Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Zaidi Says Formal Offer Was Never Made To Moncada

Yoan Moncada

After the marquee MLB free agents signed their respective new contracts during the offseason, plenty of focus was shifted to international free agents, namely Cuban prospects and in particular Yoan Moncada.



The switch-hitting 19-year-old infielder was a primary target of interest for several teams, including the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. Falling in line with his desire to sign by the end of February, it was reported Monday he agreed to a deal with the Red Sox.

The Dodgers’ interest in Moncada ranged from them once being the perceived favorite to sign him, to having reservations over the cost, to then mulling over potentially offering a $40 million signing bonus.

Moncada’s agent David Hastings stated on Feb. 18 offers were rolling in for his client, but according to Pedro Moura of the OC Register, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said his club was not among those teams:

Had the Dodgers signed the talented infielder, they would have paid a 100 percent penalty tax and been limited in the international free agent market over the next two signing periods. While they may have lost out on one of Cuba’s best talents, Zaidi pointed to other players who will soon be available:

Along with Moncada, the Dodgers have been linked to infielders Andy Ibanez and Hector Olivera, and young right-hander Yadier Alvarez.

Despite being 29 years old, Olivera could be an attractive alternative for the Dodgers as he is not bound by the same international signing guidelines as Moncada due to his older age and having played at least five seasons in a Cuban professional league.

With Moncada joining the Red Sox, he becomes the latest free agent whom the Dodgers have been tied to only for it later to be revealed the team never submitted a offer or had serious interest in.

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18 Comments

  1. Well no….why would they sign him and miss out on all those BEAT up arms they have been signing…The owners of this team hired two of the nuttiest bastards ever to run a team…what morons….

    1. Wrong, these new guys are not really Dodgers. They were not raised in the organization, and neither has ever been with a team that has the kind of resources that the Dodgers do. A’s have a long history, but haven’t won since the Bash Brothers. Rays are new and draw crap…..Dodgers have drawn more fans than they have ever dreamed of. Freidman and Zaidi made change for the sake of change it seems to me.,…

      1. The Dodgers have a long history as well, and haven’t won since 88. Drawing fans has nothing to do getting with a WS ring, so that’s an irrelevant point you are using just for the sake of trashing Friedman….again.
        Let the season play out and I’ll bet you change your tune. This team will win plenty. I’ll bet they are better than last year.

  2. No 19 year old is worth that kind of guaranteed money. We still don’t know if he can play well at the major league level.

      1. Puig had Cuban national experience and signed for 7 years – 42 mil compared to Moncada who Boston shelled out 63 mil in the hopes he has enough brains to play the game. There have been many with the athletic ability but couldn’t play with the big boys.

        1. Cuban national is not MLB. And he got 30 or so, the rest goes to MLB as a tax. Puig will get his payday…and by all accounts Moncada is the real deal. But the argument here is not the money. The Dodgers have that in droves, the argument is signing a bunch of fringe guys and not one player who is going to have a major impact….Not drinking the kool aid.

  3. When you guys argue something about these guys don’t use AAA stats, or Cuban stats and say they are can’t miss guys. Just because Pederson tore up AAA does not mean he is the savior in the Dodger OF> Remember Billy Ashley? I did not think so…..

    1. ….and just a few comments above YOU claimed to believe Moncada is the real deal and are angry with Friedman and Zaidi for not signing him. Now you say Cuban stats are not a good basis to judge a player on. Which way is it with you?

      1. I said by all accounts. But that in and of its self means nothing. I am not mad at them for not signing the guy. I could care less. That’s a lot of money for an unproven guy. I do not like the moves they have made that’s my thing. But I might be proven wrong, happened before. Cuban stats and AAA stats are nothing but guide lines. They mean nothing in the big picture because all that counts is production at the MLB level. I do not care for GM’s who use nothing but analytics’ and forget things like baseball smarts, or grit. I do not believe the team is all that much better and chinks in the armor have already begun to show. There are a lot of question marks on this team. Spring will answer some. But how they play as a unit………I bet they barely win 90……..The whole league is better. ….and I know how long it has been since they went to the series,. I was there.

        1. I don’t believe it’s all analytics. Kendrick is better than Gordon. I’m sure we will miss all the SBs, and I’m concerned about how the lack of that threat will affect how the #2 hitter gets pitched. However, if you can get on base, you aren’t much of a SB threat. Advantage Kendrick. Rollins is a proven commodity. He’s a better defender and team player than Hanley. Sure, Hanleys bat is better, but what good is that when fans have to hold their breath hoping he doesn’t get injured walking to the dugout in between innings? If kemp goes to SD and stays hot, it will hurt to see, but if our clubhouse loses a crummy attitude that hurts team cohesiveness, then we will be just fine. I’ve played on championship teams and seen the effects of chemistry. That’s not analytics talking.
          I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I like the majority of the moves they’ve made. I love the idea of a more balanced lineup that manufactures runs where the opposing pitcher has to be concerned about every batter putting the ball in play, not just the middle of the order hitting for power.
          You seem to want to keep the status quo that has not gotten our Dodgers to the ultimate goal. Relying on that middle of the order didn’t work out so well when Kemp was out for not hustling and Hanley went down with cracked ribs two years ago.

          1. You make some good point and I do not totally disagree with you. Dee had a bad second half, up til then he was doing his job and doing it well. People tend to forget that last year was his first full major league season. Kendrick is a better all around ballplayer. But Dee is young, he has speed, and I think once he gets comfortable in the position he will become a much better 2nd baseman. I too played the game for a lot of years. but I do not believe that Kemp was as much a problem as fans do. I have read numerous reports to the contrary including statements from team mates and one in particular from Zack Greinke. I think a lot of that so called attitude was brought on by the press and the fact that he was vocal about being a starter. But that’s water under the bridge. He is a Padre now. Status quo, no. But I did not see the need for a total overhaul either. And I think who they traded or did not resign makes no difference. There were moves to be made. I just do not agree with most of them. McCarthy for 48 mil….Anderson, with an injury history from here to there.,…Grandal……I do not think he is all that great and certainly not worth Kemp’s BAT. I think they have not addressed the BP the right way. They got FRINGE players all the way down the line. Not one single solitary IMPACT every day player. Kendrick and Rollins to me are trade off’s Both for the defensive side of the ball. That’s ok …But Rollins has been on a downhill slide for 4 years. his age should diminish his range. Ramirez has been gone most of the time since he got there…so I knew he was not going to be resigned. The one thing I take issue with everybody on is this. It is not that easy to get to the World Series. And as the Giants and Royals both proved it takes a lot of luck. The Dodgers missed going in 2013 for one reason,. Hanley got plunked in the NLCS. Once he was gone, it took the heart out of the team. Last year they lost because the front office never really addressed the starting pitching after Beckett went down and the BP was a disaster. The BP still looks like a war zone. We will see if the 95 arms they have added this winter get the job done.

          2. I enjoyed watching Gordon play, but he was playing above his level. He worked hard to get there and I certainly appreciate and applaud that. But I think you have to admit that he was overachieving and his second half was probably closer to the true Dee Gordon. I love him and hate to say it, but I believe that’s probably the way it is and the front office saw that. Kendrick is proven and consistent. Gimme that over a flash in the pan, no pun intended. Haha….
            Also DONT FORGET like everyone does, Grandal is not the only thing we got from the Kemp trade. We also got another proven player, with serious maturity and leadership abilities (and great on field skills too) in Jimmy Rollins. He is going to contribute as much or more behind closed doors as he does on the field. I’ll take that over selfish, me me me players every time. He is the kind of guy that makes a TEAM. A TEAM wins championships, not a couple stars. We are a helluva lot closer to that now than last year.
            I’m glad you mentioned Hanley getting his ribs cracked. I agree, that is what did us in in 2013, and I still believe it was intentional. What they’ve done with all these changes leads me to believe that this new lineup will be more slump and injury proof as it is less reliant on a couple big names. Given the nature of the game, that is a VERY good thing. It will bode well for October.

          3. Don’t forget, there’s more than one way to win a baseball game…and a championship. The way we have done it recently hasn’t worked. Why keep doing the same thing?

            Would you rather have 50 home runs with empty bases or putting the ball in play 75 times with runners on 1st and 3rd? This team was terrible with clutch hitting last year and got bit by it plenty of times. Every little league coach knows you just pull the ball in play and force the other team to be perfect at their job sometimes…and there’s a lot more room for them to make a mistake with a lineup full of ground ball and line drive hitters. It’s easy to catch a pop fly…or get a strikeout.
            Make the other team work and have 8 guys that can do it. You’re going to find holes and force them to make errors.
            THEN have a team that will be exceptional about NOT committing those errors when it’s your turn in the field. Makes a whole lot of sense to me when you step back, detach your emotions and simply look at what they’ve done instead of making knee jerk judgments.

          4. Look, everybody has an opinion on what is best for the team. And we are all wrong. Nobody, not the front office or any of us fans can predict what will happen. And I think you are wrong. They won the division 2 years straight. That’s the job. The world series is icing on the cake. And they scored the 2nd most runs in the league, were 2nd in victory’s and overcame a 9 1/2 game deficit to win pulling away. They got beat in the playoffs because the BP was not reliable. I have talked to Phillie fans who have told me that Rollins was terrible in the clutch. I agree, he will make the defense better on that side of the inf, but I do not want to see him popping out all the time with runners on base. I do not make knee jerk judgment’s. And I certainly am not emotional about moves they have made. I simply think they made knee jerk moves themselves. I do not think that either of these guys is a genius. Nor do I think they are as great as everybody else thinks they are. I know that every GM can look back over his tenure and see the DUMB trades or moves he has made. As for getting emotional. In all my over 60 years of being a Dodger fan, it happened twice. The first time I was 14 and over the winter they traded my favorite player, Duke Snider to the Mets, for Jim Hickman. I was a kid, so that stung. The 2nd time was when the owners went over Fred Claire’s head and traded Mike Piazza. That time I was furious. Because it was a stupid trade that back fired for years.

          5. I disagree on Gordon. He may never be a guy who hits .300, but I think .280 is very possible. I also think someone working with him on pitch selection and being patient at the plate and not chasing so many bad balls is going to increase his OBP. I do not consider Rollins part od the Kemp trade at all. They shipped the better of the 2 pitchers they received to the Phillies with another pitcher for Rollins. I think the Dodgers could have gotten a better SS through free agency than getting a 36 year old one year stop gap for 2 young guys. To me it was a 2 for 2 trade. Kemp and Fed Ex for Wieland and Grandal. Fed Ex was never that great here so no big loss….Wieland is not even going to make the team unless someone gets injured. Which brings me to Grandal. I have said in previous posts and I will say it here. I do not like guys who use PED’s and I am not impressed by a .,227 average with a little power and lousy fielding skills. The guy had 12 passed balls in 76 games. Ellis had 2 in 92 games. And pitch framing, makes no difference if you cannot field your position better than that,

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