Dodgers Take Calculated Risk In Not Signing Yoan Moncada
No, the Los Angeles Dodgers did not sign Yoan Moncada. No, it’s not time to storm the Dodgers’ front office with pitchforks and torches. Their decision is based on sound logic, with more opportunities to acquire talent in the not too distant future.
Why Not Moncada?
As you may remember, Ken Gurnick came out with an article explaining how the Dodgers would pass on Moncada due to the impact it would have on their ability to sign international talent over the next two years.
I disagreed, explaining that players of Moncada’s caliber don’t grow on trees and it would be okay if they accepted the signing restrictions. He was right, I was wrong.
With the Boston Red Sox signing Moncada, they now cannot sign any international players under the age of 23 with fewer than five years of professional experience for more than $300,000 over the next two signing periods.
That’s a lot of words, but hopefully it makes sense. This is a severe punishment that the Red Sox were willing to accept and the Dodgers weren’t. At least, not yet.
Not being able to spend more than $300,000 was basically the Dodgers’ gameplan under Frank McCourt. However, with new ownership comes a new approach. In the last two signing periods, the Dodgers have spent $1 million on 16-year-old Lucas Tirado and $750,000 on 16-year-old Romer Cuadrado.
Kiley McDaniel of Fangraphs says the Dodgers are going big on a player in the next signing period, so forfeiting their ability to spend more than $300,000 would cost them a top international player.
CONTINUE READING: What’s Next For The Dodgers
Personally I think Moncada at $63 mil will turn out to be a great deal for boston similar to the Puig deal for the dodgers, and think they blew it by not bringing this guy to LA and pairing him with Seager. But I guess we’ll have to wait a long time to see who they bring in instead of Moncada, and how they turn out.
Olivera doesn’t really interest me, to bring in a guy with no major league experience and an injury history for his decline years does not sound very exciting.