The Cincinnati Reds opened up their wallet on Monday and signed Mike Moustakas to a four-year contract worth $64 million. A native of Los Angeles, California, Moustakas will be joining his third Major League Baseball team. He has previously played seven and a half seasons with the Kansas City Royals and a season and a half with the Milwaukee Brewers.
In an interesting note, according to ESPN, the Reds plan to use Moustakas as a second baseman rather than a third baseman, which he has played for the majority of his Major League Baseball career. However, Moustakas did play 47 of his 143 games last season with the Brewers at second base in 2019.
The primary reason why the Reds are having Moustakas move to another infield position is that Cincinnati already has Eugenio Suarez, who had a remarkable 2019 season by recording 49 home runs and 103 runs batted in, playing third base. During the 2012 regular season, Moustakas had a great season for the Royals defensively. He led the American League in putouts by a third baseman (127), assists by a third baseman (312) and double plays turned by a third baseman (41).
Moustakas batted .254 with 35 home runs and 87 runs batted in with the Brewers in 2019. In 523 at-bats, Moustakas scored 80 runs, collected 133 hits, 30 doubles, one triple, three stolen bases, a .329 on-base percentage, .516 slugging percentage, 270 total bases and two sacrifice flies.
A three-time All-Star, Moustakas represented the Kansas City Royals and the American League at the 2015 and 2017 All-Star Game. He then represented the Milwaukee Brewers and the National League at the 2019 All-Star Game.
In 2015, Moustakas received the highest team honour a player can experience in baseball. He helped the Kansas City Royal win their first World Series since 1985.
