Red Sox first base target: Mike Moustakas
Selecting Mike Moustakas as a potential Red Sox trade target may seem like an underwhelming choice. Over the last two years, he has slashed just .217/.304/.413 and combined for only 14 home runs and 49 RBI. As he enters his age 33 season with two years and $34 million remaining on his contract, Moustakas doesn’t appear to be the kind of player Bloom would go after.
When you put those numbers in context, however, Moustakas as a trade target makes a lot more sense. At this point in his career, Moustakas is not close to being worth $17 million a year, but the Red Sox would likely make the rebuilding Reds eat a significant portion of the salary. Acquiring him also wouldn’t require the same amount of prospect package as A’s star Matt Olson, the other big-name first baseman on the trade block.
It’s also easy to forget that Moustakas is just two years removed from posting some gaudy numbers. From 2017-2019, Moustakas slashed .259/.319/.498 while averaging 34 HR and 89 RBI per season. And while his numbers have undoubtedly fallen off over the past two seasons, he has shown flashes of still being an elite power threat. In 2021, he was hitting his usual .264/.352/.484 before being limited by a heel injury that caused him to hit .152/.204/.372 the rest of the way. So even though his overall numbers appear to show a player on the decline, Moustakas has demonstrated he is still the same player when healthy.
The biggest reason the Red Sox should go after Moustakas is that he can fix two of their needs at once. Not only can he provide the perfect, short-term stopgap to top prospect Triston Casas, but he can also provide adequate defense at second base, another critical hole on the roster. If the Red Sox can get the Reds to pay for some of his salary, Moustakas would be a great addition to their roster.