Just two days after pulling the trigger on a deal for Reds righty Johnny Cueto, the Royals sent shockwaves around the league with their acquisition of utilityman Ben Zobrist from the Athletics.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports broke news of the trade on Twitter late Tuesday morning. Oakland will be receiving minor league pitchers Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks while Kansas City will also get cash along with Zobrist, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
The move is a direct signal that the American League-best Royals are making an all-out push for the World Series title this year. Instead of resting on his laurels after scoring a major victory with the addition of Cueto, Royals GM Dayton Moore opted to further bolster his roster with the 2015 Commissioner’s Trophy squarely in his crosshairs.
Zobrist is a great get for an already stacked Royals team. A human Swiss Army Knife, Zobrist is a switch-hitter that can slot anywhere in the batting order, then go out into the field and play up to seven positions defensively. He’s the true definition of a glue guy, and he fills a huge need for the Royals. Zobrist could see regular time in left field with Alex Gordon out with a groin strain possibly until the postseason. He could also slide over to second base which would be a big help. Incumbent second baseman Omar Infante has been so unproductive this year that Ned Yost has probably seriously considered poking him with a stick on many occasions.
Both offensive and defensive metrics smile on Zobrist. At the ripe age of 34, he holds a .801 OPS in 2015 and, though he has regressed a bit defensively this season, Zobrist owns a .993 career fielding percentage. His two-way versatility will make the defending AL champs that much more terrifying.
Zobrist’s slugging pct > 100 points higher than that of KC’s 2Bs and RFs; his OBP 75+ points higher https://t.co/alVJasdE05
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 28, 2015
After adding Johnny Cueto and his 2.62 ERA to bolster a staff rocked by the injury of Jason Vargas and the ineffectiveness of Yordano Ventura, Kansas City is not playing around. Currently at 60-38, they look like the runaway favorites right now in the American League.
While Royals fans certainly have reason to be confident, I’d preach caution in light of recent “win now” failures at the trade deadline. Namely, Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics adopted a similar mentality last trade deadline, staging a coup by landing THREE quality starters in Jeff Samardzija, Jason Hammel, and Jon Lester. Oakland pushed all their chips into the center of the table in 2014 and the result? A spectacular regular season collapse that saw them lose the division to the Angels and a premature postseason exit after losing the Wild Card game to these very Royals. Now, just 12 months later, Oakland is the one shipping out all their high-caliber talent in favor of a full-scale rebuild around young prospects, enabling the Royals to land Zobrist.
Zobrist and Cueto are both free agents after the season, so if this experiment goes south, it’s going quickly. Proceed with vigilance, Kansas City. Don’t count your eggs before they hatch.
