Best Suitor for Mike Moustakas.....the White Sox?

The market for free agent third baseman, Mike Moustakas, started off with a lot of promise this winter, but has since quickly disintegrated into nothing. At the start of the winter, many predicted that both the Giants and Angels would have interest in Moustakas. Rather, the Angels decided to sign, Zack Cozart, to play third base on a daily basis, while the Giants addressed their need at third base by making a trade for Evan Longoria. Another potential suitor, the Brewers, seem more inclined to spend their money on pitching rather than an offensive upgrade like Moustakas.

Beyond those teams, the Cardinals look like a potential fit on paper, but they've continued to say they are comfortable with who they currently have on their roster. The New York Yankees looked like a fit, but in order to stay under the luxury tax threshold, that was always viewed as a long shot. Furthermore, the Mets were connected to Moustakas at one point, only to find themselves going in a different direction and signing Todd Frazier. Meanwhile, "Moose's" former team, the Kansas City Royals, had their eyes set on free agent first baseman, Eric Hosmer, who ultimately signed with the San Diego Padres and claim that they will not pursue Moustakas any further due to financial restrictions.

Knowing this much, it's hard to find a potential suitor since many contenders are already set at third base and many of the other teams would rather play a young prospect at third base rather than spend money on a potentially expensive upgrade like Mike Moustakas. All of the playoff teams from last season are set at third base, while a team like the Braves, who would be a perfect fit for Moustakas, would rather play Johan Carmargo on an everyday basis. With many teams eliminated, that leaves only a few potential landing spots which brings us to the Chicago White Sox.

The White Sox, who started a massive rebuild project last winter, look to continue their rebuild process this coming season, but will likely perform better as more of their impact prospects make it to the big leagues and given the fact that the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals won't be nearly as competitive as last season. With that being said, why don't the White Sox explore the idea of signing Mike Moustakas? The idea here would be that Chicago would basically be signing a similar player, like the Padres, did this past weekend inking Eric Hosmer to an eight-year deal that includes an opt-out after the fifth season.

The Padres aggressively went after Hosmer because they wanted a veteran to command their infield and admired the leadership that he brought to the field everyday. In addition, Hosmer played a critical role in putting the Royals on the map again and the same could be said for Moustakas with the White Sox. Moustakas would give Chicago another legitimate veteran presence to help mentor the younger players, provide a nice piece to build around moving forward, and someone who comes to the ballpark everyday prepared to play.

Now, the White Sox may very well have already explored this idea and decided to move on or could be in the process of looking into it right now, but either way it's something Rick Hahn & Company seriously need to pursue. With the free agent market and the way it has behaved this winter, Chicago could very well get a nice bargain, while upgrading their lineup and getting another bat to go along with first baseman, Jose Abreu, and rightfielder, Avisail Garcia. Granted, both Abreu and Garcia will be free agents in two seasons, but the White Sox still haven't ruled out the potential of a possible extension with one of the two, which could mean that Chicago would have quite a punch in their lineup for the next several years if they were able to sign Moustakas and pull of an extension with Abreu or Garcia.

Let's take a deeper look at the offensive impact of a move like this for the White Sox. Last season, the White Sox had a middle-to-bottom of the pack offense depending on which stat you look at. In 5,513 at bats, the White Sox lineup scored 706 runs, which put them 23rd in the league behind the Angels, while recording a .256 team batting average over that span, good enough for 15th in the league. On an individual basis, Jose Abreu finished last season with a career high 343 total bases along with a .354 OBP in 675 plate appearances, while Avisail Garcia ended the year with 80 RBI and a .506 slugging percentage over 561 plate appearances.

In terms of Mike Moustakas, he also made some serious noise last year with the Royals. Moose
finished the season with 38 home runs, 85 RBI, and a .521 slugging percentage over 598 plate appearances. That was the most home runs in franchise history and surpassed the 36 that Steve Balboni put up during the 1985 season. For a ballpark like Kauffman Stadium, that is a hard feat to accomplish and something that proves the type of offensive potential that Mike Moustakas has. Not to mention the fact that he's 29 years old and right smack dab in the middle of his prime, just like Eric Hosmer with the San Diego Padres, although Hosmer won't be 29 until October.

From a third base depth perspective, the signing of Mike Moustakas would make a lot of sense for the White Sox as well. Right now, 26-year old, Matt Davidson, is slated to be the White Sox Opening Day third baseman. Davidson, whose primary position is DH, struck out 165 times over 443 plate appearances, albeit in his first extended season playing in the big leagues. Beyond Davidson, the White Sox possess Yolmer Sanchez and Tyler Saladino, two players who are both talented, but aren't quite at the same level that Mike Moustakas is and don't possess the same type of leadership.

Adding Mike Moustakas to the White Sox roster, would probably require a significant financial commitment and Chicago would likely argue that it feels set at third base with Davidson, Sanchez, or Saladino, but it is truly something that is worth exploring. A lineup with Jose Abreu, Avisail Garcia, and Mike Moustakas in it would be pretty lethal and in a division where there are truly only two contending teams, the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins, who knows what impact it would have on the White Sox chances of making the postseason even as soon as this coming season if everything panned out and all of the impact players stayed healthy. Given the market this winter, the White Sox just might find themselves in the perfect scenario where they can get Moustakas for a bargain, have a nice piece to build around moving forward, and a veteran who has a World Series Championship under his belt, in their clubhouse.