Royals, Mike Moustakas Agree On Two-Year Extension
Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore keeps his streak alive, once again avoiding arbitration by agreeing to a two-year extension with third baseman Mike Moustakas.
Since being named general manager of the Royals in 2006, Moore has avoided arbitration with every single one of the Royals’ arbitration eligible players. The two-year extension for Moustakas buys out the 27-year-old’s final two arbitration years, and also closes the book on all of the Royals’ arbitration eligible cases for this offseason. According to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan, Moustakas is set to make $5.6 million in 2016, and $8.7 million in 2017. Moustakas is coming off the best season of his career, hitting .284 with an .817 OPS. He also had a middle of the pack year defensively, ranking 7th out of 12 American League third basemen in UZR/150 (1.4).
If you’re wondering why the two sides couldn’t agree on an extension that would keep the former first-round, second overall pick in Kansas City beyond his arbitration years, look no further than the fact that he’s a Scott Boras client. I wouldn’t rule out the two sides discussing an extension before Moustakas hits free agency in 2018, but Boras is notorious for encouraging his clients to test the free agent waters.