The Toronto Blue Jays could look to upgrade third base this off-season, is Yoán Moncada a fit?

On Wednesday afternoon, Francys Romero reported that the third baseman is generating interest from “more than five teams”, including the Blue Jays.
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Sources: INF Yoan Moncada is generating interest in the free-agent market.
More than five MLB teams are interested in Moncada. Among the teams that have monitored him are the Blue Jays, Yankees, and Mariners.
&mdash; Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) <a href="https://twitter.com/francysromeroFR/status/1856754960647504044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
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That begs the question, how’d Moncada perform in 2024 and the years before, what’s his contract outlook, and is he a fit for the Blue Jays?
<h2>Yoán Moncada’s stats</h2>
Moncada was limited to just 45 plate appearances this season as an adductor strain kept him out for the majority of the year. When healthy, the 29-year-old slashed .275/.356/.400 with no home runs for a 117 wRC+ and a 0.3 fWAR.
Looking at a much larger sample size in 2023, the third baseman was slightly below average, slashing .260/.305/.425 with 11 home runs in 357 plate appearances, along with a 5.6 BB% and a 30 K% for a 98 wRC+ and a 1.1 fWAR.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Yoan Moncada goes yard! 💣 <a href="https://t.co/TSWnKfvbCG">pic.twitter.com/TSWnKfvbCG</a>
&mdash; White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) <a href="https://twitter.com/CHSN_WhiteSox/status/1642235014367592448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
With that being said, Moncada is capable of producing good seasons. In 2021, he slashed .263/.375/.412 with 14 home runs in 616 plate appearances for a 120 wRC+ and a 3.7 fWAR. The 2019 season was a career year for the switch hitter, as he slashed .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs in 559 plate appearances for a 139 wRC+ and a 5.2 fWAR.
For his career, Moncada is slashing .254/.331/.424 with 93 home runs in 3,142 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+ and a 13.8 fWAR.
Defensively, Moncada is fine most of the time but had -6 Defensive Runs Saved and -1 Outs Above Average in 761 innings played at the hot corner in 2023. In 2022, he had 2 DRS and 5 OAA in 859.2 innings and has a career -5 DRS and 8 OAA in 4,467.2 innings at third base.
<h2>Yoán Moncada’s contract outlook</h2>
The Chicago White Sox declined their team option for Moncada, as he was set to make $25 million this season. His next contract won’t be anything like that though, as <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/market-value/_/id/16234/yoan-moncada">Spotrac has his market value at $1.5 million</a>.
There is a case that the Blue Jays need a low-risk, high-reward type signing like they had in the 2020-21 off-season with Marcus Semien. Aside from the 2019 season with Oakland where he had a 131 wRC+, Semien’s first six seasons as a regular big leaguer never saw him post a wRC+ over 100.
Yet, he was terrific for the Blue Jays in 2021, hitting 45 home runs and posting a 131 wRC+ and 6 fWAR with the team. Maybe, just maybe, Moncada can find the form he had in 2019 or 2021.
<h2>Is Yoán Moncada a fit for the Blue Jays?</h2>
Simply put, the Blue Jays need to set their sights higher than landing Moncada. Now, if he can be had on a low-cost one-year “show me” deal, the Blue Jays should be all over that.  Not only will it give them a bonafide big leaguer at third base, they could trade prospects to fill other needs, or have them in the minor leagues as depth options.
Ideally, if you’re signing an infielder to play third base or even second base, Alex Bregman is the better option in terms of talent, but good teams sign players to low-risk, high-reward deals in the off-season. Moncada could get a similar deal.
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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

The Toronto Blue Jays could look to upgrade third base this off-season, is Yoán Moncada a fit?



On Wednesday afternoon, Francys Romero reported that the third baseman is generating interest from “more than five teams”, including the Blue Jays.

https://twitter.com/francysromeroFR/status/1856754960647504044

&nbsp;

That begs the question, how’d Moncada perform in 2024 and the years before, what’s his contract outlook, and is he a fit for the Blue Jays?
<h2>Yoán Moncada’s stats</h2>
Moncada was limited to just 45 plate appearances this season as an adductor strain kept him out for the majority of the year. When healthy, the 29-year-old slashed .275/.356/.400 with no home runs for a 117 wRC+ and a 0.3 fWAR.

Looking at a much larger sample size in 2023, the third baseman was slightly below average, slashing .260/.305/.425 with 11 home runs in 357 plate appearances, along with a 5.6 BB% and a 30 K% for a 98 wRC+ and a 1.1 fWAR.

https://twitter.com/CHSN_WhiteSox/status/1642235014367592448

With that being said, Moncada is capable of producing good seasons. In 2021, he slashed .263/.375/.412 with 14 home runs in 616 plate appearances for a 120 wRC+ and a 3.7 fWAR. The 2019 season was a career year for the switch hitter, as he slashed .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs in 559 plate appearances for a 139 wRC+ and a 5.2 fWAR.

For his career, Moncada is slashing .254/.331/.424 with 93 home runs in 3,142 plate appearances for a 107 wRC+ and a 13.8 fWAR.

Defensively, Moncada is fine most of the time but had -6 Defensive Runs Saved and -1 Outs Above Average in 761 innings played at the hot corner in 2023. In 2022, he had 2 DRS and 5 OAA in 859.2 innings and has a career -5 DRS and 8 OAA in 4,467.2 innings at third base.
<h2>Yoán Moncada’s contract outlook</h2>
The Chicago White Sox declined their team option for Moncada, as he was set to make $25 million this season. His next contract won’t be anything like that though, as <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/market-value/_/id/16234/yoan-moncada">Spotrac has his market value at $1.5 million</a>.

There is a case that the Blue Jays need a low-risk, high-reward type signing like they had in the 2020-21 off-season with Marcus Semien. Aside from the 2019 season with Oakland where he had a 131 wRC+, Semien’s first six seasons as a regular big leaguer never saw him post a wRC+ over 100.

Yet, he was terrific for the Blue Jays in 2021, hitting 45 home runs and posting a 131 wRC+ and 6 fWAR with the team. Maybe, just maybe, Moncada can find the form he had in 2019 or 2021.
<h2>Is Yoán Moncada a fit for the Blue Jays?</h2>
Simply put, the Blue Jays need to set their sights higher than landing Moncada. Now, if he can be had on a low-cost one-year “show me” deal, the Blue Jays should be all over that.  Not only will it give them a bonafide big leaguer at third base, they could trade prospects to fill other needs, or have them in the minor leagues as depth options.

Ideally, if you’re signing an infielder to play third base or even second base, Alex Bregman is the better option in terms of talent, but good teams sign players to low-risk, high-reward deals in the off-season. Moncada could get a similar deal.

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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

Free Agent Profile: A low-risk high-reward contract for Yoán Moncada makes sense for the Blue Jays

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