MLB Trade Deadline Retrospective: Royals Land Ben Zobrist
By Jason Burke
According to the picture above, this trade worked out alright for the Royals. In his time with the World Champions, Zobrist hit .284 during the regular season, which is about twenty points higher than his career average, and even got on base at a slightly higher clip at .364.
During the playoff run, Zobrist went 20-for-66 (.303), including batting .333 with a .381 OBP during the ALDS. Without that performance from Zobrist against Houston, the Royals may not have made it all the way to the top of the mountain. Zobrist was one of the toughest outs in the series along with Salvador Perez and Alex Rios, and that trio bought the club some time until the rest of the lineup got hot.
They all seemingly clicked at the same time–in the eighth inning of that ALDS–when it took until the eighth batter of the frame for an out to be recorded. The Royals would snatch the lead from the Astros with a five-run inning, and with it the momentum, and eventually the series.
Zobrist hit free agency last offseason and joined the world-beating Chicago Cubs on a four-year, $56 million deal. Through 91 games the 35-year-old utility-man has already matched last year’s home run total and has split his time between second base and both corner outfield spots. After the Cubs addition of Aroldis Chapman, Zobrist could be eyeing back-to-back World Series titles this October.
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