Bomber Bites: Should Yankees Go All In On Yoan Moncada?

We’ve heard the name all off-season long. Yoan Moncada. The 19 year old wunderkind defector from Cuba. While he’s been cleared by MLB, he still hasn’t been cleared by OFAC. If he’s not by June 15, the Yankees don’t have a chance for him because they’ve spent over their budget like a drunk college kid at spring break. If he does, expect for the Yanks to be all in. The question is should they be?

There were reports all off-season long on how he could possibly get a $40 million bonus (even Jon Lester thinks that’s impressive). It could be a $80 million deal. Well Moncada may be working out for teams as soon as two weeks from now.

Look, the law of averages suggests that eventually one of the hyped Cuban kids won’t work out. Maybe Yasmani Tomas isn’t very good. Maybe Rusney Castillo will flop in Boston. But, Yoenis Cespedes, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu have all done well. Before that, Orlando Hernandez and Livan Hernandez were great as well.

But that’s not the reason why to go all in. The reason is that because the Yankees money advantage in free agency no longer exists. Everyone makes money now. Everyone locks up their players. Guys like Mike Trout and Giancarlo Stanton, if they reach free agency, will be closer to the end of their prime than the beginning.

While the current system exists with Cuban players, especially for one that’s 19, you gotta do it. You have to develop your own talent now. You can’t just buy it. And a lot of time when you do buy it, you have remorse (see Rodriguez, Alex)

If and when Moncada is cleared and if it’s before June, the Yanks have to be all in. They are behind in player development as it is with many teams. Losing Moncada could further that.