The rumor mill has the Chicago Cubs targeting corner infielder Yoan Moncada from their crosstown rivals, the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs earlier traded both their starting third baseman, Isaac Paredes, and first round draft pick, Cam Smith, to the Houston Astros for right fielder Kyle Tucker. That has left a void at the hot corner that the team is going to have to fill. There is still plenty of competition from within. However, bringing in a seasoned veteran to the position will support younger players as they enter the major leagues.
Cubs Pursuing Crosstown Rival’s Corner Infielder
A Promising Recruit from Cuba
Moncada was 20 years old when he signed as an international free agent with the Boston Red Sox in 2015. A good base runner, he stole 49 bases in 52 attempts in his first season of Single-A ball. He was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America in 2016. That year, he slashed .294/.407/.511 with 31 doubles, six triples, 15 home runs, 62 RBI, and 45 stolen bases. He made his major league debut with the Red Sox that year.
After being traded to the White Sox, Moncada had his breakout season in 2018. That year, he became the fifth under-23 player in White Sox history to record 30 doubles, 15 home runs, and 60 RBI in a season. That put him in the company of Chet Lemon (1977), Frank Thomas (1991), Paul Konerko (1999), and Carlos Lee (1999).
An Up and Down Career on Chicago’s Southside
Despite showing early promise, Moncada’s results have been mixed to this point. He had his best season in 2019, slashing .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs, 79 RBI, 34 doubles, and five triples in 511 at-bats. His last full season came in 2021. That year, he had an OPS of .787 with 14 home runs, 61 RBI, and 33 triples in 520 at-bats.
With more power came reduced speed and low stolen base totals. That trade-off would be fine if the power numbers were more consistent. In his three full seasons since entering the majors in 2016, Moncada has hit more than 20 home runs once. But the six-foot-two, two-hundred-twenty-pound corner man has a respectable .755 OPS for his career. He’s had over 30 doubles in three different seasons as well.
Moncada’s fielding performance has also suffered some ups and downs throughout his career. The high point in his career so far was 2019 when he was at or near the top of the league in most batting and fielding categories according to Baseball Savant.
An Over-Valued and Underperforming Free Agent
The question for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is what version of Moncada is he going to get? His current market value is $1.5 million, and the White Sox declined his $25 million contract for 2025 in favor of a $5 million buyout. His strikeout rate for the past two seasons is 29.4 percent. All of that being said. However, this is a player entering the prime of his career who has shown plenty of upside at times.
This is not an easy question for the Cubs front office to answer. Salary implications, Moncada’s unreliable output, and the ongoing search for the remaining pieces needed to field a post-season contender should give Hoyer pause. On the other hand, he doesn’t seem to have a really good option at third for next season.
Converted middle infielder Miles Mastrobuoni and the recently signed Vidal Bruján are listed as the Cubs third basemen. Minor leaguers Matt Shaw, 23, and Gage Workman, 25, will make an appearance at spring training this February.
For the Cubs, targeting corner infielder upgrades is a must. But whether Hoyer opts to bring Moncada over from the Southside or take his chances with the players on hand, it feels like a roll of the dice.
