Yasiel Puig
photo by Tim Evearitt
The recent influx, and success, of Cuban defectors has only heightened the excitement around 19-year-old infielder Yoan Moncada, who was just cleared to sign with the club of his choosing this past week.
Moncada is considered the best young Cuban prospect to come along since Yasiel Puig and Jorge Soler signed in 2012, and the bidding will be intense. However, his age and lack of experience in Cuba's Serie Nacionale means he is subject to the international amateur signing guidelines, which give each team a limited amount of money -- based on record the previous season -- to spend on signing bonuses for international amateurs in a given year.
Clubs are penalized if they exceed their bonus pools by certain amounts, and the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, D-backs and Angels have all exceeded their allotted money by more than 15 percent and are in the maximum penalty range for the upcoming 2015-16 signing period. The penalty includes a 100 percent tax on their pool overages and prohibits them from signing any pool-eligible player for more than $300,000 during the next two signing periods.
Teams pursuing Moncada include the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Padres and Tigers, but not the Atlanta Braves.
--- Source: MLB.com