12:02PM: Moustakas isn’t being considered for second base duty, Harding tweets. In other Twitter links, Harding shared some comments from Moustakas, who said “I finally feel good” in the wake of his injuries, and he didn’t want to sign anywhere until he was closer to full health. The Moose was non-committal about the idea of accepting a minor league assignment to Triple-A if he didn’t make the Rockies’ Opening Day roster, saying “that’s something we’ll talk about if it happens.”
8:44AM: The Rockies have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran infielder Mike Moustakas, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports (Twitter link). Moustakas is represented by the Boras Corporation, and he became a free agent after being released by the Reds in early January.
Assuming Moustakas makes Colorado’s roster, the Rockies will only owe him the Major League minimum salary. The Reds will be responsible for the rest of the $22MM salary Moustakas is slated to earn in 2023, as per the four-year, $64MM deal he signed with Cincinnati during the 2019-20 offseason. The Moose will earn $18MM in salary, and the Reds are also on the hook for a $4MM buyout of a $20MM club option for the 2024 season.
It makes for a pretty low-risk experiment for a Rockies team that is suddenly short on infielders, given how Brendan Rodgers seems likely to miss most or all of the 2023 season while recovering from a dislocated shoulder. With surgery a distinct possibility for Rodgers, Colorado was aiming to fill his second base spot by moving Ryan McMahon over from third base, except Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Moustakas is now being tabbed to fill in at the keystone. This plan would allow the Rox to keep McMahon at third base, and keep second-year players Nolan Jones and Elehuris Montero (who were lined up to take over at the hot corner) in backup roles.
Moustakas has played 613 2/3 big league innings as a second baseman, almost entirely in 2019-20 with the Brewers and Reds. While he was a passable option at the position, public defensive metrics rated Moustakas below average, with a -0.9 UZR/150, -4 Defensive Runs Saved, and -2 Outs Above Average. There isn’t an easy way for Rodgers to be replaced, naturally, but it represents something of a curious move for Colorado to target Moustakas as an answer given how other more experienced middle infielders were available in free agency, or on the trade market.
That said, Moustakas comes at a far lesser financial cost than most other options, and it could be that Colorado simply didn’t want too much of a lineup shuffle given McMahon’s defensive prowess at third base. With Opening Day still weeks away, the Rockies’ plans might yet still change, as Moustakas can theoretically fit at several other spots around the infield. His left-handed bat might factor into the Rockies’ plans at first base and DH, since C.J. Cron and Sean Bouchard are both right-handed hitters.
While Moustakas is a good fit on paper, however, it remains to be seen what version of the Moose the Rockies are getting as he enters his age-34 season. Moustakas was plagued by injuries (a heel contusion and a calf strain) over his last two years in Cincinnati, resulting in a mediocre .212/.289/.356 slash line in 491 plate appearances since the start of the 2021 season. With those two sub-replacement level seasons cratering his trade value, the Reds opted to simply release Moustakas heading into the final guaranteed year of his contract, eating his salary and opening up more playing time as Cincinnati continues its rebuild.
Prior to those injury-shortened 2021-22 seasons, Moustakas was a solid performer for the Royals, Brewers, and Reds from 2015-20, hitting .262/.326/.490 with 138 homers over 2707 plate appearances (good for a 113 wRC+). The Moose was named to three All-Star games during that stretch, and he was also a big part of Kansas City’s World Series championship team in 2015.
While staying healthy is naturally the key to any hope for a rebound season, Moustakas’ move to Coors Field might help reinvigorate his bat. The new defensive rules would seemingly help given how Moustakas faced shifts 81 percent of the time in 2022, though his production against shifts (in the Statcast era) has fluctuated heavily, with some seasons of better production hitting into shifts than against a regular fielding alignment. If anything, the new defensive rules might put more pressure on Moustakas from a second base perspective, as he’ll now be asked to cover more ground in the field.
The Rockies have now made two veteran additions in as many days, between the Moustakas signing and their one-year deal yesterday with left-handed reliever Brad Hand. It’s a quick pivot for the team, who learned earlier this week about Rodgers and the strong possibility that reliever Lucas Gilbreath will need Tommy John surgery.
