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Ben Zobrist

Bay Area Notes: Giants, A’s, Zobrist, Petit, Gray

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Here’s the latest from both Bay Area teams…

  • The Giants appear to be one of three finalists for Ben Zobrist’s services but they may be at a disadvantage on two fronts, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News writes.  The Mets and Nationals are located closer to Zobrist’s home in Tennessee, and they have openings at Zobrist’s preferred position of second base.  With Joe Panik already locked into the keystone, the Giants were looking at Zobrist as a left fielder.
  • Also from Baggarly’s piece, he notes that while the Giants were indeed interested in Joakim Soria, they were far from a “finalist” for his services.  The bullpen is not an area of major concern for San Francisco and they were simply doing due diligence on Soria due to good evaluations.  Soria ended up agreeing to a deal with the Royals yesterday.
  • Giants GM Bobby Evans told reporters (including Baggarly) that the team wasn’t ruling out bringing Yusmeiro Petit or Hector Sanchez back after the two were non-tendered last week.  Petit’s non-tender was a bit of a surprise given his very solid work in three seasons as a swingman with the Giants, but Evans explained that “there could be a scenario where we sign a second starter and that could move Chris Heston into a long man role. We don’t know that yet. So to tender Yusmeiro at that point would have been predetermining who our long man is and we weren’t quite ready to do that.”
  • The Athletics need to move fast if they intend to sign Sonny Gray to an extension, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  This winter may be the last chance the A’s have to lock Gray up beyond their remaining four years of control while his price tag is still manageable.  That said, “manageable” will still be a huge commitment for the low-payroll Athletics, though trading him or letting him walk in free agency would also come at a cost to the team’s hopes to contend.  Extending Gray is “the most important thing they could possibly do if they’re in it to win it,” an AL scout tells Slusser. “If you’re building for the long run, that’s what they have to do. You’ve got to try to develop and keep top-end starters, and if you can’t develop it, you have to hit a home run in a trade. At his age? Yeah, you need to sign Sonny Gray through at least two years of free agency, maybe even three.”  Oakland management has reiterated several times over that it has no plans to trade Gray, despite interest from several teams.
  • From Gray’s perspective, he tells Slusser that he “wouldn’t mind staying in Oakland a long time….I’ve talked about it with my agent, and I’d definitely be comfortable staying there. And if I don’t, there’s nothing wrong with that, either. If I get to the point where I’m in that position, it’s kind of a win-win situation.”
  • The A’s didn’t have much interest in Trevor Cahill before he signed with the Cubs, CSNBayArea.com’s Joe Stiglich reports.

East Notes: Encarnacion, Nationals, Rollins, Cabrera, Braves, Howard, Giles

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Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion will not entertain extension talks into the regular season, WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford reports. If a new deal isn’t worked out, of course, Encarnacion would stand to reach free agency after the 2016 season, where Bradford says he could draw interest from Boston. Toronto executive Tony LaCava said today that he’s not been informed of that stance by Encarnacion’s camp, but would respect the request if it’s made, per MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm (via Twitter). LaCava also said “it’s possible” that the Jays could reach new deals with both Encarnacion and fellow power bat Jose Bautista, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently explained in breaking down the extension candidacy of Bautista, however, it’s worth wondering whether the team will be willing and able to commit to both players.

Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:

  • If the Nationals can’t draw Ben Zobrist to D.C., the club could consider Jimmy Rollins as a lower-cost bridge to prospect Trea Turner at short, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. In his comments today, GM Mike Rizzo said that he doesn’t feel compelled to add at the shortstop position, whether or not Zobrist is brought on board to play second. “I have a comfort level that if today were opening day, we have a shortstop on the roster and feel good about it,” said Rizzo, via Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
  • The Nationals’ head baseball executive also noted that there’s been some interest in veteran Yunel Escobar, who could factor at short or elsewhere in the infield if he’s not dealt. “There’s been several teams that have inquired about Escobar,” Rizzo said. “He’s a versatile player that’s a good hitter and a really good big-league player, so there have been several teams that have interest in him.” Escobar could be expendable if an
  • The Yankees have at least some level of interest in infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. It’s unclear as of yet how much cash New York will dedicate to free agency, but Cabrera could be an option at second for the club, per Morosi.
  • While the Braves are interested in signing a center fielder, the club isn’t keen on giving up a draft choice to get Dexter Fowler and could find Austin Jackson too expensive, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). Atlanta could instead pursue the trade route, with a fallback of platooning Michael Bourn with a cheaper free agent in the mold of Drew Stubbs.
  • New Phillies GM Matt Klentak sat down recently with first baseman Ryan Howard and his agent to discuss his role with the organization, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports. “Everybody was very honest with each other, and he seemed genuinely excited and energized looking forward to next year,” said Klentak. “If Ryan Howard is performing, Ryan Howard is going to play,” Klentak went on to say. “If he’s not, he’ll play less. And that’s not specific to Ryan, that’s true to everyone on our club and probably just about everyone in baseball.”
  • Klentak also acknowledged that the Phillies are drawing plenty of interest in closer Ken Giles, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports. Philadelphia is “taking it day by day” in assessing whether to move Giles, but doesn’t — and, in my view, shouldn’t — feel any pressure to force a move. “I don’t know how much I really want to say about that, but, yeah, there’s a lot of interest in him because he’s good, and because he’s young and because he’s cheap,” said Klentak. “We’ll see. I don’t know how that’s going to shake out, [but] if he’s with us we’ll be very happy he’s still with us.”

Zobrist Hopes To Decide This Week; “Focused On” Mets, Nats, Giants

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Few free agents have generated as much buzz as Ben Zobrist this offseason, and yesterday’s news suggests he could be close to a decision about his new team.  Here’s the latest…

  • A decision is expected within the next 48 hours, Morosi tweets.
  • It “appears” that Zobrist would prefer to be installed at second base, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. That would appear to suggest that Washington and New York present better fits than do the Giants.
  • Zobrist has expressed interest in holding down a somewhat regular job at one position, Mets AGM John Ricco told reporters, including Marc Carig of Newsday (via Twitter). New York could plug him in as the more-or-less everyday second baseman, of course. The club met with his agents again today in what could be the final meeting between the sides, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo also noted in his media session that he’d see Zobrist mostly as a second baseman in Washington, as Mark Zuckerman of CSNmidatlantic tweets. Rizzo did add that he also likes that Zobrist could contribute in the outfield and “spoke glowingly” of the free agent.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Zobrist would like to make a decision by the time the Winter Meetings conclude on Thursday. Zobrist is currently focused on the Mets, Nationals and Giants, according to Rosenthal, who says it’d be difficult at this point for the Dodgers to pry him away from one of those clubs.

Earlier Updates

  • The Dodgers are the mystery fourth team in the Zobrist race, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman tweets.  Los Angeles joins the Mets, Nationals and Giants as the teams who are apparently the deepest in pursuit of the veteran.  All parties seem to understand it will require a four-year contract to land Zobrist at this point.  Despite Zobrist’s versatility, there isn’t as obvious a position for him in L.A. as the other cities, Heyman notes, especially since Chase Utley just re-signed with the club to join the second base mix.  Then again, Andrew Friedman knows all about how to creatively deploy Zobrist from their days together in Tampa Bay.
  • The Braves were a somewhat surprising bidder for Zobrist’s services, though David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution outlines why the team feels the 34-year-old is a fit for a seemingly rebuilding club.  Firstly, the Braves don’t intend to be in a rebuild stage for long, as they’re still targeting 2017 (and the opening of their new ballpark) for a return to contention.  Moving Shelby Miller for a package of players could address enough needs that it would free up payroll room to ink Zobrist, possibly on a backloaded contract.  While the Braves aren’t as close to contending as Zobrist’s other suitors, O’Brien points out that Atlanta is within four hours of Zobrist’s home in Tennessee.

Mets Willing To Give Ben Zobrist Four-Year Deal; Others Still In Mix

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10:13pm: Zobrist’s priority is to play for a winning club, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, leaving the Braves “behind” in the race.

Meanwhile, Mets assistant GM John Ricco acknowledged today that the club has serious interest, as ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. “We’ve had conversations with his guys,” said Ricco of Zobrist, “and we’ll definitely be meeting with them [at the Winter Meetings].” He added: “It’s pretty obvious we think he’s a fit.”

New York expects a decision to be made in the coming days, though it hasn’t apparently been given any such assurances by Zobrist’s camp. The club is “not sure … which direction [it] would go” if Zobrist heads elsewhere, Ricco said. He notes that the Mets haven’t ruled out Daniel Murphy and acknowledged that the team has “touched base” with “all of the free agents,” including middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, who Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reported (Twitter link) could be an option.

7:57pm: More than one team is willing to guarantee four seasons in a contract with free agent super-utilityman Ben Zobrist, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The Mets are one such club, per the report, which indicates that there are others as well.

Other teams in the mix include the Mets, Nationals, Giants, and a “mystery team,” Heyman says. Earlier today, Marc Carig of Newsday reported (Twitter links) that six clubs remained involved with Zobrist to some extent.

Zobrist wrapped up his on-site visits with a trip to the Giants’ AT&T Park today, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes has learned. And the hotly-pursued veteran appears to be lined up for a decision in the coming days, as Carig adds.

But that doesn’t mean he’s done with meetings. Indeed, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweeted earlier today that Zobrist would meet with representatives of the Nationals at the Winter Meetings — which are being held in his home town of Nashville. And it stands to reason that he’ll have cause to chat with other organizations as well.

Reactions To Jeff Samardzija Signing

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Here’s a roundup of the news and reactions related to the Giants’ signing of Jeff Samardzija…

  • The Giants ownership group “was ecstatic” with GM Bobby Evans’ preparation, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. After the club missed out on Zack Greinke, they were ready to quickly pull the trigger on Samardzija. While he’s a big step down from Greinke, Samardzija comes with plenty of upside. He’ll also allow the club to pursue either another starting pitcher or a serious outfield upgrade like Yoenis Cespedes or Justin Upton.
  • Samardzija selected the Giants over the Cardinals and Dodgers, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. As has often been reported, the Cardinals are looking for depth to replace Lance Lynn who will miss 2016 after Tommy John surgery. The Dodgers are exploring the market for virtually any quality pitcher.
  • The Cubs backed off Samardzija due to the five-year term, tweets Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com. His former club met the $18MM annual value paid by the Giants, but were uncomfortable with such a lengthy deal. In my opinion, the John Lackey signing sufficiently meets the club’s current needs. If Chicago decides to upgrade for a playoff run, they can cash in one of their many prospects.
  • Meanwhile, the Yankees were never involved in the bidding, tweets Joel Sherman of the NY Post. New York is focused on the trade market for pitchers with zero to three years of service time. This news indicates a continuation of the Yankees’ youth movement.
  • Samardzija projects to be comparable to Jordan Zimmermann, writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs. Given that Zimmermann signed for an average of $4MM more per season, the Giants received solid value relative to the market. Samardzija is a challenging pitcher to project, leading to a wide range of conceivable outcomes.
  • In talking about the deal, Evans praised Samardzija’s durability, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Evans believes mechanical adjustments could lead to a rebound 2016 season. He also suggests that working with Buster Posey this season will help Samardzija’s numbers. While he doesn’t specifically mention it, AT&T Park is the most pitcher friendly stadium in the majors. Undoubtedly, Samardzija will also benefit from his new home field.
  • Ben Zobrist, who the club can now afford after not inking Greinke, is scheduled to visit Giants officials soon, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Evans commented on the flexibility offered by saying, “smaller deals give you potential for larger moves, and larger moves could limit the number of choices you may have and cause a ripple effect with the need to stay with smaller deals.“

Latest On Ben Zobrist

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The Mets are maintaining strong interest in Ben Zobrist, and assistant GM John Ricco told reporters as much today (as ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets), plainly stating, “We’re very interested” when asked about Zobrist, adding that a decision is expected sooner rather than later. Rubin adds that Zobrist recently visited with the Mets, who spent some time showing him around the Connecticut suburbs and the Westcheseter area with his wife and newborn son in an effort to “demonstrate there is grass in the New York City area for families” (Twitter link). Sandy Alderson was present for an entire day of recruiting, per Rubin.

It would appear that meeting is one of four such meetings that Zobrist has planned, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Rosenthal says that the Giants are “likely” another one of the planned visits, and he also tweets that Zobrist already met with the Braves. The Nationals, too, are a club of interest, Rosenthal adds, although it’s not yet clear if he’ll be visiting the Nats in this manner.

The main roadblock for the Mets in previous Zobrist rumors has been that the team doesn’t want to go to a fourth year for Zobrist, who will play next season at age 35. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan recently pegged the asking price for Zobrist at about $60MM over four years, so it’s certainly possible that a fourth year will ultimately be required if the Mets want to land Zobrist.

Newsday’s Marc Carig reported today, though (links to Twitter), that a fourth year isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker for the Mets. The team hasn’t drawn a hard line when it comes to length of contract and is prepared to offer a fourth year if that’s what it takes to acquire him. The Mets are being “very aggressive” with Zobrist and can accept the risk of a fourth year, per Carig, who adds that Zobrist left the club with the impression that he has narrowed his choices. For what it’s worth — I’ll point out that initial reports two years ago indicated that the Mets didn’t want to go to a fourth year on Curtis Granderson, either, and Granderson ultimately wound up signing for the exact four-year, $60MM figure Passan mentioned in connection to Zobrist.

Padres, Angels, Dodgers Showing Most Interest In Utley

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The Padres, Angels and Dodgers are showing the most interest in second baseman Chase Utley, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark. Utley has told friends that his preference is to play in his native California, Stark hears, adding that the Los Angeles area native now resides in northern California but still has family in the southern portion of the state.

Some believe that the Padres’ interest could be a precursor to a trade of some kind, Stark writes, as the team has internal second base options in the form of Jedd Gyorko and Jose Pirela. (Additionally, I’d list Cory Spangenberg, Yangervis Solarte and recently acquired Carlos Asuaje in that mix.) Given the depth of options the Padres have at second, the Utley connection is perhaps a bit surprising, but Stark nonetheless characterizes the team’s interest as “strong.”

The Angels, he notes, could look to use Utley both at second base and designated hitter next season depending on matchups. Johnny Giavotella manned second for most of the 2015 season in Anaheim while batting .272/.318/.375 and delivering suspect defense. Of course, Utley himself is coming off a mere .212/.286/.343 batting line between the Phillies and Dodgers. And, at 37 (later this month), it might not be wise to count on plus defense from the veteran, though metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved pegged him as only slightly below average and much preferred his work to that of the younger Giavotella.

Stark writes that the Dodgers could use Utley as a short-term stopgap to prospect Jose Peraza — a former Top 100 prospect with the Braves that debuted with the Dodgers in 2015 but received just 25 plate appearances in the Majors. Peraza has considerable speed, but his combined .293/.316/.378 line between the Triple-A affiliates for L.A. and Atlanta wasn’t as impressive as his work at the lower levels in the minors. Then again, he’s also still just 21 years of age, making him significantly younger than the bulk of his competition in Triple-A.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Dodgers have more interest in Utley than they do in Ben Zobrist, which would seem to mesh with the notion that a short-term bridge to Peraza is the preferred route for the team. An outside addition isn’t necessarily needed at all, thanks to the presence of Enrique Hernandez, although adding Utley in a stopgap capacity would allow the Dodgers to continue leveraging Hernandez’s versatility in somewhat of a super-utility capacity.

Free Agent Notes: Fowler, Zobrist, Leake, Venable, Relievers

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The Mets have some level of interest in Dexter Fowler as a center field option, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). However, Ben Zobrist remains the team’s top priority in free agency. Recent reports have indicated that the Mets won’t go to four years on Zobrist, and that will probably need to change in order to sign him, as Yahoo’s Jeff Passan said last night the price tag is currently believed to be around $60MM over four years. Should the Mets lose out on Zobrist, they could look to upgrade in center field, where Juan Lagares had a down season in 2015 — the first of a four-year contract extension. Lagares’ contract is affordable enough that he could be moved to a reserve role without it being an overpay.

A few more notes from around the free-agent market…

  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick delivers a slew of news pertaining to Zobrist (Twitter links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Per Crasnick, the Nationals, Giants and Dodgers are all in the mix for Zobrist as well. The Cubs and Cardinals like Zobrist but don’t have as many at-bats to offer as the other clubs. The Royals are probably priced out on Zobrist, and while the Angels inquired earlier this offseason, there’s been no recent discussion between the two sides. Additionally, Zobrist’s preference is to play for a contender, making the Braves a tough fit even though they do have some level of interest. Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press hears (Twitter link) that about 11 clubs are in the mix for Zobrist, to some extent, but the Twins aren’t among them (which is no surprise given their glut of outfielders and Brian Dozier’s presence at second base).
  • Crasnick hears the same that Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has recently suggested — that having fallen short on David Price, the Cardinals could turn their attention to Mike Leake on the free agent market. Leake won’t cost near the same amount that the Cardinals were willing to go on Price, but he’d be a strong option to replace the injured Lance Lynn in their rotation in 2016 and would provide value for another four years or so beyond that point.
  • Also from Crasnick, both the Indians and Orioles have expressed interest in free-agent outfielder Will Venable. While the 32-year-old Venable is coming off a down season split between San Diego and Texas, he has historically been a productive bat for the Friars and has posted solid numbers away from the spacious Petco Park over the life of his career. Venable is also capable of playing all three outfield positions.
  • A pair of notes on relievers: Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald hears that the Red Sox are no longer in the market for right-hander Joakim Soria (Twitter link). Having spent an enormous amount in terms of dollars and prospects to acquire Price and Craig Kimbrel, it’s perhaps logical that the Sox wouldn’t spend so heavily. Additionally, Crasnick spoke to an agent who said that the Blue Jays are looking for an impact (Twitter link), power arm for their bullpen but are trying to land such a piece for “dollar store prices,” suggesting that the team isn’t keen on shelling out a significant multi-year deal.

Latest On Ben Zobrist’s Asking Price

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Ben Zobrist’s projected price tag “keeps going up,” tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, who hears from clubs involved in his market that the demand for his services has the price sitting at four years and $60MM currently. That price could still rise, says Passan. That he says the current price tag is about $60MM over four years would indicate that no club has approached that level just yet, although given the sheer number volume of teams that Zobrist could help, it’s easy to see how competition could push his eventual contract beyond that level.

The 34-year-old Zobrist has been one of the most in-demand free agents on this year’s market, with early reports connecting him to the Mets, Nationals, Braves, Cubs, Giants, Cardinals and Royals, among others. Zobrist’s preference is reportedly to play second base, although I’d wager that if the clear highest bidder is interested in him primarily as a corner outfielder, that won’t stand in the way of his signing. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal recently reported that the Mets consider Zobrist their No. 1 priority, and that same report indicated that the Royals probably won’t meet his ultimate asking price. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin added this week that while the Mets may consider Zobrist their top priority, a four-year commitment from them isn’t likely.

Zobrist is coming off a strong season at the plate that was split between the Athletics and Royals. The switch-hitter batted .276/.359/.450 despite all of his home games coming in pitcher-friendly environments. Defensive metrics were uncharacteristically harsh on Zobrist this season, though some of that could potentially stem from diminished range due to knee surgery in late April. Zobrist spent only about a month on the shelf due to that operation, and while it was minor in nature, it’s certainly conceivable that Zobrist’s lateral movements were slowed to some extent following the procedure.

Free Agent Notes: Davis, Heyward, Zobrist, Asdrubal, Young, Cotts

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Slugger Chris Davis is not the “top priority” for Cardinals GM John Mozeliak, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports on Twitter. A source tells Crasnick that St. Louis’s reported interest in the free agent is “overblown.” Of course, it remains tricky to find a perfect fit for the slugger, whose market still seems to be developing. From an analytical perspective, though, he appears to be a fairly solid match with the Cards. Indeed, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes picked the former Oriole to land there.

Here’s the latest from the rest of the free agent market:

  • Top free agent outfielder Jason Heyward looks more like a “secondary option” for the Cubs, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets. In other words, Chicago is pursuing other opportunities, but could pivot to chase Heyward if those other possibilities don’t come to fruition.
  • The Mets’ interest in Ben Zobrist is real, but that doesn’t mean the team will promise him four years to get a deal done, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. New York’s pursuit of Zobrist is part of a flexible offseason plan, writes Rubin, in which various types of additions could be considered at the second base position — and elsewhere — as the market dictates.
  • Three teams are “in the mix” for free agent middle infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. He’s expected to ink a deal “within the next week or so,” per Cotillo, which would seem to suggest that the veteran could find his next team by the time the Winter Meetings are wrapped up.
  • The Royals have had “encouraging talks” with free agent righty Chris Young about a return, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports. Both the 36-year-old and the team have expressed interest in a continued relationship, though it remains to be seen whether other clubs will make a push for his services — and, if so, whether Kansas City will be willing and able to meet or beat the market.
  • Similarly, the Twins have real interest in bringing back lefty reliever Neal Cotts, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports. Minnesota added Cotts in an August waiver trade. Fellow free agent southpaw Brian Duensing, meanwhile, tells Berardino that he hasn’t heard anything yet from the only professional organization he’s ever played for.
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