The Royals have officially acquired Athletics utilityman Ben Zobrist, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Young hurlers Aaron Brooks and Sean Manaea are the two pieces heading back to the A’s, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link) were first to report. Kansas City will also pick up over $2MM, which covers a large piece of Zobrist’s remaining salary, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
The deal delivers the second major rental piece heading to Kansas City this summer, as the club already picked up Johnny Cueto from the Reds. After dealing a trio of young arms to get Cueto, and now agreeing to send out two more to add Zobrist, Kansas City is firmly committed to winning this year. The club surprised the baseball world with its World Series run last year, narrowly missing out on a championship, and obviously decided that the time to win was the present after a strong first half in 2015.
[RELATED: Royals GM Dayton Moore Talks Ben Zobrist Trade]
In Zobrist, the Royals have added a uniquely valuable asset who can help the team in several ways. Star outfielder Alex Gordon is still working back from a significant groin strain, creating a need in left field. And the club has received less-than-sterling results from Omar Infante at second. Presumably, Zobrist will move between those positions — as he has for much of his career — depending upon needs and matchups.
Zobrist was perhaps the most hotly pursued player in the league this year, as he looked to be a strong fit for multiple contenders and is only owed the balance of a $7.5MM salary this season. At 34 years of age and set to hit the market after the season, he’s a pure win-now rental.
Despite playing half of his game’s in Oakland’s cavernous ballpark, Zobrist has increased his power output after a down 2014 in that department. He’s also rebounded nicely after getting out of the gate slowly and dealing with injuries. All told, Zobrist owns a .268/.354/.447 slash over 271 turns at bat on the year, with six home runs. Those figures land right at his career mark of .264/.354/.430, so Kansas City will feel comfortable that they are still likely to receive typically strong work at the plate.
There are some additional concerns on the defensive side of the ledger, however. Zobrist has shuttled between the corner outfield and infield this year, as usual, but has been rated as a negative contributor in both positions by advanced metrics. But the Royals will surely feel comfortable utilizing him in either role the rest of the way, based upon his past record as a highly-regarded fielder.
Kansas City has certainly paid a considerable price to add Zobrist, after doing the same to bring in Cueto. Manaea came into the year rated the club’s third overall prospect by Baseball America, just behind the since-dealt Brandon Finnegan, and landed on many top-100 lists. He’s generally shown well since his draft position fell owing to a hip injury, leading to surgery, which allowed K.C. to grab him with an above-slot deal. Manaea earned a promotion to Double-A this season, but has struggled in two outings at that level. All said, he’s missed some time and thrown 31 2/3 total minor league frames on the year, posting a 3.69 ERA with 11.1 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9. There’s plenty of upside to dream on, but he’ll have a lot to show in Oakland.
Brooks, meanwhile, is a 25-year-old righty who has seen brief MLB action in each of the last two seasons. He’s spent most of his time in those campaigns at Triple-A, however, posting a cumulative 3.81 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 over 245 2/3 innings. Brooks seems like more of a depth add than the more variable, headlining Manaea.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brixton
They were the AL favorites before Cueto, now Zobrist? Look out AL.
Bob Bunker
They are definitely looking great but so were the A’s last year. Also, I still am taking the NL team against the Royals
foreverroyal1
You DO remember the AL just won the All-Star Game, right ??
pitodanford76
Yanks can beat them especially if they throw guthrie in that series
Brixton
That would be a heck of a bullpen series.
Royals can’t beat a team with their bullpen alone if the Yankees are (almost) just as good.
foreverroyal1
Don’t make me laugh! NYY doesn’t have any starting pitcher that’s worth his salt.
AsFan89
For Kelvin Herrera just to see him and Lawrie on the same team 🙂
Justin Case
Woah.
clutchcutch22
Royals at it again!! Solid pick-up!
piratesoutfield62225
when are we gonna get some help?
coleham
You can take Richard back. We put him on waivers.
yanks1990
Teams overrated him a lot.
Brixton
Versatile, .800 OPS, and hit anywhere in the lineup? Not even mentioning his history of WAR. Not really overrated. Up until this past offseason, he was arguably the most underrated player in the game.
Mark 21
He is overrated this year for sure.
petcopadre
I agree. His closest comparison is Aaron Boone. meh. NO big deal
pitnick
Similarity scores are fun to look at, but they don’t mean much. Clayton Kershaw’s top match, for example, is Babe Ruth. I wouldn’t bet on their careers following similar paths.
billbrasky
Top 10 in WAR the last 3 years. If anything, getting him now is buying low (i.e. when he is being *underrated*).
Joseph Anderson
It’s not buying low since he’s just a rental for half a season. Had he had another year on his contract, then yes, they got him for a pretty good price.
Ken M.
Yanks are better off with Refsnyder taking over 2nd.
bruinsfan94 2
Not really. Refsnyder is not gonna be anything special.
yanks1990
And how do you know this? Can you tell me the lotto numbers considering you can tell the future. Thanks.
bruinsfan94 2
No but up until this point he has done nothing to show that he will be an average ball player. Before the season, Sean Coyle was a more highlly rated second base prospect.
jjs91
“Sean Coyle was a more highlly rated second base prospect.”
Not really but okay…
Kiley’s top 200 ref is on it coyle is not. Ref also made the top 20 list for his minor league level last year.
billbrasky
Interesting. Both of the above commenters made equally bold, unkowable predictions, but you only questioned the one predicting something that doesn’t favor the Yankees.
Hentai King
What happened to all the “top’ Catching prospects the yankees had? oh yeah…
jacobywankenobi 2
They still have 2 of them, the other one is now Michael Pineda.
Ken M.
Don’t hate.
pitodanford76
Usually those pinstripes make an average player an allstar quickly.
slider32
I like Refsnyder but he is a defensive liability, not major league caliber.
mookiessnarl
Refsnyder has yet to be anything special. Zobrist is a solid player who can play multiple positions. Saying Refsynder is a better option has no basis in anything we’ve seen so far. He may very well be, but there’s no way anyone can know that for sure.
yanks1990
Coming from a Red Sox fan who over value all their prospects.
mookiessnarl
Not sure what that has to do with comparing a solid ML player with a guy who has two hits at the ML level.
bruinsfan94 2
That is an unfounded myth. Every teams prospects mostly fail. The Red Sox have had a couple high profile misses the last couple years ( Middlebrooks, Bradey) but they have also had some success ( Betts, Bogarts, Erod). Not one prospect source is high on Refsynder. The yanks are just thin on 2nd. If he was on the Red Sox he would be behind Sean Coyle.
jjs91
If he was on the Red Sox he would be behind Sean Coyle.
You keep saying that but provide zero evidence for that being true.
billbrasky
Pretty sure every fan overvalues their own prospects by default, but doesn’t his team currently have two of the top young players in the game?
yanks1990
Funny the amount of people disliking your comment because you’d prefer to stick with a home grown player hen giving up prospects for a rental.
billbrasky
Or because it suggests Refsnyder could compare favorably to one of the more valuable veterans in baseball.
slider32
Yanks look to be focusing on Prado and Hamels, if they land both they will be tough to beat.
Bronx Bombers
Yankees aren’t going for Prado.
schaddy24
*Hits refresh*
*Jaw drops*
Nobody is going to want to face them in the playoffs. This team is stacked.
clutchcutch22
Okay okay now. They still need another starter with Vargas out and Ventura sucking badly.
schaddy24
True, but they are poised very well for the stretch run. I’m not a Royals fan, but I appreciate what they are doing.
willm
Just yesterday they talked about dropping Young or Guthrie from the rotation… they might be solid on SP’s now
billbrasky
Ventura looked fine last night.
yanks1990
Lol. Ben zobrist doesn’t make them that much better.
bruinsfan94 2
They were good before Cueto and Zobrist. I could see them adding a guy like Leake too before the deadline.
schaddy24
It’s not like he’s a superstar, but having a guy who can play everywhere and get on base can really help a team. Guys like Zobrist help teams get to the next level. Just to note, I’m not a Royals fan so this isn’t “homer” talk.
Mark 21
I was gonna say the same thing. He is a good versatile player but he is not putting up elite numbers and I dont think he will in KC either. What the asking price was I am very happy the Yankees did not make a run for him. Is he better then Drew? Sure he is. Would I like to have him on our team? Sure I would. Will I be happy they decided to keep there prospects? You darn right I am. I do not think this puts KC over the top.
daveugber
draft picks aren’t just for development… they also mature into prospects who hold value for their return… picking up a swich-hitting utility player with 105 total bases in 67 games is a phenomenal improvement on the one-dimensional infante… anyone who questions trading minor-league ‘maybes’ (finnegan and lamb are the real deal) for a guy like zorbrist don’t understand this club’s approach to the game… the royals don’t need huge improvemnt (22 games over .500 with two qualified starting pitchers and two 24/25 year-old STUDS who are starting to figure it out this year… i’d say that bringing in zorbrist and his .800OPS and switch-hitting for more power than infante offers from the right side while also giving ned yost a second leftie in the outfield to run into the lineup, how could a person honestly say the zorbrist deal isn’t a good one heading into a high-pressure situation, ‘need that hit now’ advantage ben zorbist holds over infante (even as a pinch-hitter or double-switch (+2 – OF/IF) candidate is tremendous and HUGE for the team potentially heading to a national league ball park for at least two games…
i think the royals are poised to make the run…
Dock_Elvis
Immediate upgrade over Infante at 2B if nothing else
Rezonator
Stacked now, but with a completely decimated farm system.
foreverroyal1
You wish. Sorry not the case. Royals are still stocked.
mdbaseball05
Wow KC. They are definitely going for it all.
dacubs44
Ahhh shucks wonder if the cubs will make any moves….
coleham
Hoping they trade Castro for a bucket of baseballs.
A'sfaninUK
Manaea and Mondesi are both A-ball prospects….just sayin
cookiemonster
mondesi has been in double a like all season. super young for level. he wont be in the deal. more likely zimmer or maneaa as headliner
stl_cards16 2
But only one is a pitcher.
A'sfaninUK
I’m battin .500 today!!
mrnatewalter
In other news, Zobrist voted into the All-Star Game…
daveugber
royals fan here…that is such a great post…thank you…hahaha
Los Calcetines Rojos
good god royals! Making every team look weak right now
Carlos760
Billy trade sonny gray to the dodgers for a lifetime of free sodas lol.. Seems like the royals are the team to beat in both leagues now, not only just in the AL.
AsFan89
I’d be down for this trade, assuming the Dodgers sent back both of the players they have no interest in trading.
Carlos760
You ever seen moneyball ? . I think one of those two are worth gray.
Ray Ray
Seeing Moneyball does not make you a good baseball GM anymore than seeing Jurassic World makes you a good dinosaur wrangler. Moneyball was BASED on a true story it is not a 100% true story. And even if it was 100% true, that doesn’t make it 100% effective.
Dock_Elvis
My eyes cross when I see the term Moneyball.
AsFan89
There isn’t a single prospect not currently in the MLB that is worth Gray straight up.
coleham
Somewhere out there is another Mike Trout.
Lanidrac
Maybe in the AL, but I’d still take the Cardinals, Pirates, or Dodgers over them.
A'sfaninUK
Hyperbole review: If Manaea is in the deal Beane should go into the HOF.
cookiemonster
wouldnt shock me. him or zimmer as a headliner and someone with a high walk rate and k rate as the second piece.
A'sfaninUK
Manaea & Brooks is the deal = wowwwwwwww
daveugber
oakland got some really good farm kids for zorbrist…win/win for both clubs
joseconsuervo
he is…
bbatardo
Solid pickup for the Royals. Zobrist adds depth and fills in the gaps
Lefty_Orioles_Fan
Wow look at the Royals go!
Bob Smiley
alec Mills? Binford?
clutchcutch22
Miguel Almonte is one
cookiemonster
thats a good get alone for zobrist.
cookiemonster
Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks to a’s
raef715
if I’m a Red’s fan, I’m wondering how the Reds didnt get Manea in Cueto deal but Oakland got him for Zobrist.
wow, 13 runs in 2 2/3 major league innings for Brooks last year; don’t know if ive ever seen anything like that before.
cookiemonster
someone failed the physical, possibly was manaea.
Gambit1193
Rosenthal said Manaea is going to Oakland
Brixton
Seems like a steep price to pay for a rental
mrnatewalter
Does KC have any lefties remaining?
Meow Meow
That taste of the World Series last year made the Royals crazy thirsty, I guess. I assume his primary job will be replacing near-All Star Omar Infante?
Brixton
They understand that as a small market club, with Gordon,Hosmer, Moose and that bullpen on its way to FA in the next 1-3 years, their window is now, so why not go all in for the next year or 2?
Gautham Pawnday
I think a Royals fan would be more knowledgeable about it than me, but I think Zobrist would play in LF until Gordon returns. Afterwards, yeah probably mostly second.
cookiemonster
nah, zobrist will play second mainly, occasionly rotating with dyson and rios in left and right.
daveugber
…or start him in left, and when he gets a double or single, pinch-run with dyson and double-switch zorbrist to 2nd… holy guacamole!
A'sfaninUK
With Manaea, A’s move to top 5 farm systems in MLB as of right now. Beane just stacked the hell out of it. He just gave up 3 useless players (on his 2015 team) who were going to walk anyway, to go from 15-20 to top 5, and cleared plenty of money for next offseason to fill needs. This is why he gets all the hype.
billbrasky
That might be a little high, but he’s definitely done well in these trades.
Beane’s always been good at this part. But at some point, it’s got to translate into a run at a title. I say this as someone who thinks Beane is one of the top GMs in the game.
cookiemonster
yeah thats too high. maybe top 10, even that might be pushing it. everything they have is far away, other than back end starter types which they have a lot of.
lairdd
Nunez, Pinder, and Wendle aren’t far off.
Rezonator
Aaron Brooks and Sean Manaea for a rental of Zobrist? Holy overpay. Nice job, Beane.
cookiemonster
zobrist was one of the most valuable rental chips. brooks really seems like a beene guy. low walk rate, wont be a top end starter but could be serviceable back end guy.
Rezonator
Zobrist doesn’t seem THAT valuable to give up a first round pick LHP in Manaea.
cookiemonster
with a serious injury history. wouldnt surprise me if he was the one with the failed medical in the cueto deal.
piratesoutfield62225
Another player the Pirates were trying for is gone…
clutchcutch22
And?? Bucs will be fine. After the Ramirez trade I seriously doubt they will make any other trades for bats. JHay and Jordy will be back at the end of August so why create a jammed roster.
toddomatic
At that price, I’m glad they stayed away. Not sure where Zobrist was going to play with the Pirates anyway.
oaklandfan1
wow, the Royals are pretty dam good.
dempsey77
I was hoping that the Pirates would be able to acquire him before the deadline to help out the versatility of the lineup after the injuries to Harrison and Mercer, but now, seeing how much KC gave up to land him, I’m not that upset that we passed.
pitodanford76
If yanks face royals in playoffs, they would beat them.
oaklandfan1
Sad thing is the A’s through all these deals havent gotten a hitter yet
Kapler's Coconut Oil
No but they have the pitching prospects to trade for one
A'sfaninUK
Nottingham is basically Mike Napoli part 2.
Brixton
Don’t think anyone would complain if Nottingham has Mike Napoli’s career.
A'sfaninUK
I love Napoli, Nottingham looks like a sick pickup and many are saying he will be on 2016 top 100 lists. No idea why the 2 downvotes….
oaklandfan1
Forgot about Nottingham
gadfly
The farm has plenty of position player prospects: Barreto, Chapman, Olson, Ravelo, Pinder, Nottingham. It really lacked SP depth before this series of moves.
everlastingdave
Cueto and Zobrist are the exact right players to add to the Royals. Even as a White Sox fan, I have to give credit to Dayton Moore. This is what going for it looks like.
disturbedphenom
Its a definite win now mode. And if they dont win, going to be costly as both are free agents
rmullig2
Beane may have redeemed himself for the Donaldson trade with this one.
oaklandfan1
That Donaldson deal may turn out in our favor, just watch. Franklin Barreto is the key player to watch.
cookiemonster
i always liked it. donaldson happened to break out in a better hitting enviroment but in a year barreto very well likely may be a top 25 prospect and a huge trade chip. him and gleybar torres are in the same mold for me.
Ray Ray
It’s weird that the price for Zobrist is arguably higher than the price for Cueto. I guess in modern baseball versatile players are more highly sought than aces. Either that or Cincinnati’s GM is a boob.
Kapler's Coconut Oil
I think right now it’s mostly due to the fact that this is a hitter’s market to rule.
aarons
Not sure which is worse, the fact that we gave up so much for a rental player or gave up so much for Zobrist.
billbrasky
I don’t really like the Royals myself, but I’m happy for their fans. Nice to see a team going for it!
jaytrang1982
And the mets didn’t have attractive prospects to intrest Billy Beans I’m offended
Brixton
Mets might not wanted to pay that big of a price. This was a massive overpay by a team that needs to win now. Manaea is a really good prospect that’ll end up in the top 100 for the 2nd straight year next season.
Might of took Nimmo+ to get a deal done.
A'sfaninUK
Would have taken Matz or Conforto TBH.
jaytrang1982
Not for a rental lol
cookiemonster
most defintely would have been nimmo plus. he has kind of been stalliing out as a prospect.
jaytrang1982
Mets are ranked top 5 farm system in mlb and they haven’t traded anyone in AAA. Mets have weapons to trade for someone better than Zobrist and nor even consider trading for a rental.
A'sfaninUK
No, they are not a top 5 farm system anymore now Matz & Conforto are in the bigs.
voiceofreason 2
Great return for Oakland. Getting a new top prospect. Probably their best trade so far this year.
twins33
Cueto and Zobrist are good/great adds for the Royals (not sarcasm).
I do hope they continue to sell the whole farm, especially for more rentals.
Mark 21
I dont get why teams want to give up value for this guy. He is not going to get a qualifying offer at years end so he is not worth a supplemental draft pick. He is a negative contributor by advanced metrics according to the article and he is not a elite batter this year. How many wins do you think he will get you going forward for the rest of the year? I dont see him being a 1 war player but maybe he will. I am glad the Yankees didnt give up value for him as a rental. I wish the Royals the best of luck tho. I do like them also and wanted them to win last year.
mrnatewalter
Question: Is Zobrist likely to contribute more than Omar Infante? If yes, he is already an improvement.
therealryan
Ben Zobrist has a 125 wRC+ this year which is good for 38th in all of MLB. It’s equal or better than Bryant, Braun, Bruce, Adam Jones, Cespedes, Carpenter and Tulo to name a few. He also has not been a negative contributor, even with his very abnormal, poorly ranked D this season. He is a switch hitter, who can play 7 positions and has excellent on base skills. His versatility combined with production is extremely valuable to any team in MLB and instantly makes the Royals much better.
jacobywankenobi 2
Wow, at that price I’m glad NY passed. Good for KC for making moves though, good team.
yarritsblake
Dang! Quite the haul for the Royals. Shame that they gave up Manaea for him, but they got an excellent all-around player in return. This definitely cements them as AL favorites.
80want
As an A’s fan, I’d like to see the A’s get out from under the Billy Butler 3-yr/$30M contract as well. Since the Royals are in go-for-it mode, maybe Beane can convince Dayton Moore to get the band back together and trade for Butler as well. Could be a useful PH/DH piece and stop-gap in left while Gordon rehabs. Whatchathink?
slasher016
Maybe I’m missing something (probably), but Brooks seems like an average prospect at best (1.29 career minor league WHIP), with average strikeout stuff and is already 25. I understand Manaea is the headliner of the deal with big upside (10.9 k/9 ip) in the minors, but he’s not exactly knocking down the door of the majors. Why are people calling this an overpay by the Royals? I don’t see it at all. The Reds got a much better package.
cookiemonster
fastball sits 91-95 topping out at 97 from the left side. along with 2 above average with potential for plus secondaries. he has had injury problems, arm soreness, hip surgery and abdominal strain most recently but great stuff.
mwk89
With that return, the Red Sox should be marketing Holt. While he doesn’t have the track record, does come with control
cxcx
Like to see Mondesi et al. for Price (and cash I guess.)
sunshipballoons
Zobrist really hasn’t moved between 2B and LF for “most of his career.” He’s moved between SS, 2B and RF for most of his career. Nearly half of his career starts in LF have been this season. Good fit, though.
btuck2
Might as well trade the whole minors system
selw0nk
Now trade Josh Reddick, Jesse Chavez and Stephen Vogt.
dazedatnoon
Vogt can come to the White Sox 🙂
therealryan
What kind of package are you expecting back for Reddick?
foreverroyal1
Yeh baby…..go boys in blue!!
Joseph Anderson
I think what most people are forgetting is the Royals haven’t been in this position in a LONG LONG time. While it seems like they’re selling the farm to “be all in”, they’re doing what most other teams do around this time. We’re use to selling off a relatively big name to get prospects in return and now the tables have turned and we’re in the position of needing that big name to come in and help us to the playoffs. Sure, we gave up a lot but strategically, it makes sense. I was sad to see Finnegan, Lamb and Manaea go but gotta give something up to get something in return. I’d much rather see Zobrist at 2nd than Omar. I wish we could find someone that wants him despite the great play from the other day. He’s not worth what he’s getting paid….