The Brewers and free-agent third baseman Mike Moustakas have officially agreed to a one-year agreement. The Boras Corporation client will reportedly earn $10MM on the deal, which includes a $7MM salary in 2019 and $3MM buyout on a $11MM mutual option for 2020.
The 30-year-old Moustakas’ deal with the Brewers means he’ll wrap up a second straight lengthy stay in free-agent limbo. He first reached the open market last offseason and ended up going without a job until early March, when the Royals re-signed him to a contract worth a guaranteed $6.5MM. Kansas City was no doubt hoping to contend at the time, but it ended up as a bottom-feeding team, leading it to send Moustakas to Milwaukee in advance of the July trade deadline. As a Brewer, Moustakas hit .256/.326/.441, right in line with the .249/.309/.468 line he posted as a Royal last year. All told, Moustakas smacked 28 home runs, logged a 105 wRC+ and registered 2.4 fWAR over 635 trips to the plate.
Since his 2011 major league debut with the Royals, Moustakas has almost exclusively played third base, where he has accounted for nine runs saved and a plus-15.1 Ultimate Zone Rating. The hot corner is also the home of slugger Travis Shaw, who bumped over to second for the first time last season on the heels of the Moustakas acquisition. Now, the plan is for Moustakas to get a run at second base this spring, with the organization continuing to rely upon defensive positioning to help shoehorn both power hitters into the same unit. With those two, Jesus Aguilar at first base and Orlando Arcia at shortstop, the Brewers look to have a strong starting infield in place after falling just one win shy of reaching the World Series in 2018.
The Moustakas re-signing is the second major move for Milwaukee since last season ended. The club previously signed catcher Yasmani Grandal to a one-year contract, and with him and Moustakas in the fold for a full year, the Brewers may be serious NL contenders once again. The club finished seventh in the majors in position player fWAR last season despite receiving subpar production at second, where Shaw should take over in the wake of the Moustakas deal, and behind the plate. Of course, it’s up in the air whether the Brewers will be able to survive a second straight year without anything resembling a front-line starter, unless one of their in-house hurlers bursts on the scene.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the signing. Bob Nightengale of USA Today had the salary, while Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and Bob Nightengale of USA Today added the mutual option details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Stove is hot. Harper and Machado, who?
Glad Moose didn’t have to wait until March to sign again.
Maybe this is the start. Teams and agents know Harper is about to sign, so they are ready to move on.
I really doubt Milwaukee was waiting to see if Harper or Machado will take their offer …
Moose might have been waiting to see where Machado went though
The Phillies were the team that came out saying they were willing to spend big.Agents might’ve been waiting to see if Harper & Machado went elsewhere,maybe the Phillies end up panicking and going overboard with the next tier of guys.
I think the Harper deal is done. And I think we’ll find out tmrw. As for Machado? Who knows?
Well said Regi Green.
Good thing moose didn’t take that 17.1 mil QO last year. He would have made more last year than he did the last two years. But collusion right? Get outta here with that crap.
You suggestion that Moustakas and his agent erred in judgement is fine but how does that prove that collusion isn’t also in play here?
Yes, many of the commenters around here would have you believe that if every player doesn’t get every penny of what Scott Boras says he should get, there’s clearly collusion and they should all go on strike.
And many commenters around here choose to ignore multiple comments made by players, GMs and owners related to the “new normal” that has suddenly been created with regard to contracts. Moustakas is certainly someone who has suffered from the coordinated freeze in player contracts.
They are uneducated young fools. Any fan that actually roots for players to make more is basically saying, “Please raise the prices at the game, I wan’t to pay more!” They have no concept of money, talking about hundreds of millions like they can actually relate to it. The only thing fans can relate to is how affordable it is to see a game with the family, the rest is just a fantasy.
He has a 105 wRC+. Do you honestly think he deserves a big contract? $10m sounds about right.
Right, because all the owners who aren’t spending money on free agents will of course lower their prices this year. Smh
Many players have made the error of not accepting the QO in the hope of landing a big deal. Moose isn’t hurting for money sure he lost 10 million by not doing it but it was his risk & he lost. However, he played for a chance at the WS which was probably meant to him then the 10 million he lost. QO is probably going to disappear in the next CBA anyway.
He would’ve wound up on the same team initially had he accepted the QO or not. The only difference is the Brewers would’ve had to give Up less or the royals would’ve had to eat more salary to move him.
Megaj – you’re an uneducated fool if you think the math for a gigantic multi billion dollar enterprise can be reduced to a math problem as simple as player contracts go up = ticket prices go up. Far more goes into it than we will ever know because they are privtae companies that don’t share how they spend their money and how much ownership makes in profits.
I would not call him a fool. Labor expenditures are the biggest cost for any MLB team, so to indicate salary spend has no link to ticket prices is unreasonable. You are correct that there are other factors but to label someone an “uneducated fool” for that comment is uncalled for. Do you really believe that rising salaries has NO IMPACT on ticket pricing?
A competitive ball club that people want to go see has a much larger impact. Management sets a price but if no one is willing to pay, what does it really matter? Ticket prices are driven up by the demand for them.
not at all knocking you sir. hite 3 are you able to be almost always the first to comment? and if you don’t mind, are you 20-30, 30-40, etc?
It’s called not having a job or a girlfriend.
Stove is hot? Another 1-year, lowball contract for Moose shows the stove is broken.
Machado…. signing with the padres.
What happened to the Padres, finished 2nd again
Not a good fit for them imo. They need to use their ridiculous prospect depth to trade for a younger 3B that will be with them with their kids are ready to win in a couple years. They could make 4 or 5 of those kinds of deals without even cutting into their key prospects.
Younger than 26? Younger doesnt seem to apply to Machado. Guess you are referring to Moose.
Haha yup where’s all their fans piping in now?
Was anyone holding out hope for Mike Moustakas? No thanks…
I know right! Sobbing uncontrollably over here. Pfft
Machado to Philly, Harper to Atlanta.
You a braves fan or na
I hope he is a braves fan given the fact his bitmoji is wearing a braves hat
Unless Atlanta comes in with a huge last minute offer, Harper & Machado are going elsewhere.
Machado and Harper to Philly.
Year from now he’ll probably be signing a one year deal again somewhere
Not sure big fan of this. I think I would have almost rather kept Shaw at his natural position of 3B and use platoon of guys at 2B until someone stood out for year until Hiura is ready for 2020. Shaw seems a guy that hey we love him want him in lineup so lets stick him at 2B were he’s not the best but keep his bat in the lineup.
Maybe deal Shaw to Padres for pitching?
I would not be shocked if Brewers do shop Shaw now. Think it’s clear they don’t think he is future at 3B.
How can you say they don’t think Shaw is the future at 3B? Moose is gone after next year when Keston is ready. If you sign Shaw after this year he slides back to 3rd. Plus he will still see time at 3B this year too. Moose won’t play all 162
If they love Shaw at 3B you don’t sign Moose you instead platoon what you have at 2B instead of moving a guy who is not a true 2B there to play.
That’s not necessarily true. From a defensive standpoint I agree but offensively it’s not close. Would you rather have Shaw/Moose in your everyday lineup or Shaw/Cory or Perez? That’s a no brainer. You have a 2B, 3B who will both hit 30HR now. The only difference this year from last year to Milwaukee’s lineup is they added a legit offensive catcher.
A 1 year deal for Moose has nothing to do with not liking Shaw or not thinking he is the future at 3rd. Shaw’s bat plays even better at 2nd than it does at 3rd. Quite obvious by now that Stearns is willing to think outside the box and do whatever is needed with the roster to get the best lineup out every day.
Any shopping of Shaw is and has always been nothing but fan speculation.
I still believe playing Shaw at 2nd will catch up with them. I know they shift a lot as they try to hide his deficiencies but eventually they will suffer defensively. Shaw is not a second baseman. And even if they replace him defensively in late innings with the lead they are still exposed when he plays there. Granted it makes them a better offensive team, but it is hard to see how in the long run this move aids the Brewers.
I think it is more likely that they shop Thames and/or Aguilar and put Moose at 1st. Shaw is the better 3rd baseman between the two.
It was limited games, but Shaw is not a 2nd baseman for an entire season. Heck, why not Braun at 2nd with Shaw at 3rd and Moose at 1st.
You mean six weeks of pixie dust doesn’t work for five months? Don’t tell Stearns or Brewers fans….
Lol I can taste the salt from here twentyforty. The same cubs fans who said the entire season “brewers won’t win the division, cubs have more talent”. Have quickly switched to “brewers got lucky. It won’t happen again”. Until it does right?
I’d have to imagine that Shaw at 2B is still quite preferable to Braun at 2B, seeing as Braun was absolutely awful at 3B as a rookie to the point that the Brewers were essentially forced to move him to LF the next season.
i think he’s still mad that the brewers bank on september still and have a better 40 than cubs. lol, a guy with 1 career hit batted twice in Rizzo’s spot in the wildcard game hahaha
Grandal can play second and Moose will catch
Why not try Moose at 2nd this spring and leave Shaw at 3rd because he is a better fielder than Moose. Better to get the better player at one spot and only have a weakness at one position.
The best you’ll get from the Padres is Luchessi and even then it’d take more than Shaw to get him.
The Padres have no pitching.
Uhh yeah they do look at their prospects set to come up
Bahahaha….hahahaha
Lol they’re not trading Shaw that opens up another hole
no. just no.
It makes sense for them to not deal off of the major league roster and deal prospects to help them in their window of contention which is now.
Stroman to the Brewers makes sense.
No it makes no sense
now the crew goes and gets Keuchel.
All this signing does is help the lineup. Against righties you start both moose and Shaw. If you have the lead late you plug in hernan for defense. If you are facing a lefty you can sit one of Shaw or moose and use them off the bench later in the game.
Also, who knows if Aguilar/Thames will work out at 1st. Aguilar had a rough 2nd half last year. Shaw could play 1st if needed
Not sure Perez might be good at 2B. Had a bad wrist that hurt his play last year. Him healthy might be better at 2B.
All right. Pressure on padres to sign Machado? Moose off the market takes away fallback option for a lot of teams
I doubt the Padres were in on Moustakes, anyway. A one year deal for a pricey veteran does them no good, and if they were interested in giving Moose a multi-year contract, then he wouldn’t have settled for the Brewers’ deal.
Shaw is better at 3B than Moose by a long, long way. Stupid idea.
Huge get. He was solid in Milwaukee down the stretch. That really lengthens the lineup too
Have to like this lineup:
Brewers lineup:
1. Cain CF
2. Yelich RF
3. Braun LF
4. Shaw 2B
5. Agular 1B
6. Moose 3B
7. Grandal C
8. Arcia SS
9. Pitcher
love the right left in that lineup. really going to give opposing managers fits when it comes to matchups late in games. I also think arica is going to have a good season. great postseason hopefully that boosted his confidence.
Yeah, it is time the Cards added some insurance from the left side. Sure would like to see them land Marwin Gonzales. They are still awfully right-handed, and if Fowler fails to rebound, Gonzales would be insurance, plus he would be able to move around the diamond giving guys rest, and play when others get hurt, which they inevitably will.
I have zero confidence in Fowler bouncing back. Ozuna healthy is a weapon
The Cards don’t have room for anyone else on the bench, though. As it is, it’s likely that O’Neill and Muñoz are both going to be starting the season in AAA, while Martinez and Gyorko are already two of the best bench bats in the league. Martinez and O’Neill also provide adequate insurance for Fowler.
That’s phat!
Great lineup and their starting pitching is deeper than people think especially with Nelson and Davies apparently healthy.
Hopefully this gets things moving. Phils or pads are in trouble bc only one can land Machado. The other may be stuck with in house options at third. Pads definitely don’t want that. With the fallback in moose off the market people better get moving
You are leaving Gonzalez out of this equation…I would prefer him to Moustakas…
Phils are fine at third with Franco.
Harpy and Machismo to Philsters.
I like the signing for protection if Aguilar struggles this season. Doesn’t have a lengthy track record. This has to mean the Brewers are going to ship Thames elsewhere.
Think Thames will be hard to shop. Guy who is 32 making 6 million with a $1 million buyout next year and likely is only a DH. If Brewers pick up half half of what he gets paid this year you get a lottery ticket prospect back at best I think.
He was offered 17m QO from the royals that he turned down and ultimately got 6.5m. Now he signs for 9m this year? Tough pill to swallow playing 2 years at 15.5M over 1 year at 17M…
Surprise Moose couldn’t get 3/20 or 4/30. But still love Brew Crew luck wth this sign.
But if he took the QO, he’d probably be wondering what offers he would have received last winter compared to the $9 million he signed for this year. He’s in a Catch-22.
Are you one of those Kyle Schwarber’s mom impersonators?
Harper to philly , Machado to white sox or padres
YES!!
At least Brewer fans are excited. He probably had no other options. Probably hoping again that NEXT yr will be the yr he has a market.
offense is set. now trade thames and some prospects for some pitching
I think Thames has negative trade value at this point.
And they have very, very few difference making prospects.
incorrect. they have difference making prospects, but they aren’t trading them. they don’t have many in the way of average. they have “untouchables” if that’s a thing, and ehh prospects
This just in…….. cubs have signed no one. Cubs fans have flocked to this brewers comment section to share their thoughts. K.
Nice match. Blue-collar guy in a blue-collar town.
And it goes to show how, in the days of launch angle theology, GMs pay no attention to IF defense anymore. Moose is at best meh defensively, and Shaw at 2B is quite a bit below average.
But what the heck. The Red Sox are world champs with an IF you can roll the ball through and get a hit; DD had to get Kinsler last year just so they would have SOMEBODY who can catch a ground ball.
I agree with the Brewers match. Moustakas did slim down a bit last season but he still looks like a Beer League softball player and was a fan favorite in Milwaukee. His postseason experience and ring with the Royals also figures to be helpful to the Brewers in 2019.
Not sure what you’re getting at here…are you saying that infield defense is less important because so many fewer balls get put in play? Because, yes, you’re correct, but then you make it sound like that is a bad thing. It’s not Moustakas is probably a league-average defensive third baseman. The offense isn’t very impressive, but he’s at least a decent placeholder.
Tomorrow’s the day.
… said everyday since Christmas.
Harper to Miami 5 year 30 million, and Machado to Baltimore for 15 years 20 million to reunite the guys to win the AL East and overthrow the mighty Red Sox. bet.
I doubt Machado signs for 1.5m AAV hehehe
minor league deal invitation to spring camp? seems like a good fit
apparently not
I feel bad for this guy… for the last 2 YEARS he’s had … he’s only made 15.5m… this man can get you 30 hr and play solid defense
Only 15.5 million? My God, let’s start a Gofundme for his family right now. We better hurry or else they won’t have the yacht ready for spring sailing season.
Not so solid defense. His advanced stats don’t suggest he plays solid defense.
Surprised the Halos didnt take a 1-yr with the hometown kid.
I have a feeling he doesn’t want to play for them. Second year in a row we heard they were interested and offered multiple years (although his agent denies it) and he decided to sign a 1 year contract elsewhere.
The Angels were reportedly in on him. Perhaps he just doesn’t want to play there. He passed up a 3-year $45mil offer from them last year…
False and false. Never received that offer last year and he did want to sign in Anaheim as he lives in Malibu
He did not want to play for Anaheim because he lives in LA? So he’d rather play for a team 2,000 miles away rather than 60?
He probably would make it quicker from Milwaukee to Malibu, considering the horrible traffic in So. Cal.
Maybe wife is real battleaxe? Smaller contract far away? Yes, yes, and yes!
Perhaps Annie is a cheesehead?
You don’t know for certain that he didn’t get that offer or if it was just a verbal. Of corse his agent says he didn’t. He’s not going to advertise that he gave his client bad advice. The Angels were spending money last year and were looking for a left handed hitting third baseman. I wouldn’t be surprised if Boras’ demands were initially too high so the Angels moved on. As far as this year, it’s possible that Arte pumped the brakes on the payroll.
That’s not much of an exaggeration. Since I finished college I have made it a life goal not to have to get on the 405
If you ask me, it probably would have made more sense for them to go after like a 2 year pact with Marwin Gonalez since it probably wound’t have costed them that much more. Then the Brewers don’t have to move Shaw back to a position he is still pretty unfamiliar with, and when Hirua is ready, Marwin can play wherever they need him to.
Except Marwin won’t sign for two years.
Marwin’s Not calling the shots here. There might not be a 3 year deal out there for him.
Poster child for greedy agents screwing over clients. Moose had a 3 year deal early last off-season. He’s now lost over 10 million and counting.
I thought the fills were singing Noose, Machado and Harper.
because they were totally signing both Moose and Machado
pretty sure that means eric thames is about to get traded. kinda useless to keep him at this point.
Lucky if some team offers a bag of used baseballs for Thames I think.
thames would fit perfectly at yankee stadium, but I agree. his value is very low.
Thames has negative trade value. He’s kind of becoming the Brewers version of Julio Teheran for Braves fans, where all their fans are like “Trade him for prospects or this improvement,” rather than realizing he has literally negative value.
at this point, he’s just wasting 6 million
Are they giving them the bag,too? That’s too much
I don’t see a good fit for him anywhere, even in the AL. He’s a scary bench bat, just wish he was able to hit for contact like Aguilar’s approach with two strikes. Dude tries to absolutely crush everything. I think he stays put.
If the Cardinals can’t get a decent trade offer for Jose Martinez, what hope is there for the Brewers to get one for an older guy with a weaker bat who makes more money with fewer years of control?
Shaw forced to suck hind tit again. Tough break. Moose has taken his epic QO mistake, quite well.
Yes except Shaw said he was great with a moose signing last week
Eppler you suck.
Destined for a 500 season with the best player in the game.
Get creative!
A 1 year deal for Moose has nothing to do with not liking Shaw or not thinking he is the future at 3rd. Shaw’s bat plays even better at 2nd than it does at 3rd. Quite obvious by now that Stearns is willing to think outside the box and do whatever is needed with the roster to get the best lineup out every day.
Any shopping of Shaw is and has always been nothing but fan speculation.
It’s more about getting the best possible bats in the lineup. At the minuscule cost and it’s also nothing long term which might hurt Shaw once he starts aging some more. He’s been a great defensive 3B for his career, but he’s got a huge 6’4 frame and those types of things rarely help range long term so him at 2B for a season won’t be that detrimental to him. His small sample size at 2B hasn’t been great, he’s been passable to average depending on which metric you look at.
Good move at the end of the day by the Brewers.
I agree. shaw wants to stay in mil i hear and the brewers love him. he’ll get extended sometime this season. maybe a 2-3 year deal.
I agree they love Shaw it seems. I think if they do offer a contract extension it’ll be 4+ years though. He still has 2 more years of arbitration. So I can see them “buying out” his finals to arb years and extending him 2 more past that. That would take him to 33 also.
if he keeps this up, i’m more than happy to pay him. one of the better trades in brewers history. thornburg for shaw. thornburg just can’t stay healthy.
It really was. That one along with Gomez/Fires for Hader/Domingo/Phillips (Phillips
Turned into moose)
knowing what we know now, Hader for Gomez was enough for me lol
If the Angels offered him 3/$40M a few years ago like it was reported, it’s time to fire Boras.
Good for the Brewers. Good for the White Sox who rightfully have their aim set on a much better fish (moose!) to play 3B. Bad for the Cubs who just saw the NL Central become even more competitive.
Um, Moustakos doesn’t even move the needle in the NL Central.
With a division as tightly bunched as any in MLB it certainly could. Adding Moustakas in no way makes the Brewers a worse team than before they signed him. In fact, it makes the team and their already solid lineup even better.
You’re just salty that the Cubs have done absolutely next to nothin this off season. Go ahead though and keep hoping that Darvish becomes serviceable again. Maybe he can capture some of that Brewers pixie dust.
I kinda wonder if Aguilar is really good enough to be a good full time player. He is kinda streaky. Here I will give people a prediction to RIP a part. We will at sometime of a infield of first Shaw
second Lawrie
short Arcia
third Moose
and they win the game with no errors
I think Lawrie was a sneaky good sign. really hope he can have a good season.
Lawrie has really never been any good.
Lawrie was great as a rookie. He has elevated his K rate and declined since. If this time away from baseball allowed him to clear his head and re-work some things there’s definitely legitimate potential. It was a good no risk add.
Lawrie I will be shocked if he breaks camp with Brewers. I can see him going to minors esp since he has not played in couple years needs to get rust off.
all depends on spring. if he tears it up in spring he could be part of the opening day roster. i’m interested to see what spangenberg can do as well. he’s not a starter but could be a nice bench bat.
Lawrie will probably be a utility infielder and split duities as a platoon type assuming he makes the big league roster, maybe even learn the corner outfield spots and with his arm I’d say he’s got a chance to be a fantastic outfielder
I agree with this but Hiura instead of Lawrie. I think that will be our starting IF come Sept
i’m very interested in seeing Huira. keep hearing how amazing he is going to be. hopefully he doesn’t disappoint
Dude turned down a 3 year deal last winter to the Angels now he’s back to year to year
He can’t hop in his time machine and go change things now. The real surprise was how little he took to return to KC last off-season.
This is an excellent signing for the brewers, and an excellent team and ballpark for him to be on. If he stays healthy, he could get a much greater contract.
One of the most overrated players in recent history. People make out like he’s amazing but let’s be honest peeps. Just an avg player
Average is pretty good. Half of the players in the majors are worse …
y’all just paid donaldson like 23 million lmao get real dude
JD is a lottery ticket. Moose is a presale ticket.
Moose for $9m or JD for $23m…yeah, Braves eating some crow already on that deal and position players haven’t even reported.
Moose and Donaldson have NEVER been comparable players. I like the deal for both clubs. Donaldson is significantly better than Moose is when healthy. There’s a lot of injury risk with Donaldson and the fact that the Braves didn’t plug up their other holes as well makes it look eye popping but I think there’s a good chance he’s worth every penny. Moose for 9 mil? Yeah, that’s a good deal. Everyday of the week. You know exactly what he’ll Give you but it’s not going to be what Donaldson is capable of giving you.
You’re calling a guy who had a 4.3 combined WAR the last two years average? Donaldson can’t even stay healthy and the Braves are paying a guy 23M who had a 1.2 WAR last year.
If you’re going to use combined WAR totals Donaldson had 6.3 in that time frame and WAR is a cumulative stat. He had less than 200 abs last year and has still been more valuable than Moose.
That’s my argument. WAR is cumulative which means you have to stay on the field which Donaldson hasn’t done the last two years. Not to mention his defense the last 3 years has been just as average as Moose. The Braves are paying a guy 23M “hoping” he stays on the field for 500 at bats. In this market paying a guy coming off an injury pledged season that much is an extreme overpay
Something to be said about fit and clubhouse chemistry. Him, Braun, and Yelich have developed a strong friendship since the California wildfires. Over the course of a 162 game season players I’ll take a group of players who genuinely like each other over a team of superstars with huge egos
Moose is a clubhouse leader. love the sign.
For those who are convinced this will upset Shaw, he already stated he’d be willing to play 2b again this year if they brought Moose back. And he’s interested in signing an extension because he likes Milwaukee.
As for Thames, imo he’d be nothing more than a throw in if traded. It seems nobody needs a lh hitting 1b, and nobody wants a poor fielding corner outfielder. I doubt he goes anywhere unless he asks to be released so he can go back to Korea (but I still think he’s insurance in case Aguilar struggles).
This. Thames looks like a DFA by end of Spring Training. Some bad AL team will pick him up for minimum and give him some AB’s to see if he can be flipped.
look at all the stars of the past who would be in limbo right now because they were 30.. Hank Aaron.. 30 If he was looking for a long term contract; he’s too old, he can’t keep putting up those numbers, long term contracts never work out…. the age curve says h e isn’t a good ” investment”.. he might get hurt.. nobody is worth that much.. etc..etc..etc..
Only time I think it’s bad to invest long term in a guy is 10 year deals. Signing a guy at 27-28 and knowing that those last 3-5 years of deal could be ugly for what you will be paying them.
Cool. And so the off-season begins.
Has there EVER been a mutual option that was accepted by both the team and player?
Not common but it happens. Most recently with Jason Giambi and the Rockies back in 2011.
There was Aramis Ramirez back in 2014, both sides accepted. (ESPN – http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/11814498/aramis-ramirez-milwaukee-brewers-accepts-mutual-option-2015-season)
This MUST mean the Padres are signing Machado!! Since they were in on Harper, in on Machado, in on moose, in on Realmulto, in on syndegard….. etc etc etc…. or…. once again… the Padres put out fluff pieces for their gullible fans
Or it COULD mean Moose wanted to sign with the Brewers…
Yea…. players LOVE signing for one year deals
Normally I would say you are correct but when a team has a chance to make the WS a one year deal will do.
The Brewers are having a great offseason after having a very good 2018. I really like the team they are putting together. They may need some more pitching but they have some assets to deal if they go that route.
I think their pitching is very underrated. they have some quality starter options and it showed last postseason with burnes/woodruff/peralta. would be nice to add a Keuchel though
Yeah, I think Miwaukee should be considered co-favorites in the NL Central, although obviously the Cards could very easily sneak in there too. The Cubs haven’t made much in the way of upgrades, although a full healthy season of Bryant is a huge upgrade by itself. The Reds have also made huge strides….this is going to be a pretty competitive and fun division; hand it to the Brewers for doing this all with a relatively low payroll (and lot of Josh Hader and a career year by some nearly-freely acquired talent in Yelich.)
happy to see moose sign, was hoping kc but least he is playing with Cain still
Noooooooo why?
So who gets dfa’d Albers, Span, Anderson, Saladino, Krautz or Thames to make room?
Surer to the 60 day DL?
Suter
This is a sad state of affairs when a player of Moose’s ability can only secure these type of deals…
This Is F’d up!
Maybe he just wanted to go back to the Brew Crew instead of somewhere else
He longed to get back to Shank Hall.
Why don’t you like Oxford commas? :'(
It’s great to have Moose back. He is a passionate competitor and is a solid bat. Kudos to the Brewers for bringing this warrior back. He really deepens the roster
Has a “mutual option” ever been exercised?
Yes
Aramis Ramirez a few year back, and it involved the Brewers too.
Gotta wonder if Boros is even trying in this guys case. Hell, he got Jayson Werth that crazy contract, why not Moose?
as a Royals fan congratulations to Moose. You will always be Royal to me.
It’s refreshing to read about an organization such as the Brewers who are willing spend the money to fill the gaps in their lineup with quality players. It’s extra refreshing to have a president of baseball operations / General Manager who have the instinct, experience and personality to acquire impact free agent players to sign with there organization. The Cardinals President of Baseball is incapable of such transactions. And either the Cardinals owners are cheep skates or their president of baseball is incapable of acquiring impact players through free agency. Plus, the Houston Scandal under the current Cardinals President of baseball operation’s guidance. No one trust him!!!
Cardinals traded for the top 1B in baseball with the intention of trying to extend him during the season. We also signed Andrew Miller to solidify the bullpen.
Come out from under your rock. We had one of the best offseasons in baseball.
Don’t let this distract you from the fact that Hector is gonna be running 3 Honda Civic’s with spoon engines. On top of that he just came into Harry’s and ordered 3 t66 turbo’s with NOS’s and a Motec System Exhaust.
I see this as another bargain for Moose. I mean this in all seriousness not s rhetorical question. What do teams see in him that limits his market so much
His defense is kind of just average at this point and he doesn’t get on base. He’s a steady but just a little above-average at this point, and home runs are common enough that even that skill doesn’t have nearly as much value. You know who Moustakas reminds me of, in a way? Chase Headley; just replace Headley’s on-base skills with power. Other than that they’re really similar players – solid but unspectacular defensive third basemen who hit a little but are, in the end, just 2-3 win players year in and year out. Headley was released last year by a team without a third baseman on the roster, and seems to have retired; I’ve heard of zero interest in him since his release.
Anyway, Headley played ten full seasons and was worth 26 WAR in that time.
Moose has played 8 seasons and put up around 14 WAR in that time. He’ll probably finish his career with about the same value as Headley.
But the big difference is this: Headley, because of that crazy outlier season near-MVP season, raked in 78 million dollars in his career. Moustakas, because of the sway markets for players like him have evolved, has only made a third of what Headley has, about 25 million.
You cite Chase Headley and his $78mm in career earnings. But don’t forget that Headley’s big payday was with the Yankees (4yrs/$52mm), which is comparable to the offer that Moose received from the Angels (3yrs/$45mm)
Moose has no one to blame but himself (and his agent).
Trade bait in July.
Would say that about the Cubs but no team on earth will take Darvish or Heyward and those awful contracts. LMAO nice job theo.
I like the signing. If the crew are out of the wild(which they wont be) They can flip moose at the trade deadline for prospects. Good signing.
This is setting up the Brewers to be in the mix for Arenado next year. 28 million plus will come off the books and only one more year of Braun’s contract will give them plenty of space to be serious bidders for his service. Depending on how Shaw and Jesus perform this year will determine who’s their first baseman going forward. Second and short will be young and cheap with a combination of Arcia, Dubon, and of course Hirua at second. Looking forward to an exciting summer, but an eye on the future.
I thought the same idea as far as Arenado but Rendon wouldn’t be a bad idea if Harper priced out the Nats.
Would love Nottingham to put a full year in AAA and show he could take over the catching in 2020. That would also save money. Then the Kris Davis trade will look a little better.
Boy this guy really sh.t the bad with earnings, all that mistakes and now surely wish he was wait just a couple days more for Manny to sign. His market would go up for sure.
Ok he will not get broke or anything, hopefully, but, every move he made was wrong,
Should have waited to be the White Sox’s backup choice to Machado. Sad.