McAdam: Chris Sale and Yoan Moncada finally intersect after blockbuster trade

One is the present, the best pitcher in a strong rotation and the star the Red Sox hope will lead them to a championship this fall or next, before his time in Boston has the potential to run out.

The other is their past, but now the future for the Chicago White Sox, the main inducement for the megadeal that took place in December 2016.

Friday night, for the first time since the Red Sox shipped Yoan Moncada (along with Michael Kopech and two other lesser-known prospects) to Chicago for pitcher Chris Sale, their paths crossed on the baseball diamond.



It was something of a mismatch. In Moncada's first at-bat in the second inning, he struck out on three pitches, overpowered on the third strike by a 98-mph fastball. Two innings later, it took six pitches, but Sale, after ramping up to a 100 mph fastball which Moncada managed to foul off, got him to swing through a slider. In the third and final confrontation, Moncada was able to hit the ball to the right side and advance teammate Kevan Smith, from where he then scored the game's only run in a 1-0 White Sox victory.

The two didn't intersect at all last season. When the Sox visited Chicago last spring, Moncada was in Triple-A. When the White Sox came to Boston in August for a four-game set, Moncada played in all four games but Sale didn't pitch in the series.

Moncada, for all his skill and potential, remains very much a work in progress. He still strikes out at an alarming rate (33.9 percent) and is fourth in the A.L. in total strikeouts despite missing 11 days because of a DL stint earlier this season. His OPS is almost exactly the same as it was last year – .754 this year compared to .750 – an indication that his growth has been slow.

But then there are times when Moncada flashes his talent – displaying athleticism at second base; barreling up a ball that he lines to the gap – and the White Sox are reminded of what attracted them to him in the first place.

"He continues to progress,'' said White Sox manager Rick Renteria. "He's put a charge into some baseballs for us this season (eight homers). He's got a tremendous eye from both sides of the plate. He can run, can defend. He just continues to improve his overall game. Over time, I think he's going to be a really good player.''

Moncada just turned 23, and already, the blockbuster deal that sent him to the White Sox is ancient history.

"That is already in the past,'' he said through a translator Friday. "At that moment, I wasn't expecting to be traded but I understood this a business. It was a surprise at the moment, but I think that was the best thing that could happen to me. Now, I'm on a team with a bunch of guys and I feel this is my team and my family.''

Though Moncada chose to sign with the Red Sox after they won a spirited bidding war for him in February 2015, he didn't spend a lot of time in the organization. After making his debut in the final weeks of 2016, he was dealt four months later.

"I didn't have a chance to make a real connection with someone there,'' he said. "I didn't spend too much time with them, like I have with (Jose) Abreu or the people that I know here. It was a good time.

At the time, with Dustin Pedroia at second, the Sox took a look at Moncada at third, a position he never really mastered.

"I didn't see a chance to play second base (in Boston_,'' Moncada said, "at least for a decent time. Then, when the trade happened, it opened up the opportunity to play the position I like to play. I think that, for me, that was a step forward in my career and my development as a baseball player. That's why I said that the trade was the best for me and now I am around good people who care about me.''

Abreu, a fellow Cuban whom Moncada befriended in their shared native country, has been like an older brother to Moncada. The two are virtually inseparable as the veteran coaches Moncada about what's expected and required of him.

"It takes time for anyone coming to the big leagues to get comfortable in their station here,'' said Renteria. "I think he's maintained focus and drive. He has a lot of people he can go to, to help him understand how to manage himself. He's handled it well and I think he wants to do well.''

At times, Renteria hinted that Moncada feels overwhelmed by the expectations attached to his record $31.5-million signing bonus and his status last year as the game's No. 1 prospect.

"We talked about 'noise' a lot -- living up to the 24-7 (news) cycle of information,'' said Renteria. "I think he's handling it as well as anyone could.  (Players) learn, I hope, that there's perspective to keep in sight. Everybody's judging him on a daily basis, and I think he's handling it as well as he can.

"He comes in and wants to do well. When he doesn't do well, he wants to know why, wants to figure it out. But I think he's got a pretty balanced approach at this point.''

It will take time, of course, to determine who got the better of the deal. If Sale continues to pitch as well as he has in nearly a season and a half and the Red Sox get to the World Series this year and/or next, it won't matter much what Moncada accomplishes this year or the next five years.

That's the future. In the meantime, there are nights like Friday, when the Red Sox present and past collide on the same field.