Jesse Sanchez reported Wednesday that Major League Baseball “issued a memo to its clubs on Tuesday night that acknowledged new regulations for Cuban players” and “reminded teams that the League’s current policies for Cuban players remain intact until further notice.”
As it currently stands, Cuban players will be required to receive an unblocking license from OFAC before signing a contract. Jeff Passan reported Tuesday night that Moncada does not need an unblocking license from OFAC to sign with a team if he meets the requirements for a general unblocking license.
Yoan Moncada cannot officially sign a contract yet and the news surrounding him seemingly changes by the minute.
Every team in baseball appears to be interested in signing Yoan Moncada. He’s already held private workouts for the Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, Dodgers, Padres, Giants and Brewers. The Cubs are pushing to sign him, even though they can’t ink him to a contract until July 2, and may have had a private workout of their own with the 19-year old switch-hitting infielder. The Rays, Phillies and Cardinals are the other teams that have been directly linked to Moncada by the mainstream media.
Jeff Passan reported Tuesday the Cubs are one of four teams, along with the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers, that are considered the favorites to sign him. And Yoan Moncada could be willing to wait until July 2 to sign with a team. While waiting until July 2 would eliminate the Yankees and Red Sox from the process because both teams have already exceeded their International signing bonus pool for the 2014-15 signing period, the Cubs and Rangers would be able to sign him.
One aspect to keep in mind, any team that lands Moncada during the current signing period has to pay the tax on the overage on its signing bonus pool by July 15. In other words, if Moncada signs for $30 million, the Red Sox and Yankees would have to write a check to MLB for the tax by July 15, and the tax penalty is 100 percent, or dollar-for-dollar, on the overage.
If a team signs Yoan Moncada on or after July 2, the tax penalty on the overage is not due until July 15, 2016. And the tax penalty having to be paid in one lump sum is the main reason teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs and even the Rangers are considered the front runners to sign him.
- Full Report from Jesse Sanchez – MLB.com
- Full Report from Ben Badler – Baseball America
- Full Report from Jeff Passan – Yahoo Sports
