When the White Sox traded Chris Sale to the Red Sox in a deal that brought them Yoan Moncada in the winter of 2016, they knew they were getting a work in progress that had booming potential.
Moncada isn’t a finished product just yet, but the White Sox are starting to get big returns on their investment.
The blockbuster 2016 trade brought the Red Sox a dominant ace that helped deliver them a World Series title last season, so they never should have regrets making it. But on the other side, the White Sox are more than pleased with Moncada’s development halfway through his second full season in the majors, and that potential that once made him the Red Sox’ top prospect is creeping through.
Moncada, who made just eight appearances with the Red Sox during his first big-league taste in September 2016, made his third trip back to Fenway as the White Sox began a three-game series Monday night. He’s improved drastically at the plate, batting .295 — up from .235 last season — with 12 homers and 40 RBI entering Monday, and he’s provided a reliable glove at third base.
His improvement is a big reason why the White Sox are surprisingly in contention for a wild card spot midway through the season. And it continued Monday night when he hit a two-run homer off Eduardo Rodriguez in the second inning to give the White Sox an early lead.
“It feels good,” Moncada said through a translator. “It feels good when you’re having the success on the field, and when you come back here (to Boston), it feels good. …
“I’ve improved overall as a baseball player. There isn’t a specific area that I can point out.”
In his first full season in 2018, Moncada led the American League in strikeouts with 217. That’s down this year. After producing a 33.8 percent strikeout rate in 2018, he’s down to 27.8 percent this season. He also is significantly better against left-handed pitching, batting .254 against southpaws, up from .209 last year.
But the White Sox might be even more excited about his defense. Moncada, who played third in his brief stint with the Red Sox, played at second base with the White Sox in 2017 and 2018. They transitioned him back to third base this season, and the move has paid off.
“I think we viewed him and saw the actions that he could play third base,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “I think he’s shown really good signs of being an excellent third baseman, and at times probably one of the better ones in the league.”
The White Sox have stayed patient with Moncada, and while there still is plenty more room for improvement, he’s right where they want him to be in terms of his development at this stage of his career. Renteria firmly believes in Moncada’s star potential, and he could be a thorn in the Red Sox’ side for years to come.
“I think he’s made some strides. Big strides,” Renteria said. “I think he’s scratching the surface of who he’s going to be in the long term. I think he’s going to be an on-base guy, he’s going to be a guy that has power, I think he’s going to be a guy that’s an excellent defender, Gold Glove-type defender. I think he’s got a chance to definitely become an All-Star. I feel like we got a few guys that are All-Stars already.”
Wright to be activated
Steven Wright is expected to be activated Tuesday following his 80-game PED suspension. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the knuckleballer will pitch out of the bullpen. He pitched up to three innings during his rehab assignment with Pawtucket.
The Red Sox will monitor Wright’s workload as he gets over his knee injury.
“As of now, no red flags,” Cora said. “He’s been good, actually. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Hembree pushed back
Cora said Heath Hembree (elbow) threw a bullpen session and didn’t respond the way they hoped, so they pushed back his rehab assignment. They gave him one more day of rest before seeing how he feels Tuesday.
“He’s feeling better, but no way we were going to send him for one inning the way he feels today,” Cora said. …
Brock Holt, who left Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury, is day to day, Cora said. The manager said he’s hopeful Holt can start again by the end of the week. Mitch Moreland (back) ran and took ground balls Monday, but Cora had no update on when the first baseman could begin a rehab assignment.
Rafael Devers, who was out of the starting lineup all weekend against the Blue Jays as he dealt with hamstring tightness, was back in the lineup Monday, batting fourth.
