Chicago White Sox

White Sox' Yoán Moncada Says World Baseball Classic Injury ‘Wasn't Serious'

Moncada: WBC injury 'wasn't serious,' feels good originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

For the most part, the World Baseball Classic was a big hit with fans. The games were great, there was high drama and the players rose to the occasion. But there was some controversy after some players suffered serious injuries while they were away from their MLB teams.

The worst of it was new Mets closer Edwin Díaz, who hurt his knee while celebrating a win with Puerto Rico and may miss the entire 2023 season. For a moment it looked like the White Sox may be down a player, too, when Yoán Moncada collided with a teammate in the field and needed to leave Cuba’s final WBC game early. Upon his return to the White Sox on Thursday, Moncada assured the media that the injury he sustained was no big deal and that he feels good now.

“It wasn't serious,” Moncada said through team interpreter Billy Russo. “It was just a bruise from the hit. I felt good right away.”

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At the time White Sox fans worried Moncada was headed for a repeat of 2022, when he missed the first month-plus of the season due to an oblique injury. When he finally made his debut, Moncada was never able to get in a groove at the plate and arguably had the worst season of his career. Looking back, Moncada has said he believes he tried to rush back from that injury too quickly. Now, he believes the key to his success is to simply stay healthy.

“If I am able to stay healthy, I know I’m going to get results,” Moncada said. “It's just that. My focus right now is to keep my body fresh and stay healthy throughout the whole season, because if I’m on the field, I know I can do good things. But if I'm not, there's nothing I can do. I'm certainly sure that I'm going to be able to perform, but I need to stay healthy.”

Moncada finished the World Baseball Classic on a tear and was named to the WBC All-Tournament Team. Over the course of the entire tournament, Moncada hit .435 with four doubles, one home run, five RBI, four runs scored and a 1.258 OPS.

The White Sox begin their regular season on the road against the Astros on Mar. 30.

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