FORT MYERS, Fla. — When Todd Claus managed the Portland Sea Dogs a decade ago, the Boston Red Sox sent him talent to groom at Hadlock Field.

Now Claus is the one searching for gifted players in his sixth year as Boston’s Latin America scouting coordinator.

The Boston Red Sox want Yoan Moncada out of the spotlight as he prepares not only for professional baseball but as a 19-year-old, life in another culture after growing up in Cuba. The minor leagues are starting this week but Moncada will remain in Florida, continuing to work out. The Associated Press

In 2010 he spotted a 15-year-old Cuban infielder playing in a tournament in Mexico.

“We need to keep our eyes on this one,” Claus noted.

And the Red Sox did. Several eyes, in fact, followed Yoan Moncada, now 19.

Seeing became believing. When Moncada was made available to the highest bidder early this year, the Red Sox handed over $63 million – half of it to the player and half to Major League Baseball as a fine for exceeding the bonus money paid for international free agents.

How good is Moncada? The major league website, mlb.com, ranks him as the No. 9 prospect in pro baseball, even though he has yet to play in a regular-season game. In fact, Boston hasn’t assigned Moncada to any of its minor league teams, whose rosters were announced Tuesday. For now he’ll keep working at the spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida.

“It’s early. He hasn’t played in a lot of games. He still is working his way back into shape,” assistant general manager Mike Hazen said last week. “We’ll see where it takes us.”

If he should reach Double-A Portland – say, by July or August – Moncada easily would be the top prospect playing for the Sea Dogs this year.

Red Sox General Manager Ben Cherington said Moncada probably would play first for the Greenville, South Carolina, team in the Class A South Atlantic League – two steps from Portland.

At 6 feet, 210 pounds, Moncada stands out with his muscular build and graceful movement.

“Clearly he’s a physical talent. The tools jump out at you immediately – offensively and defensively,” said Hazen, one of more than a dozen Red Sox officials evaluating Moncada during a special tryout in January.

Moncada signed March 13 with Boston. During minor league spring training games last month, he held his own while playing second base on one of the Class A teams.

But with a $63 million price tag, expectations can soar – like, why isn’t he hitting more home runs? Or making every play in the field?

“He obviously has a bit of spotlight on him for the number that he signed for,” said Greenville Manager Darren Fenster, who worked with Moncada in March. “I think the one thing that is really important for people to understand is that this is still a 19-year-old kid. He’d be a sophomore in college right now. He’s got a ways to go, just like everyone else.”

But the tools make him stand out – they always have.

“He could run and he could throw,” Claus remembered from his occasional chances to see Moncada play. “The way the ball came off his bat. Just a strong, physical kid. He bounced around the infield and he caught the ball.”

Fenster concurred in his short time with Moncada:

“Obviously you see the body and the tools and the bat speed – all the things you can’t necessarily teach. Those are some special tools.”

The Red Sox have equated Moncada to a No. 1 draft pick, a can’t-miss player. Sure, they likely overpaid for him – No. 1 draft picks don’t get $10 million, let alone $31.5 million – but Boston has the financial might to do so.

The Moncada deal is different from Boston’s other big-money international signings because he is signed to a minor league deal – albeit with a huge signing bonus.

When the Red Sox signed Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias before the 2010 season, he received a $6 million signing bonus and a four-year major league contract for another $2.25 million. Because Iglesias was on a major league contract, he could not spend more than three years in the minors.

Iglesias, then 20, played his first season in Portland. Even though he was injured and played only 57 games, he was moved to Triple-A the next season. The clock was ticking on his time in the minor leagues.

Boston can be more patient with Moncada.

“The minor league deal works out better for the player,” Hazen said. “You’re not under time constraints. When (a major league contact) factors into the conversation, you’re running out of time.

“This does allow us to take a more traditional development path. We don’t know what that is for him yet.”

Until the spring training games, Moncada had not played competitively since the end of 2013.

At a press conference just after signing with the Red Sox, Moncada said through an interpreter, “My goal is to see if I can make it to the big leagues in a year. But I know – not having played for so long – it’s understandable that it might take more time than that.”

The Red Sox are not only being patient with Moncada, they are protective – wanting him to focus on baseball and his assimilation to a new culture. Since the press conference, Boston has not allowed Moncada to be interviewed.

But the teenager does seem personable, often seen conversing with teammates or signing autographs for fans flocking around him in Fort Myers.

So when can Hadlock Field fans beginning lining up for his signature?

The answer is one word, which the Red Sox are repeating a lot these days when it comes to Moncada:

Patience.

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