With several key offensive players on the disabled list, the New York Mets have reportedly had discussions with the Oakland Athletics regarding the versatile Ben Zobrist, according to Jon Harper of the New York Daily News .
The 34-year-old Zobrist would represent an upgrade over the Mets in-house options as their All-Star incumbents Daniel Murphy and David Wright make their way back from injury. In addition to the injuries, the team has struggled recently, losing seven of their past eight contests, leveling their record at 37-37.
Recent comments by manager Terry Collins regarding the team playing several of their players “out of position” amid their struggles, general manager Sandy Alderson indicated to Harper that a move for a useful player would be a good idea.
“It would be nice to do something if we could to improve the team and give it a psychological boost.”
While Alderson did not identify a specific player that the team is targeting, Harper speculates that Zobrist, a man who recently returned from knee surgery and is swinging a hot bat, is exactly what the team needs at this juncture. On the season, Zobrist is batting .252 with five HR and 27 RBI. While those numbers do not read like his standout seasons from 2009-2013, Zobrist is still a useful commodity.
For starters, Zobrist is as versatile as they come, having logged innings at every position on a baseball diamond outside of pitcher and catcher. And while his 2015 defensive measurements do not rate him as a good defender, his career totals deem him as a more than capable asset on defense.
Therefore, Zobrist could slide in and play third base in Wright’s absence. While the Mets have stated their hope to have Wright return by the All-Star break , an injury of his nature could prove to be tricky going forward. If Wright does return to play, Zobrist could slide into second base, taking over for the injured Murphy. If the Mets were to do that, inexperienced players such as Dilson Herrera wouldn’t be as heavily relied upon.
Secondly, Zobrist is a switch-hitter, meaning he can hit against either left or right-handed pitching without issue. The Mets are a primarily right-handed hitting team as outside of Lucas Duda and Murphy, all of their key starters are right-handed batters. So if Zobrist’s ability to hit from both sides is added, it would diversify the Mets lineup.
Harper notes that both the Athletics and Mets have discussed Zobrist to a degree, but no trade appears close at the moment. And the Athletics are still confident in their ability to make a run at a playoff spot, so dealing Zobrist isn’t as certain as it was a few weeks ago.
If he is made available, the Mets would not be the only interested team as Zobrist is the type of player whose skill set would fit in perfectly with any lineup. The Inquisitr reported recently that the Mets crosstown rival New York Yankees have interest in Zobrist , so the Mets would face stiff competition for Zobrist.
The Mets do have pitching depth to include in any potential trade, including one for Zobrist. While Harper does not envision Zobrist’s cost being as high as Noah Syndergaard or young phenom Steven Matz, the Mets will still have to take a sizable bite out of the big apple to land Zobrist.
[Image by Denis Poroy/Getty Images]