Has Moustaukas been the worst position players free agent signing in Reds history?

[Wonderful Monds]

Moose back

[Tom Servo]

Moose back

?

[Ky Fried Redleg]

As a Reds' fan 4Life , I root for Moose with every single AB, but he has been a very poor investment for the Reds since becoming a Red , collecting just barely 90 hits as a Cincinnati Red.

Our Moose has banked $53, 989.31 per AB as a Red. By comparison, in his 1975 MVP season, Joe Morgan made $297.51 per AB . Okay, I hear you, that was 47 years ago. So, adjusting Morgan's salary for 2022 money , he made $1,597.63 per AB , or 33.8 times less per AB than Moose.

[Bourgeois Zee]

As a Reds' fan 4Life , I root for Moose with every single AB, but he has been a very poor investment for the Reds since becoming a Red , collecting just barely 90 hits as a Cincinnati Red.

Our Moose has banked $53, 989.31 per AB as a Red. By comparison, in his 1975 MVP season, Joe Morgan made $297.51 per AB . Okay, I hear you, that was 47 years ago. So, adjusting Morgan's salary for 2022 money , he made $1,597.63 per AB , or 33.8 times less per AB than Moose.

Meh, the 2020 pandemic screwed up any numbers you cite here.

[Mitri]

I wouldn’t take a victory lap just yet. I’m very please with his turnaround, Moose seems like a good guy and I liked the signing of him (didn’t love it, but who did?). MM’s biggest problem has been staying healthy. So yeah, he looked bad only the first week (it was bad) but then was on the IL for the remainder of April. His ability to stay on the field was beginning to look like a chronic issue for him. And he’s not exactly a boost defensively or on the base paths.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Right now, Moustakas is 12% better than league average offensively.

That's playable-- especially in light of how badly the Reds need bats.

[RedsfaninMT]

As a Reds' fan 4Life , I root for Moose with every single AB, but he has been a very poor investment for the Reds since becoming a Red , collecting just barely 90 hits as a Cincinnati Red.

Our Moose has banked $53, 989.31 per AB as a Red. By comparison, in his 1975 MVP season, Joe Morgan made $297.51 per AB . Okay, I hear you, that was 47 years ago. So, adjusting Morgan's salary for 2022 money , he made $1,597.63 per AB , or 33.8 times less per AB than Moose.

You can do those types of stats all day long. Check the team payroll for 1976, or the minimum player salary then. Player salaries have sky rocketed.

Just looked it up, the average MLB salary was under $45K in '76.

[NebraskaRed]

?

This might stop making me laugh some day, but today is not that day.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Meh, the 2020 pandemic screwed up any numbers you cite here.

Meh... no it didn't. I'm a mathematician. I pro-rated Moose's salary for the pandemic year. He was paid 4.4 mil for the partial season in 2020. The numbers are corret to the penny. I hope Moose closes out his time with the Reds in very strong fshion. I would love to see 25 or 30 homers this season , but it's hard to deny that the return on the investment in Moose has been very poor thus far.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I wouldn’t take a victory lap just yet. I’m very please with his turnaround, Moose seems like a good guy and I liked the signing of him (didn’t love it, but who did?). MM’s biggest problem has been staying healthy. So yeah, he looked bad only the first week (it was bad) but then was on the IL for the remainder of April. His ability to stay on the field was beginning to look like a chronic issue for him. And he’s not exactly a boost defensively or on the base paths.

No victory lap. I root for him to hit the ball as hard as he hits the buffet line. Nothing would please this long-time Reds' fan more than to see him hit 30 dingers and OPS .900. GO MOOSE!!!

[Ky Fried Redleg]

You can do those types of stats all day long. Check the team payroll for 1976, or the minimum player salary then. Player salaries have sky rocketed.

Just looked it up, the average MLB salary was under $45K in '76.

Not arguing the skyrocketing salaries at all. The numbers are still factual, however. Just interpret them however you want.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Right now, Moustakas is 12% better than league average offensively.

That's playable-- especially in light of how badly the Reds need bats.

Absolutely. Not arguing that. If Moose continues to hit, play him. Hopefully a lot of DH and not a lot of 3B, though. I don't think he's gonna earn that 100K bonus for earning a Gold Glove anytime soon.

[CySeymour]

Not arguing the skyrocketing salaries at all. The numbers are still factual, however. Just interpret them however you want.

It's also extremely misleading. If Morgan were playing today he would be in a different stratosphere than Moustaukas. You could run the same math with Babe Ruth and it would still pale compared to what Moose is making.

[Roy Tucker]

You can’t change Moose’s Reds past. He has, for the most part, sucked and been a disappointment. He hasn’t filled the mainstay role the Reds had planned on. You just can’t change the past.

But I’m hoping he’s now healthy (a big thing that has contributed his bring a disappointment) and has found his stroke and plays well this season. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable thing to hope for. How sustainable his current performance and whether or not it has turned into his baseline is a debatable item. Time will tell.

[westofyou]

Mike Moustakas has had 458 PAs as a Red over three seasons, a short season, a regular season and 13% of a season. He also has had seven single seasons that he had more than 458 PA's

His career as a Red is 9% of his total career.

From 2015-2016 he had 260 EBH, the Reds in that time got 290 from Votto, 266 from Suerez. The next LH hitter was Schlepler with 120

The Reds targeted the right thing, LH power. But the fact he was signed as a 2b was boneheaded.

That's corrected now and if he can be the slg/rbi guy at #5 then it is a good deal. I'll bet on the 9% of his Reds career being an aberration so far and if they can slide him into DH more and more that would be a good thing for him and the Reds.