According to Peter Gammons, the Giants and the Rays are close to an agreement that would send 2B Ben Zobrist to the Giants. The teams haven’t made public who exactly has been made available and potential names haven’t been leaked, but Zobrist does seem to be the heart of the trade. In all likelihood, the Giants would utilize Zobrist’s ability to play other positions and have him play left field since the team recently acquired 3B Casey McGehee, and they want to keep rookie 2B Joe Panik at second. The Giants have a need to improve the offense of their outfield since, as it stands, Gregor Blanco will be the opening day LF and his career .257/.344/.344 slash line. To be fair, Blanco is known for his glove not his bat, so the low power isn’t surprising.
Ben Zobrist has been the poster child for UTIL players since the Rays acquired him from the Astros back in 2006. Since then, he has played every position on the diamond except for pitcher and catcher. Zobrist became a household name in 2009 when he posted an astounding WAR of 8.5, ending the season with a .297/.405/.543 slash line, an OPS of .948, an ISO of .246, and 27 homeruns. Since that time, he’s come down to earth and posted more human numbers, averaging a slash line of .269/.357/.418, an OPS of .775, and a ISO of .154. All of which are very strong numbers for a 2B, SS, OF, 1B, 3B.
Zobrist also brings strong defense to the Giants, having a career .987 fielding percentage as a second baseman, his natural position, and a fielding percentage of 1.000 in LF but with only 309 innings of experience. His career defensive runs saved (or DRS) is currently sitting at 50 for second base, which is a very strong number for a high volume position. His UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) is a very robust 33.1 in layman’s terms it’s a tally of other DRS stats, and that’s the total runs saved he’s had if the baseline was 0 or league average. Bottom line, getting Zobrist is going to make the Giants a stronger team even if the power numbers aren’t there since he’ll be helping in so many other levels.
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