Royals Rumors: Mike Moustakas perfect fit for Red Sox
Current Royals rumors might consist of the team becoming buyers at the deadline, but what about this offseason? Not everyone is going to re-sign and Mike Moustakas very well could be a member of the Red Sox by 2018.
The Kansas City Royals aren’t out of contention in 2017, but this post isn’t about this season’s trade deadline. It’s about what could happen to the free agents in Kansas City after the final pitch of the 2017 season is thrown.
One of the biggest names hitting the free agent market this winter is third baseman Mike Moustakas. Moustakas was a first round pick by the Royals in 2007 and was a prospect the Royals had to be patient with during his younger years. He was actually sent to Triple-A Omaha in 2014 due to struggling so badly at the plate.
Moustakas finally started to figure things out offensively in 2015 and had a career year. That season saw Moose make his first All-Star Game and his hot hitting helped the Royals win a World Series.
The former first round pick has been having an even better season this year, slashing .270/.304/.553 and 25 home runs before the final game in the Royals/Rangers series. Moose’s power got him to not only his second All-Star Game, but to his first ever Home Run Derby. He was the first Royal to participate in the derby since 1991.
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While Royals fans want to see Moose remain “Forever Royal”, things seem to be panning out for him to wind up with the Boston Red Sox this offseason. If the Royals start to falter in the coming weeks, Moose could be heading to Boston even sooner.
The biggest reason for Moustakas being a fit in Boston is that the Red Sox designated third baseman Pablo Sandoval for assignment earlier this week. Now the Red Sox are relying on Deven Marrero and 23-year old Tzu-Wei Lin to get things done at third base, which isn’t ideal.
The Kansas City Royals will try to make an effort to re-sign their key free agents (mainly Moustakas and Eric Hosmer), but the chances of retaining both is unlikely. With Hosmer being a year younger and no immediate replacement at first base in the majors right now for Kansas City, he’ll probably be the one that the Royals make a stronger push at keeping.
The Boston Red Sox have a lot more money than the Royals do, which means if it comes down to a bidding war for Mike Moustakas’ services (which it often does most of the time), then Moose is as good as gone. He could wind up with any big market team, but the Red Sox just seem like a fit for the current Royals third baseman due to their dire need at the position.
Obviously it’d be great to see him stay a Royal, but don’t get your hopes up. His 25 home runs before the All-Star break has made him a much bigger asset and unless he has a really bad second half, Mike Moustakas is going to be one of the hottest names on the free agent market and the front runner of Royals rumors this offseason.