Mike Moustakas News

[MNBrew]

^^^This, at least to a point. I think a solid, true 2B might be more obviously helpful, but Moose was a good Brewer until he became an NLCS K king (of course he had plenty of company in that zone).

 

It's also worth remembering that it only takes one injury to change the whole balance of things, so more quality depth is better than less depth. It worked out last year when Thames got hurt and Aguilar stepped in and played himself onto the All-Star team.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

From the guy on Twitter that broke the orginal Moustakas trade to the Brewers:

 

Hearing #Brewers have sent a contract offer to 3B Mike Moustakas

11:08 AM - 9 Jan 2019 from Port Orange, FL

https://twitter.com/bucksbrett/status/1083078178523045889

 

He doubled down late last night after the Grandal news broke that the Brewers are still in on Moose. Moose seems to be spending a lot of time with Yelich, Braun and Mike Attanasio out in LA this offseason. It wouldn't surprise me if he's got a contract offer from the Brewers in hand, and is only waiting on Machado to sign his mega deal to see if one of the runners up throw stupid money at him as a response to not landing Manny.

[rickh150]

Moose turned down 15 million mutual option this year ( not that the Brewers would have picked that up). He'll be shooting for Lowrie $ at least in early January- two for 20.

[pogokat]

Moose actually sacrificed some power for obp in his 200+ ab's with the Brewers. his batting average basically never changes, but he brought his walk rate up to 1/10 ab's, which is a decent ratio. It's possible that some of his incredibly aggressive approach was a Royals philosophy. I mean, Lo Cain's OBP improved a ton as well.

[SRB]

Moustakas seems like a cool guy but I don't know why anyone wants him back as a baseball player, especially since it requires moving a better player off his natural position.

 

If we want to do a soft platoon with Shaw, find a 2B/3B who can actually hit LHP well (which is not Moose)

[DHonks]

Given shifting, I think the Brewers don’t care much about individual skills at 2b/3b. I think they view them as out-defenders. With proper positioning, they can overcome many issues

[Cirilloing]

He's a power hitter who has a good glove and seems like a great clubhouse guy. Why not?

[adambr2]

He's a power hitter who has a good glove and seems like a great clubhouse guy. Why not?

 

Because he won't be cheap and he reaches base about 30% of the time.

[Eye Black]

It very likely could be nothing, but I noticed the St. Louis Cardinals Twitter account recently started following Moustakas. They were rumored to be on him earlier this off-season, but their infield is obviously now more crowded with the Goldschmidt addition. He does check two boxes they are currently in need of though, left handed bats and better defense.

[TURBO]

Jon Heyman of Fancred reports that the Phillies maintain interest in free agent third baseman Mike Moustakas.

 

As Heyman notes though, their interest in Moustakas is likely entirely reliant on how their pursuit of Manny Machado turns out. The 30-year-old slugger hit .251/.315/.459 with 28 homers and 95 RBI in 152 games between the Royals and Brewers in 2018.

 

Source: Jon Heyman on TwitterJan 19 - 6:32 PM

[Roderick]

He's a power hitter who has a good glove and seems like a great clubhouse guy. Why not?

 

Because he won't be cheap and he reaches base about 30% of the time.

 

I agree. But if the price comes down and the years can be limited.... As for the obp, if he is batting #7 before Arcia and the pitcher that isn't as big a deal.

 

I do think he has one more big year in him.

[Cirilloing]

He's a power hitter who has a good glove and seems like a great clubhouse guy. Why not?

 

Because he won't be cheap and he reaches base about 30% of the time.

 

I agree. But if the price comes down and the years can be limited.... As for the obp, if he is batting #7 before Arcia and the pitcher that isn't as big a deal.

 

I do think he has one more big year in him.

 

We are in win-now mode and we don't have to give up anything but money to get him. If he's the best non-superstar option remaining at 3B then spend the money.

 

But I do agree with limiting the years. No more than 2.

[OnTheBlack]

He's a power hitter who has a good glove and seems like a great clubhouse guy. Why not?

 

Because he won't be cheap and he reaches base about 30% of the time.

 

 

And he adds little versatility. For the money we're likely to spend on Moose, I'd prefer we go after Marwin Gonzalez. Especially since Hirura is likely to be ready in the near future, and Gonzalez is a switch hitter who can put up decent numbers vs lefties(not great, but better than Moose) while covering basically every position on the field.

 

You're also asking Shaw to become a full time 2nd basemen and while it worked OK last year for a couple months, I don't like the move long term. We've already got a good left handed 3rd basemen. We don't really seem to have the luxury of adding another one IMO.

[JohnBriggs12]

Instead of forking over a lot to get a redundant Moustakas, why not just sign Matt Davidson who has a career .804 OPS vs. LHP to use against LHP? Yeah he strikes out a lot, but he has power, and his K rate vs. lefties is lower than it is vs. RHP. His OBP went from .260 in 2017 to a respectable .319 last year.

 

Davidson might even be had on a minor league deal despite a decent WAR in 2018 of 1.2.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

He's a power hitter who has a good glove and seems like a great clubhouse guy. Why not?

 

Because he won't be cheap and he reaches base about 30% of the time.

 

 

And he adds little versatility. For the money we're likely to spend on Moose, I'd prefer we go after Marwin Gonzalez. Especially since Hirura is likely to be ready in the near future, and Gonzalez is a switch hitter who can put up decent numbers vs lefties(not great, but better than Moose) while covering basically every position on the field.

 

You're also asking Shaw to become a full time 2nd basemen and while it worked OK last year for a couple months, I don't like the move long term. We've already got a good left handed 3rd basemen. We don't really seem to have the luxury of adding another one IMO.

 

I agree with you completely regarding Gonzalez. He checks so many of the boxes that Stearns and Counsell seem to care about. While I'd much rather have Marwin, I'm not opposed to adding Moose should his price fall into a palatable range, though.

[TURBO]

Instead of forking over a lot to get a redundant Moustakas, why not just sign Matt Davidson who has a career .804 OPS vs. LHP to use against LHP? Yeah he strikes out a lot, but he has power, and his K rate vs. lefties is lower than it is vs. RHP. His OBP went from .260 in 2017 to a respectable .319 last year.

 

Davidson might even be had on a minor league deal despite a decent WAR in 2018 of 1.2.

 

 

why?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Instead of forking over a lot to get a redundant Moustakas, why not just sign Matt Davidson who has a career .804 OPS vs. LHP to use against LHP? Yeah he strikes out a lot, but he has power, and his K rate vs. lefties is lower than it is vs. RHP. His OBP went from .260 in 2017 to a respectable .319 last year.

 

Davidson might even be had on a minor league deal despite a decent WAR in 2018 of 1.2.

 

 

why?

 

Is Davidson the guy who also wants to pitch this year?

[coolhandluke121]

Instead of forking over a lot to get a redundant Moustakas, why not just sign Matt Davidson who has a career .804 OPS vs. LHP to use against LHP?

 

Because most pitchers are RHP's and the Brewers already have enough guys who hit RHP's better. I still don't understand why many are obsessed with getting better against LHP's at the expense of getting worse against RHP's, who are the overwhelming majority.

 

Braun, Aguilar, Perez, Pina, Cain, and Arcia are better against LHP's.

Shaw, Gamel (barely), Thames, Yelich, Grandal, and Spangenberg are better against RHP's.

Yelich and Grandal are very effective against LHP's, despite it not being their preferred split.

Both groups have a balanced mix of dangerous hitters and role players, and they have defensive versatility.

The roster is almost perfectly balanced in regard to facing LHP's and RHP's, but should probably tilt more towards facing RHP's because that's about 75-80% of plate appearances.

 

It seems reactionary to want more mediocre RHB's just so you can throw 7 of them in the lineup every time an opponent starts an LHP. They did have a slump against LHP's last year, but I firmly believe that was a fluke. They have plenty of guys who can hit LHP's. Moustakas is a much better option than guys like Cabrera or Davidson.

[sveumrules]

Instead of forking over a lot to get a redundant Moustakas, why not just sign Matt Davidson who has a career .804 OPS vs. LHP to use against LHP? Yeah he strikes out a lot, but he has power, and his K rate vs. lefties is lower than it is vs. RHP. His OBP went from .260 in 2017 to a respectable .319 last year.

 

Davidson might even be had on a minor league deal despite a decent WAR in 2018 of 1.2.

 

 

why?

 

Because Davidson's career 804 OPS versus lefties is higher than Shaw's career 713 OPS vs lefties.

 

If you look at just 2018 the difference is even more stark, 599 OPS for Shaw vs LHP compared to an 882 OPS vs LHP for Davidson.

[Lathund]

Davidson, unless it turns out he can in fact pitch well too, is a RHH corner IF/DH who doesn't add anything on the bases, doesn't add anything on defense. The issue with him would be a 25-man roster spot; most pitchers are RHP, and so is it worth carrying someone to only hit against lefties, platooning in one position only? He might get, what, 250 PAs at most? From a roster fit standpoint I'll agree that Moustakas isn't an amazing option either, but his OPS overall is the same as Davidson against lefties only. And Moose is also a good defender. Worth pointing out too that Davidson only has 250 PAs against lefties too, when platoon splits in reality need a lot more than that to treat as stable.

 

On a minor league deal? Sure, makes sense. After roster expansion someone like him would be a very sensible way to get a bit of extra offense. But for the whole year? No. I'd echo the sentiment that Gonzalez seems like the ideal addition at this point, and I hope Brewers are seriously looking at it. Either as a Perez replacement, or as a complement; with those two on the bench, you can carry whichever bat-first player you want.

[adambr2]

He's a power hitter who has a good glove and seems like a great clubhouse guy. Why not?

 

Because he won't be cheap and he reaches base about 30% of the time.

 

 

And he adds little versatility. For the money we're likely to spend on Moose, I'd prefer we go after Marwin Gonzalez. Especially since Hirura is likely to be ready in the near future, and Gonzalez is a switch hitter who can put up decent numbers vs lefties(not great, but better than Moose) while covering basically every position on the field.

 

You're also asking Shaw to become a full time 2nd basemen and while it worked OK last year for a couple months, I don't like the move long term. We've already got a good left handed 3rd basemen. We don't really seem to have the luxury of adding another one IMO.

 

It really does seem like Marwin or bust at this point. The other options like Harrison just aren't very exciting. I'm assuming with this that Machado will end up elsewhere but Marwin is still a realistic option.

 

As Joey said I wouldn't be opposed to Moose, but I would much rather have Gonzalez. As you said Shaw is far superior at 3rd, and though I appreciate his versatility I'd prefer be remain at 3rd.

 

Marwin would definitely be an exciting add. He's essentially a far better version of Hernan Perez and Hiura coming up wouldn't keep him out of the lineup because he's so versatile.

[FVBrewerFan]

Instead of forking over a lot to get a redundant Moustakas, why not just sign Matt Davidson who has a career .804 OPS vs. LHP to use against LHP?

 

Because most pitchers are RHP's and the Brewers already have enough guys who hit RHP's better. I still don't understand why many are obsessed with getting better against LHP's at the expense of getting worse against RHP's, who are the overwhelming majority.

 

Braun, Aguilar, Perez, Pina, Cain, and Arcia are better against LHP's.

Shaw, Gamel (barely), Thames, Yelich, Grandal, and Spangenberg are better against RHP's.

Yelich and Grandal are very effective against LHP's, despite it not being their preferred split.

Both groups have a balanced mix of dangerous hitters and role players, and they have defensive versatility.

The roster is almost perfectly balanced in regard to facing LHP's and RHP's, but should probably tilt more towards facing RHP's because that's about 75-80% of plate appearances.

 

It seems reactionary to want more mediocre RHB's just so you can throw 7 of them in the lineup every time an opponent starts an LHP. They did have a slump against LHP's last year, but I firmly believe that was a fluke. They have plenty of guys who can hit LHP's. Moustakas is a much better option than guys like Cabrera or Davidson.

 

Just listing the players ignores where they'll be playing. Spangenberg should never face LHP. Shaw really shouldn't either, which means it would be helpful to have another bat to face LHP. Although, I did say earlier I wouldn't be opposed to giving Shaw a chance. Plus, if the plan is to bring Hiura or Dubon up at some point, they're fine. Also, keep in mind depending on who the RH bat is, they can be used against RHP as well- so it's not necessarily a LHP only bat.

[coolhandluke121]

 

Just listing the players ignores where they'll be playing.

 

I disagree. I know where they're all playing, but the math is much simpler than that. There's not enough roster spots to platoon nearly every position, and there's way too many RHP's to justify prioritizing the RHB side of a platoon over a guy like Moustakas.

 

Most LHB's struggle against LHP's. It's still easily worth the trade-off to hit so much better against RHP's though. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having Shaw or Moustakas in a lineup against LHP's. The benefits of having so many good LHB's would more than offset that.

 

ETA: If they could just sign Gonzalez, that would take care of all of this, but I have my doubts about the value there.

[SandyTolan]

 

Just listing the players ignores where they'll be playing.

 

I disagree. I know where they're all playing, but the math is much simpler than that. There's not enough roster spots to platoon nearly every position, and there's way too many RHP's to justify prioritizing the RHB side of a platoon over a guy like Moustakas.

 

Most LHB's struggle against LHP's. It's still easily worth the trade-off to hit so much better against RHP's though. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having Shaw or Moustakas in a lineup against LHP's. The benefits of having so many good LHB's would more than offset that.

 

ETA: If they could just sign Gonzalez, that would take care of all of this, but I have my doubts about the value there.

 

 

I'm pretty sure Stearns sees Dubon (and to a lesser extent Spangenberg) as his next Hernan, a super-utility guy who would be much cheaper than Marwin. Doubt they have any plans to make a play there. I'd like to be proven wrong, of course.

[fleehaw]

Instead of forking over a lot to get a redundant Moustakas, why not just sign Matt Davidson who has a career .804 OPS vs. LHP to use against LHP?

 

Because most pitchers are RHP's and the Brewers already have enough guys who hit RHP's better. I still don't understand why many are obsessed with getting better against LHP's at the expense of getting worse against RHP's, who are the overwhelming majority.

 

Braun, Aguilar, Perez, Pina, Cain, and Arcia are better against LHP's.

Shaw, Gamel (barely), Thames, Yelich, Grandal, and Spangenberg are better against RHP's.

 

Pina and Arcia actually have reverse splits and are better / much better versus RHP.