After spending the first seven years of his big-league career in Kansas City, Mike Moustakas may be headed west.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports on Thursday that the Royals third baseman “continues to be linked to the Angels for next year.” Heyman also notes that Moustakas is originally from the Los Angeles Valley and that the Angels could be major players on the free agent market with Josh Hamilton’s contract finally set to come off the books.
Moustakas, who will turn 29 in September, is putting together a career year in 2017, batting .270/.304/.559 with 25 homers and 54 RBIs in just 78 games. He was also just selected to his second career American League All-Star team.
The Angels are currently relying on the unpredictable Yunel Escobar along with utilitymen Luis Valbuena and Cliff Pennington at the third base position. Moustakas would obviously represent a massive upgrade for them, but with other hangman’s contracts still haunting them beyond just Hamilton’s, maybe the Angels should proceed with caution before opening the checkbooks again.
