By JANIE McCAULEY, AP Baseball Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers found the left-handed power hitter they sought, acquiring third baseman Mike Moustakas on Friday from the Kansas City Royals to complete a second significant trade in as many days as the club makes a push for its first playoff appearance since 2011.
“We were looking for another big bat to add to the lineup and we got it,” manager Craig Counsell said Friday night. “We feel like we can put together a really tough lineup on a daily basis now.”
The Brewers sent outfielder Brett Phillips and pitcher Jorge Lopez late Friday night to the Royals, who are in last place in the AL Central.
Milwaukee announced the trade after beating the San Francisco Giants 3-1. Reliever Joakim Soria, who was acquired Thursday from the Chicago White Sox, made his Brewers debut by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.
“Two left-handed bats in the lineup with pop, I’ll take it,” Chase Anderson, Friday’s winning pitcher, said in reference to Moustakas and Eric Thames.
Kansas City had left Yankee Stadium when Friday’s rainout was announced.
Moustakas will be reunited with former World Series champion teammate Lorenzo Cain on the Brewers.
The 29-year-old Moustakas was hitting .249 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs for the Royals. His arrival could mean that the Brewers will shift their current third baseman, Travis Shaw, to second base.
Shaw is ready to play second base Saturday night.
“They approached me I guess about a month ago and asked my thoughts about how comfortable I was over there, this and that,” Shaw said. “I feel like I can do a decent job over there. The world’s going to say I can’t do it. I take that challenge to heart. It’s obviously going to make our lineup better, it’s going to make our lineup deeper. Moustakas is a good player. He’s won a World Series. He’s a middle-of-the order type of guy. He’s going to extend our lineup, he’s going to give us another left-handed power guy.”
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AP Sports Writer Genaro Armas and AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker contributed to this report.
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