3 Reasons Why Mike Moustakas Would Be Good Fit for Phillies
By Matt Rappa
There are many reasons why the Phillies signing third baseman Mike Moustakas this offseason, over Anthony Rendon or Josh Donaldson, would make sense.
The Philadelphia Phillies moving on from third baseman Maikel Franco, after six seasons with the team in which he slugged 102 home runs, 343 RBI and a .249/.302/.431 slash over 656 games, appears to be growing in likelihood as each day passes this offseason.
With Scott Kingery lingering to possibility replace Cesar Hernandez at second base full-time in 2020, and with top prospect Alec Bohm likely to make his Triple-A debut to start next season, the Phillies seem poised to have to sign someone, from outside of their organization, to play at the hot corner.
Recent World Series champion Anthony Rendon and 2015 American League MVP Josh Donaldson are options, but, as NBC Sports Philadephia’s Jim Salisbury views, 2015 World Series champion Mike Moustakas would be the “best fit for what the Phillies are trying to do the next couple of seasons.”
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Moustakas, 31, has been linked to the Phillies in rumors over the past few offseasons, in part due to him only securing one-year deals in consecutive years, with Kansas City Royals in 2018 and the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019.
“I think he’s pretty strongly in the Phillies’ crosshairs,” Salisbury recently said on the At the Yard podcast. “I get the sense that maybe after lingering out there and signing one-year deals the last couple years, Moustakas might like to have some certainty going into the winter, going into the holidays and knowing where he’s going to be for a couple of years.”
Moustakas’ consecutive one-year deals over the past two offseasons became official on March 10, 2018, and February 17, 2019. Assuming he would like to sign a longer, guaranteed deal much sooner, the Phillies could be looking to do the same, notes Salisbury.
“I think the Phillies might like to solve that situation at third base rather quickly,” Salisbury said. “I think he’d be a good fit because I think you can get him probably on a two-year deal, and that length would really mesh into the Phillies’ framework in what they’re trying to do.”
Salisbury continues, “They’re going to move on from Maikel Franco … we all know that. Moustakas would give them a proven guy and a good bat in the middle of that order. [He’s] a real character guy, real competitive guy, [and] really good in the clubhouse. He’d be an excellent fit.”
Click through for reasons why signing Moustakas, rather than Rendon or Donaldson, makes the most sense for the Phillies.