Brewers and Moustakas agree on 1-year, $10 million contract
The Brewers and third baseman Mike Moustakas have agreed on a one-year, $10 million deal, pending a physical, according to multiple reports.
Moustakas’ contract would be his second one-year pact on the free-agent market since he rejected a $17.4 million qualifying offer from the Royals after the 2017 season.
The two-time All-Star returned to Kansas City in midMarch for a one-year contract that included a guaranteed $6.5 million: a $5.5 million salary and $1 million option buyout.
Moustakas, traded by the Royals to Milwaukee in July, earned an additional $2.2 million in performance bonuses based on plate appearances, raising his total earnings for 2018 to $8.7 million.
Moustakas, 30, hit .256 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs in 54 games for the Brewers in 2018. Overall, he batted .251 with 28 homers and a careerhigh 95 RBIs last year.
“Obviously, he was a great addition to this team last year in the second half after the deadline,” Milwaukee right fielder Christian Yelich said. “He’s a great player, a great clubhouse guy.” Ohtani update: The Angels’ Shohei Ohtani hopes to hit off a tee next week for the first time since Tommy John surgery.
“That’s the thought, but I’m not trying to rush myself,” the pitcher/designate hitter said through an interpreter.
The AL Rookie of the Year had surgery Oct. 1 to repair a torn ulnar-collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, and the Angels think the earliest he could be ready to hit in games is May. Ohtani hopes to start the pitching phase of his rehab at the end of spring training.
“Things are going as planned,” Ohtani said. “No problems at all. But maybe once I start throwing, maybe I’ll start having some issues. But as of now, everything has been going well.”
Ohtani went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts. He played 104 games overall as a rookie, hitting .285 with 22 homers and 61 RBIs. The speed-up: Commissioner Rob Manfred said a 20-second pitch clock will be in place for Grapefruit and Cactus League games. The intention is to get players and umpires accustomed to the clock in the event Major League Baseball makes the rule change for the coming regular season.
Speaking to reporters in Florida, Manfred said the rules involving the clock will be “phased in” and won’t start immediately with ball-andstrike calls. But there will be a functional clock for spring training games. Briefly: Left-hander Aaron Loup, who posted a 4.54 ERA in 59 games for the Blue Jays and Phillies last year, agreed, to a one-year, $1.4 million deal with the Padres . ... Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria reportedly agreed to a minor-league deal with the Mets. Hechavarria hit a combined .247 with six homers and 31 RBIs in 94 games for the Rays, Pirates and Yankees last season . ... The Rangers and outfielder Ben Revere agreed to a minor-league deal. Revere, a .284 career hitter in eight major-league seasons, hit .277 at Triple-A Salt Lake last year before the Angels released him in July.