The Phillies were unwilling to spend money or even make an offer for international free agent Yasmany Tomas, but could the team be in on another international free agent? Yoan Moncada, a shortstop from Cuba who was often considered the superior player to Tomas, could be looking to sign soon. Might the Phillies be in the mix?
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes:
Moncada is the most sought-after Cuban infielder and he’ll soon be clear to join a major league team. Moncada, 19, has drawn considerable interest, but teams like the Red Sox who are well over their international pool allotment and can’t sign anyone until July 2, are hoping Moncada recognizes this and holds off. But with the Yankees and Phillies possibly in the mix, that appears unlikely. Moncada seems to be best suited for second base, or possibly third.
The international allottment could be an issue for teams. At just 19 years old, Moncada would be subject to the appropriate penalties noted here in this Baseball America article:
Moncada isn’t a free agent yet, and he has not obtained a specific license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury. There’s never a clear timetable for when to expect bureaucratic paperwork to get pushed through, but assuming Moncada gets cleared to sign in the near future and wants to get going before the 2015 season begins, he’s going to be able to sign a contract during the current 2014-15 signing period. Once he breaks that team’s 2014-15 bonus pool, that means the team will pay a 100 percent tax on its pool overage and won’t be allowed to sign any pool-eligible players for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods, beginning with the 2015-16 signing period that begins on July 2, 2015.
The Cubs and Rangers are also unable to sign a player during the 2014-2015 period, but the Phillies are. Should the Phillies choose to do it, they likely would be blocked from further international transactions.
But some suggest that Moncada would be worth it, including a scouting director in a piece on MLB.com from Jonathan Mayo.
"He's worth going way over your international spending pool, in my opinion," one scouting director said. "This game is about talent and Moncada is the kind of talent worth the investment."
Yasmany Tomas was exempt from the international pool because he played five seasons in the Cuban league. Yet, the Phillies declined to make him an offer. Having Moncada and J.P. Crawford up the middle has a heck of a lot of potential, so Moncada may be a risk worth taking.
