New York Yankees Thinking About Adding Free Agent Third Baseman Mike Moustakas
Rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar currently slated to be the Yankees' opening day third baseman
The New York Yankees are going to field one of the best lineups in all of baseball this coming season.
Outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are superstar sluggers who will likely be garnering the headlines, though first baseman Greg Bird and catcher Gary Sanchez have also featured impressive power.
Shortstop Didi Gregorius swatted 25 homeruns last season and posted an OPS just shy of .800. Brett Gardner is one of the better leadoff hitters in the game, and centerfielder Aaron Hicks is fresh off a breakthrough campaign.
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Those seven hitters are projected to produce quite well relative to the positions they play.
The two remaining spots in the Yankees' lineup may end up being handed over to rookies.
Highly-rated prospect Gleyber Torres could take over second base by midseason, while another top 100 prospect in Miguel Andujar is currently slated to be the team's opening day third baseman.
It is worth pointing out that while Andujar is currently slated to be the team's primary third baseman, there is a chance that the Yankees may sign someone else to play that position.
In a recent article, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported that the Yankees and free agent third baseman Mike Moustakas "have been in occasional contact in recent days." However, Heyman did also note in the article that people close to the Yankees maintain that the team signing Moustakas is a "long shot."
Over the past few seasons, the Yankees have shown that they have confidence in their top prospects, and that has worked out for them for the most part.
Sanchez took over for Brian McCann and is now showing that he is one of the best hitting catchers in the game. Judge got a shot to start in right field and responded by submitting a historically good rookie season.
Letting young players take on big roles may not always work out though, and that may be why the Yankees seem to at least be thinking about signing Moustakas to give Andujar some more time to develop.
At the end of the day though, this may all come down to how much it may ultimately take to sign Moustakas.
If the Yankees can sign him to an easily affordable one or two-year deal, he could be a wise signing. However, if more years are needed to get a commitment from him, the team may then be better off banking on Andujar's upside.
Even if Andujar struggles to start the season, the Yankees can still address that position via a midseason trade, so over-committing now to Moustakas is not needed.
The Yankees already have one of the best lineups in baseball, and it can certainly be improved by the addition of Moustakas. But then again, Andujar also has the talent to turn into a pretty good third baseman himself.
More news about the latest MLB rumors should be made available soon.
