7:10pm: The Royals may have to wait until Manny Machado is traded before fully pursuing a Moustakas deal, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Up to seven teams have been rumored to be involved in the Machado talks, and with some suitors already reportedly falling out of the running, it stands to reason that some of these teams could pivot to Moustakas. The Braves, for instance, are also one of the clubs in on Machado.
4:00pm: The Royals are “more likely than not” to trade third baseman Mike Moustakas this month, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, who lists the Red Sox and Braves as a pair of playoff contenders interested in acquiring him.
The Red Sox already boast the majors’ best record (68-30) and a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL East, even though they haven’t gotten great production from third baseman Rafael Devers. But the 21-year-old still has plenty of time to turn into a foundational piece for the Red Sox, and it may behoove them to find an upgrade in the meantime. With Boston pushing for its fourth World Series title since 2004, the lefty-swinging Moustakas would seemingly qualify, having slashed .250/.306/.469 with 19 home runs in 386 plate appearances, easily beating out Devers’ numbers (.241/.292/.424 with 14 HRs in 367 PAs). Of course, Moustakas’ production also hasn’t been all-world, as he has logged a 106 wRC+ to Devers’ 87 and has dropped off precipitously since a red-hot April.
The Braves haven’t come close to matching the Red Sox’s excellence this season, but they’re still 52-42 – in possession of a National League wild-card spot and within half a game of the NL East-leading Phillies. Their starting third baseman, Johan Camargo, has actually outdone Moustakas by wRC+ (109), having batted .247/.346/.426 with nine homers in 263 PAs. The switch-hitting Camargo is capable of playing shortstop, however, and could perhaps usurp the starting role from the light-hitting, righty-swinging Dansby Swanson or at least platoon with him.
After failing to encounter much interest in free agency last winter, the 29-year-old Moustakas wouldn’t represent a long-term acquisition for any club. Moustakas is owed the rest of a $5.5MM salary this season, and then his employer will have to decide whether to exercise a $15MM mutual option for 2019 or pay him a $1MM buyout.
I can’t honestly think of a dumber thing someone could have written than that Rafael Devers still has time to “turn his career around” when he’s 21 y/o and in his first full MLB season.
Technically, the Sox are shooting for their fourth championship if you count 2004.
Technically the Red Sox are going for their 9th championship just thought I’d clarify that
Ouch. For what it’s worth, I have little doubt he’s going to end up being a really good player.
Understood. Perhaps “turn his season around” or if you’re writing off this year “develop into an outstanding third baseman”? My comment probably came across more harshly than I intended. My apologies. I’m a Mets fan, so unless they trade him to us for Familia or something, I’m only academically interested in his development. Just seemed a little early to make him out to be a reclamation project.
It’s OK. I understand what you’re saying, and I just changed the wording as a result.
Looks good. If I might humbly suggest beginning the sentence with “While” rather than “But” and dropping the “and” after the comma? Sorry, line editing is a part of my job. 🙂
Mets fans are capable of being interested in anything with the word ‘academic’ attached?
News to me.
Perhaps he’ll become a really good hitter, but the work ethic to become even an average third baseman doesn’t seem to be there … at least not yet.. The instincts are lacking too, as reflected in his poor baserunning skills.
With that said, I wouldn’t trade for Mous. Not much of an upgrade.
The instincts are there, he’s just frustrating to watch, he can make a difficult play look easy on one play, and then the next routine grounder he lets by him, or he throws it into the dugout.
From listening to the radio / reading the best reporters he puts time and effort into the field. He just needs more time to develop. If the Sox traded for anyone, would love for it to be Beltre, so he could teach Devers a few things.
Ok Fever Pitch Guy you are trolling now. First of all I have heard nothing but good things about his work effort so have no clue where you are coming up with work effort garbage.
You are also talking about Devers lacking instincts and citing his poor base running skills. Either you are clueless or you are trollling Devers is a well above average baserunner according to the Fangraphs metrics for baserunning.
Devers has made a lot of errors but from watching nearly every game his future is at third base. He is surprisingly agile has good range and I have found that most people that haven’t watched him much just don’t realize his defensive potential is at least average at third probably a little above average.
I’m not saying that Devers is ever going to be Adrian Beltre but Beltre did make 29 errors his first full season and we know how good defensively he is.
C.B. he’s 21. Really?
He has double the postseason home runs as Mike Trout!
How about writing that there isn’t time in his career to turn it around?
There’s an infinite number of dumber statements that could have been made.
I was thinking something similar. Then I saw your comment and how you worded it and realized the award goes to you now.
<3
250/306/469 and 19HR ‘easily beats’ 241/292/424 with 14HR. Basically the same damn thing. Not worth any cost for that kind of ‘upgrade’
No, it’s not basically the same thing when you consider park factors.
Thanks captain obvious
Disagree with last sentence. Like most mutual options— His mutual option is all but guaranteed to NOT get picked. And that’s ok. Still rooting for Moose to land with NYY, anybody but the Red Sox Lmao.
And where would he play for the Yankees?
either 1st or move andujar to 1st
Andujar can’t play first at the drop of a hat and Bird is locked in at first base.
Bird is so enticing but at this point at each slump, I wonder about a hidden injury. I do love that swing in Yankee Stadium and see why the team is so high o. him.
These guys kill me that think Andujar and Devers can play first just like that.
The best hitter on the team is at 1st base.
Judge Judy, ladies and gentlemen. Dont forget Try the veal!
Devers is improving but cannot be counted on at this time to play the field in October. People forget both are so young and likely HAVE NEVER played 1st. In today’s game, a team can’t hide a player at 1st like years ago. Imagine Boston with Devers at 3rd and Hanley still at 1st. Moreland has saved countless infield errors this year.
The best baseball teams are a mix of youth and experience. Look at teams like KC or the Cards, that are a mix of old guys and…old guys. All the experience in the world. And fading…
I get that Devers is not a seasoned veteran. I also get that he has the lightning quick reflexes of a 21 year old, and is under team control for years. I’ll take that trade-off. We don’t need Moustakas, in fact Moustakas would mess things up. I’d rather roll the dice on Devers…
Rolling the dice with Devers is a true statement if he’s playing third fulltime in the playoffs. 19 errors already. Will he deposit a Chapman fastball or throw the ball away to potentially determine the champion? Let him play but have a defensive replacement available. More like well Devon Marrero…
Judy I admire your fondness of Swihart, I bet you think he’ll end up a Hall of Fame first baseman eh?
GCF, I don’t think anyone is considering playing Devers at 1B this year, more of the talk is if he cant stay with 3B this year, move him to 1B in the offseason/ spring training.
There was always the worry he was going to have to move across the diamond.
As for Andujar I have no idea.
Come get brad hand. SD needs more prospects that never pays off.
Its been 2 years since the rebuild went into effect. Havent even seen the 1st wave come……all we have is lucchessi who looks like a good 3 maybe 2 and lauer who could be a good 5.
Don’t mind him, PLV. Some fans don’t know what realistic time frames for rebuilding teams are. Astros, Cubs and Braves all took 5 years. If it’s done sooner than hey, they did a good job.
“The Braves haven’t come close to matching the Red Sox’s excellence this season”
What is the point of that sentence?
it’s called a segway
I hope that was autocorrect. Made me laugh either way.
Segue. A Segway is for mall cops and overweight tourists.
You mean SEGUE
Segway are those dopey things you stand on with the handle and cruise around on
Paul Blart..Mall Cop
I’m sorry. I meant…
RRRAARRWHHGWWR
Braves should make this move as long as the price isn’t steep. Can’t imagine it would be. Moose would be an solid pick up for the stretch.
MLB writer Jim Duquette had an article a couple weeks ago had Braves trading Kolby Allard and Touiki Touissant for Moose. Now that’s a laugher.
Yeah, as a Royals fan I don’t expect much for Moose. Pitcher with mid rotation potential in AA or an intriguing reliever would be a God send for Moose but his value isn’t great.
Was he drunk when he wrote that?
AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHSHSHAHSHSHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA Allard and toussant for moose? I think the brave should trade for him but those 2 for him? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Braves should make this move if moustakas can pitch in relief.
Arghhhhh! Can we just agree that the whole world is interested in the rest of the whole world and talk about something else please? Like why the Rangers are sooooo bad and their GM gets an EXTENSION!!!!!????? It is the end times…..
The numbers difference from moustakas to devers is so small is it really an upgrade?
no it’d just be a waste
At present I agree but Moose is a great clubhouse guy with playoff experience and would likely benefit moving out of Kauffman Stadium (possibly even dramatically in the AL east parks). As a rental option that wont cost much and won’t block Devers’ long term status, Moose is a solid pickup.
Moose is a beast when it matters. Stick him into that lineup and he’ll crush. Dude will dive head first into the dugout to make an out. Take bullet one-hoppers off the chest. And with that stupid short 275-foot right field porch in a Boston I think Moose is a great idea for that park down the stretch.
I hope he goes to Boston. My second favorite team.
This makes no sense. The author claims that Moustakas is “easily beating out Devers’ numbers”, yet their numbers are almost identical. This is a case where a reporter is trying to generate clicks by making up rumors. The Red Sox do not need infield help, especially by replacing a rising 21 year old star with a fading ballplayrr who offers no advantage. What a stupid story.
Moose is currently much better than Devers, who actually has lost his starting job and is now platooning with Nunez. Devers can be sent to AAA and be back in September. 3rd base is his in the future but the Sox are all in to win this season.
Moose is maybe 10% better than Devers across the board (see below). And the Red Sox are set in the infield. Why waste prospects to fill a need you don’t have, and risk hurting Devers pride? It would be a stupid deal.
G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
Moustakas
90 386 352 42 88 18 1 19 58 3 0 25 60 .250 .306 .469 .774 110
Devers
89 367 340 42 82 20 0 14 48 5 1 25 92 .241 .292 .424 715. 89
What people don’t understand moose away from Kaufman would have more homeruns.
Few weeks ago when the rumors about him going to Yankees someone at WFAN put a spray chart of his hits/outs at kaufman and overlaid Yankees stadium. Said he would have 8 more homeruns this year.
Yea, because pitchers don’t adapt their strategy to park dimensions either.
According to injury reports Devers is resting due to shoulder inflammation so I’d pump the breaks on him losing his starting position just yet.
As to why this would make sense for the Red Sox, Moose’s numbers may be nearly identical to Devers offensive-wise, but defensive wise Moose is killing Devers. Devers was never going to be a great 3rd baseman which is why it frustrates me why Boston wants to keep trying to develop this kid on one of the most defensively challenging spots on the field. If they could get Moose for a decent price I say go for it and keep Devers for depth at 3rd and DH. He needs to be trained on 1B while Mitch Moreland is still there.
Big guy your way too fast to pull the plug on Devers at third. He is just a kid, much like Beltré who has 29 errors his first year and then went on a gold glove tear… patience my man patience.. let him mature
And a great way to help him would be to bring in a veteran that will work with him.
To be fair, the “writers” here just reword other people’s actual work and claim it as their own most of the time. Its hard to come up with a way to make it seem like you aren’t just copying other people’s stuff.
Gross oversimplification, broad generalization and lack of respect for a pioneer in MLB industry.
Xabial love your posts. Who’s the pioneer? Crasnick? I know he’s old. Never heard of Byrne…..
MLBTR is a pioneer in their industry.
love these guys!!
Oh of course! Yes I agree!
It’s called reporting the news…..
Not so much as another site who I won’t name that includes articles where they just talk about someone else’s articles as their “originals”. 99 times out of 100 MLBTR will give the original author full credit at the beginning of a post while adding their own thoughts at the end
Ummm … according to Crasnick, the Red Sox do have an interest in Mous. If it’s a “made up rumor”, blame Crasnick not Byrne.
Park effects. Kansas City is one of the toughest parks to hit in, Boston is one of the easiest.
more “Fake News…”
Boston is 27-8 vs TOR/TB/BAL but are 2-4 vs OAK.
Are Boston even a .500 team in a big boys division? The unbalanced schedule ruins the game so much.
4-8 vs arizona. Move along.
Just stop. it. You’re embarrassing yourself.
The only team that’s more than 2 games over .500 against the Red Sox is the A’s.
Sure, the Red Sox are 27-8 against the bottom three clubs in the AL East.
They’re 68-30 overall, which means they’re 41-22 against everyone else.
They’re a .600 team against the AL Central, and a .667 club against the AL West.
And for good measure, they’re 7-1 against the NL East.
Make the same comparison with the Yanks… probably about the same.
Well actually madman the Yankees have played 53 games teams with a .500 or better record and they have 34-19 record against them. The Yankees have played more games .500 then the Red Sox and have a better record winning 64%. There is one difference and that is the Yankees have played 10 of those series at home were they are awesome and 6 on the road were they 2 games under .500. Should be an interesting second half of the season to early to call either way.
Boston is 26-17 against teams with a .500 record and above and with those games they have played 6 of those series at home and 8 on the road. That’s a 60 percent winning percentage against .500 or better teams that’s pretty good. As a Red Sox fan the injury to Eddie is very worrying though.
fool
Lol, a team that is 38 games over .500 would still be a good team in any division. Six games against one team aren’t a barometer of how they would fare against the rest of baseball in the 100 games they’ve played so far.
Got my from a pitcher’s park to Fenway could be a boost for Moose.
Going from.
My autocorrect moment
Unless Moose can use the Monster to left he won’t any more home runs to right then he does in Fenway. Both one the toughest right fields to hit homers.
Please no, AA!!!
Why would the Braves want him? how does he balance the line up?
Yes indeed, Red Sox are at least .500 against contending teams with winning records.
Swanson is running out of chances , he is okay but pretty ordinary so far.
2.1 War in half a season. I’d be content with that. They could improve the club elsewhere.
Absolutely agreed. People want him to hit 40 homeruns because Albies is putting up the gawky numbers.
Swanson is a Pedroia-type. They want Chipper 2.0.
Swanson needs to go to AAA for some work and they can use camargo, culberson, and flaherty at SS. I don’t think they need a 3B for 2 months.
3rd in DRS among SS in MLB…. I think he’s fine where he is at right now!
Lol no, not when you’ve got Eric Flaherty riding the pine!
Listen to Realgone…he’s obviously REAL gone!!
Swanson has been putting up elite defensive numbers this season. So no he shouldn’t be sent to the minors, and no one within the organization has a shot of outperforming him right now.
Maybe if he was a DH.
What people don’t understand moose away from Kaufman would have more homeruns.
Few weeks ago when the rumors about him going to Yankees someone at WFAN put a spray chart of his hits/outs at kaufman and overlaid Yankees stadium. Said he would have 8 more homeruns this year.
That’s because the short right field porch in Yankee Stadium is a joke.
It is a joke…..like the Pesky Pole in Fenway
Yes but Fenway quickly goes out at right making it one of the tougher parks to home runs to right.
Just wake us if they do. ….yawn.
I don’t like this move. Braves need bullpin help and then another starter. So maybe Anthopoulos will do all than anyway? Well maybe. I still don’t like this. Moustakes is not a clear improvement to Camargo. So move Camargo to SS and platoon with Swanson? Swanson is having a good glove quality year. Maybe the combination would be a net gain on a frational level but it just doesn’t sound like it moves the needle.
Keep the prospect capital for another move unless Moustakes really is brought over that cheaply.
This is a classic example of a guy (Moose) who is traded to a veteran/contending team and instantly gets better. I see the Sox hardcore winning this trade as long as they don’t give up a top prospect.
It’s possible Devers’ injury is more severe than we know. Sure, guys typically get better when traded to a contender. Pearce has been fantastic since coming from Toronto. Last year Nunez was tremendous after the trade, until he got hurt..
Yikes, after reading these comments someone may wanna check the local pub to see if Mr. Byrne could use a lift home.
This makes no sense. The red Sox don’t have much in the way of prospects and are close to the next tier in the salary cap. They don’t need to make a trade for a position that’s not in need of an upgrade. If they make any trades it will be for pitching. They just had another starter go down with an injury and their bullpen has been struggling.
we need pitching, period, we have no chance for even “wild card” if we cannot close these games down
The Sox could send Devers to AAA for rehab after the AS Break and his 10 day DL. Keep Lin, Nunez and Holt to platoon @ 2B and 3 B. They are handling it nicely.
This is the time of year when many good veteran players are available for trade by rebuilding or salary dumping teams, That includes Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, San Diego, Miami, Baltimore, NY Mets, and Kansas City.
For the Red Sox, there’s not much sense even mentioning possible acquisitions from these teams, because they are all looking for prospects. Because of Dumbrowski, who’s welcomed tactic of pillaging his farm system to build a team to win Today, the Sox have no tradable assets to speak of.
So, although the Sox have a great team, it’s at the expense of their future.
As a Boston fan I hope Dombrowski doesn’t invent the need for a position player, 19 errors, sure But the 68 wins at the break paints a bigger picture, If they can acquire some pitching great
Another day, another player Atlanta is “interested” in… anyone else notice they attach themselves for every free agent and every big name trade candidate.
They don’t, media does.
Only way Moose makes sense for the Braves is if they get the DH by the end of the AS break.
This guy kills me he makes it sound like his numbers are destroying Devers. Who is 21. He didn’t even have anytime in AAA. Give me a break. I think the Sox are just driving up the price.
Good point