Kansas City Royals dodged financial bullet with Mike Moustakas

Following the 2017 season, the Kansas City Royals offered Mike Moustakas a qualifying offer. They dodged a financial bullet when he turned the offer down.

The Kansas City Royals found themselves at a crossroads after the 2017 season. The last gasp of their World Series roster had been a death rattle, a disappointing 80-82 record the end result. After the season, the Royals had to make a decision – to attempt to keep the core together, or to rebuild entirely, hoping to find their way back to the postseason when the farm system produced enough major league caliber prospects.

While the Royals ended up entering a rebuild, that was not the first plan. Instead, they made qualifying offers to Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, and Mike Moustakas, all of which were declined. For Hosmer and Cain, that proved to be the right decision, as they were rewarded in free agency. Moustakas, meanwhile, returned to Kansas City, taking a one year deal worth $5.5 million, with a mutual option for another $15 million in 2019.

Traded to the Brewers at the deadline, Moustakas turned down his end of the mutual option, looking to test free agency once more. That again proved to be a mistake, as Moustakas returned to the Brewers on a one year deal worth $10 million, and another mutual option for the 2020 campaign.

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For Moustakas, these trips through free agency have been a disaster. Yet, for the Kansas City Royals, they represent a lucky break, a financial bullet that was dodged when he turned down their qualifying offer in the 2017-18 offseason.

Instead of the $17.4 million that Moustakas could have had by accepting the offer, he will receive a total of $16.5 million for the two years, not including whatever the buyout for that option will be. The Royals even received two potential building blocks in Brett Phillips and Jorge Lopez for Moustakas when he returned on a far lesser deal.

As the Royals have their own financial concerns, and are looking to save up money for a spending spree when they are closer to contend, Moustakas turning down that offer was a blessing in disguise. That $17.4 million may not have been put into the roster in regards to upgrades or long term pieces, but that was still a better result then overpaying a player by nearly $11 million.

The Kansas City Royals dodged a financial bullet with Mike Moustakas. His second consecutive disappointing trip into free agency only underscores how close they came to making a mistake.