Yoán Manuel Moncada Olivera (born May 27, 1995) is a Cuban

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

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(MLB). He made his MLB debut for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

in 2016, and was traded to the White Sox during the 2016–2017 offseason. He is one of the first active MLB players to represent the

Cuban national team Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a pe ...

in international competition.

Professional career

Elefantes de Cienfuegos

Moncada made his debut for

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 150,000. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, especia ...

of the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, SNB) is the primary domestic professional baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. ...

in 2012. In his two years with Cienfuegos he hit .277/.388/.380 with four

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

and 21 stolen bases. Moncada left Cuba in June 2014. Before signing with the

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, Moncada was a highly sought after Cuban free agent. He was seen as a generational, five-tool talent, being compared to the likes of

Robinson Cano Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960 ...

Minor leagues

On February 23, 2015, the

reportedly agreed to terms with Moncada, for a signing bonus of $31.5 million. The contract was finalized on March 12. He made his professional debut with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

on May 18. In the winter of 2015, he was consistently cited as one of the top prospects in the Red Sox system. Entering the 2016 season, MLB.com ranked Moncada as the 7th best prospect in Major League Baseball.

Boston Red Sox

Moncada was called up and made his major league debut on September 2, 2016, against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

. In his first plate appearance, he

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ed and subsequently scored a run. He recorded his first major league hit the following day. Moncada finished the 2016 MLB season with a .211 batting average (4-for-19) with one

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Chicago White Sox

On December 6, 2016, the Red Sox traded Moncada,

Michael Kopech Michael Talbert Kopech (born April 30, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018. Kopech bats and throws right-handed. Amateur career Kopech attende ...

, Luis Alexander Basabe, and Victor Diaz to the

for

Chris Sale Christopher Allen Sale (born March 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, with whom he made his major league debut on ...

. Moncada began the 2017 season with the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. On July 19, 2017, he was called up after the trade of

Todd Frazier Todd Brian Frazier (born February 12, 1986), nicknamed "The Toddfather", is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Texas Rang ...

to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

. Later that day, he made his Chicago White Sox debut against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

. He worked a walk in his first at bat, against

Kenta Maeda is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. He won the 2010 ...

. On July 26, 2017, Moncada hit his first career major league home run off of

Jake Arrieta Jacob Joseph Arrieta (born March 6, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and San Diego Padres. Arrieta played college ...

of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

. On August 25, he was placed on the 10-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

due to shin issues. He played 54 games in 2017, finishing year with a .231 batting average, 8 home runs, and 22 RBIs. In 2018, Moncada played 149 games, finishing with a .235 batting average, 32 doubles, 17 home runs, 61 RBIs, and struck out an MLB-leading 217 times. He had the lowest fielding percentage among major league second basemen, at .963. In the 2019 campaign, Moncada set career highs in numerous batting areas, such as hits (161), doubles (34), home runs (25), RBIs (79), and batting average (.315), among others, with his batting average ranking third in the American League. Overall, in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

, Moncada batted .225 with six home runs and 24 RBIs in 52 games. In 2021, Moncada batted .263 in 144 games hitting 14 home runs and 61 RBIs. For 2022, Moncada began the season on the injured list with an oblique strain. On May 9, Moncada was activated off the IL and made his season debut that day against the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

going 1-for-4.

International career

Moncada was named to the Cuban national team for

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

. Along with White Sox teammate Luis Robert Jr., he became the first active MLB player to play for the Cuban national team. In the tournament, Moncada batted .435/.519/.739, with a team-leading 10 hits in 23 at-bats.

Musical career

In 2021, Moncada recorded "Desastre Personal" with artists El Chacal and Lenier.

References

External links

Joan Manuel Moncada, a prospect of Cienfuegos Baseball
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moncada, Yoán 1995 births Living people 2023 World Baseball Classic players Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Elefantes de Cienfuegos players Greenville Drive players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States People from Abreus, Cuba Portland Sea Dogs players Salem Red Sox players Surprise Saguaros players Charlotte Knights players