Moustakas retires, to sign one-day contract with Royals on May 31
Anne Rogers
@anne__rogersSURPRISE, Ariz. -- Mike Moustakas made his retirement official on Monday, and one other thing: He¡¯s going to retire a Royal.
Much like the Royals did in 2023 for Lorenzo Cain¡¯s retirement, the team will sign Moustakas to a ceremonial one-day contract on May 31, allowing the former All-Star third baseman to retire with Kansas City -- where his career started, where he won a World Series and where he became a part of franchise history.
Moustakas, 36, hasn¡¯t played in the Majors since 2023, when he split the season with the Rockies and Angels. That wrapped up a 13-year career that began in 2011 with Kansas City, the team that drafted Moustakas with the No. 2 selection in the 2007 Draft out of Chatsworth Charter (Calif.) High School.
Moustakas was part of the homegrown core that brought the Royals back to relevance in 2013 and back to the postseason in ¡®14, when they won the American League pennant before losing the World Series to the Giants. But Moustakas helped them back to the Fall Classic a year later, his first season as an All-Star during a career year. The Royals beat the Mets in five games to bring the World Series trophy back to Kansas City
Moustakas wasn¡¯t exactly tearing it up at the plate when the Royals clinched their postseason appearance in 2014, with a .632 OPS in the regular season. But he got hot in October, hitting the game-winning home run in Game 1 of the AL Division Series, which began the Royals¡¯ eventual sweep of the Angels. That postseason, Moustakas hit five homers, setting a club record for playoff home runs in a single year.
His diving catch over the dugout rail in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Orioles that year remains one of the most iconic plays in club history.
Moustakas slashed .251/.306/.430 with 139 home runs over parts of eight seasons as a Royal. His 38 home runs in 2017 set a single-season club record at the time until Jorge Soler hit 48 in 2019.
Moustakas was traded to the Brewers in 2018, and would go on to play for three more teams, including the Reds, Rockies and Angels. The three-time All-Star finished his 13-year career with 215 home runs, a .739 OPS and 13.0 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.