Yoan Moncada Heads to Boston From Cuba, Encouraged by a Man Who Knows Both

NYTimes.com
By DAVID WALDSTEIN

Yoan Moncada at practice Friday. The Red Sox eventually committed $63 million to sign him. Credit Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. — It was an unusually cold day in early February at the Red Sox complex here. A group of men, most of them Boston’s top talent evaluators, wore jackets and huddled in the dugout against the sting of the wind, watching Yoan Moncada, a 19-year-old Cuban second baseman, go through his audition.

Also watching that day was Luis Tiant, the Cuban pitcher who became a sensation in Boston when he pitched there from 1971 to 1978. Tiant, who left Cuba in 1961, is now an instructor with the Red Sox. But on that day he was more of a recruiter, on hand to personify the direct line from Cuba to Boston.

The Red Sox eventually committed $63 million to sign Moncada, half of which goes to the player and half to Major League Baseball as a tax payment. Moncada’s $31.5 million signing bonus is a record for a player under 23.

Moncada’s conversation with Tiant about being Cuban and playing in Boston played a part in swaying him toward the Red Sox, said David Hastings, the certified public accountant turned agent for Moncada.

Before Moncada signed with the Red Sox, he spoke to Luis Tiant, a fellow Cuban, who pitched for Boston and is now an instructor with the team. Credit Corey Perrine/Naples Daily News, via Associated Press

“He sat down and explained to us what playing in Boston was like with a Cuban background, for a Cuban player,” Moncada said through an interpreter. “I really appreciate his support in all this.”

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