JohnnyAngel101 you beautiful soothsayer, you. Ken Rosenthal dropped his equivalent of a #WojBomb in an article over at FoxSports this morning with a connection to the current Kansas City Royals third baseman. The exact excerpt.
Speaking of the Angels, some rival executives see them as a potential landing spot for Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season.
Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar also is a potential free agent, and the remaining $8.5 million on Luis Valbuena’s contract after this season would not necessarily preclude a run at Moustakas, who is from Chatsworth, Calif., in the San Fernando Valley.
This comes a little over a week after Arte mentioned getting back into being a big market bully and spending some coin on Major League talent, after essentially sitting free agency out the past few years. While this seems more like speculation than actual rumors, it is nice to hear, early on, that Arte will be a man of his word. The Angels will have money to spend (the elephant in the room being Josh Hamilton’s contract finally running dry after the 2017 season, along with expiring contracts like Cameron Maybin, Ben Revere, Danny Espinosa, Yunel Escobar, Cliff Pennington, Jesse Chavez, and some “iffy” options for Huston Street and Ricky Nolasco).
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement will not force the Angels to forfeit a 1st Round pick to sign him (which is also significant for a team trying to rebuild a farm system). Above all, they’ll have a clear need at a position that’s been a question mark since Chone Figgins in 2009. What better than a slick-fielding, high-contact, left-handed hitting, 28-year old local product to finally fill the void?
“Moose” is still currently rehabbing from an ACL tear he suffered last year, but he’ll have plenty of time this season to prove he’s healthy and ready to earn a fat contract. While he is a Scott Boras client, the Royals will have a hard time keeping Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, and Moustakas in the fold, and the SoCal weather/playing in front of his family just might be too enticing to pass up.
If there was a player to jump back into the thick of things with, it would probably be Moustakas (who fits the Angels’ need like a glove). We still have the whooooooole 2017 season to enjoy, but that shouldn’t deter us from the possibilities the team has at getting better this winter.
Besides, who wouldn’t want to watch a left side of the infield that includes Andrelton “Freaking” Simmons and this dude?