Veteran third baseman Mike Moustakas has been the victim of disappointing free agencies, as of late.

Moustakas rejected a qualifying offer from the Kansas City Royals after the 2017 season only to return to the team on a $5.5 million deal. He was then traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018, and eventually re-signed with Milwaukee on another one-year deal when his market soured last winter.

However, Moustakas had a bounce-back year for the Brewers in 2019. He mashed 35 homers and posted the highest OPS (.845) of his career while playing multiple infield positions and showing defensive improvement.

Moustakas is expected to get a multi-year deal in free agency, and the Philadelphia Phillies have “touched base” with Moustakas, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia:

The Phillies have a number of needs this winter, starting with the pitching staff. The rotation was extremely disappointing in 2019, and the bullpen struggled in part due to injuries and a lack of depth.

However, Philadelphia as also expressed in upgrading over Maikel Franco, who hit just .234 with an 80 OPS+ last season. Moustakas could be a low-cost alternative to other third basemen like Josh Donaldson and Anthony Rendon, who have a number of suitors and are expected to get paid in full.

Signing a new third baseman would allow the Phillies to keep Scott Kingery in the outfield on a full-time basis, while also giving them the payroll space to pursue to top-tier starter like Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg.

Plus, Mike Moustakas can also play second base as the Phillies have considered flipping Cesar Hernandez.