Kansas City Royals: Second Base Trade Market

Jul 19, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics second baseman Ben Zobrist (18) high five teammates after being batted in on a two run home run by designated hitter

Billy Butler

(not pictured) against the Minnesota Twins during the third inning at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Ok. We’ve beat this one to death. The Kansas City Royals have been rumored to be chasing Ben Zobrist since late June.

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The reason all the chattering keeps on going is that Zobrist is a perfect fit for the KC Royals needs. He’s a plus defender at pretty much every position except catcher. He’s patient at the plate. He’s got some pop. He can fill in for either of the Kansas City Royals perceived lineup shortcomings at second base and right field. Zobrist is a free-agent next season, so should be about as cheap as he can get.

Zobrist has swung a hot bat in the last two months, slashing .269/.384/.495 in June and .292/.366/.444 in July. For the season, Zobrist is hitting .268/.354/.457 with 20 doubles, 2 triples, and 6 home runs for an OPS+ (adjusted On Base Plus Slugging) of 122 (22% above league-average).

Heck, the guy can be a middle-of-the-order hitter in most lineups. Plus, he’s a switch hitter—so he’s good for your righty/lefty match-up balance.

The Kansas City Royals already splurged on the best pitching arm on the 2015 deadline market. So why should they settle for second cuts when it comes to utility players?

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