Even with pitchers and catchers right around the corner, there still remains a plethora of free agents that have yet to find new homes. One of them is third baseman Mike Moustakas, who going into the offseason, many thought would land a big contract.

However, according to Mike Feinsand of MLB.com, teams that were interested in the 29-year-old earlier in the offseason balked at his asking price. Now, a general manager tells Feinsand he will end up landing a far less valuable deal.

“When you see what (Jay) Bruce got from the Mets, it’s hard to see Moustakas getting more than that,” the general manager said, referring to Bruce’s three-year, $39 million deal.

Moustakas had 38 home runs in 2017 coupled with 85 RBI. He also hit to a .272/.314/.521 clip with a 114 wRC+ and .345 wOBA across 598 plate appearances.

In the field last year, he spent the entirety of his 1,093.0 innings at third. He had -8 defensive runs saved (DRS) and a -3.1 UZR.

It was by far his worst year defensively, and while it could have just been an aberration, he has proven to be an average to below average fielder for the vast majority of his career, and has failed to match his 2012 season where he was good for 14 DRS and a 15.8 UZR in 1,314.1 innings played.

However, he could still benefit a team and give them a big bat in the middle of the lineup.

With the clock ticking and Spring Training closer and closer each day, could a team like the Mets bend and extend an offer to Moustakas? If he gets a deal comparable to Jay Bruce, it wouldn’t be detrimental to the team either monetarily or length-wise.

Despite his sub-par fielding at the hot corner, he did club nearly 40 long balls in 2017. That coupled with Yoenis Cespedes and Bruce in the middle of the Mets lineup would surely strike fear into an opposing pitcher.

My main concern with inking Moustakas goes back to his defense. That would mean Asdrubal Cabrera would have to shift over to second, a position where he is a poor defender.

With a team built on pitching, bad defense up the middle is never good and bringing in Moustakas would ensure of that position change for Cabrera.

If they did in fact land Moose, I would like to see them bring in a second baseman that could at least provide average defense while shifting Cabrera to a super utility role. However, it remains to be seen if they would even have the money to do that.

Is bringing in Moustakas a good idea for the Mets if he can be had on a Bruce type deal?