Milwaukee Brewers Rumors: Crew, Cardinals Eyeing Mike Moustakas

The Milwaukee Brewers had a logjam in their infield last year after the acquisitions of Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Schoop. Now Moustakas is a free agent, and the Crew might want to bring him back.

According to Jon Heyman, the Milwaukee Brewers are one of the teams with interest in signing Moustakas this offseason. And one of the other teams is a hated division rival.

It’s been well documented that the Cardinals are looking for corner infield help this winter. Because of that, it makes sense that they would have interest in Moustakas. Also, Moustakas spent the majority of his career in Kansas City, which is just on the other side of the state of Missouri, which would make it a semi-homecoming for Moustakas should he go to St. Louis.

Mike Moustakas As A Player

In 2018, Moustakas finished with a .251/.315/.459 slash line and 28 homers. His power and batting average took a dip from the previous year. After his 2017 season when he finished with 38 homers and a .272 average, he was unable to find a long-term deal in free agency. So after a worse year at the plate, will he still have the same issue?

David Stearns did state the other day he was open to bringing back Moustakas. It would obviously have to be at the right price and likely only a one year deal for a reunion to happen, but it’s on the table.

Moustakas has well documented on-base issues, as his career .307 OBP isn’t pretty. He draws walks only at a 6.7% rate over his career. However, those numbers are still better than the other Brewers July infield acquisition’s in Jonathan Schoop.

Could The Brewers bring him back?

This all depends on what they do with Jonathan Schoop. If they non-tender him on Friday, then the door is wide open to re-signing Moustakas. Travis Shaw could move back to second base and there’ll be one more year of Moustakas in Milwaukee.

If they do tender Schoop, and the Brewers are unable to trade him, there is virtually no chance the Brewers sign Moose back.

Could Moustakas Go To The Cardinals?

It’s possible. They have a need at the hot corner and they want to get some power inserted into their lineup. Moustakas would be a wonderful option for them. It would hurt to see the former Brewer go to the rival Cardinals, but it makes some sense for Moustakas and St. Louis.

Kansas City was Moose’s first team and St. Louis is just on the other side of the state. It would be semi-familiar territory for Moustakas.

Moustakas signing with St. Louis would likely depend on if they want to offer him a long-term deal or not. He’s been searching for that long term payday for two years now and he’ll be pretty adamant about getting it.

If Moustakas is forced to settle for a one-year deal once again, I think the two places he would only be comfortable doing that with are Kansas City and Milwaukee. The Royals have no plans on contending and likely won’t want to spend the money. The Brewers meanwhile, would enjoy having his left handed power bat in Miller Park for one more season.

He probably wouldn’t want to sign a one year deal in a new city like St. Louis, no matter how close it is to his old home in Kansas City.

The good news is at least the Milwaukee Brewers are maintaining interest in keeping Moustakas around. Should a spot clear up in the infield, Stearns will continue to maintain that interest.