Mike Moustakas: 38 HR, .272/.314/.521, 114 wRC+, 2.2 fWAR
One year, $6.5 million, $15 million mutual option for 2019, up to $2.2 million in incentives
In this terrible free agent market, Mike Moustakas signed with the Royals for well below market value, grabbing just $6.5 million guaranteed months after finishing up a 38 homer season. That's a far cry from the one year, $17.4 million qualifying offer he turned down at the beginning of the offseason, with many expecting him to earn over $50 million on the open market. Now, his deal is a little better for him than it sounds; he'll earn $5.5 million in 2018, then he and the Royal will have a $15 million mutual option for 2019 with a $1 million buyout, and with $2.2 million available in incentives, the deal could be worth as much as $22.7 million over two seasons. Also, because he doesn't turn 30 until September, he'll be in a good position next offseason to sign a longer contract should his option not go through. From the Royals' side, this deal makes a lot of sense. $6.5 million is not much to pay for a power bat, and with Lucas Duda replacing Eric Hosmer and Jon Jay replacing Lorenzo Cain, they're actually not that much worse than they were last year. They likely won't contend, but with Moustakas, Duda, Jay, Whit Merrifield, Jorge Soler, and Salvador Perez in that lineup, they'll at least be interesting for their fans to watch while they begin to rebuild. Moose is coming off a big 2017 season in which he slashed .272/.314/.521 with 38 home runs over 148 games, worth a solid 114 wRC+ and 2.2 fWAR. He hits for power and average, but his 5.7% walk rate did keep his good season from being a great season, and he has never walked at more than an 8% rate during his career. For his career, the 29 year old has 119 home runs, a .251/.305/.425 slash line, and 12.1 fWAR over 836 games, all with the Royals.
No comments:
Post a Comment