Mitch Moreland is having what will soon be a career year for the lefty power hitter.
To this point, Moreland is batting .287 with 16 homers and 49 RBIs. He's seven homers shy of career high (23) and 11 RBIs of his best season in that department, when he drove in 60 runs in 2013, the same year he hit the 23 homers.
The thinking for moving the 29-year-old first baseman is simple. It's hard to imagine his value ever being higher. Nothing against Moreland, but he's not an MLB superstar, and his numbers so far this year suggest he's pretty dang good.
He's also a plus defensive option at first base and would be a great fit for a playoff contending team searching for left-handed power from a first baseman.
The thinking behind the Rangers not being real interested in moving him, which seems to be the case, is that he's cheap. Moreland is making $2.5 million this year after arbitration this past winter. He'll be up for arbitration again this coming offseason and will get a pretty hefty raise. But that number would likely be around $5 million, and for a guy doing what Moreland is doing this year, $5 million is still a bargain.
Prince Fielder seems to be thriving in the DH role after relinquishing first base duties to Moreland earlier this year — a move that has helped both players' production. True, the Rangers are heavily left-handed, something that will have to change this offseason, but those two could be a mainstay until at least next year while Moreland is still a cheap option.
