After a trio of promising seasons to start his career with the Chicago White Sox, Yoan Moncada earned a five-year contract extension that was supposed to keep him tied down as one of their building blocks moving forward.
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.
Moncada, 29, is a former top prospect who failed to capitalize on sky-high potential and expectations. At his peak back in 2019, 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. Over the years, 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, including the Toronto Blue Jays, 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.
Several teams, including the Cubs, Mariners, and Blue Jays, remain interested in 3B Yoan Moncada, per sources.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 5, 2025
The third baseman market continues to wait on what happens with Alex Bregman.
Blue Jays latest team to be tied to former White Sox INF Yoan Moncada
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. Since then, 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, so there are worst options out there. However, it's not a sound business decision to go any more than one year on any potential contract.
As we enter 2025, 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. The club has a serious need on offense, 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.
After missing out on Juan Soto, Toronto is currently eyeing the likes of Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and Anthony Santander. 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.