The Chicago Cubs have had an amazing offseason and are virtually done with the major lifting to overhaul their roster.
The Cubs at this point will just need to focus on adding depth pieces to have incase any of their main contributors like Kyle Tucker or Shota Imanaga get hurt.
The Cubs still could use another veteran bat off their bench to give them one more option. The Cubs were in trying to sign their crosstown rivals former third baseman Yoán Moncada, but were unlucky with Moncada deciding to take his services out west.
Former Chicago White Sox infielder signs with the Angels
The White Sox decided to move on from Moncada earlier this offseason by paying him his $5 million buyout instead of picking up his $25 million option for this season. A once talented young prospect who came over in the Chris Sale trade, the White Sox had high hopes for Moncada, who the White Sox thought of being a centerpiece for years to come.
Sadly, that didn’t pan out, with Moncada not being able to stay healthy with only appearing in 104 games out of a possible 324 games in the last two seasons. Since becoming a free agent, Moncada had drawn a lot of interest from teams. According to Baseball/Sports reporter and BBWAA member Francys Romero, the Cubs offered Moncada an $3 million deal before he signed with the Los Angeles Angels for $5 million.
“The Chicago Cubs expressed strong interest in Yoan Moncada and even made an offer of approximately $3 million for one season, according to sources.”
The Chicago Cubs expressed strong interest in Yoan Moncada and even made an offer of approximately $3 million for one season, according to sources.
— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) February 7, 2025
A player with a ton of talent
Moncada has all the ability to be a star. However, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy to let that star shine. Last season, Moncada appeared in just 12 games for the White Sox before going down with an adductor strain, which Moncada suffered early last season. Before that, Moncada’s best season came in 2019, where he finished 21st in the MVP voting and hit .315/.367/.548 with an OPS and OPS+ of .915 and 140.
The 29-year-old still has gas left in the tank and needs to show he can stay healthy because he can be a productive big leaguer again. Going to the Angels, where Ron Washington is the manager, should do wonders for Moncada. Washington is the right person to get Moncada back into shape and bring back out the player Moncada was back in 2019.
Moncada will figure to be in the running to be the Angles everyday third baseman for this season. The status of what the Angles will do with Anthony Rendon, who has not been productive for them since signing his deal is still up in the air.
Moncada would’ve been a good fit for the Chicago Cubs
The Cubs could’ve used Moncada’s veteran presence to help mentor the young prospects the Cubs have coming up like Matt Shaw.
Moncada would’ve also offered a great bench bat with having 25 HR potential and is a rare switch hitter.
Moncada has high bounce back potential and could get back to the player he was lauded to be if he can just stay healthy. Having manager Ron Washington and former teammate Tim Anderson will certainly help Moncada out in LA.
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