Tag: Ben Zobrist

MLB Trade Rumors: Ideal Destinations for Top 5 Players on the Market

For the next few days, it’ll be All-Star season in Major League Baseball. And that’ll be fun.

But after that comes the really fun part: trade season. The July 31 trade deadline is fast approaching, so we should see the top players on the market start flying off the shelves in the very near future.

Our purpose here is to ponder the ideal destinations for the five best players on the market. That means establishing a profile for each player and narrowing his suitors down to the best possible fit.

Another thing: When we say “five best players on the market,” we mean realistically on the market. As fun as it would be to talk about destinations for guys like Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gomez and Aroldis Chapman, a careful study of MLB Trade Rumors leads one to believe they’re likely staying put.

We’ll start with the least desirable of our five players and work our way to the most desirable player. Step into the box whenever you’re ready.

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10 MLB Players Most Likely to Be Dealt Before 2015’s Trade Deadline

From Johnny Cueto to Ben Zobrist, there are certain big leaguers who have a big chance of getting traded before the 2015 MLB trade deadline passes.

Simply put, the most likely trade chips are good players on bad teams. The righty ace and the Swiss Army Knife of baseball both fit that bill. Cueto and Zobrist aren’t the only players on the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland Athletics, respectively, who crack a spot on this top 10.

But no team is better represented on the list than the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Ben Zobrist Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz and Speculation Surrounding Athletics Star

With the Oakland Athletics owning the American League’s worst record, they can start going into sell mode as trading season picks up. Utilityman Ben Zobrist is one of their best trade chips and is starting to attract attention around the league.   

Continue for updates. 


Nationals Asking About Zobrist

Friday, June 5

According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Washington Nationals have called the Athletics about Zobrist as a potential replacement for Jayson Werth:

Zobrist’s positional versatility would fit well in Washington, which also needs help at shortstop and protection in case players who have had injury problems in the past, such as Anthony Rendon or Ryan Zimmerman, get hurt. 

However, Rosenthal also noted the Nationals aren’t going to be alone if/when the Athletics dive into trade discussions for Zobrist:

Even though he has gotten off to a slow start this season, hitting .222/.304/.383 in 23 games while missing one month with a knee injury, there may not be a more sought-after trade chip this summer because he can play so many positions and is making a reasonable $7.5 million salary. 

Because of Zobrist’s versatility and salary, Oakland general manager Billy Beane can dangle him to the highest bidder without worrying it won’t come. There are going to be a lot of teams buying at the deadline because there are currently 26 clubs either in the playoffs or within 5.5 games of a playoff spot. 

The A’s have had a disastrous 2015 season, made worse by injuries to key players like Zobrist, but Beane should be able to cash in some of those chips before July 31 to help rebuild the system. 

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Kid Catches Oakland Home Run Ball Then Pouts When He Realizes What It Means

As a kid, few things can rival the thrill of a catching a baseball at a live game.

That held true for this young fella in the first row as the Oakland Athletics visited the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night…well, at first.

This kid is a Tigers fan, perhaps the most passionate this world has ever seen. So as his pal hugged him, the poor lad’s euphoric joy plummeted to pure devastation when he realized that Ben Zobrist’s grand slam in the seventh inning gave the A’s a lead they would never relinquish.

Looks like there is, in fact, crying in baseball.

[Twitter]

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Ben Zobrist Injury: Updates on A’s Star’s Knee and Return

The Oakland Athletics have had a surprisingly strong start at the plate this season, but they will be without one of their top offensive contributors in Ben Zobrist after it was revealed he will undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Continue for updates.


Zobrist Placed on 15-Day DL with Knee Injury

Saturday, April 25

According to the Athletics’ official Twitter account, the 33-year-old utility man has been placed on the 15-day disabled list:

Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today noted that Zobrist has a tear in his left meniscus.

Joe Stiglich of Comcast SportsNet California confirmed Zobrist will have surgery though the date is still to be determined. Stiglich noted the recovery time is roughly four to six weeks.

John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group provided a comment from Zobrist: “hoping I’ll be back June 1 and will have four months to help this team the way I can.”

Although he will be out of action, it appears as though he avoided serious damage to his knee, per Lee:

Zobrist’s versatility and experience have served the A’s well early in the 2015 campaign. This marks Zobrist’s first season in Oakland after spending the initial nine years of his MLB career with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The two-time MLB All-Star is currently hitting .240 with one home run, eight RBI and eight runs, and he has already played three different positions.

Replacing a player of his ilk is no easy task, but look for do-everything backup Eric Sogard to take many of Zobrist’s at-bats during his absence.

 

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Ben Zobrist Trade Transforms A’s from Winter Enigma to AL West Threat

The Oakland A’s have planned to contend in 2015 all along.

While they were dumping All-Stars and stockpiling younger talent over the last two months, they were still planning on making their now-annual run at the top of their division. Billy Beane is still the organization’s general manager, and he still can draw his six shooter with the best in the American League West.

The A’s pulled off a stunning trade Saturday in what has been an offseason full of them, particularly for Oakland. Beane acquired second baseman/utility man Ben Zobrist and shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Tampa Bay Rays, pushing the A’s into contending position with a steady lineup and good-looking pitching staff.

It cost them, though. The Rays received Oakland’s top prospect, as rated by Baseball America last month and the publication’s No. 39 prospect overall, shortstop Daniel Robertson. Catcher John Jaso and outfielder prospect Boog Powell also go to Tampa Bay. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the trade Saturday morning, and others trickled in with further details.

Several baseball pundits and analysts have criticized Beane’s offseason moves, but those people had tunnel vision. The A’s were not being blown up, and the GM was not the bad guy. He was again surviving in the environment he’d been placed in and had a plan on how to do so the entire time.

“Billy is about as good as it gets as far as being able to handle that balance, keeping us competitive currently and looking down the road for the future,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told Slusser a month ago after the team traded away Brandon Moss.

When Beane was shuttling out All-Stars Josh Donaldson, Moss, Jeff Samardzija and Derek Norris, he was looking toward the future. His move to acquire Zobrist and Escobar, as when he traded Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester last July, is playing to win immediately.

Starting with that Cespedes deal, the A’s have dealt away five All-Stars in the last five-plus months, a block of trades that have sent some scrambling to put Beane in the stocks while prompting others to preach patience as we see how it ultimately plays out.

Now we know. The A’s are pretty much done making moves now, and here is what we know heading into spring training in about five weeks: Their lineup is solid with an upgraded infield overall, they have a good starting rotation even without Lester and Samardzija, and the bullpen is still one of the best in the majors.

After double-checking the math, that outlook is pretty damn good.

“That total rebuild is not something we really believe in, and not something Billy or I want to do,” A’s assistant GM David Forst told Eno Sarris of FanGraphs last month. “It’s not enjoyable to sit through six months of a season and lose 95-100 games. Luckily, I’ve never had to do it.”

This year will not be any different. The A’s plan to play for a fourth consecutive playoff berth and a third division title in four years. With the addition of Zobrist, who is in a contract year, this team will contend.

If you don’t know Zobrist’s skill set or what he is worth to a team, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Zobrist is the most underrated, undervalued player in the game who can play multiple positions, though he will primarily play second base for Oakland.

Making $7.5 million next season, Zobrist has a 23.2 WAR since 2011 based on FanGraphs’ calculations. That is the fourth-highest total in the American League during that time, trailing a trio of superstars in Mike Trout (29.1), Miguel Cabrera (26.5) and Robinson Cano (24.3).

In each of the last six seasons, only Zobrist and Cabrera have been worth at least a 4.5 WAR by the Baseball-Reference.com calculation.

The A’s are losing a couple of highly regarded prospects in this deal—Powell was the Class-A Midwest League All-Star Game MVP last season before being suspended 50 games for amphetamines—but people can’t complain when Beane builds for the future, or future trades, and when he goes for it in the now.

That double standard is undeserved, especially since virtually the entire baseball-loving world slammed Beane for his “rebuild” before the 2012 season when he traded away three All-Stars only to win the division the following two years.

Beane’s track record earned him the benefit of the doubt during all of his earlier trades this offseason, even if he did not get it from everyone. This Zobrist/Escobar trade is why. Before Saturday, knee-jerk reactors had the A’s being a terrible baseball team next season. That was always laughable considering what remained, mainly a very good rotation and bullpen.

Now, those same people may very well call the A’s contenders even though Zobrist by himself does not make them such.

Beane traded away his recognized talent, but plenty is left, much of it still unrecognized by casual observers. With a spotlight on Beane and the A’s in 2015, the rest of the talent will soon be known commodities.

And maybe this offseason will be the reason people are patient with Beane if he makes other trades shortly down the road.

 

Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar Traded to A’s for John Jaso and Daniel Robertson

The Oakland Athletics’ impressive roster overhaul continued Saturday, as they announced a trade to acquire Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar from the Tampa Bay Rays:

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle initially reported the news, as Tampa Bay acquired catcher John Jaso, top-flight shortstop prospect Daniel Robertson and minor leaguer Boog Powell:

The 33-year-old Zobrist is the biggest name in this deal. A two-time All-Star, Zobrist brings versatility as both a switch-hitter and a player who’s thrived in the outfield, at second base and at shortstop.

Rotoworld’s Patrick Daugherty weighed in on how Zobrist will fit in Oakland:

Per ESPN.com, Zobrist had WAR ratings of 8.3 and 8.5 in 2009 and 2011, respectively, which accentuates just how valuable he can be. Meanwhile, Escobar is a serviceable everyday shortstop who brings more veteran presence to a rather young A’s roster.

Though Oakland will get an immediate uptick in performance from the trade, the Rays loaded up on some promising prospects who should help in the long term.

Tampa Bay landed a 2012 first-round pick in Robertson, who had an impressive 2014 campaign for Class A Stockton, and Powell batted .343 in the minor leagues last year (h/t MILB.com). That adds two potential bats for the future to a team that was 27th in runs scored last MLB season.

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One More Key Piece Can Legitimize These World Series Hopefuls

Well more than two months have peeled off Major League Baseball’s offseason calendar, a hot-stove season that has been as active and stunning as any in recent memory. 

Yet it is not finished. Two big-money free agents still swim around untouched—Max Scherzer and James Shields—while several clubs with World Series visions remain a player away from being legitimate threats in October.

The rumor mills around Scherzer and Shields are certain to soon churn heavily, and any number of the teams in need of another acquisition could greatly use their services. Then again, not all of them need to stabilize or boost their rotations. Aside from those aces, position players remain on the market, available in trades or for a relatively modest free-agent fee.

How these teams plan to finish out their offseasons is still unclear, but make no mistake here: If they plan to win it all, they will need one more headline-making move.

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3 Missing Pieces the Washington Nationals Could Still Land This Winter

The Washington Nationals have been maddeningly patient this winter, but the team still has a few months to let its fans stew and a short list of pieces that could fill its only visible hole: second base.

Nationals rumors this offseason have been largely dominated by who might be leaving the team. Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Ian Desmond are no closer to learning their fate. 

With this list comes a welcome break from that discussion and a look into who could potentially join the team before it’s all said and done.

Washington has seven solid, everyday position players and a starting rotation that could lose a member and still terrify a batting order. In fact, it’s very possible the Nationals trade Zimmermann to acquire the services of a new second baseman if his contract isn’t extended.

In the Nationals’ three-month search for a middle infielder, new names, like Ben Zobrist, have popped up, while some, like Mookie Betts, have been a constant.

Washington has the option to save its money and trade fodder by choosing not to bring in a new second baseman. In-house product Danny Espinosa would sure like to think so. 

But winter is meant for, among other things, hot stove speculation. And the following three players are the most likely to tempt the Nationals this offseason.

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MLB Trade Rumors: Analyzing Dan Haren, Ben Zobrist Rumblings

The majority of the offseason’s most valuable trade chips have already been dealt, but there are still a few coveted veterans who could be on the move before the start of spring training in February.

Complementary veteran pieces are still available for the right price. Oftentimes, those are the types of acquisitions that set the offseason’s successful teams apart from the pack. While the big prizes of the winter are the ones that lead to the most improvement, the extra pieces take a team over the top.

There are several of these pieces still available on the trade market, and two of them have made headlines in early 2015. Below, you’ll find an analysis of the latest buzz surrounding their current situations.

 

Dan Haren

Dan Haren wasn’t fond of his trade from Los Angeles to Florida, and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports that the Miami Marlins are working on finding a deal that would move him back to the West Coast. “From what I’ve heard, there is a market for Haren, and the Marlins will do their best to work out a deal that accommodates both parties. Those talks are already underway,” Frisaro writes.

Fox Sports’ Joe Morosi adds to Frisaro‘s report:

There are a few teams who could presumably be in the running for the 34-year-old right-hander. The Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres are certainly in the discussion considering how close they are to contention, and a dark horse could be the Oakland Athletics, the team Haren pitched for from 2005 to 2007.

The Los Angeles Angels general manager, Jerry Dipoto, has said that his team won’t reacquire Haren, who pitched for the team from 2010 to 2012. Los Angeles presumably has a need in the rotation, though, with Garrett Richards a question mark and Tyler Skaggs scheduled to miss all of 2015 after Tommy John surgery.

If the Halos are indeed not interested in a reunion, then it will come down to the other four teams mentioned above.

Check out their full rotation options below:

Haren would be a strong fit on any of these clubs because of the veteran leadership he can provide those young pitchers, but it comes down to which team feels as if it will compete at the highest level next season.

One would assume that the A’s will regress given the roster overhaul they’ve undergone, so it’d be interesting to see them jump into the discussion. Plus, they have injured arms A.J. Griffin and Jarrod Parker expected to return from Tommy John surgeries at some point in 2015.

San Diego has been the most active team this offseason, though we’ve yet to see GM A.J. Preller address the rotation outside of reclamation project Brandon Morrow.

San Francisco were in the hunt for James Shields in December, so it’s clear that the Giants want arms. Haren represents an affordable option there.

As for Seattle, it’d be odd to see them go after Haren. Promising young arms James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Roenis Elias are vying for rotation spots behind Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma.

That would point to the Giants as the favorites if we’re going off need, but any of the teams could make room for a successful veteran who would be happy to pitch near his home.

 

Ben Zobrist

The Giants should also be considered the favorites for Ben Zobrist at this point given the mammoth hole in left field, though any number of teams have the need for an affordable veteran who can play nearly any position on the field.

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reported on the size of Zobrist‘s market:

Zobrist, 33, has one of the biggest trade markets out there. The super utilityman is being pursued seriously by the Giants, Nationals, Angels, and Cubs. The Rays recently acquired Asdrubal Cabrera on a one-year deal, sparking further speculation that Zobrist might be on the move. The Rays are said to be asking for at least one top prospect and a mid-level one.

Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News echoed that every team in existence could benefit from having him on a roster:

Despite the fact that a high percentage of teams will likely call the Tampa Bay Rays in the coming days, the Giants stand out as the best fit. Coming off the World Series victory, San Francisco must now look to fill the void left by Pablo Sandoval at third base.

Casey McGehee can’t do that by himself, so adding a consistent bat to play left field should help to deepen the lineup. At the very least, the Giants’ motivations for wanting Zobrist should trump the field.

Plus, Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow seems to think he’s exactly the type of player team GM Brian Sabean seeks, saying via CSNBayArea.com, “He’s a good player. He’s a Sabean-type player.”

Besides Zobrist‘s obvious fit in left, he would also act as an insurance policy should Joe Panik regress significantly in 2015.

Each passing day means the chances of a Zobrist trade increase. Asdrubal Cabrera will man second for the Rays next year, and Yunel Escobar will play shortstop. Third base and the outfield are covered. The time is now for the Rays to capitalize on Zobrist‘s value and get back prospects in return before he inevitably leaves in free agency next winter.

Look for him to be in orange and black by the time spring training rolls around.

 

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn

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