Infielder Mike Moustakas (35), who was released from the Cincinnati Reds after receiving all of his remaining salary, opened a new nest with the Colorado Rockies. He had a chance to resurrect at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
‘MLB.com’ reported on the 6th (Korean time) that infielder Mustakas had signed a minor league contract with Colorado. Moustakas began training in Scottsdale, Arizona, where Colorado Spring Training was set up.
Colorado is likely to miss the season due to second baseman Brendan Rodgers undergoing surgery on his left shoulder. In response, Colorado moved third baseman Ryan McMahon to second base, and recruited Moustakas for insurance along with prospect Elephris Montero at third base.
Mustakas, a right-handed and left-handed infielder, was a prospect selected by the Kansas City Royals with the second overall pick in the first round in the 2007 draft. After debuting with Kansas City in 2011, he went through the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati, posting a career batting average of 2.4, 7 runs, 1165 hits, 203 homers, 635 RBIs, and an OPS of .743 over 12 seasons.
Moustakas, who won the World Series with Kansas City in 2015, was also selected as an All-Star three times. He hit a personal record of 38 home runs in 2017, and even after moving the team to Milwaukee in 2019, he showed off his slugging power with 35 home runs. After the season, he signed a four-year, $64 million free agent contract with Cincinnati. 토토사이트
However, after coming to Cincinnati, he turned into the club’s worst scam ever. Over the three years he missed 200 of the team’s 384 games. He was placed on the injured list seven times after injuring his thigh, heel and calf. Even when he was healthy, he was powerless. In 184 games over three years, he had a batting average of .683 with 2.1 6.21 home runs and 74 RBIs.
Last year, Moustakas, who missed the last six weeks of the season due to a calf injury, was sluggish with a batting average of 2.14, 54 hits, 7 homers, and 25 RBIs in 78 games, with an OPS of .640. Due to repeated injuries, the ratio of designated hitters increased and the use of defense was limited. Cincinnati, which started rebuilding, released Moustakas with one year remaining on his contract, paying all of the remaining $18 million in annual salary. With the addition of the $4 million buyout amount, $22 million and about 28.6 billion won of our money were blown into the air.
After being free in early January, Moustakas found a new team within two months. It is a minor league contract, but it raises expectations that he will be able to make use of his slugging power in Colorado, which uses hitter-friendly Coors Field as his home. Moustakas had a career batting average of 3.24 (12-for-37) with 2 RBIs and an OPS of .764 in 12 career games at Coors Field.
Mustakas said, “I got a call from Colorado a few days ago. I was happy to have the opportunity to play baseball again. I am excited to be able to return to baseball. I’m still ready to play for a few more years,” he said. Colorado general manager Bill Schmidt said, “Mustakas is lighter and healthier than he was in Cincinnati. He will have a chance to prolong his career as a player,” he said, hoping for a revival.
