SEATTLE -- Yoan Moncada, the 19-year-old Cuban who represents a $63 million investment by the Red Sox, will make his minor league debut Monday night for the Class A Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League.
"He did as well as expected with his transition on and off the field -- a hard worker and eager to learn,'' Red Sox director of player development Ben Crockett confirmed in an email Sunday.
Moncada, who has been in extended spring training in Fort Myers, Florida, is expected to make his debut in either of the next two days, the source said. The Drive, managed by Darren Fenster, return home to begin a seven-game homestand Monday night against Lexington.
Moncada, whose signing by the Red Sox was officially announced on March 12, was on track to begin with Greenville earlier, but sustained a mild shoulder strain sliding into second base. He has been playing second base in extended spring.
Boston's $63 million investment is divided between the record $31.5 million signing bonus the Sox gave Moncada and the $31.5 million to Major League Baseball as a 100 percent overage tax for exceeding their allotment of international bonus money.
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, who outbid the Yankees, Padres and Dodgers, called the switch-hitting Moncada "one of the few most talented 19-year-olds in the world.'' The Sox, who had been tracking Moncada since 2010, invited him to a private workout at Jet Blue Park in early February after he'd staged a showcase last November in Guatemala, where he had established residency after leaving Cuba legally.
"Every one of our scouts was impressed with him,'' said Eddie Romero, the Sox director of international scouting. "That was the consensus.'' Moncada has not played competitively since December, 2013, which is when he left Cuba.