Atlanta Braves: signing Mike Moustakas on the radar this offseason?
By Jeff Schafer
Braves lineup could benefit from signing Moustakas, but is it the right move?
You could say the Atlanta Braves have a few gaps in their lineup, you could say they have one glaring hole or you can say they don’t have any gaps to fill.
Right now, the outfield definitely has it’s question marks, but doesn’t have a gap to fill…it’s more like just figuring out what to do with Nick Markakis and Matt Kemp and where is Ronald Acuna going to play.
Third base could be a spot the Braves look to fill this offseason. OR they could go with a platoon of Rio Ruiz and Johan Camargo. Is that enough? That will be up to the new General Manager and the front office.
Yesterday, MLB Trade Rumors posted their top 50 MLB free agents and where they think they’ll land. The Braves pop up quite a few times in this article for potential landing spots for players, but they are predicting that the Braves will sign two players.
Those two names are third baseman Mike Moustakas and relief pitcher Tommy Hunter.
Relief pitching is almost a target the Braves go after (as well as every other team). Hunter looks to sign a pretty nice free agent deal after having a successful season with the Tampa Bay Rays. He pitched 58.2 innings, striking out 64 and walking only 14. He held a 2.61 ERA in his 61 appearances in 2017.
Hunter is a 10-year vet that will be entering his 32-year-old season. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2007 MLB draft in the 1st round (54th overall). He made his debut in 2008 with Rangers as a starter. The 6’3″ 250 pound righty was a starter until 2013.
MLBTR are predicting that the Braves could sign Hunter for two-years for $12MM.
The bullpen situation currently has these options…
Arodys Vizcaino – RHP
Dan Winkler – RHP
Jose Ramirez – RHP
Akeel Morris – RHP
Matt Wisler – RHP
Lucas Sims – RHP
Jim Johnson – RHP
Luke Jackson – RHP
Jason Hursh – RHP
Mauricio Cabrera – RHP
Aaron Blair – RHP
A.J. Minter – LHP
Jacob Lindgren – LHP
Sam Freeman – LHP
Rex Brothers – LHP
Jesse Biddle – LHP
Obviously a lot of names here and yes, a lot of question marks. These are the names that are on the Braves 40-man roster as of November 4, 2017. Adding a veteran relief pitcher to our bullpen would be a nice piece as we move into contention-mode.
What’s the third base spot look like?
As of now, the Braves plan to use a platoon of Ruiz and Camargo at third base. I’m a big fan of Camargo and I think he can control that position on his own. I don’t mind a Camargo/Ruiz third base for 2018, but adding Moustakas would make this lineup so much more deep.
Moustakas batted mostly 2nd, 5th or 6th for the Royals in 2017. He belted 38 homers in 2017 and held a slash line of .272/.314/.521 with 24 doubles, 85 RBIs and 75 runs scored. Adding those numbers behind Freddie Freeman and (maybe) a healthy Matt Kemp would be very nice.
Could he repeat those numbers is the big question. Moustakas will play the majority of the 2018 season as a 29-year-old, but will turn 30 in September. As a professional ball player, he’s had two very good years out seven seasons…2015 and 2017, and he made the All-Star game both of these years.
The perfect year to have a great season, no? His 28-year-old season and his final year on his contract. Guess who is his agent…Scott Boras.
This dude is going to get paid and I’m not seeing the Braves winning this battle. We don’t play nicely with Boras in the past and unless our future GM has a great relationship with him, I don’t see us negotiating to get Moustakas.
Speaking of though, what if the Braves somehow talk Dayton Moore to coming back to Atlanta to be the GM? He’d be coming down south from the Royals. Could he bring his third baseman with him? Problem is, right now the Braves were denied permission to interview Moore by the Royals.
The other side to this would be the emergence of Austin Riley. The 20-year-old had a fantastic season with the Florida Fire Frogs (Braves High Single-A team) and has been crushing the ball in the Arizona Fall League. Many are thinking he could be one of the names being called up next September and be ready for Opening Day 2019.
If that’s the case, the Braves wouldn’t want to go out and spend for Moustakas if he’s going to block Riley. MLBTR is predicting the price to acquire Moustakas will be a five-year deal worth $85MM.
Next: Braves prospects named AFL Players of the Week
If this was MLB The Show, I think I’d sign Moustakas, but it’s not. I think the Braves will not sign him and instead go with Rio Ruiz and Johan Camargo. This will depend on how frugal or check-paying happy the new GM will be though.