2018 Free Agent Targets: Moustakas

[JohnBriggs12]

Ok, lets look ahead two years when we all hope Brewers will be in position to add both salary and talent. Mike Moustakas is a Boras client who almost certainly will hit free agency in two years at age 29. Without a 3B of the future in Brewer system, he's one guy worth keeping tabs on. Hopefully the young Brewers will be perceived as up and coming enough to attract a top level FA.

[CheezWizHed]

This year could be really big in determining what kind of contract he gets. He broke out last year (3.5 years of sub 700 OPS, then 284/348/470/817 last year). Seems to be an above average defense.

 

Last year might be legit, as it aligns pretty closely with his MiLB numbers: .284 .338 .504 .842

[jerichoholicninja]

A mid .800 OPS 3B hitting the free agent market at 29 is not in the Brewers price range.

[superfly]

Spare us the free agent threads 3 years down the road...the thought of 100+ losses is depressing enough, let alone posting about people we will never be able to afford.

[3and2Fastball]

We'll certainly know more in 2018 but the current trend is younger players are more valued. At 29 he may be beginning a decline, or may just have a year or two of peak value before his decline.

[JohnBriggs12]

Spare us the free agent threads 3 years down the road...the thought of 100+ losses is depressing enough, let alone posting about people we will never be able to afford.

 

If you are never going to invest in the market price for a prime FA occasionally, even after you've brought your payroll down to bare bones, then you can do all the rebuilding you want but you are never going to win just with young players and middling overpaid FA like the kind the Brewers have invested in. By 2018 who are the Brewers paying besides Braun who himself could be gone? They'll likely have dealt Peralta by that time and Nelson won't quite have peaked his arby money. They don't appear to have interest in extending Lucroy. Davis is reportedly being shopped if you believe Morosi. Garza will be off the books. The base payroll figures to be no higher than $60 million or so, less if Braun goes. They can't afford one $24 million player per year in that scenario?

[CheezWizHed]

Are you suggesting $24M for Moustakes or just as part of your argument of affording someone? Assuming Moustakes can repeat his 817 OPS, he might be pricy, but I'd be shocked at a $24M pricetag.

[superfly]

Spare us the free agent threads 3 years down the road...the thought of 100+ losses is depressing enough, let alone posting about people we will never be able to afford.

 

If you are never going to invest in the market price for a prime FA occasionally, even after you've brought your payroll down to bare bones, then you can do all the rebuilding you want but you are never going to win just with young players and middling overpaid FA like the kind the Brewers have invested in. By 2018 who are the Brewers paying besides Braun who himself could be gone? They'll likely have dealt Peralta by that time and Nelson won't quite have peaked his arby money. They don't appear to have interest in extending Lucroy. Davis is reportedly being shopped if you believe Morosi. Garza will be off the books. The base payroll figures to be no higher than $60 million or so, less if Braun goes. They can't afford one $24 million player per year in that scenario?

 

#1 Moustakas is not worth 24 million. Or do you think hes the second coming of Alex Rodriguez?

 

And no, we should not be purging our payroll to then go out and sign a 25 mil a year player. There's been enough whining and complaining about Ryan Brauns somewhat reasonable tag on these forums already. Ideally our 24 mil a year guy will come from within, as Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Sheets etc did.