Milwaukee Brewers name Mike Moustakas starting second baseman

The Milwaukee Brewers plans to put Mike Moustakas at second base have taken another step forward, as the Brewers have named him their primary option at the position.

It was not necessarily a surprise that the Milwaukee Brewers re-signed Mike Moustakas this offseason. He had been a solid addition to the Brewers run through the postseason, producing a .256/.326/.441 batting line, with eight homers and 12 doubles over his 218 plate appearances after being acquired from the Royals. With another slowly developing free agent market, Moustask to Milwaukee made sense.

It made sense if he was playing third, that is. Instead, Travis Shaw, who had been shifted to second last year, will remain at the hot corner, while Moustakas was getting a look at second base. That plan became official on Monday, when the Brewers announced that Moustakas will be their primary second baseman.

It is a strange decision to make. During his time in the majors, Moustakas’ only other position was first base, where he played a total of four times in 2018. He had initially been drafted as a shortstop, however, Moustakas has not played that position since 2008 in the minors.

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At this point in time, learning second is not as steep a learning curve as it may have been even five years ago. Players can no longer intentionally look to take out the second baseman or shortstop while turning a double play, thanks to Chase Utley. For his part, Moustakas says that he feels comfortable there, at least during practice.

If he can take to the position as well as the Brewers hope, he would be a solid upgrade offensively. Shaw moving to second was necessitated by the Brewers lack of offense from Jonathan Villar, and the acquired Jonathan Schoop. Moustakas should easily be an upgrade there.

The question comes down to how well can he acquit himself to the position during the regular season. Despite the practice, he is learning second base as he goes along, a vastly different position than what he has been used to. This original experience at short will help, but for Moustakas to succeed, he may need to rely upon positioning rather than reflexes or range.

The Milwaukee Brewers have made it official – Mike Moustakas is their primary second baseman. If that decision does not work out, at least Travis Shaw is still on the roster.