Cincinnati Reds: Don’t be too concerned with Mike Moustakas’ defense

The Cincinnati Reds signed Mike Moustakas to a four-year deal on Monday. Moustakas is expected to play second base, not his primary position in the past.

While second base is not the primary position that Mike Moustakas has played throughout his major league career, it should not be a great cause for concern. Moustakas should be more than able to hold his own while Nick Senzel settles into being the Reds centerfielder in 2020. The questions regarding Moustakas’ defense are a bit overblown.

Will Mike Moustakas win a Gold Glove while second base for the Reds? I feel comfortable in answering that question with a resounding no. However, that doesn’t mean that Moustakas is a poor defender. Throughout his career, which was split between Kansas City and Milwaukee, Moustakas was primarily a third baseman with a fielding percentage of .960.

Last year, with the thinking that Travis Shaw would be the Brewers primary third baseman, Moustakas was re-signed with the understanding that he’d be playing second base for the Brew Crew. Moustakas handled his business just fine, committing just one error in 151 chances over 359.2 innings at the position. Shaw, however, struggled at the dish and was replaced by Moustakas.

The newer metrics used to grade a player’s defense, defensive runs saved (DRS), show that Moustakas is roughly average. Last season, according to FanGraphs, Moustakas recorded a 0 DRS at both second and third base. The year before, Moustakas recorded 2 DRS while splitting time between the Brewers and the Royals.

Let’s be real – the Cincinnati Reds did not sign Mike Moustakas for his glove, he was signed for his bat. Eno Sarris of The Athletic weighed in on the subject of Moustakas playing “out of position” at second base. Check out what he had to say:

"“Is second base really any harder than third? The defensive adjustments within Wins Above Replacement say the two positions are interchangeable in terms of difficulty. Balls in play are at an all-time low, which suggests that the value of defense is at an all-time low. Maybe the defensive component of this deal is overblown.”"

Sarris makes a great point. With teams now so concerned with launch angle and elevating the ball above the defenders, we’re not seeing nearly as many ground balls as we did 10-plus years ago. While you obviously don’t want a porous defense, having an average fielder who’s an above-average hitter should do just fine.

With all the defensive shifts employed by teams nowadays, there’s a good chance that Moustakas could find himself on the opposite side of second base several times during a game. This year’s slogan has been #GetTheHitting, not #GetThe Defense. That said, Mike Moustakas has a good enough glove and will be just fine at second base.