Free-agent infielder Yoán Moncada has agreed to a one-year contract worth $5 million with the Los Angeles Angels, reports the New York Post. The team has not yet confirmed the signing.
Moncada, 29, hit free agency by virtue of the White Sox declining his $25 million team option for 2025. Given the way the last few years have gone, it was a no-brainer. Injuries have decimated Moncada the last few seasons, including a left adductor strain in 2024. He managed just 12 games last year after 92 in 2023 and 104 in 2022. In those three seasons, he hit .236/.291/.387 (89 OPS+). Strikeouts remain a problem while he doesn’t take many walks.
Moncada once was said to have immense upside. He was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Chris Sale from the White Sox to the Red Sox. His 2019 breakout season even got him some down-ballot MVP votes (he finished 21st) when he hit .315 with a 140 OPS+ and 5.2 WAR.
We ranked Moncada as the 48th best free agent available this offseason. Here’s the write-up:
Moncada is a difficult player to pin down. He’s still months away from celebrating his 30th birthday, but he feels simultaneously younger and older than that. Younger because he’s appeared in just under 70 games per season over the last three years; older because he already appears to be in decline. Will Moncada ever have another season as brilliant as his effort in 2021? We’re skeptical, but some teams will understandably line up to see what his game looks like in an environment more conducive to good play than what the White Sox have offered in recent years.
There’s still upside here, of course. Moncada has shown he can play like an All-Star for a full season and he’s not even 30 years old. It was only 12 games last year, but he hit .275/.356/.400 with three doubles and a triple. He can handle third base. Maybe he can stay healthy and perhaps a change of scenery will do him some good.
The Angels went 63-99 in 2024. It was their ninth consecutive losing season. Moncada will provide the club with third base depth behind Anthony Rendon, who has not played more than 58 games in a season since 2019.
