Fantasy Baseball: Will Ben Zobrist Benefit From Trade To Oakland?

The Oakland Athletics continued the offseason of retooling with yet another trade over the weekend. The prize of this deal for Oakland is veteran utilityman Ben Zobrist. Zobrist is not a utilityman in the sense that it has come to mean. It means that Zobrist is versatile enough to play either corner outfield slot and either middle infield slot. That gives Oakland the kind of lineup flexibility that it needs with the acqusitions of Billy Butler and Ike Davis. It also replaces the versatility lost when they dealt Brandon Moss to the Indians.

The full trade breaks down like this:

This trade makes sense for both teams. Tampa gets a reliable and relatively inexpensive C in John Jaso. Jaso is no stranger to Tampa. He began his career with the Rays in 2008, and was with the team until after the 2011 season. He went to the postseason with the Rays after the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Jaso is not much of a hitter for power or average. He is a career .259 hitter with 32 career home runs. What he does offer is defense. His veteran presence behind the plate should also help the young Rays pitching staff. The old man of the staff is Alex Cobb at age 27.

August 19, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics designated hitter John Jaso (5) bats during the third inning against the New York Mets at O.co Coliseum. The Athletics defeated the Mets 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Along with Jaso, the Rays pick up prospects Boog Powell (surprisingly, he is of no relation to the Orioles Hall of Famer of the same name) and Daniel Robertson. The 20 year old Robertson was a first round pick in the 2012 draft. Both of these guys played well in Class A last year, but it is A ball. They are both at least two years away from contributing for the major league team.

The A’s get Zobrist, a nine year veteran that made two trips to the All Star game, has been a consistent producer for the Rays. He doesn’t have a lot of power, though he does have three 20 HR seasons in his career. Same thing for speed. He has six consecutive double digit steal seasons, but only has one season over 20. His average is also in the middle. He is a career .264 hitter, but has not hit below that mark since 2010.

More from Fantasy Baseball

Moving to a cavernous park like the Coliseum could boost Zobrist’s average some. He is not a power hitter, but he is a good gap hitter. His gaps just got a lot bigger in Oakland.

Zobrist will likely bat second behind Coco Crisp for the A’s. The lineup around him will be a little better than what he had in Tampa last year, but there is nothing in particular that points to this trade helping his numbers dramatically. He should see an increase in RBI from last year’s 52, but I would expect his run scored total of 83 to be around the same. I could see him hitting around .280 with double digit homers and steals again. While not great numbers, he can still help you since he is eligible at 2B in most leagues still. That likely will change, as he is expected to man one of the corner OF slots with the A’s.

Sep 12, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Yunel Escobar (11) throws out Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Ryan Goins (not pictured) in the second inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Yunel Escobar had a down year last year with Tampa. He hit only .256 with seven home runs and one stolen base. Again, what could help Escobar is his move to a bigger ballpark and a better lineup. Escobar has never been what you could call a great hitter, but he should get up closer to his career .276 average than he has been over the last three seasons. His total of 39 RBI could double with the lineup in front of him. He will have plenty of chances to drive in runs in Oakland. Their projected lineup looks like this:

Crisp
Zobrist
Josh Reddick
Billy Butler
Ike Davis
Brett Lawrie
Stephen Vogt
Escobar
Marcus Semien

That is much better than what Zobrist and Escobar saw last year, but not what Oakland has been used to in recent years.

The Rays plugged the hole left by dealing Yunel Escobar by signing Asdrubal Cabrera to a one year contract. Cabrera had a down year last year, hitting just .241 with 14 HR and 61 RBI. Cabrera was an All Star in 2011 and 2012 with Cleveland. The Rays are hoping that he can get closer to the production of those seasons when his average was in the .270’s. He hit a career high 25 HR and drove in a career high 92 in 2011.

Oct 6, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera (3) fields a ball hit by San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval (not pictured) during the third inning in game three of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The track record of Cabrera does not suggest a dramatic improvement, however. He will likely hit somewhere around 15 HR and 60 RBI. The only thing that I could really see him improving on is maybe his batting average. At any rate, he is a step up offensively from Escobar.

Cabrera could have the biggest fantasy impact as a result of this deal. He will be a good option for those of you in standard leagues with an MI position. Also, he will be owned in any league with 12 or more teams. I would expect the change of scenery to help him some, perhaps making his batting average not hurt you so much.

I don’t expect Zobrist’s or Escobar’s numbers to change much. Both players are in their early 30’s, so their best offensive seasons are likely behind them. I could see both of them seeing a jump in RBI and runs scored in Oakland, but that would be about it.

More from FanSided