Should The Seattle Mariners Bid Big For Yoan Moncada?

Yoan Moncada might not be on the verge of becoming the biggest name in baseball. He might not be the most talented player ever to come out of Cuba, and he might not be the next Mike Trout. But then again, he might be all those things.

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Moncada, if you’re unaware, is one of the most hyped amateur players in recent memory, if not ever. He’s been declared a free agent already and is reportedly living in Florida. Once he’s cleared to sign, it’s fair game. He’s still considered an amateur, so there won’t be any talk of a $100 million contract. Instead, his expected price tag will be in the range of a $35 million bonus.

One notes that the biggest bonus ever given out was $8.5 million to Yoan Lopez, yesterday. No really, yesterday. So Moncada’s going to get the biggest bonus ever, in large part because he’s considered one of the best prospects ever, already. He’s only 19 years old and doesn’t have a ceiling. One big question: where the hell are the Seattle Mariners?

Talk about Moncada’s eventual landing spot focuses on two teams: the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Typical big-money outlets, but this is just a $30-ish million signing bonus, which doesn’t even (necessarily) count against a club’s payroll. Just as it could have been reasonably asserted that every club had a need for Ben Zobrist, it can be said that every club could afford Yoan Moncada.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are also big-time suitors for Moncada, which again should only confirm that he won’t be had for a bargain, not that he’ll be out of the range of any and all other teams. The Mariners, one notes, are trying to contend now and forever. They’ve got the “now” part down, and have recently shown Kyle Seager-shaped signs of investing in the future. Nabbing a guy like Moncada would give the team a potential cornerstone.

The worst argument against signing Moncada is that the Mariners already have a couple franchise cornerstones. No, on second thought that’s only the second-worst argument against signing Moncada. The worst argument against signing Moncada is that the Mariners already have a bunch of infielders. Let’s clear up some quick misconceptions before moving on.

The presence of Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano, Seager, and the like shouldn’t prevent the Mariners from trying to improve all the time. This team projects exceptionally well, but they also haven’t won 90 games in over a decade. They just finished third and missed the playoffs. Don’t take the Mariners’ future success for granted. Absolutely never ever do that. The 2015 M’s might suck. This team – and all teams – should never stop aiming for the highest of heights.

In Cano, Seager, Brad Miller, and Chris Taylor, the tough-to-field infield positions seem set for years to come. Moncada is an infielder. But this goes back to something we always talk about come draft time – don’t draft for need. Same applies here. Moncada could be a superstar. He could change the trajectory of a franchise. But he plays second base – skip him. We’ve got Cano. No-deal.

By the time Moncada is ready to help a big league team Cano will be in his mid-thirties and, presumably, declining. Maybe he won’t be a second baseman anymore. Or maybe Seager needs to move to first, or maybe the shortstops never pan out, or maybe almost-literally anything. You don’t pass up a teenage super-prospect just because of the way your current major league team is built. Hell, maybe Moncada turns out to profile best in center field. I can’t emphasize enough the extent to which he is nineteen years old.

But then again, maybe his relative worth to the Mariners is somewhat dampened by some self-imposed directive to focus all resources on the next couple of years. Spending boatloads of millions on a prospect would be spending boatloads of millions not on the 2015-2017 teams. And maybe the team feels they’re set at all Moncada’s most likely positions for so long to come that his signing wouldn’t be the best way to invest their money. Maybe it’s just that his relative worth to the Dodgers is much, much higher than it is to the Mariners.

Seattle hasn’t been linked to the Moncada chatter at all, really, and perhaps they won’t be. There are reasons they should pursue him, just as there are reasons they shouldn’t. Looks like they won’t but it sure would be fun if they did. Moncada looks like the best prospect to come around in a long, long time. Maybe I’m being greedy, pining for him in blue and teal. Or maybe I’m just tired of watching Mike Trout in his stupid ugly Angels uniform.

Yoan Moncada: not a Mariner today, probably not a Mariner ever. But we can dream.

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