When Zack Cozart signed a three-year, $38 million contract with the LA Angels in mid-December of 2017, he and the team basked in the glow of good feeling and boundless optimism. Cozart was an excellent defensive shortstop who was coming off an All-Star season with the Cincinnati Reds. He was also team-minded enough to move to third base, and there were visions of him teaming up with Andrelton Simmons and Ian Kinsler to form one of the great defensive infields in recent history.
We know the rest. The big bat he flashed in Cincinnati was a career year, not a career change.