Ben Zobrist is not the player he once was, nor is the player he was most recently. Which is to say that even if we don’t see vintage Zobrist this season, he shouldn’t so closely resemble Nigel Tufnel’s stunt double. You know, since his wRC+ last June only went to 11.
It’d be easy to point to his advanced age as a cause for last year’s decreased production, but a nagging wrist injury suffered in late May on an awkward swing against the Dodgers’ Alex Wood is more to blame. Then again, the injury actually occurred on Zobrist’s 36th birthday, so perhaps there’s some merit to the age thing.