has never realized the potential that got him a massive signing bonus as an international free agent out of Cuba
The injuries and inconsistency limited his value on the open market
and the once-promising infielder was forced to accept a paltry one-year $5 million offer from the Angels entering his age-30 season
His hope was to prove to be healthy and regain the form he showed in 2019 when he slashed .315/.367/.548 and posted 5.2 fWAR
he may find himself relegated to a part time role upon his return
Kyren Paris originally made the team as a reserve whose primary job would be to spell Jo Adell in centerfield
all the 23-year-old has done is hit and has forced his way into the Halos every day lineup -- playing more and more second base along the way
who had been the primary second baseman to open the season
has begun to play more at the hot corner in Moncada's absence
The infield will soon become even more crowded with Zach Neto's imminent return
The star shortstop is currently tearing the cover off the ball for Triple-A Salt Lake as he prepares to rejoin the big league club
While Paris will retain some semblance of a super utility role
he has seemingly claimed second base as his primary position
Neto's return will stabilize shortstop
and Rengifo has proven to be a better third baseman than second baseman
unless a catastrophic slump occurs amongst this group
Moncada will return without a regular place to play
His best shot to get in games will be when Paris shifts to center to give Adell a rest
or when Rengifo shifts to second to spell Paris
he'll find himself on the bench most nights
but Moncada's latest trip to the injured list certainly looks like he's about to get "Wally Pipp'd" as the team around him has started to heat up
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Moncada mysteriously hurt his thumb back in spring training though no one could seem to pinpoint the moment the injury occurred. His prognosis for opening day was in doubt, however, the injury was not considered severe and he avoided an IL stint, until now
While Paris will retain some semblance of a super utility role
This free-agent acquisition may lose his starting role after injury
an indication he may not be ready for Opening Day
More news: Angels Acquire Former Top Prospect, World Series Champion Pitcher in Blockbuster Trade With Braves
Yoan Moncada is here with a brace on his thumb. Ron Washington said he still hopes Moncada will be ready for opening day but is not throwing or hitting yet. Wash said Rengifo will be the opening day 3rd baseman if Moncada isn’t ready @OCRegSports @ocregister @JeffFletcherOCR
Moncada has not resumed hitting or throwing yet
Though manager Ron Washington is hopeful the infielder can be ready for Opening Day
the Angels are prepared to start Luis Rengifo at third if need be
Rengifo also dealt with an injury this spring as hamstring tightness kept him out of the lineup for a few games
It appears there is still a chance Moncada starts the season on the injured list
a disappointing thought given he was meant to replace the oft-injured star Anthony Rendon
“We’ve just got to wait and see,” Washington said
Moncada has dealt with injury issues in the past
he played only 12 games with the Chicago White Sox after sustaining a left adductor strain in April
The 29-year-old has played in just 208 games over the last three years
The Angels entered the offseason knowing they couldn't count on Rendon
so the addition of Moncada was crucial for the infield
it appears Moncada's untimely injury may prevent him from being ready for Opening Day
More news: Angels Trade Reliever to Braves in Shocking Move Before Opening Day
VALENTINA MARTINEZ
Yoan Moncada left the defeat — which was also his return to action after quite some time — due to right thumb soreness
It is the same thumb that has been nagging him since spring training
the Halos have been linked to signing an All-Star and former World Series champion
This veteran reliever would be an incredible addition to the clubhouse with the existing mix of demonstrated players and youthful talent
a bright spot in Wednesday night's loss was the two home runs from Kyren Paris
He now has four dingers in the last three games as fans have recently been calling for him to get more playing time
Here’s more information on these stories and all the latest Angels news (click the headline for the full article):
Angels Linked to All-Star, World Series Champion Reliever in Blockbuster Free Agent Move
Angels Lineup vs Rays: Luis Rengifo, Jo Adell Out, Kyren Paris in Center Field, Yoan Moncada Returns
Kyren Paris Shouts Out Angels Fans Calling For Him to Get More Playing Time
Angels Manager Has No Plans to Move Red-Hot Young Hitter Up in Lineup
KP goes the other way! pic.twitter.com/mRgEgXktnK
Yoán Moncada was removed from tonight's game with right thumb soreness
another day, another group photo 📸 pic.twitter.com/EHce0WdKKI
another HUGE defensive play by TA! pic.twitter.com/4g34OLkYkO
Kyren Paris crushes his second home run of the night!His 4th homer in his last 3 games! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CZ5WGCe7zo
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CHICAGO -- Yoán Moncada’s run with the White Sox apparently has come to a close, with the team declining a $25 million club option for the 2025 season on the third baseman Friday. Moncada will receive a $5 million buyout as part of a five-year, $70 million extension agreed upon on March 6
This news certainly doesn’t come as a surprise, but represents the exit by one of the last vestiges of the previous White Sox rebuild. Moncada, 29, also symbolized the positive and negative, the excitement and disappointment, of that same stretch, which resulted in two playoff appearances, two playoff victories and one American League Central title in 2021
2016 as part of a five-player deal including World Series champion and fellow top prospect Michael Kopech in exchange for left-hander Chris Sale
He slashed .254/.331/.424 over eight seasons
when he launched 25 of his 93 career home runs in Chicago
But injuries limited Moncada to just three seasons of over 130 games played
He played in only 12 games in 2024 because of a left adductor strain suffered on April 9 in Cleveland
16 but had just one at-bat the rest of the season
“It has been a good career with ups and downs,” Moncada said on Sept
20 in San Diego through interpreter Billy Russo
“That definitely affected me and affected my ability to display all I could do
But I think I’ve done it when I’ve been healthy
The White Sox also declined the $7.5 million option on catcher Max Stassi ($500,000 buyout)
started the season on the 10-day injured list with left hip inflammation and played in five games for Triple-A Charlotte on an injury rehabilitation assignment before being returned from the assignment on April 10
figures to be part of the backstop plan in ‘25 and beyond
Quero was with the White Sox taxi squad during the final week of the 2024 season
“I’m trying to play baseball wherever I go
Both Moncada and Stassi become free agents
who hit .275 in 40 at-bats this past season
low-key demeanor sometimes mistaken for indifference
but the talented switch-hitter knows his game and knows what he’s all about
“I actually don’t know what the perception other teams have of me
but I’m not concerned about it,” Moncada said
I know that I have to wait until the free agent market opens up and we’ll see
My main thing is just staying healthy and if I have the health and I can play every day
it has been very difficult just watching the struggles that we have in this year and not being able to help
It definitely is one of the hardest parts about this season
Just seeing all that and not being able to be here to help
There’s not much you can do when you are in a situation like that.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Geoffrey Moncada (AC Milan via Getty Images)
the name of Franco Mastantuono has been circulating insistently around Europe once again: the Argentine talent
and his free-kick goal in the Superclásico against Boca Juniors has gone viral worldwide
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport this morning
Inter have now also entered the race alongside the Rossoneri
However, for now, writes La Gazzetta
both Milan clubs seem to be out of the running
as the young Argentine star's performances have attracted the attention of the usual powerful European giants
with Manchester City and PSG currently leading the race to sign him
River Plate are planning to reach an agreement in the summer
but hope to keep the player on loan for one more year—though much will depend on Mastantuono's own performances
the Millionarios have protected themselves with a release clause reportedly worth around 40.5 million euros
One of the most notable was newly acquired veteran infielder Yoan Moncada and his somewhat mysterious thumb injury
More news: Former MLB Players Slam Angels New Clubhouse Rules
Moncada was suffering a deep bruise in his thumb that was holding him out of play
the severity of the bruise made it difficult to grip a bat
After being scratched from a Cactus League matchup earlier this month
more concerns started to swirl around the $5 million offseason addition
Manager Ron Washington didn't help calm the uncertainty at the time
he came out there and the doc said that he hurt his thumb,” Washington said
He just woke up one morning and his thumb was messed up
Might have been something that happened and it didn’t affect him till the next day
More news: Reid Detmers Reacts to Losing Angels' 5th Starter Competition
As the roster is starting to get finalized
there has been positive news coming out of the Angels camp
Angels manager Ron Washington told reporters that Moncada has cleared all health markers and will be on the Opening Day roster
Yoan Moncada cleared all health markers and will be on Opening Day roster
Some of the initial concern was that Moncada is no stranger to an injury keeping him out for significant time
as he only logged 12 games with the Chicago White Sox last season
His left adductor strain ended his season in early April as he came back for one brief appearance in a September away contest
Moncada is looking to write a new chapter to his baseball career
After eight games in his first season with the Boston Red Sox
he played the next eight seasons in Chicago
More news: Angels' Mike Trout Ranked Outside of Top 25 MLB Players By Insider
USA; Chicago White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada against the Los Angeles Angels during a spring training baseball game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale
— Newest Angels third baseman Yoán Moncada has a "deep bruise" in his right thumb and will miss some time
manager Ron Washington announced Sunday morning.
Washington said they don't exactly know how Moncada hurt his thumb
but Moncada woke up one morning and it was bothering him
Moncada is unable to throw and has trouble swinging the bat with the thumb injury.
"Looks like he's on the shelf for a minute," Washington said
just got some deep bruises and we gotta let it settle down before we start letting him try to hit."
Moncada has had trouble staying healthy the last few years
as he hasn't played more than 105 games in a season since he played in 144 in 2021
Moncada is an average defender and can be an average-to-above-average bat
he hit .263 with a .787 OPS and a 120 wRC+
Washington said Luis Rengifo will begin to get work in at third base while Moncada is out
but Rengifo has been battling an injury of his own with hamstring tightness
Rengifo was cleared to play in games just a couple of days ago.
With both Moncada and Rengifo uncertain if they will be ready for Opening Day and Zach Neto not ready for Opening Day
the Angels might have to lean on their newly added depth
Davis were all brought in this offseason and can fill any holes in the meantime
The Angels could also have Kyren Paris stay up with the major league club until Moncada and Rengifo get healthy.
the Angels still have some time to find answers.
the Angels lost on Opening Day to the lowly Chicago White Sox -- they weren't at full strength
a franchise who has been notorious the past few years for their stars all missing myriad games due to injuries
are getting some positive updates regarding the left side of their infield
Zach Neto is tearing up extended spring training while rehabbing in Arizona
Yoán Moncada made his Angels' debut against his former team as a pinch hitter and will start in their next game
Sam Bachman suffered one of the gnarliest injuries a pitcher can sustain and was subsequently placed on the 15-Day IL
Per Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register: "Shortstop Zach Neto
who is on the injured list rehabbing from shoulder surgery
has begun DH-ing in minor-league games in Arizona
He even hit a few home runs." Fletcher noted that Neto has yet to play defense in extended spring training
but is making throws from shortstop to first base
Tim Anderson and Kevin Newman -- Neto's fill ins at shortstop -- did not record a hit against the White Sox on Opening Day
If the Angels are going to have any shot at competing for the playoffs
they need Neto back ASAP to inject some life into their offense
he will probably pencil Neto into the 7-hole of their lineup
Moncada's bruised thumb looks to be a thing of the past
as he pinch hit (and drew a walk) for Newman against the White Sox
He should start in the Angels' second game of the year at third base against Jonathan Cannon
Moncada played in 10 spring training games
and slashed .190/.393/.381/.774 while drawing 7 walks and hitting 1 home run before being sidelined with his thumb injury
The oft-injured Moncada came real close to starting the year on the IL
He is in line to play the majority of games at third base for the Halos this season after signing a one-year
Bachman doesn’t need surgery and the hope is he won’t need to be placed on the 60-day IL
Sam Bachman's career has been defined by his injuries, and it's possible that his thoracic outlet syndrome could be the final nail in his coffin. As pointed out by Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors: "In some of the more infamous cases
and Stephen Strasburg were severely set back by the condition and never able to recover
though each of those pitchers did require surgery."
It's a slightly encouraging sign that Bachman does not need to go under the knife
but adding another injury to his already long list of injuries (most notably to his back and shoulder) is not doing anybody any favors
Bachman had a clear path to making the Angels' Opening Day bullpen if he would have been healthy in spring training
but his throwing program was started and stopped multiple times before this diagnosis
","https://fansided.com/",{"alt":"6e","src":"6f","url":"6g"},{"type":"6d","value":"6h"},"link","Minute Media","https://minutemedia.com",{"text":"6k","url":"6l"},{"type":"6j","value":"6m"},"All Rights Reserved
Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands
Sam Bachman","relatedPosts",[],[],[],4,0,"",{"next":"ba"},["4a"],"semantic",{"articles":"b5","articlesQueryURLs":"b6","bySearchQuery":"42","excludeProperties":"4u","excludedIDs":"b7","isFullPost":"ay","limit":"b8","offset":"b9","onlyQueryURLs":"ay","organization":"ba","pagination":"bb","properties":"bc","sourceType":"bd"},{"type":"b4","value":"be"},{"postsList":"bf"},"Evan Roberts worked in professional baseball for 5 years
after pitching collegiately at Davidson College for 4
he worked with the Boston Red Sox at their Pawtucket affiliate for the 2019 season as a Player Development Intern
\n\nHe picked up with the Chicago White Sox in 2020
but after the Minor League season was canceled he worked with Team USA Baseball at their National Training Complex as a Trackman Stringer/Operator
he worked with the Los Angeles Angels as a Game Planning Strategist at their Arizona (ROK League)
He attended the Angels' last 2 Major League Spring Trainings
he coached 1st base and assisted the players & coaches in the dugout
and a Contributor at various other FanSided MLB sites
Stephen is also the host of the Bleav in Angels Podcast and has also spent time covering the Brooklyn Nets and New York Jets for empiresportsmedia.com
When not consuming sports and producing content
Per Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register: "Shortstop Zach Neto
Sam Bachman's career has been defined by his injuries, and it's possible that his thoracic outlet syndrome could be the final nail in his coffin. As pointed out by Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors: "In some of the more infamous cases
but will do so without catcher Logan O’Hoppe and third baseman Yoan Moncada
while Moncada is still recovering from a thumb injury
Kyren Paris will get the start at second base as Luis Rengifo will continue playing third base in Moncada's absence
Angels today. Seems like d’Arnaud and Hendricks have a thing going. Also O’Hoppe caught all 3 over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/FrDBOrZgQy
More news: Angels' Kenley Jansen Reaches Huge Career Milestone in Series Finale With Guardians
Moncada has been out since Friday in a game that saw three members of the Halos leave early due to injury
Moncada's thumb injury came to light somewhat mysteriously as even manager Ron Washington didn't know the origin of the deep bruise
but it held him out for a few contests in Arizona
Moncada made it on the Opening Day roster and has been off to a productive 2025
After re-aggravating the thumb injury Friday
Washington still isn't too concerned about the infielder's long-term health
“That thing lasts a long time,” Washington said
But we don’t have to worry about him going on the IL.”
More news: Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe Makes Insane History With Yet Another Home Run
it is looking like he will take some well deserved rest after his electric start to the season
The 25-year-old catcher has a home run in each of the last four games along with eight RBIs in that span
His 1.229 OPS is one of the many bright spots O'Hoppe has shown in 2025
Second base will be occupied by Paris who is having a phenomenal start to the season
is showing why he is not just a major part of the youth movement in Anaheim
More news: Angels GM Has 'No Clue' When Zach Neto Will Return to Halos From Injury
By Anthony Franco | February 15
FEBRUARY 11: The Angels are reportedly in agreement with third baseman Yoán Moncada on a one-year
The signing is pending a physical for the Quality Control Sports client
The Angels will need to create a 40-man roster spot once it is finalized
is looking for a rebound after a disappointing end to his eight seasons with the White Sox
The former top prospect had an up-and-down tenure in Chicago
He earned down-ballot MVP support during his best year
a 2019 season in which he hit .315/.367/.548 with a career-high 25 home runs
The Sox signed Moncada to a $70MM extension the following spring
believing he’d cemented himself as a core piece coming out of their rebuild
Moncada slumped to a .225/.320/.385 showing in 2020
That looked like a short-season aberration the following year
as he posted a strong .263/.375/.412 slash across 144 games
Moncada’s bat hit another sharp decline thereafter
He combined for a .234/.288/.386 line in nearly 800 plate appearances over the next two seasons
His final year in Chicago was tanked by injury
Moncada suffered a significant left adductor (groin) strain two weeks into the year
He was immediately ruled out for 3-6 months
Moncada didn’t return to the active roster until the middle of September
the White Sox were playing out the string on the worst season in modern history
It was a foregone conclusion that they’d buy Moncada out for $5MM instead of a $25MM club option
The Sox had little reason to put him back in the lineup
He only made one appearance as a pinch-runner in the final two weeks
His season ended with 12 games and 45 plate appearances
Moncada is now three years removed from his last strong season
he has shown above-average power and speed with a patient offensive approach
Moncada took walks at an excellent 13.6% clip back in 2021
so he has punched out in 29.2% of his career plate appearances
He’s a .254/.331/.424 hitter in more than 3100 major league plate appearances
The Angels may have Moncada and Anderson on the left side of their infield for at least a few weeks
They’re at $210MM in luxury tax commitments
a little more than $30MM below the lowest threshold
Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the $5MM agreement
Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Transactions Anthony Rendon Robert Stephenson Yoan Moncada
How is this $5m and then conforto gets what he did from the Dodgers.
Just like how did flaherty only get what he got but montas with even worse performance and injury concerns got what he did?…
Look at the velo charts as the season went on
Flaherty has an AAV more than 1.5 times that of Montas
Flaherty also has a 2nd year guaranteed or an opt out if he so chooses
All in all not looking at specifics you see a 2 year deal worth 34 million for montas and a 2 year deal worth 35 million for flaherty
Overall money besides how it’s distributed basically shows that both players are about the same production wise when flaherty is better than montas across the board
It’s probably because they have a 3rd baseman who’s gonna get paid 38 million to catch bench all year so they need a cheap capable backup
On top of that Moncada’s only good year was 2019 with juiced ball
That was also only year he’s hit 20+ HRs
The problem is that he played only 208 games total in the 3 seasons that followed that
if unspectacular starter for the past three years
one of which he missed almost entirely due to injury
Well one hit 20 homers last season and the other only played 12 games last season…
Arte just brought in both Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada
Former White Sox players who can remind their new teammates that no matter how bad we suck
I wouldn’t be surprised if Anderson has something left and bounces back
I don’t think very highly of Moncada and don’t view take a flyer on him as being bad
Wondering if this means Rendon’s time is up
It’s got to be getting close to time they ll cut him
This year and 2026 is all that remains of his contract
I’d have to imagine he’s cut at some point this year if his pattern of not adding any value continues
If they don’t make the roster could be insurance
Maybe schanuel gets sent down to give to someone a extra look
I highly doubt Schanuel he’s sent down for either of them
Nico Kavadas had a scorching AFL and offers way more power
He’s the guy most likely to challenge Nolan
It looks like they have told Rendon he’s got to earn his starting role at 3B
and now they’ve actually brought in a few guys who will make it interesting and push him to either play for his money or to be sent packing
I don’t think they will cut him loose until Spring Training plays out
The Anthony Rendon contract has to go down as one of the top 5 worst MLB contracts ever signed
He was a superstar for his last 3 seasons in Washington
but he’s never played 60 games in a season for Anaheim over the first 5 years of his contract
especially without a serious injury that could take a year or two to come back from
It really looks like he just wanted his superstar money and then he gave up on his career
milking injuries along the way and not even trying when he was healthy
He got into 50+ games last year and did not hit 1 home run
You would think that his teammates would hate him by now; we know the organization truly does
On Rendon: I can’t remember a more precipitous decline of a player of his caliber
coupled with an outrageous long-term contract that paid him millions without yielding anything of value
and he arguably should have been the 2019 NL MVP
He was a rock-solid defender and an amazing clutch hitter for that World Series team
but he sold out for big money elsewhere and just fell off a cliff
but unlike another famous Nats big-contract guy like Stephen Strasburg
I wouldn’t be surprised if this signing takes away any shot Anderson had of making the team
and Newman is the SS if Neto is out to start the season and the utility infielder once he comes back
can they pay down 100% of his contract and trade him someplace worse than Anaheim
plus $75 million to the White Sox or Colorado for a lower minor league reliever?
Agree about Anderson he’s probably on the outs unless they cut rendon
I like him better because he’s on the league minimum and he could play short
I’m guessing it’s something with his contract probably has a opt out
i guarantee his goal is to retire plus he wouldn’t get anything and you would have to eat the whole contract same as cutting him
He most likely won’t get called up until a injury
Not saying he won’t but for whatever reason newman is allergic to 3rd base
It’s probably looking like newman at 2nd and rengifo at 3rd with Anderson being the utility because moancada is solid
Rengifo could move back to 3B then and Newman take over 2B
It is my sincere hope that TA never steps foot in the Big A
So the Angels are answering the bell from their worst season ever by signing two infielders (Moncada and Anderson) from the historically awful White Sox teams (Anderson was on the 2023 101 loss team)
Plus they are replacing the guy who milks injury
I’m a Sox fan and I think the Angels are overpaying him
Most likely he and Rendón will be rehabbing the season together
@roob Rehab for Rendon likely involves the bare minimum to satisfy contract
Moncada likely would milk IL designation to delay start of rehab
Meanwhile he’d be busy getting his hair dyed
and focusing on making more terrible music videos
I’d agree with almost any other injury prone players rehabbing together
But Rendon and Moncada are 2 rather unique individuals to put it lightly
When you think about the recent Halo’s Draft and Development timeline for their better Prospects
B Joyce etc Then this years 3B for LAA will be drafted soon
So your saying the Angels next third baseman for 2026 is playing his last season this spring
He had the best batted-ball numbers of his career last year with a 116 OPS+
while Moncada barely played and has only had two good seasons in his career
5M for a 29 year old free agent who has over 70M in career earnings seems to good to be true
Rendon is owed 76M over the next 2 seasons and his combined war is 3.5 i 5 seasons as an Angel
He has to be the worst free agent signing in history at 7 years 245M
The Angel payroll has averaged 185M during Rendon’s 5 seasons so basically the Angels minus Rendon’s salary have been trying to compete against the (Rangers $235M) and (Astros $245M) with a $150M payroll
This is why they haven’t spent a lot of money on pitching
When you subtract Trout and Rendon’s salary U R left with $112M to make Payroll for 24 other players
Once Rendon is off the books U will see the Angels increase their pitching budget
Fallback option after Mets re-signed Alonso
But I think the Angels felt the need to overpay as they’ve been striking out a lot on free agents
don’t pay him so much that Rendon can’t bench him if Rendon beats him out
And only a fool would expect Rendon to beat him out
what I hate is Rengifo is going to play second and Rengifo can’t play second
Maybe Rengifo could get traded now to Yankees
Rendon gets dirty and runs down the first base line
I think it’s still going to be rengifo at 3rd
Moancada at 3rd on his day off with newman at 2nd
but last year was the only year he was below 126 games when he started to get regular playing time
I’m mad too we didn’t resign tucker
hicks and the other 30 guys that weren’t signed by anyone else either
It really bothers me they revamped Schanuel’s approach at the MLB level
They draft college players who have huge issues
I’d much rather draft high-school players that need work
but do people realize his range is rated at 10%
but he will likely have to be moved from short
The problem is the angels don’t have anyone to help with development in the minors
They have to acquire them or FastTrack them on the roster
he doesn’t need to look like a linebacker in the nfl
I thought the question was gonna be whether or not he only got MiLB deal
From Angels standpoint $5M one time hit is not very risky
If by am act of God he’s healthy he possibly could have trade value at deadline
If they re hanging around Wild Card he could help
@Dogbone Have you saw Moncada’s atrocious music video
my impression is baseball is down the list of his priorities
I just don’t see him as a guy that’s going to put in the work needed to overcome his shortcomings
Never had a player that couldn’t get injured
Doesn’t know how to build from within
Doesn’t win as many games as projected
Are you sure he isn’t still on the White Sox
White Sox history of being cheap is so sad with the market they re in
eed – $5M is highly reasonable and it’s exactly what I wanted my team to spend on him if they truly wanted to upgrade the 3B position without making a multi-year commitment
Who plays more Rendon or Moncada this season
Hey you never know… maybe Rendon shows up with something to prove and goes off
I tried to support his not liking ti watch baseball comment taken out of context
Tried to keep open possibility he truly had bad luck injury wise
I don’t think he’s motivated at all and he’s just fulfilling his contract
Curious to see if he just walks away once contract is up
I remember reading an article a number of years ago (likely in like
Sports Illustrated or on ESPN.com or somewhere like that) about how there is a surprisingly large faction of professional baseball players who do not care for the sport
but they personally happened to be really good at it
They’re natural born hitters and fielders and so they played in high school
started making huge amounts of money and just kinda play to make the money- nothing wrong with that
plenty of careers are built around someone being good at something and getting paid well enough for it despite having no real passion for or interest in the field they make their money- and Rendon just kinda admitted it
The other thing about Rendon is that I would bet dollars to donuts he is very aware of the Yoenis Cespedes debacle with the Mets
where Cespedes stopped even pretending to care once he got his 4 year/$110M deal and then he lost out on like 20 or 30% of the money when he was found guilty by the league of fraud- basically pretending he was injured
actually getting injured doing stuff players are discouraged from doing outside of baseball because of the risk of injury and then taking his sweet time to rehab and just collecting massive paychecks from the Mets while just kinda trying to run out the clock on his deal
I would bet that Rendon knows how to put forth the bare minimum effort required to not be accused of or found guilty of abdicating the expectations of his Angels contract so that he can collect the full sum of his deal without being in violation of anything that could jeopardize his future salaries
do I think Rendon will magically bounceback in 2026 and hit .340 with 40 HR’s and a 8.5 WAR in order to secure another massive deal
He seems to hate the game enough that his $245M deal plus the money he made on the Nationals is likely enough for him to never try again in baseball and just move on with his life
oddly enough Rendon also lost a good chunk of his $245M deal thanks to the pro-rated 2020 season
so he actually will “only” make $227,128,240 or so of the total $245,000,000 he signed for with the Angels- but then again
every player from 2020 is in that basic boat
But with $278,427,240 in total career earnings once the Angels deal expires
I don’t see Rendon wanting to make the effort to keep playing when the word is out that he doesn’t care and if he’s paid enough money will become an empty suit
checked out on making any real effort beyond the bare minimum to not violate the contract- so nobody is offering him much of anything
even if he had an incredible bounceback in 2026
In other words- this is likely Rendon’s final baseball contract no matter what happens
They even attempted to void the remaining of his contract when Ellsbury did not follow team protocol for rehabbing
I believe that his remaining pay was privately settled
Rendon will be done for good once the contract is over
Maybe that’s a new area of analytics yet to be tapped
Figuring out who will have longevity and who will tap out as soon as they “secure the bag”
It’s looking like the angels are preparing to cut him
Davis is probably the same as keeping rendon for 40 games
You either cut bait or he hits .150 to get released
I hope it’s not the case and that the Angels can salvage some Arenado contributions
He may have insurance covering his contract while he’s “medically unable” to play
There’s incentive to keep him around rather than cutting him
TL:DR version is that some baseball players don’t like the sport but understand they are good at it
so they play professionally in order to get paid a lot of money and sometimes when they secure the BIG contract (like Rendon or Cespedes) they stop pretending to care enough to try
but Rendon saw Cespdes’ contract nullified so he tries enough to not lose his salary
Cespedes’ contract was not nullified
He choose not to play in 2020 because of COVID and became a FA at the end of that season
He actually wants to play when his rehab is complete
But why would anyone expect Rendon to stay on the field
Moncada does-by a mile Rendon sits on the bench or gets cut
Moncada will go to the DL within the first week of Spring training complaining he has a crack in his ass
Rendon has been anything but reliable for Angels
it’s safe to assume either Moncada and/or Rendon will be on IL at any given time
I don’t think Angels care whatsoever about their needs
I’ll drive Rendon to the airport if the Yankees want him and even half his contract
Kind of you to offer but…they don’t
I wouldn’t say desperate because we have like three dudes on the roster that can play 3rd that are on par with Moncada and Rendon
Moncada is a solid bounce back candidate and the Angels need a third baseman
Moncada could have a big year because he performs well enough to get a sweetheart long term deal
If everyone is healthy…and I do realize that’s a big if…but if everyone is healthy he’s what
Some of their moves really boggle the mind
Spending big on a backup catcher when they have a good young catcher
Signing a full-time DH when they have plenty of guys who could clearly use some rest days
I like the Kikuchi signing and think they have some good young talent that’s already arrived and still in the pipeline
but it feels like they’ve spent a lot of dumb money this offseason
Cashman wake up you’re sleeping on the job again
Having a DH does not prevent someone from getting a day off
It guarantees that day off is an actual day off
Yea spot on the last few years have had the Angels playing AAA and even AA caliber players when injuries hit
This year they can at least run out legit big leaguers when the bug inevitably hits this cursed franchise
I honestly would have taken Moncada over Polanco; but I guess they prefer a known quantity over a random unknown
before the A’s signed Gio Urshela I thought Moncada could be their third base choice
angels dominating the market on 3B who don’t like baseball
Would like a total number of games too for a good laugh
Moncada could play out the season so he can get a longer deal to then milk being on the DL
so its feasible that he is healthy for most of this year
Sounds like that milk glass was filled with psychedelic mushrooms
$5M seems like a fair amount for a bounce back like this
the discrepancy between Moncada’s valuation and Alonso’s is odd
People will buy tickets to see Alonso as he’s a fan favorite
Let me know when Moncada reaches that pinnacle
The Angels infield is quickly turning into a former White Sox infield: Tim Anderson
That big if should answer your question by itself
But even the rare occasion Rendon has been in uniform
So at this point he’s basically a sunk cost waiting til they can stomach eating remainder of his deal
“Moncada is looking for a rebound…”
Insert any name on the Angels roster in that sentence
‘Moncada is looking for another sucker team’ is more like it
so throwing a flier out there for a 29 yr old with a career OPS+ of 106 seems like an easy opportunity worth looking into
Artes gotta give Trout a reason to want to play 100 games for him
This screams Anderson 2.0 for me but I’m not mad about it
especially at a low (by MLB standards) price
Moncada’s only had two good seasons but maybe he’ll have a third
Yeah there’s no harm in this even if they cut him by June
After making $30M last season including his buyout
I thought he might sign with a team I cared about
Now he gets to go to camp with Tim Anderson and they can compete for a backup IF roster spot
I think this is like the 39th Perry has signed
The Angels always think they can “fix” players
Why don’t we “fix” the front office “fix” the farm system and “fix” the rest of the god awful crap of a franchise
The good news is that it’s not Bregman
And the bad is that it’s not pitching
I would’ve been happy if the Yankees had done this deal
Perfect move for a team heading towards a 70-92 season
He needs to leave ASAP if the Angels ever want a chance again
but I’d love for Moncada to have his best season ever
Over/under on who plays more Games; Moncada or Rendon
over under on who plays more games: Rendon
Some people on this board don’t appear to know the meaning of “over/under”
The other 2 Boras clients got their big payday and content to cash the checks
@cws Do you need a safe space or whatever they are called?
The fact you have to bring up Boras signals some type of emotional trauma…
Pointing out his clients mailed it in after getting their big deals……ok
Why does it bother you that you have to project some sort of insecurity
I just find it funny that people have this odd disdain for someone doing his job well
Not sure how 2 players who from an outwardly view appear to lack motivation false on anyone other than the two of them
Is it possible to take the under on all three
the guy loves the DL and getting money for nothing
The only hope that the Angels have is that a 1 year deal is not good enough for Yoan to milk
he needs a a team to lose their minds and overpay him for 3 or more seasons
so he could produce enough for a mid season trade to another team to get suckered in by him.
If he can wrest away 3B from that Rendom bum
it’s a great move for the moribund Halos
Moncada suffered two separate injuries (hand
foot) in the Premier 12 & Puerto Rican winter league before he shut it down
Best predictor of future injury is past injuries
Arte paid him $5M to be a valuable contributor
That $5M might be some of the best money one or both of those teams spent
Good to see not such a greedy player being signed
Unlike some of the other teammates like Trout and Rendon
He doesn’t even belong in same as the other player you named
When Trout is healthy he has not been shy of hitting walls or the ground to make plays
He should probably be more cautious as him being injured sets his team back
Saying he is greedy is just flat out ignorant
Seems like the Angels are picking up all these guys for potential trade bait later on
5M to hold Anthony Rendon’s beer for a season
Rendon is definitely a wine cooler and seltzer guy
He’s still living off his overrated Red Sox days
Laid back CA is the perfect place for Yawn Moncada
though his contract is defensible considering how amazing he’s been when healthy… Angels have easily been the worst team in baseball when it comes to getting bang for buck out of spending
“Ted Williams actually played more baseball during the five years* that included his WWII service than Anthony Rendon has during the five years of his $245,000,000 contract with the Angels so far and I’m going to need a second to fully absorb this
bsky.app/profile/notgaetti.bsky.social/post/3lhect…
Maybe Arte is hiring Moncada to off Rendon?
but I think a better pickup for that job would be Wander Franco
Must be the new math – born in 1989 yet only 30 years old
Don’t get my fellow Yankee fans wishing Yankees had signed Moncada
Adding another injury prone guy when the team has DJ makes no sense
Rather roll with Cabrera or even take a chance on Peraza than waste 5M on Moncada
The way I see it is if Moncada can play well and hit for power
it makes cutting DJL easier if he can’t rebound
I think Peraza may not be ready and that Cabera’s ceiling is limited but that doesn’t mean he isn’t useful
the final piece of the championship puzzle
the smartest thing Chris Getz has done so far
not resigning Moncada and his chronic..well… everything
Hope Niko Kavadas has a breakout Spring and puts them both on the bench
Historically he has been pretty much an exact average 3B
I couldn’t be any happier Angels signing Yoán Moncada knowing Anthony Rendon sitting on the bench or Anthony Rendon relaxing on a folding chair in the Bahamas drinking a piña colada Not once did I hear Rendon say after having a bad season say I’ve come to spring training in the best shape of my life
I’ve worked hard this winter working my butt off to redeem my career I say good rhythms
Angels are going to be better by subtraction getting rid of that jake
the sun will shine again in the Angels dugout
I could see this giving the Angels a jolt of fresh air – same thing Moncada will get leaving CWS and joining rejuvenated Angels
this was 1 of like 2 or 3 people i kind of wanted the Marlins to sign before the offseason started
and most of them were still available until this…still holding out for JD Martinez…
and he got about what I thought he might…
Is it Vernon Wells or Garry Matthews Jr territory
If he could give Schanuel a few days off and handle himself at first
I feel that most 3B can at least back up at 1B if needed
Kieboom and kingery probably don’t have anything in the contracts
he earned 40 million over the last two yrs
Reds fan here who has always liked the Angels as well
Mike Trout was my favorite player in baseball (before Elly De La Cruz came around)
I hope you guys do well this season and beyond
I will be at Tempe Diablo Stadium for the Reds-Angels spring training game late this month
I have been thinking about it and still don’t like it
Last season the Angels 3B combined for a -0.1 WAR
Like everything else Minasian has done this offseason its relatively inexpensive and an incremental improvement
but since so much of the positions they will be filling had guys that were in negative WAR last season
Kikuchi and even Hendricks are a little better than the guys they are replacing
Moncada allows Rengifo to move to 2B for most games
and the Angels are up about 6 wins this offseason
Is it too much to hope for to ask for Trout to be healthy for 100-110 games
They might even be in the running for a 80 win season if that happens
My hope is that all these guys don’t fall prey to Angels disease and lose 100 games
Sure sucks to have a player on long term big buck contract who plays poorly
He signed that contract knowing he wasn’t healthy
Legit “Comeback Player of the Year” candidate
Third base has been a position of need for the Angels for the last several years. Ahead of the 2020 season, the club believed it had found a stalwart at the hot corner, signing the worst contract in MLB history with the oft-injured and never-performing Anthony Rendon
The hope was that for the better part of the next decade
they'd have a star holding down the position who could be part of a core that propelled them to the status of perennial contenders
On February 12th, it was announced that Rendon had undergone hip surgery and would be out indefinitely, code for unlikely to play at all in the 2025 season. Simultaneously, the team unearthed a new third base option, coming to terms on a one-year $5 million deal with Yoan Moncada
hoping the former top prospect could revitalize the position
The Cuban-born Moncada has a slightly more reliable track record than Rendon
it's nearly four years since his last truly productive season when he posted a 3.7 fWAR in 2021
Perhaps the Angels should have seen this coming
The near-season-long injury last year on top of significant missed time in 2022 and 2023
combined with the winter ball injury all should have foreshadowed what was coming down the pipe
Moncada is now very questionable to be ready for opening day with a bruised thumb
While that comes on the heels of good news regarding fellow infielder Luis Rengifo's status after the latter dealt with a nagging hamstring issue
the nature of the injury raises doubt on the viability of Moncada being a productive player for the Halos this year
Speaking to Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register
The randomness of the injury combined with the severity definitely gives off Rendon vibes
Moncada got off to a slow start this spring
and while he turned it up a bit prior to this new malady
it never seemed like he found a rhythm posting a .190/.393/.381 line
The freak injury opens the door for non-roster invitee veterans Tim Anderson and/or J.D
at least temporarily while the Angels await the return of star shortstop Zach Neto in addition to Moncada
it wouldn't be baseball season in Anaheim without serious questions surrounding the hot corner
and though Moncada was signed out of the bargain bin for a reason
it's starting to look like for yet another year there will be a revolving door at third base
On February 12th, it was announced that Rendon had undergone hip surgery and would be out indefinitely, code for unlikely to play at all in the 2025 season. Simultaneously, the team unearthed a new third base option, coming to terms on a one-year $5 million deal with Yoan Moncada
Moncada is now very questionable to be ready for opening day with a bruised thumb
We're looking for Angels contributors!
The Angels have seen their fair share of mysterious injuries to their third baseman as the position has become a black hole in recent years
Free-agent infielder Yoán Moncada has agreed to a one-year contract worth $5 million with the Los Angeles Angels, reports the New York Post
The team has not yet confirmed the signing
Moncada, 29, hit free agency by virtue of the White Sox declining his $25 million team option for 2025
Given the way the last few years have gone
Injuries have decimated Moncada the last few seasons
He managed just 12 games last year after 92 in 2023 and 104 in 2022
Strikeouts remain a problem while he doesn't take many walks
Moncada once was said to have immense upside. He was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Chris Sale from the White Sox to the Red Sox
His 2019 breakout season even got him some down-ballot MVP votes (he finished 21st) when he hit .315 with a 140 OPS+ and 5.2 WAR
We ranked Moncada as the 48th best free agent available this offseason
He's still months away from celebrating his 30th birthday
but he feels simultaneously younger and older than that
Younger because he's appeared in just under 70 games per season over the last three years; older because he already appears to be in decline
Will Moncada ever have another season as brilliant as his effort in 2021
but some teams will understandably line up to see what his game looks like in an environment more conducive to good play than what the White Sox have offered in recent years
Moncada has shown he can play like an All-Star for a full season and he's not even 30 years old
but he hit .275/.356/.400 with three doubles and a triple
Maybe he can stay healthy and perhaps a change of scenery will do him some good
The Angels went 63-99 in 2024. It was their ninth consecutive losing season. Moncada will provide the club with third base depth behind Anthony Rendon
who has not played more than 58 games in a season since 2019
Moncada returns as bats have an explosive gameSeptember 17th
ANAHEIM -- After more than five months of waiting, Yoán Moncada is finally back with the White Sox
His teammates staged an offensive eruption in his honor
Andrew Benintendi homered twice, Andrew Vaughn and Lenyn Sosa also homered as the White Sox powered past the Angels, 8-4
The White Sox have won three straight games to improve to 36-115
They need to win seven of their final 11 to avoid tying the modern Major League record of 120 losses set by the 1962 New York Mets
you appreciate it," manager Grady Sizemore said
and the guys are happy in there right now.”
The club activated Moncada from the 60-day injured list before their series opener against the Angels
Moncada had been on the IL since April 10 with an adductor strain
suffered running to first base during an early-season series against Cleveland
but his teammates more than picked up the slack
The South Siders scored three runs in the first and second innings
Benintendi and Vaughn hit back-to-back homers off Reid Detmers in the first to give the White Sox a 3-0 lead just four batters into the game
Vaughn banged a two-run triple off the center-field wall to highlight the scoring in the second
All three of the White Sox homers off Detmers traveled at least 400 feet
Benintendi’s two-run shot in the first traveled 415 feet into the right-field stands and left his bat at 101.2 mph
Vaughn’s homer two pitches later traveled 432 feet to left-center field with an exit velocity of 107.7 mph
Sosa’s leadoff homer in the third went 402 feet over the home bullpen in left field and came off his bat at 102.9 mph
“We could definitely feel the energy in the dugout,” Vaughn said
Benintendi added a solo shot to right field in the seventh off reliever Guillermo Zuñiga to cap the scoring
He finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs and has four homers in his last nine games
merely being back represented a major milestone for Moncada
The 29-year-old third baseman grinded through months of strenuous rehab at the White Sox complex in Arizona and was away from the team entirely throughout the process
“Those months that I spent in Arizona were really hard because I was dealing with the discomfort and the soreness,” Moncada said through interpreter Billy Russo before the game
that definitely was the toughest part of this.”
Moncada returns to the White Sox as they try to avoid setting the modern Major League record for losses in a season
How much of a role he’ll play remains to be determined
Miguel Vargas has been the South Siders primary third baseman since being acquired from the Dodgers at the Trade Deadline
Bryan Ramos has gotten the lion’s share of at-bats as a designated hitter and has backed Vargas up at third since being recalled from Triple-A Charlotte
With Chicago prioritizing playing time for their younger players
Sizemore said that arrangement will stay the same even with Moncada’s return
was the designated hitter in the series opener against the Angels
but I'm gonna kind of prioritize Ramos and Vargas right now just because we want to see what these guys can do,” Sizemore said
“So they're gonna probably take priority over Yoán right now
but still gonna try to mix everybody in as much as I can.”
Moncada said there was a point at which he doubted he’d be able to make it back this season
When he initially suffered the injury on April 9
he crumpled to the ground in pain and had to be escorted off the field by two trainers
His initial rehab stint lasted five games in July before being halted due to what the club called “anticipated soreness.” He didn’t begin his rehab assignment again until August 27
he watched helplessly as the White Sox spiraled to 35-115
“It's been a really difficult year for everybody,” Moncada said
Just seeing the struggles that the team had
because everybody is trying to do their best
and in my case not being able to do anything to help
I think it added a whole another layer of difficulty to the rehab process
but I worked hard and advanced to where I'm here right now.”
Moncada hit .282/.364/.410 in 11 games to start the season before getting injured
He spent the maximum 20 days on a rehab assignment and hit .393/.452/.554 with six doubles
a home run and eight RBIs in 17 games between the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League and Triple-A Charlotte
“[He’s] one more guy that can help us win,” Sizemore said
Moncada is in the final year of his five-year
He has a $25 million club option for 2025 with a $5 million buyout
Moncada played 92 games in 2023 due to a back injury and 104 games in 2022 while being limited by oblique
He said he’s still not 100% healthy from his current injury
the amount on his club option and the White Sox current state
it is highly probable the final 12 games of this season will be Moncada’s last with the franchise
he’s just focused on making those final games as productive as possible
that’s the most important thing for me right now,” Moncada said
I just want to help the guys here and finish the season strong
There have been reports the Cubs are interested
I wouldn’t have written this article except for this report that was posted Sunday:
per sources.The third baseman market continues to wait on what happens with Alex Bregman
I don’t know how reliable Francys Romero is as a reporter
let’s examine whether Yoán Moncada would be a fit for the Cubs
Moncada has had two really good MLB seasons for the White Sox
in 2019 he batted .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs and got some downballot MVP votes while posting 5.2 bWAR
in 2021 he posted a 4.0 bWAR season even while his numbers declined to .263/.375/.412 with 14 home runs
Since 2021 he’s been mostly... injured. He played in just 104 games in 2022, 92 in 2023 and 12 in 2024. Yes, that’s right — 12 games. Moncada was injured running out this ground ball Apr. 9 vs. the Guardians [VIDEO]
It turned out to be a left adductor strain and he missed basically the rest of the season
coming back in a long extra-inning game Sept
then remaining in the game and striking out with the bases loaded in the 13th inning
Then he played six winter ball games in Puerto Rico
Yoan Moncada won’t play again in the Puerto Rican winter league after taking a foul ball to his right foot on Sunday. He and his agency want to avoid injuries. Moncada could reach an agreement with an MLB team in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/OViqlHzcaD
that was dated almost three weeks ago and no
Moncada did not sign a deal with a MLB team “in the coming days.”
The injury history would make me stay far away from anything more than a “prove it” one-year deal with a huge number of incentives
if Moncada is the 2019 version — or even the 2021 version — that’s a pretty good player
He does grade as around an average defender
The funniest part about Moncada’s 2024 season is that he batted .275/.356/.400 (11-for-40) with three doubles and a triple in the 12 games he played in
That was the second-best bWAR figure for any White Sox player for the entire 2024 season
And one thing’s for sure: If the Cubs did wind up signing him..
By Mark Polishuk | February 1
Sanchez writes that the club asked for Moncada’s medicals “early in the offseason,” but a source tells Sanchez “the Yankees have [since] not re-engaged” on the former White Sox third baseman
This isn’t the first time that the Yankees have been linked to Hernandez, as New York was a finalist for the veteran utilityman’s services when he was a free agent last winter
Hernandez instead re-signed with the Dodgers to a one-year
and the decision paid off in the form of another championship ring
The Yankees got a direct look at Hernandez during the postseason
when he hit .278/.316/.389 over 20 plate appearances during the Dodgers’ five-game triumph over the Bronx Bombers in the World Series
Los Angeles could be waiting until Spring Training opens and roster space can be created when players are shifted to the 60-day injured list
another team could theoretically be able to swoop in and make Hernandez a more attractive offer
Hernandez’s offense has tended to ebb and flow over the course of his 11-year MLB career
balancing out at a .238/.308/.405 slash line and 93 wRC+ over 3896 career PA
Hernandez has surged to hit .278/.353/.522 in 259 postseason PA with the Dodgers and Red Sox
earning the 33-year-old a reputation as a big-game player
This kind of production from an unheralded spot on the roster could be just what the Yankees need to take that final step towards another title after falling short to Los Angeles this past season
Moncada hasn’t played second base since the 2018 season
so he would more directly slot into the third base mix if he indeed ended up in New York
Sanchez’s note about the Yankees’ seeming lack of follow-up about Moncada might indicate that the Bombers were simply doing a due-diligence ask and have since moved onto other targets
and Blue Jays are among the clubs who have also been linked to Moncada this offseason
as he begins a new chapter in his career after the White Sox declined their $25MM club option on the infielder last fall
Chicago’s decision came as no surprise given how Moncada played in only 12 games in 2024 due to a left adductor strain
though that total could’ve been bumped up by a few games had the White Sox not sparingly used Moncada after he was activated from the 60-day injured list in mid-September
It marked a tough end to an up-and-down eight-season run for Moncada on the South Side
as he hit .254/.332/.425 over 3122 PA in a White Sox uniform
Much more was expected given Moncada’s past status as an elite prospect
$70MM extension he signed with the Sox prior to the 2020 season
Now looking to rebuild his value after a few injury-marred seasons
Moncada might have to settle for a minor league contract given this increasingly late date in the offseason
The amount of interest Moncada has received indicates that multiple teams believe he might have some change-of-scenery potential once removed from what became an increasingly dismal situation in Chicago
New York Yankees Enrique Hernandez Yoan Moncada
Hernandez will wait to get the call from the Dodgers
so if I was the Yankees I wouldn’t waste my time trying to engage him….besides
given his time in Beantown….he was a very below average player offensively and only offered them defensive flexibility given that he can play multiple positions…..Moncado….might be worth taking a harder look at but is he really better than any internal options from opening day up until the trade deadline when there will surely be players available should internal options really be dragging the team down……
Check my comment about Hernandez time in Beantown….he had 1 pretty decent year and 1 that you can forget about pretty quickly….just to modify my comment…..still think he’s destined to sit and wait for the Dodgers to call……
Kike Hernandez can dislocate Cody Bellinger’s shoulder again
Those who do not study baseball history are doomed to repeat it
I’m in agreement that he has a handshake deal to return to LA who can only offer him a minor league contract now
Other teams know this which explains the lack of reported discussions until now
As long as the Dodgers can stack their minor league affiliates clear down to Single A
seems to be all that really matters these days
He’s an above avg defender at many positions
but a below avg hitter during the regular season
This has been shown during his time with the Red Sox
His value is to a team like the Dodgers who value and utilize his def versatility
When you get injuries at different positions he can fill in for short periods of time
He for whatever reason is also a stud in the playoffs with the bat
He has had multiple clutch postseason HRs and RBIs throughout his Dodger postseason career
Kiki wants to be back as a Dodger and understands his role
but with 40 man roster full until spring training
After that they can put people on the 60 day IL
This is when the Dodgers will sign him similar to last year
the Dodgers 60-day IL will be made up of pitchers
they are full up on position players unless they send Pages to AAA or somehow unload CT3
The roster was full last year as well in spring training
I agree the Dodgers have less flexibility
I can see the Dodgers packaging Taylor together with someone out of their massive starting pitching depth and finding Taylor a new home without a lot of difficulty
But thinking the Dodgers already have an informal deal in place for Hernandez
he was far superior to what Taylor has become
His ability to pitch in blowouts shouldn’t be discounted either
Dodgers need to eat the $17 mil and let Taylor go
DFA seems unlikely for Taylor especially if it’s only to make room for Hernandez
the one who played for Boston was awful in the infield but great in the outfield
And his greatest value is in the postseason where he’s an excellent hitter
I’d stay away from K-machine Moncada..Hernandez value is in his versatility and shows up in big games like playoffs and WBC classic
Goldie and Bellinger together is not chopped liver
Teams are waiting out remaining players hoping for better deals
Sometimes the best move is no movement at all
Being on the hook for Stroman’s $18.5 M (one of Cashman’s worst decisions EVER
and he’s made a lot of bad moves) has their hands tied
Hill and Chafin and take their chances this season
Why there’s even a section for Yankee Rumors is beyond me
but Cashman sits back and watches every single available infielder sign somewhere else
they should’ve just re-signed Gleyber Torres to a short
He’s a hell of a lot better than the trash that’s in the running to be 2B this season
DJ and Peraza don’t have any business still being on a big league roster
If the Yankees want a team clown who can’t hit for average
It’s that kind of discounting that breaks hearts and minds in October
Is Kike not a team clown who doesn’t hit for average
Kike is versatile during the regular season and clutch in the playoffs
He had better offensive numbers than Judge in the World Series
and is a clubhouse guy with great team chemistry
It’s obvious why the Yankees want him but he’s not going anywhere
The assumption that the Dodgers are just playing for time with Hernandez is likely wrong
The only way the Dodgers find a roster spot for him is if they can move Taylor
they pay him 15 million to play in aaa and defer 14 million and if someone gets hurt,hes there for insurance
Having better offensive numbers than Aaron Judge in the playoffs
I wouldn’t be surprised if the league cracks down on “deferred money”
Like when the Pirates was overpaying in the draft with large signing bonuses (usually arranged in deferments at the time)
Giving them the advantage to draft players and signing them immediately
is giving them the advantages to defer money and having an all star lineup
It gives the Dodgers the competitive edge for acquiring free agents who are looking to get a ring
Dodgers lineup and track record in the World Series currently
Even if they take a small portion now and get the remaining amount over X amount of years
Dodgers offer that to anyone who is willing to sacrifice large earnings now for a ring
That is why I believe the league will crack down on this deferred money scenario to create an “equal playing field”
but the league will find away to make it more competitive each offseason to all organizations who try to fill holes in free agency but come up empty due to everyone and their family/friends are signing with LAD
It’s not like Pittsburgh was going to sign what the Dodgers have signed (outside of maybe Roki) the last several years
Dodgers have utilized the system and nothing can be done about it
Mets deferred money with Bonilla and it’s been around for decades
My hat goes to the Dodgers for exploiting the system to winning championships
“looking into” doesn’t mean “seriously considering.” That being said
other than Jose Iglesias or a supremely shorter signing
I’m good with going into ST with Cabrera
Why go over the highest threshold and pay double the contract value of whomever you sign if they aren’t likely to perform better offensively than any in- house option
I could absolutely see Cabrera hitting 15 hrs whey a .230/.300/.400 slash if given 500 AB
It’s not hard to imagine him providing solid defense and a .700 OPS if healthy
Hal/Cash need to resist temptation to look busy because the media and loco fans want them to spend more than the Dodgers and Mets as if that somehow wins you something
If Bregman at 6/$156 mil was a bad idea in December
I don’t see his market falling down to a 3/$75 mil level with rumors
or he has another 6 year deal from a team he might be lukewarm over
but it’s he going to walk away from that offer to something the Yanks might feel is more to their valuation
Keep in mind that even if they signed him for 3/$75 million with the tax
I’d grab Iglesias too over these guys
and I hope you can comprehend what I meant
I’ll try and proofread before submitting
I don’t want him to complete the spending of others
I think the Yanks did a great job this winter with that
3rd base needs a longterm solution abd he isn’t on the roster
I think the Yanks made a mistake in utilizing Cabrera as a utility guy
Even though he wasn’t on any to 100 lists
In his last season in AA/AA way back in 2022
I’m not saying he could produce that a major issue level
but I think he could be a guy that gives us 35-40 extra base hits and a decent slash line around
but not sure I’d even entertain giving him a full go off of what we’ve seen
I think the Yanks have no choice but to give a young in-house candidate a shot for a full season
Ppl act like the Yanks are super passive this year
Bregman then a huge falloff to whoever is 2nd
and then there was a huge falloff to the second best guy
Next years crop of FA at 3rd is even worse than this year
A 34 yo Eugenio Suarez is really the best FA option
and I mentioned this position because Jazz can move to 3rd
Arrraez and Torres are the two best options
So it’s either do what we all feel is a bad idea and sign Bregman or give one of the kids a shot to be a longer term option
The only taste options for 3rd are likely to be the same discussed this winter
But I do trust farm to develope good players
but I dint trust them to always give them a fair shot
have been pushed as a top 75 prospect in a few lists
Kike would replace Error in Judgement in the postseason as an upgrade
Much better hitter and he can actually catch easy pop flies
Plus he won’t waste his teammate’s time working on stupid home run celebrations
I’d take Judge into every postseason over Kike and it’s not even close
Not in a million years would I play Kike over Judge
I can’t take anything you say seriously if you need to constantly refer to a player like so
I suggest you go look at their actual postseason stats
has more potential but hasn’t delivered in the postseason
I suggest that no manager would take out out their best hitter for Kike
They are talking hitting more than anything and Judge is a fine fielder
but I wouldn’t change anything because of it
Ppl wanted to draw a distinction between the 2 organizations and make it seem like it was an indictment on the Yankees lack of emphasis on fielding that did them in
it was more a brain farther that he didn’t cover 1b rather than it being a physical error
Volpe and Jazz are known for being above average defenders
Volpe made a bad throw to 3b and Judge dropped a ball he catches 99/100 times
in 06 Puljos had a horrible Oct (still had some big hits thou) but not once was he replaced when the whole team was hitting better than him
Players like that need to be in the lineup regardless of the stat sheet because pitchers know who that guy is and one mistake it’s gone
no pitcher has the fear when a kiki type player comes up
When a team worries more about celebrating than executing
they’re going to mess up at any moment
lots of fans probably missed those plays because they were worried more about celebrating than actually watching the game
Good to see them lose and embarrass themselves in the process
Good for baseball and good for the country and good for the young folks to show them what an idiot looks like
It’s a game and every team has their own way of celebrating
You’re not even with the vibration of you think the way they celebrate was an issue
God this might the ABSOLUTE STUPIDEST thing I’ve ever read on this site and I’ve had to unfortunately endure the Bauer Bros shenanigans
Pathetic 300 million payroll and “Yoan Moncada” would be their starting 3B
just part of the mix to look at different options on different days
The last time DJLM and Cabrera went into the season as starters they had 50 something wRC+
@Fraham_ Oswaldo hasn’t played enough to make that call
And Dj has batting titles so the inspiration is there
DJ was arguably the worst player in baseball last year and only getting older
Cabrera was a below average neither last year about being one of the worst players in 2023
Not taking either those guys by a large margin over Moncada
DJ has also had a litany of injuries to overcome
Cabrera is still young and hasn’t had enough ABs to fully quantify a judgement as coocoo said
Not sure why DJ would suddenly be able to overcome all these injuries and being one of the worst players in baseball after being a year older
And Cabrera was never a top prospect and has had over 800 PAs of an 80 wRC+
but not the guy you’re willing to hand your 3B job over to
Moncada even has had better numbers when healthy
As for Cabrera he wasn’t on any top 100 lists didn’t mean he isn’t capable of performing at a good level in the minors.
Plenty of guys aren’t and have great careers.If Cabrera were given 600 AB I would not be shocked and would be happy to get 15 homers,.25 doubles and good defense
@Fraham There were over 80 position players with less WAR than DJ last season
he was by no means good but far from the worst
I counted 7 guys on fangraphs who had a worse WAR than him last year and are projected to possibly start this year for their team
And they’re all either much younger or on bad teams
Baseball reference had him at -1.6 WAR instead of the -0.6 on fangraphs so I imagine he’s even lower on their rankings
He’s a 36 year old coming off a low .500 OPS season
He had a lower OPS than the historically bad Chris Davis season
The team was going to cut him last year but Judge wouldn’t let them
@Fragam If you counted 7 on Fangraphs I strongly suggest enrolling in a 1st Grade math class immediately
Until then you definitely should avoid any arithmetic
and maybe a couple more who have a smaller chance of starting but who else you see
On baseball reference I imagine some of those guys even have better WARs than DJ
I mean come on man you are defending a 36 year old who had a worse OPS than the historically bad Chris Davis season to potentially be the Yankees starting 3B
@Fragam I’m not defending anyone I’m pointing out a fact
Sorry if said fact does not support your opinion
at the very least NYY will give him a chance to prove himself or he ll come off bench until his contract is at a point that eating the remainder is easier to stomach
Well there were less than 80 players for a fact and the 6 I named plus a couple others could be starters
So not sure how that’s wrong unless you’re gonna name more players than the ones I named
Who are all these teams that think Moncada would be a good change of scenery candidate
They evidently think he should be somebody else’s change of scenery candidate
I can’t see him getting more than a one year with a small base and lots of incentives for games played
This article implies he may have problems with his medicals
I’ve heard that Moncada doesn’t really like playing baseball
Many White Sox fans felt that Yoan Moncada was more interested in furthering his music career than his job as a full time baseball player. youtube.com/watch?v=fm8V46BfynM
dancing might not be his best vocation either
Will he take a paycut if a team can guarantee him a spot on Dancing with the Stars
Moncada and Eloy didn’t put much effort into improving their games from one season to the next
Eloy got paid off hype-Moncada got extended off the 1 good juiced ball year in ’19 where he was HOF against rebuilding Tigers/KC pitching
1 positive is he defended well at 3B-he’d have to stick there
Should be minor league invite like Eloy in TB-make them earn it
Going into the season with DJ or Cabrera at 3B didn’t work last year
DJ got hurt in ST and then suffered thru a hip injury for most of the year
Totally irrelevant to the subject but decided to bring it up reading about Moncadas medicals
I saw a post earlier about Roki Sasaki and how he was recommended to get Tommy John surgery a couple years ago and that’s why he decided to come play in the mlb before it came down to that
Not sure how true it is since I saw it on instagram but def interesting news
It’s basically true from Sasaki himself
He said people were telling him to wait until he turned 25 to come to MLB so he’d get paid but he said he wanted to come now because there were no guarantees
I wasn’t sure how true it was cause I read it on some random baseball page’s instagram post
If his elbow wasn’t messed up enough then being a Dodger will surely get the job done
I’d take Kike just because of his versatility
I’d like to see them trade for Tucker and or Yandy Diaz if the cubs and rays are not in it at the deadline
There’s a reason 30 teams haven’t signed him
I’m a Yanks fan but it’s amazing the attitudes some Yak fans have towards mngmt now
I think the Yanks have done a great job balancing roster construction in that is almost equal parts leaning on the farm to graduate or trade from depth and signing FA
There is no award to be won for spending the most money each year
3b and lefty out pen hasn’t been that great
Kike’ has some additional value for non-contending teams as the Dodgers will come calling for him at the trade deadline
the Nats could use him as a placeholder at 3B while waiting for House then flip him for a Dodgers prospect in July
He’s less of a value proposition for a contending team that has to carry him on the roster for a whole regular season
I don’t think the problem is the 40-man roster as it is the active roster when the season starts
They seem to be full up on position players
and they don’t need his defensive flexibility and strikeout totals when they already have Taylor
Better to let some other team pay for him for 4 months and go get him closer to the playoffs
I feel like I see these “showing interest” articles every other day
Neither option seems like an upgrade over what we have
I know Cabrera’s bat isn’t great or even good
but he has good marks on defense and can run well
DJLM is pretty bad but we are stuck with him
And it’s finally time to see what Peraza can do
All 3 are capable fielders at 3rd and 2nd and it is obvious that this front office is prioritizing defense and run prevention
I am more worried about the LH bullpen piece
If the Yanks brought in someone at 3rd whom
could theoretically give you some production around 20 dbls
a .240/.330/.390 slash with a solid glove and some versatility in the infield
I would sign up for that production but I don’t see Kike giving you that
he hasn’t looked any better than what we got from Cabrera last year
Moncada definitely has a much higher ceiling and better bat but he is always injured and I have about as much confidence in him as I do in DJLM reverting to his 2023 form (I.e
what you’re saying is that Moncada is basically a lottery ticket
If you’re referring to Hernandez…I suggest you take a
look at his 2024 regular season slash line which is well below what you have described….not debating that in the 2024 playoffs and WS….he blossomed into an integral part of why the Dodgers won
but you still have to play 162 just to get there and given the slash line of .240
you’re pretty much describing Yankee internal options which doesn’t cost them anything other than their current payroll numbers….and who’s to say that one of them might blossom into just as integral a part of success you saw with Hernandez…..plus the internal options are younger
and have better legs than a 33 year old going on 34……
Russia almost exactly what DJ have is 2 year ago in 2023
He stayed the year off with a toe injury in ST that kept him out until early May and then he suffered thru a hip injury for the the rest of the year up until finishing in the DL
then there’s a good probability that he can rebound
that’s=Russia… weird auto correct
I just have more doubt than you that he bounces back to that
Peraza and DJLM over adding Kike or Moncada
Those two just don’t add anything above what we already have
Eugenio Suarez might be obtainable from AZ
Yoan Moncada is interesting but something tells me he won’t sign for a low base guarantee plus high incentives after he made almost $30M (incl
I’m not sure that the Yankees want to gamble on paying a high base plus 110% tax
he’s not bad at third base but you guys just had Gleyber with his baserunning lapses
I don’t think Boone would be the one to correct Moncada
If he won’t sign for a low guarantee
No one will offer him otherwise due to his past
What if the cards finally budge and trade arenado
d.j and a top 15 prospect in the Yankees system
Yankees get better and save money this year without losing a top prospect
Cards save money in the long run while having two potential rebound trade chips and get a prospect
The Yankees don’t want Matz because they have enough starters
The Cards want value back for Arenado and will eat salary for the right prospects
The Yankees don’t want to part with those prospects
Arenado may not waive his NTC to the Yankees
The Cards may not want Stroman and his high salary because he may not make them a better team
All true….and I might add that its highly possible that Cashman also doesn’t want a replay of the big bucks
low results contract that he got with Donaldson which after the first year
didn’t work out very well for the Yankees
Honestly the Yankees should go for Bregman and call it a dau
They must be convinced he’s really gonna fall off a cliff offensively
Bregman’s batting profile doesn’t mesh well with Yankee Stadium
but good players adapt and it’s hard to say he’s not that
He’d absolutely make this team better
We need a longterm solution ar 3rd and right now we don’t have it
Is he that good or is he playing in a favorable park
His numbers went up because of Yankee Stadium
Obviously Bregman is better than Didi but my point remains
I’d rather go with in house options right now and revisit 3b at the deadline if necessary
What would be the options at the deadline other than Arenado
There’s like barely a market for next season
It’s honestly shocking that Bregman hasn’t found a home simply because of that
Off the top of my head I’d say KeBryan Hayes
The job was to use the payroll for improvements
I am amazed every year when players and agents fail to realize they limit their options by waiting until the money is all spent
It’s been about three years with an above average OPS+
I think that the Yanks should look at Jose Iglesias,
There have been so many better options this offseason
Jose Iglesias and Brendan Rodgers would be better options than these guys
Unlike the types of players Cashman always targets
these guys play elite defense and don’t strike out half the time
The Yanks defense and inability to play small ball gets them beat in the playoffs every year
and Cashman is going to make it happen again this year
Please stop and remember this article is saying the Yanks have interest
It didn’t say that Cashman had offered a contract or even speak to the level of unrest interest and if they would be in the mix or being brought in to start
And what his are “typical ” that cashman has had brevet for the last 5 years is been a mix of DJ
Donaldson is the only one that was a high strikeout guy whereas the others were mostly good glove contact hitters
Probably can pick up Iglesias for the vet minimum if the Mets don’t resign him
John Dan; I have to agree with you about Boras & Bregman and the whole Astros cheating thing
Wherever Kike ends up I surely hope he can find a teammate that enjoys hip thrusts as much as him
The best move the Yankees could make is signing Iglesias imo
probably better than anyone we have who could play third
I’d try to get lucky with Moncada or just stick with the mediocre internal candidates
Typical Yankees off-season… spend big on a few guys and finish the roster off with hopes and dreams
If the Yanks were ever really in on Juan Soto
in my opinion they haven’t made his production with their off-season signings
And now they cheap-out on a high caliber 3rd baseman or a top end multi-position player..I
I’ve read about the Yanks using Paul Goldschmidt as a inspiration and tutor for Rice
And they’re going to have DJ LeMahieu,
but they still need to produce runs to insure that will matter.
Yoan Moncada earned a five-year contract extension that was supposed to keep him tied down as one of their building blocks moving forward
After a trio of promising seasons to start his career with the Chicago White Sox
Instead, the deal crashed and burned, and only saw him put together one above-average season from the moment it was signed to the day he was cut loose and sent into free agency.
is a former top prospect who failed to capitalize on sky-high potential and expectations
he was turning into a solid power hitter who possessed raw and gap power and a strong ability to get on base by any means necessary
injuries and underperformance removed all of his shine and he's now fighting for a job on the open market
According to independent reporter Francys Romero, Moncada is drawing interest from a few different teams
while the league waits to see where Alex Bregman will sign
There's a vast drop-off in talent between Bregman and Moncada
but it seems that any team that misses out on the former could shift their attention to the latter
It's been years since Moncada put together a solid full season of play
The last time he had an OPS+ over 100 (league-average) in a full season was back in 2021 when he put up 4.0 bWAR while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 61 across 144 games
he's struggled to stay on the field and hasn't looked himself when he's playing
However, a very brief 12-game showing this past season saw Moncada hit .275 with a .756 OPS. It's a small sample size, but it's clearly enough to have teams pursuing him as a prime bounce-back candidate
He's still young and has shown off some upside in the past
it's not a sound business decision to go any more than one year on any potential contract
the Blue Jays have been tied to virtually every single top-tier free agent this offseason
and it's disappointing to see them now being tied to the likes of Moncada
but it's a bit confusing why they'd pursue Moncada when they already have a player who gets on base more and plays way better defense in Ernie Clement
Toronto is currently eyeing the likes of Alex Bregman
If history is any indicator of how this'll end up going
they're going to come away with Moncada and call it an offseason
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Instead, the deal crashed and burned, and only saw him put together one above-average season from the moment it was signed to the day he was cut loose and sent into free agency.
According to independent reporter Francys Romero, Moncada is drawing interest from a few different teams
However, a very brief 12-game showing this past season saw Moncada hit .275 with a .756 OPS. It's a small sample size, but it's clearly enough to have teams pursuing him as a prime bounce-back candidate
Moncada candid about uncertain future with SoxSeptember 21st
Those 118 losses mark the third-highest single-season total
behind only the ‘62 Mets at 120 and the ‘03 Tigers at 119
The switch-hitting veteran served as a pinch-runner and struck out in his one plate appearance since rejoining the White Sox on Sept
16 after 20 days on an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte
It’s a nondescript way for Moncada’s eight seasons with the White Sox to come to a close
as the third baseman admitted through interpreter Billy Russo during a pregame interview with MLB.com Friday
I was thinking that it would be the same as before
nobody told me anything of how they would use me or what my role would be
is one example of the hopes of grandeur stemming from the last White Sox rebuild
followed by the crushing disappointment leading to the current rebuild
as evidenced by a breakout season 2019 and strong campaigns in ‘21 and ‘23
This season featured an 11-for-39 start before Moncada suffered a left adductor strain in a game at Cleveland on April 9
leaving the White Sox all but certain to use their $5 million buyout instead of picking up his $25 million club option for ‘25
“It has been a good career with ups and downs
Crochet’s career hasn’t run quite as deep as Moncada’s
with parts of three years as a reliever prior to his first foray as a starter
The second-half limits continued against the Padres
as Crochet threw 52 pitches over four scoreless
Jake Cronenworth’s single just over the outstretched attempt of third baseman Bryan Ramos was the lone batter to reach vs
“It’s definitely been a while since I’ve thrown the ball like that
I felt like I had all five pitches going there
so I was able to kind of do what I wanted in most counts.”
There’s some question as to whether Crochet will be part of the White Sox in ‘25 and beyond
The team holds two years of arbitration control on their ace
but general manager Chris Getz has also made clear nobody is untouchable on his roster
Crochet emerges as their top trade chip if the White Sox won’t be competitive in the next two seasons
Moncada’s future has pretty much been decided
which is why he’s not playing now and might not play much over the final eight games
Focus remains on Ramos and Miguel Vargas at third base
Interim manager Grady Sizemore understands the situation is not easy for Moncada
“Adding a third guy makes it even harder,” said Sizemore
hours before Lenyn Sosa tied Friday’s game with a two-out
“I should probably still be talking about him more about what the plan is
we have to kind of see what these guys have
“We have limited games left to really evaluate them
Just the fact that it’s so late in the year and where we are at
it just doesn’t really make sense to prioritize him over some of these younger guys.”
being with the team and not playing is tougher than being away from the team
I probably would prefer to just stay in Triple-A and be playing because that’s what I want to do,” Moncada said
CHICAGO -- The White Sox declined a $25 million option on third baseman Yoán Moncada on Friday after he missed almost the entire season because of a left adductor strain
Chicago also turned down a $7.5 million option on catcher Max Stassi
Moncada was hurt trying to beat out a grounder at Cleveland on April 9 and did not return until Sept
Acquired from Boston along with pitcher Michael Kopech in the deal that sent former ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox in December 2016
Moncada hit .254 with 93 homers and 338 RBIs in eight years with Chicago
when he set career highs with a .315 average
A back injury limited him to 92 games in 2023
Stassi gets a $500,000 buyout as part of a $17.5 million, three-year contract he agreed to with the Los Angeles Angels
He was acquired from Atlanta in December
began the season on the 10-day injured list with left hip inflammation
He played five games on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte and had season-ending surgery on June 7
Chicago set the post-1900 record for losses in a season
The White Sox hired Will Venable as manager on Thursday after firing Pedro Grifol in August
— Yoán Moncada might have technically been on the active roster for the Chicago White Sox in September
but it was clear they had no intention to use him
he watched on the bench as his team finished the worst season in Major League Baseball history
All while the team publicly stated it wouldn’t use Moncada
a player Chicago once hoped would become the face of its franchise
Moncada’s only at-bat in the final 12 games of the season — after missing more than five months with an adductor strain — was an extra-inning
pinch hit strikeout that took place in Angel Stadium
“It’s no lie that I had a rough year last year
and we know what happened with Chicago,” Moncada said Sunday
I have to respect the decision that was made
Moncada’s crazy career trajectory has led him to what is effectively a prove-it one-year
$5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels
including 5.2 fWAR in 2019 and 3.7 fWAR in 2021 as the White Sox raced to an AL Central title
But the 29-year-old has faded in recent years
as he’s played just 104 total games the last two seasons
The Angels have nonetheless anointed him their starting third baseman
It would have been the case regardless but was further solidified by Anthony Rendon’s season-ending hip injury
No one is certain if they’re getting the slugger with superstar potential or the player who is oft-injured and was a replacement-level hitter in his last two seasons of elongated baseball
“I think he can be a guy that can be someone you can count on on both sides of the ball,” manager Ron Washington said
“I think he has the ability to power the ball out of the ballpark
but we’re not looking for him to be a home run hitter — but he has that ability
I think he’s a guy that can be consistent down at third base.”
“We also want him to be a good teammate down in that clubhouse
We’re trying to set the standards of what we want.”
Moncada said he had offers from multiple teams this offseason
including other offers to be an everyday third baseman
Other teams offered a second base job or to become a utilityman
But he said he chose the Angels because he believed the team has high expectations and wanted to be teammates with Mike Trout
He’ll also be reunited with former White Sox teammates Tim Anderson and Yolmer Sanchez
two players who were also supposed to be part of the White Sox’s up-and-coming core but have signed minor-league deals with the Angels in hopes of restarting their careers
“It feels good having old teammates with me in the clubhouse,” Moncada said
“It helps make this transition a whole lot smoother.”
Third base has been an abyss for the Angels
They’ve used 30 third basemen since Rendon signed his seven-year
$245 million contract before the 2020 season
but the Angels are praying he can provide some stability at a position that’s lacked it
is that Moncada hasn’t been a source of stability throughout his career
but now I’m very thankful that those injuries are gone in my past,” Moncada said
“And I feel healthy and I feel ready to go and play baseball.”
Moncada did his first infield drills with Washington on Sunday
They’re a patented exercise unique to the longtime coach
while acknowledging it takes about three days for most new players to get used to them
the Angels are counting on Moncada to be motivated by several factors: Finding success in a career heading in the wrong direction; playing for his next contract a year from now; and pleasing a coaching staff that pushes players
And there’s no surefire happy ending to this decision
But the Angels were not in the market for Alex Bregman
They’re working with a different budget and different set of circumstances
But it was also a risk the Angels needed to take
To avoid a scenario like in the Angels-White Sox game last year — the final home game in Chicago for Moncada — when the Angels’ infield consisted of Eric Wagaman
Moncada provides an everyday option and some much-needed depth
Right back in the South Side of Chicago on Opening Day
which will represent the turning of a new page in both Moncada’s career and the Angels’ plans for third base
“The thing I would like to improve on the most is everything,” Moncada said
That’s going to help me be the player I want to be for this team.”
• Trout met with Washington and general manager Perry Minasian after reporting to camp Sunday
The anticipated conversation was about how they planned to use him this year
be it center field or a corner outfield spot
Washington said he didn’t have anything to report following the meeting
but it’s expected Trout will speak about it Monday
• Rendon’s locker was replaced in the Angels’ new spring training clubhouse
• Soler said he’s using spring training to prepare to play outfield this season for the Angels
Soler has struggled defensively throughout his career and is mostly going to DH in Anaheim
Though with Trout likely to need DH days as well
the team plans to have Soler play at least some defense in 2025
(Top photo of Yoán Moncada in April 2024: Peter Aiken / Imagn Images)
Sam Blum is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Los Angeles Angels and Major League Baseball
he was a sports reporter for the Dallas Morning News
he covered Auburn for AL.com and the University of Virginia for The Daily Progress in Charlottesville
Moncada signed a one-year, $5 million deal in February following eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox
In related moves, the Angels promoted infielder J.D. Davis from Triple-A Salt Lake and designated left-hander Jack Dashwood for assignment
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Moncada then drove in Soler with a grounder back up the middle that went off Clevinger (0-1) for an infield single
Moncada played for the White Sox for the previous eight seasons before signing with the Angels in free agency
Los Angeles right-hander José Soriano (1-0) pitched seven innings of two-hit ball
Soriano made 20 starts and two relief appearances for Los Angeles last year
He was shut down in August because of right arm fatigue
Ben Joyce worked the eighth and Kenley Jansen earned his first save of the season
Angels center fielder Jo Adell left in the fifth after legging out an infield hit
Jonathan Cannon pitched five innings of four-hit ball for Chicago
Benintendi and Brooks Baldwin had the only hits for Chicago
The teams conclude their season-opening series Sunday. Jack Kochanowicz pitches for the Angels, and Davis Martin starts for the White Sox
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbbr/]
the Los Angeles Angels have revealed that the third baseman will not make his Halos debut in Chicago on Thursday as they have released the official starting lineup
More news: Angels' Recently-Released Mickey Moniak Finds New Home, Signs With NL West Club
Luis Rengifo will move over from second base to replace Moncada
as fellow veteran Tim Anderson will get the start at second base against his former team
A thumb injury that not even manager Ron Washington knows the source of is what began the saga of uncertainty ahead of the season opener
he came out there and the doc said that he hurt his thumb,” Washington said earlier this month
Although no ligaments were torn in the thumb
a positive that has come out of this is now Tim Anderson makes not just Angels roster
but will trot out onto the field and represent them on Opening Day
Anderson was not guaranteed a roster spot and is looking to write a new chapter to his All-Star career
he will have to wait just a little longer to get back onto the diamond
he only saw 11 appearances for the Chicago White Sox until an April abductor strain sidelined him for all but one more game in the season
He'll hope to make his debut in the second game of the series on Saturday
Game 1️⃣📺: @FanDuelSN_West📻: @AngelsRadioKLAA, AM830 app (Spanish)#RepTheHalo x @FBMSupply pic.twitter.com/uE5KhGjaw0
as they were just swept for the first time in 2025 and are on a four-game losing streak
and just found one via signing a veteran reliever to a minor league contract and will get another when they return their starting third baseman from injury
The Angels are working their way through some early season struggles
or even Ron Washington...he must have them
Minasian is continuing his offseason strategy of taking fliers on veteran relievers
Neris will be joining a Triple-A Salt Lake pitching staff that currently has Dakota Hudson
Neris was a part of the 2022 Houston Astros World Series team
and his best season in terms of bWAR was the following season with the Angels' division rival
The first eight years of his big league career were spent with Philadelphia
before making his way to Chicago and Atlanta
so Neris could easily make his way back to the big leagues over the duration of the season
Per Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register: "Third baseman Yoán Moncada (sprained right thumb) has begun hitting from the right side
but he’s not ready to hit from the left side
Moncada has been doing defensive drills the entire time he’s been on the injured list." Fletcher went on to report that the Angels evaluators are unsure whether they will send Moncada on a minor league rehab assignment before activating him from the 10-Day IL
Moncada's thumb injury has been plaguing him since late in spring training
but it was encouraging that they opted for the 10-Day over the 15-Day for their offseason signing (unlike their move for Ben Joyce)
The Angels are activating Zach Neto from the IL
The clear DFA candidates (because they are out of minor league options) are Nicky Lopez and J.D
Davis when the Angels need to clear roster spots for their starting infielders on the left side of the diamond
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Yoán Moncada update","relatedPosts",[],[],[],4,0,"",{"next":"b0"},["40"],"semantic",{"articles":"av","articlesQueryURLs":"aw","bySearchQuery":"3s","excludeProperties":"4k","excludedIDs":"ax","isFullPost":"ao","limit":"ay","offset":"az","onlyQueryURLs":"ao","organization":"b0","pagination":"b1","properties":"b2","sourceType":"b3"},{"type":"au","value":"b4"},{"postsList":"b5"},"Evan Roberts worked in professional baseball for 5 years
Per Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register: "Third baseman Yoán Moncada (sprained right thumb) has begun hitting from the right side