The Milwaukee Brewers evidently are keeping an open mind when it comes to improving their roster before next week’s Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline.
Jon Morosi reported Monday, citing sources, that the Brewers have considered the possibility of trading for Kansas City Royals slugger Mike Moustakas and moving third baseman Travis Shaw to second base.
Sources: #Brewers have considered possibility of acquiring Mike Moustakas and moving Travis Shaw to 2B, but pitching may become the more urgent priority following Suter injury. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 23, 2018
Neither Shaw nor Moustakas has played second base at the major league level, but the Brewers could use an offensive boost and second base has been a black hole for Milwaukee this season. The Brewers, who rank 17th overall in runs scored, have the second-worst WAR (-0.6) from the second base position.
Shaw, acquired from the Boston Red Sox before the 2017 season, has spent most of his time at the hot corner since joining the Brewers. The 28-year-old also has a good chunk of experience at first base, while Moustakas has played almost exclusively at third base over the course of his eight-year career.
Shaw posted career highs in average (.273), home runs (31), RBIs (101) and OPS (.862) with Milwaukee last season. He’s batting .243 with 18 homers, 57 RBIs and an .809 OPS in 2018.
Moustakas, who re-signed with Kansas City this past offseason after drawing minimal interest on the free agent market, is hitting .247 with 19 homers, 59 RBIs and a .770 OPS this season.
