Angels add veteran Moncada as primary option at 3B

TEMPE, Ariz. -- After enduring plenty of highs and lows during his eight-year stint with the White Sox, third baseman Yoán Moncada is ready for a fresh start with the Angels.

Moncada¡¯s one-year deal worth $5 million became official on Saturday and he joined the club for workouts on Sunday. He¡¯s set to be the club¡¯s starting third baseman, as veteran Anthony Rendon will be undergoing left hip surgery that is expected to cause him to miss significant time.

¡°Being here is a new opportunity for me, so I'm taking advantage of it,¡± Moncada said through interpreter Marco Peralta. ¡°I had a couple offers from different teams, but I really enjoyed the expectations that the Angels have. And obviously being able to have the chance to play with Mike Trout really motivated me.¡±

Moncada gives the Angels a seasoned option at third base, but they also signed utility man Kevin Newman to a one-year deal earlier this offseason -- and traded for Scott Kingery. Just last week, they signed Moncada¡¯s former longtime White Sox teammate Tim Anderson to a Minor League deal to compete for a spot at shortstop, while also signing corner infielder J.D. Davis to a Minor League deal.

Angels manager Ron Washington views Moncada as his primary option at third and said he¡¯s already enjoyed working with him defensively.

¡°He's a very talented guy and he's certainly got a lot of baseball left inside of him,¡± Washington said. ¡°We're gonna stay in the process and give him opportunity with the Angels to bring it out. I think he can be a guy that can be someone you can count on, on both sides of the ball.¡±

Moncada didn't quite live up to the sky-high expectations that traveled with him to Chicago in December 2016. That¡¯s when a 21-year-old Moncada was acquired by the White Sox from Boston as part of a five-player trade that sent left-handed ace Chris Sale to the Red Sox.

Moncada entered 2016 as MLB Pipeline¡¯s No. 7 overall prospect, and by the start of his first season with the White Sox, he was the No. 2 prospect. Some considered him a faster version of Robinson Can¨®. But by the time he reached free agency this offseason, Moncada had produced a .254 average, a .331 on-base percentage, one 20-homer season and no years with more than 12 stolen bases with Chicago.

Moncada knows he has plenty to prove while joining the Angels on a one-year deal but said he¡¯s not trying to put any extra pressure on himself in his new environment.

¡°I just want to be a player that's able to help out my team,¡± he said. ¡°And as we Cubans say, leave a seed in the sand, and just be able to help whatever way I can.¡±

Moncada¡¯s best season came in 2019, when he slashed .315/.367/.548 with 25 home runs across 559 plate appearances. But Moncada¡¯s upside as a hitter has often been capped by strikeouts. His career strikeout rate is 29.2%, and he recorded a K rate above 30% in 2017, ¡®18 and ¡®20.

The 29-year-old infielder has been hampered by injuries in more recent seasons and has missed at least 58 games in each of the past three years. In 2024, a left adductor strain suffered on April 9 limited Moncada to only 12 games.

¡°It¡¯s very unfortunate that I have that history of injuries, but now I'm very thankful that those injuries are gone in my past,¡± Moncada said. ¡°I feel healthy, and I feel just ready to go and play baseball.¡±

Defensively, Moncada came up as a second baseman, but he was moved to the hot corner in 2019 and has been serviceable since. He has compiled 11 Outs Above Average over the past six seasons, although his OAA total is minus-1 since the beginning of 2023.

But Moncada will benefit from the tutelage of Washington, who is considered a defensive guru, as well as infield coach Ryan Goins. Goins and Moncada were teammates on the White Sox from 2019-20. Moncada was also teammates with Anderson from 2017-23, forming a middle infield pair for two years before the former moved to the hot corner.

¡°I really feel like this group of coaches is going to help me a whole lot,¡± Moncada said. ¡°The manager we have, he's really good at his infield defensive drills, and our infield coach is really good at that as well.¡±