Yoan Moncada isn’t letting Andrew Benintendi’s promotion impact his outlook.
While it would be natural for Moncada to be envious of Benintendi joining the Boston Red Sox’s major league roster Tuesday, the 21-year-old Cuban phenom insists he’s still focused on doing what he needs to do to eventually follow in his former minor league teammate’s footsteps.
“I feel happy for him. It’s good for him. He’s a good teammate,” Moncada said Tuesday through a translator, according to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. “But when my time comes, it’s going to be my time. I’m not in a rush for anything.”
The Red Sox called up Benintendi from Double-A Portland, the same place Moncada currently is stationed. The 22-year-old former Arkansas standout has raked since joining the organization as the seventh overall pick in 2015, so his big league arrival simply was a matter of time.
The same can be said for Moncada, who also has been destroying minor league pitching since signing with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in the spring of 2015. And with Benintendi now in the big league fold, it’s hard not to wonder whether Moncada’s arrival in Boston could come as soon as this season, especially with him working out at third base and likely to take some reps in the outfield in addition to his usual second base position.
“The only thing I’m going to do is work,” Moncada told Bradford. “If the team needs me at another position, I’ll be there and ready to go.”
Don’t worry, Red Sox fans. Moncada’s time is coming.
Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
