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| Yoan Moncada |
The 27-year-old White Sox third baseman has now spent all or parts of six seasons with the team, and you would think he'd be right in the middle of his prime.
Instead, he's coming off the worst year of his career, and there are legitimate questions about whether he can be counted upon to be even a league-average player.
When I think about Moncada's career, I draw a clear line on March 6, 2020. That's the day he signed his five-year, $70 million extension with the Sox.
Before that day, he seemed to be a player on the rise, culminating in by far the best season of his career in 2019:
2017: .231/.338/.412, 8 doubles, 8 home runs, 22 RBIs, 103 OPS+ in 54 games
2018: .235/.315/.400, 32 doubles, 17 home runs, 61 RBIs, 96 OPS+ in 149 games
2019: .315/.367/.548, 34 doubles, 25 home runs, 79 RBIs, 140 OPS+ in 132 games
Then the Sox gave him long-term security, and splat:
2020: .220/.320/.385, 8 doubles, 6 home runs, 24 RBIs, 94 OPS+ in 52 games
2021: .263/.375/.412, 33 doubles, 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, 116 OPS+ in 144 games
2022: .212/.273/.353, 18 doubles, 12 home runs, 51 RBIs, 76 OPS+ in 104 games
Wow, a 76 OPS+ for a guy who is supposed to be a cornerstone player.
One of the main problems the Sox have is a lack of left-handed thump in the middle of the batting order. The front office seems to think Moncada and catcher Yasmani Grandal, a pair of switch-hitters, can play that role. It hasn't worked well at all, as Grandal also had a terrible 2022 (64 OPS+).
At this point, we can probably forget about 2019 Moncada ever coming back. That was a career year, and he's just not that guy. The best fans can hope for is he regains his 2021 form -- an above-average hitter who plays a decent third base. That's not the All-Star level everyone hoped to see, but hey, it's something.
Unfortunately, Moncada has only been that guy once in the past three years. His supporters make endless excuses about injuries and Moncada's bout with COVID-19 in 2020.
Enough of that.
Everyone has had COVID by now whether they know it or not, and there are numerous other players around that league who had COVID symptoms and have recovered with no problem. And then there's the endless array of soft-tissue issues that Moncada has suffered -- hamstring pulls and oblique strains and whatnot. How is a 27-year-old player getting injured this often? It's time for Moncada to get in "the best shape of his life" this offseason, but will he have the motivation?
The Sox owe him $17 million in 2023 and $24 million in 2024. There is a $25 million club option for 2025 that includes a $5 million buyout. Unless something changes dramatically, that isn't getting picked up, but Moncada has a guaranteed $46 million coming to him the next two-plus years.
If he's going to go through the motions and bat .212 with a 76 OPS+ again, fans will be well within their rights to boo him mercilessly.
moncada and his contract are so bad, he might be untradable like jason hayward. williams and hahn misread moncada. probably biggest disappointment on the team
ReplyDeleteI agree that it will be difficult, if not impossible, to trade Moncada because of his contract. The Sox may have to hope he rebounds to his 2021 form, when he was decent but not great.
ReplyDeleteIf he's the player he was in 2021, he's still overpaid, but at least he's not killing you on the field like he did in 2022. I don't think we'll ever see Moncada play to his 2019 form again.
after seeing the results of moncada's $70 million 7 year deal, it would not suprise me if hahn lost a lot of credibility with reinsdorf, who has been burned by so many poor big contracts over the years (i.e. john danks, adam dunn) that you almost understand his rep.
ReplyDeletehopefully, hahn is on a short leash after this moncada disaster. this kid got too much $ too early and did not earn it. and he does not strike me a a careful student of the game (i.e. attention to detail). too much casual flair, not enough results.
don't think anyone on coaching staff broke thru with him either, so they should go too. there was no ron washington on the bench trying to break thru every day with these guys to get them ready to play that day.
Hahn should be on a short lease for many, many reasons. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case. Beyond just the bad Moncada deal, the Sox had a $197 million payroll in 2022 to finish 81-81. The red flags should be there for Reinsdorf to see that Hahn is not spending money wisely, but Jerry likes his guys.
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