Why Won’t Anyone Sign This MLB All-Star With 38 Home Runs?

Mike Moustakas is a two-time All-Star, but no one wants to sign him as a free agent.

Mike Moustakas
Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals bats against the Detroit Tigers. (Duane Burleson/Getty Images)

Mike Moustakas is a two-time MLB All-Star who is coming off a career-high of 38 home runs. He won a World Series ring two years ago. So why aren’t teams chomping at the bit to sign him as a free agent? So far, things have been quiet. ESPN’s Buster Olney heard that the 29-year-old third baseman would be wise to settle for a one-year deal, maybe with the New York Yankees.

Moustakas, a seven-year veteran of the Kansas City Royals, probably did not think this was what would happen when he became a free agent. Projections for his contract from media fell in the five-year, $80 million range. But by rejecting a deal that would have returned him to Kansas City in 2018 for a $17.4 million salary, Moustakas shut himself into a draft-pick compensation. He is also caught up in an offseason market that’s been slow-moving for all big-name free agents.

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