Yoán Moncada gets a fresh start with Angels after injury-marred end to White Sox career

TEMPE, Ariz. — If Yoán Moncada is hungry to prove himself to the baseball world in a new uniform, he’s keeping it to himself.

“Nothing really changes for me,” the Angels third baseman said through an interpreter on Sunday, the day before the team’s first official full-squad workout of the spring. “I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, play baseball and be as much help as I can be to my team and win as many games as we can.”

Moncada is joining a team that lost 99 games last season, so the roster is dotted mostly with young players trying to establish themselves and veterans — like him — trying to re-establish themselves.

Moncada, 29, was once one of baseball’s most promising young players, so talented that he signed with the Boston Red Sox for a record-shattering $31 million bonus when he first came to the majors from Cuba.

The Red Sox traded him to the White Sox in a deal for starting pitcher Chris Sale, and he then signed a five-year, $70-million contract.

In 2019, he lived up to the billing, producing 5.2 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference. He hit .315 with 25 homers and a .915 OPS. After the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he was somewhat productive in 2021, with a .787 OPS.

Since then, though, he’s been hurt most of the time. Moncada played less than half of Chicago’s games in the past three years, including just 12 games last season, while making nearly $25 million.

Moncada was out for most of the season with a left adductor strain. When he finally returned in September, the White Sox simply decided not to play him over young players who had a future with the team. The White Sox declined his option and he remained a free agent until last week.

“It’s no lie I had a rough year last year, and we know what happened in Chicago,” Moncada said. “At the same time, I have to respect the decision that was made. I had to deal with it. But now that’s in the past, and I’m ready to go.”

Moncada will have the opportunity to play third every day because Anthony Rendon is expected to miss the season rehabbing from hip surgery.

While Moncada downplays the importance of this opportunity, manager Ron Washington is just fine with that attitude.

“When you say he’s got to prove something, I think that puts up too much pressure,” Washington said. “What you want to do is get them in an environment and get them relaxed, and get them to work the way they’re supposed to work consistently every day, and the talent that they have will show up.”

If Moncada could merely stay on the field and produce at his career average .756 OPS, that would be a huge boost for the Angels. Last year the Angels ranked 27th in majors with a .601 OPS at third base.

Washington said he believes Moncada, a switch-hitter, can have an impact on offense and defense.

“I think he has the ability to power the ball out of the ballpark, but we’re not looking for him to be a home run hitter, but he has that ability,” Washington said. “I think he’s someone that can be consistent down at third base with the work.”

That started this weekend, with Moncada getting his first taste of Washington’s trademark infield defense drills.

“We whipped his butt,” Washington said with a smile. “But at the end he really started catching on. We told him it’s going to take three days for him to get comfortable, and by the third day we’re going to start holding him accountable.”

TROUT ARRIVES

Mike Trout arrived in camp on Sunday, which was the day all the position players had physicals in advance of Monday’s first workout.

The storyline for Trout this spring will be how the Angels plan to use him differently in an effort to keep him healthy, perhaps by moving to a corner outfield spot or spending more time at DH.

Washington said they began working on the plan in a conversation with Trout on Sunday morning. Trout is scheduled to talk to reporters on Monday, when more specifics on the plan should be illuminated.

“It was a conversation where we put some stuff out there and now we’ve got to get back together and decide what we’re going to do,” Washington said. “But I have nothing to report right now.”

NOTES

Right-hander Caden Dana made a strong impression on Washington when he faced hitters on Saturday.

“Every pitch he threw up there could have been a pitch that a hitter could have swung at,” Washington said. “And his breaking ball really, really was sharp yesterday. There were two of them that I thought they were fastballs, and then they darted across the plate. They didn’t just ride across the plate like they were doing in September. So he did some things to tighten that up.”

Dana, the Angels top pitching prospect, dominated at Double-A last season, but he was hit hard in two of his three big league starts in September. …

All of position players expected to report on Sunday were in camp. The only player on the entire roster with any sort of travel issue is left-hander Victor Gonzalez, who is delayed by a visa situation.