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KC Royals: Mike Moustakas Signs One-Year Deal

By John Viril

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Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2.64 million deal. The 26-year-old Moustakas, who is in his first arbitration year, came down from his $3.1 million arbitration figure after the Royals had offered $1.85 million.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweeted the news:

Mike Moustakas faces a critical year. He must adjust to the shifts that major league teams unveiled against him in 2014, or his career as a starting player is in jeopardy. With minor-league third basemen Hunter Dozier and Cheslor Cuthbert developing on the farm, Moustakas could find himself pushed off the hot corner if his bat does not come around.

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Moustakas did enjoy an outstanding post-season run in which he gave KC Royals fans hope that he had figured out the shift.

Not only did he slash .231/.259/.558 in October with 5 home runs, his bunts and opposite field singles against the shift forced opponents to throw him more fastballs.

However, Moustakas’ strong October followed a mostly lost season. Moose struggled after teams unveiled a shift early in 2014. Moose hit an abysmal .212/.271/.361 for an OPS of .632.

Moustakas was so lost at the plate, the Royals sent him to AAA Omaha for about 10 days before an injury to utility infielder Danny Valencia forced his recall.

While Moose did improve after his demotion, he still only hit 15 home runs during the regular season for an unacceptable  OPS+ of 74 (which suggests his offensive value was 26% worse than a league-average hitter).

Moose also declined in the field in 2014. After establishing himself as a strong defender with an excellent Ultimate Zone Rating of 15.8 (15.8 runs better than league average) in 2012, Moose only put up a 2.6 UZR in 2014.

The bottom line is that while Moose is still a soiid defensive third baseman, his glove won’t keep him in the lineup. His bat must improve.

Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore continues to whittle away at his arbitration eligible regulars. He still has five arbitration-eligible players that remain unsigned for 2015: Greg Holland, Kelvin Herrera, Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer, and Danny Duffy.

Expect Moore to get all of those players signed before the 2015 season. Dayton Moore has never gone to arbitration with a Royals player in nine years as general manager and I doubt he breaks that streak the year after going to the World Series.

These deals should come before the Royals pitcher and catcher spring training report date of February 19.

Next: 2015 KC Royals Looking Like 90's Braves

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