The latest rumblings around the New York Yankees indicate that the team will be all-in in hopes of finding a versatile infield bat this offseason. None of the pending free agents come more versatile or well-regarded than Kansas City Royals utility man extraordinaire Ben Zobrist.
Several sources familiar with the Yankees front office's thinking have posited Zobrist as a likely target as the winter progresses. New York Daily News writer John Harper believes the Yanks will be a front-runner for his services once free-agent season officially begins on Saturday.
Harper wrote on Friday that Zobrist is "a great fit for the Yankees. Zobrist hit .329 with a .926 OPS against lefthanded pitching, which was a major weakness for the Yankees late in the season. They’ll overpay to shorten the length of the deal: three years, $51 million."
Andrew Marchand of ESPN agrees with Harper: "If the Yankees had Zobrist on their 2015 team, would they have beaten out the Blue Jays in the AL East? No, but it would have been much closer. To close the gap, the Yankees must improve, and this is a guy who can help them do so."
Zobrist will be highly coveted, so there's no guarantee that New York will be able to convince him to come to the Bronx. They'll likely have to contend with Kansas City who may very well have the edge of a home-standing discount. The 35-year-old told reporters recently that he'd like to return to the 2015 World Series champs.
Zobrist slashed .276/.359/.450 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI during the 2015 regular season. He added four home runs and nine RBI during the team's 16-game run to the title.
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