Kansas City Royals should have tried to bring back Mike Moustakas

Mike Moustakas signed a four-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds. Should the Kansas City Royals have tried to bring Moose back to the team that drafted him?

On Monday, the Cincinnati Reds inked a deal that landed free agent Mike Moustakas to a four-year deal worth $64 million. The Reds plan to permanently place Moose into their lineup as the team’s every day second baseman. It’s worth spending some time to play the “what if” game. So what if the Kansas City Royals had tried to sign their former third baseman?

Mike Moustakas was the Royals first round draft pick (second overall) in the 2007 MLB amateur draft. During his eight seasons with the Royals, he hit 139 home runs and played a key role on the 2014 American League champion and 2015 World Series Championship teams.

His time in Kansas City and transition into a three-time All Star didn’t take place without some bumps and bruises. Moose was part of the famous 2013 Ned Yost rant about the “third basemen tree”.

Things have changed since, and the magical third basemen tree has grown. It was a good thing Moose wasn’t treated like a dried up Missouri Oak Leaf.

Since Moose declined the qualifying offer from the Royals prior to becoming a free agent, he has done nothing more than post solid numbers to justify a longer term contract. After hitting 38 bombs to set the Royals club record at the time in 2017 (now owned by Jorge Soler with 48), he followed it with a solid 63 homers over two seasons combined with the Royals and Brewers.

Most notably Moose, who was originally drafted out of high school as a shortstop and the Baseball America High School Player of the Year, now has developed into a more versatile player who can play either at third or second.

Moustakas would have been the perfect free agent signing for the Royals, even during a rebuild. So what if the Royals had signed Moose to a long-term deal?

More from Kansas City Royals

• This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
• The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
• DraftKings + FanDuel Kansas Promos: INSTANT $150 Bonus Plus Two Chances to Win!
• 3 Royals Players Who Won’t Be on the Roster Next Year
• LAST CHANCE to Claim $250 GUARANTEED Bonus With FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!

A Moose signing would have given new Royals manager Mike Matheny options. This would have given him flexibility to at least have the ability to address one of the major concerns within the lineup. Bringing Moustakas in would have given Matheny the option to place Moose at either third or second base.

This flexibility would give Matheny the option to initially move Whit Merrifield to start the season in the outfield with Moose at second. If the Royals start to struggle with production from first base early in the season, Matheny could then move Moose to third and place Merrifield back at second if needed. Hunter Dozier has proven he can play first base.

These three players in the lineup plus Jorge Soler and a healthy Salvador Perez and Adalberto Mondesi would match up well with a good blend of speed, average and power. Just a few things that first base seemed to struggle to produce much of in 2019.

It can be assumed that Moose will be able to match his career average of 25 home runs along with 80 RBI over the next two seasons. That would be a significant production increase to offset the first base position in 2019.

Even after the release of four players on the same day the Reds signed Moose, it can be assumed the Rule 5 draft will not produce the next Royals All-Star. It’s also unlikely that we will see anything major happen with a higher profiled free agent.

Look for the Kansas City Royals to remain silent during the hot stove season with the strategy of patience to wait for the next wave of talent to hit Kauffman Stadium within the next couple of seasons.

It would have been amazing if the future could have brought back one our favorites from the past who is in his prime. Moose finally got the long-term deal he deserved, its just too bad it wasn’t as a Royal.