Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi strongly intimated Wednesday that his team will pursue 19-year-old shortstop Yoan Moncada when he's cleared by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to sign with an MLB club.
"Moncada, we've scouted extensively," Zaidi said during an interview with MLB Network Radio. "We have the checkbook. Young elite talent in baseball is the most valuable asset to have. To the extent that our evaluation of him matches or exceeds where the market goes, we'll definitely be players for him."
Moncada is expected to command a signing bonus between $30 million and $40 million - a sum that would eviscerate the previous record for international amateurs. Such a deal, however, would force the team that signs him to pay a 100-percent tax on every dollar by which it exceeds its budget for signing international amateurs. The team that signs Moncada would also be prohibited from signing an international amateur for more than $300,000 for the next two signing periods.
Despite the penalties likely to be incurred by signing Moncada, the Dodgers continue to do their due diligence on the switch-hitting Cuban.
"We're doing all the homework we can," Zaidi said. "With this type of investment, you have to evaluate the talent and the person, understanding the cultural adjustment they have to make. It's all part of the evaluation we have to make. It'll probably be one of those investments where you don't want to leave any stone unturned."
