Ben Zobrist Traded to Royals: Fantasy Spin

By Matt Johnson on Tuesday, July 28th 2015
Ben Zobrist Traded to Royals: Fantasy Spin

On September 30,2014 the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals battled it out in the wild card game. The game rolled into extra innings before Salvador Perez's RBI single in the Bottom of the 11th inning changed the course of the two organizations.

The Royals went on to the World Series where they lost in seven games, but are back with a vengeance this season behind an American League leading 60-38 record. Meanwhile, the Athletics are in the midst of selling off their key players with a 44-36 record. Two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum as the trade deadline approaches and now they've come together to make a deal.

Kansas City was in the market for another hitter to add to its lineup and they struck a deal with the Athletics, sending prospects Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks to Oakland for Ben Zobrist, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal was first to break the news.

The 34-year-old Zobrist has had a down season since the Athletics traded prospect Daniel Robertson on January 10. In 67 games with the Athletics, Zobrist has a .268 average, .354 on-base percentage and 26/33 K/BB ratio. Zobrist is a solid hitter whose ability to draw walks and play left field, shortstop, third base and second base was a major attraction for contenders. 

Zobrist gives Kansas City the flexibility to play him in left field with Alex Gordon out for the foreseeable future with a Grade 2 groin strain or start at second, a position where Omar Infante's atrocious .244 on-base percentage, one home run and 0.5 dWAR leave plenty to be desired.

For the Athletics, it's another example of Billy Beane trading away an impending free agent and upgrading his farm system in return. The left-handed Manaea is the headliner here, the 34th overall pick in the 2013 Amateur Draft is just 23 years old with No.2 starter potential. He has played through an abdominal strain this season, which has hurt his overall numbers this year, so the tools and upside are the bigger picture. Manaea entered the season as FanGraphs' 37th-overall prospect and the Royals' fourth-best prospect by MLB.com.

The 25-year-old Brooks was a ninth-round pick in the 2011 Amateur Draft. There isn't much upside here with Brooks as the 25-year-old has put up a solid .388 ERA in Triple-A this season but doesn't have the pitches that miss many bats. His best role long-term could be as a long-reiever or emergency starter for the A's whenever they need someone to fill a temporary spot in the rotation.

Fantasy Spin

Zobrist could get a slight fantasy boost if the Royals put him near the top of the lineup. Oakland had a nice group together, but their should be more security for Zobrist in the lineup with Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales behind him. Overall, Zobrist should likely see the slight boost with a little more help around him but also because his .277 batting average on balls in play should rise back up near the .300 levels he had in Tampa Bay. 

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