Chicago Cubs: Former utility man Ben Zobrist is all but retired
Former Chicago Cubs World Series MVP Ben Zobrist is a free agent and is all but retired as we are a week away from Spring Training and he remains unsigned.
The writing has been on the wall for some time, but former Chicago Cubs utility man Ben Zobrist is all but retired. The reason he is all but retired is there has not been any official announcement, but we have also heard that he has no plans to play this season.
You will remember Zobrist for back-to-back World Series titles in 2015 with the Kansas City Royals and in 2016 with the Cubs. If it is indeed the end for him, he had a great career. Here are some of his career numbers.
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He played 14 seasons, 9 seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, 4 with the Cubs and 1 each with the Oakland Athletics and the Royals. His career slash line is .266/.357/.426 with 167 home runs, 768 RBI’s and 116 stolen bases.
He was a three-time All-Star and was the 2016 World Series MVP when the Cubs finally ended their championship drought. Even more telling for Zobrist was his slash line in three World Series he participated in. He went .293/.369/.431 and drew 7 walks.
Unfortunately, last season was pretty much a lost cause as he was away from the team for four months in the middle of the season while he sorted out his relationship with his wife as they had both filed for divorce.
He did come back at the end of the season but only appeared in 47 games on the last year of his contract. Unless he has secretly been working out and staying in baseball shape, I really doubt he would come back this season, even if a team has a lucrative offer to try to help make a playoff push.
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As I mentioned, if this is the end, Ben Zobrist will be remembered as the guy who helped the Chicago Cubs end their World Series curse.