Ben Zobrist’s free agency has reached its long-awaited conclusion as the veteran elected to join an exciting, young Cubs roster. He’ll reportedly receive a four-year, $56MM contract that comes with full no-trade protection in the first three years and an eight-team no-trade list in year four.
The deal will reunite the utilityman with former Rays manager Joe Maddon, who now runs the dugout in Chicago. Zobrist, who is represented by Octagon, will take home a $2MM signing bonus, $10MM in 2016, $16MM in both 2017 and 2018, then $12MM in 2019.
The addition of Zobrist creates a number of logjams on the Chicago roster, as his best positions — corner outfield and second base — are currently occupied by a combination of Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler, Javier Baez and Starlin Castro. Then again, the Cubs are said to be discussing a trade of Castro to the Yankees,* which would potentially free up second base and move Baez into a super-utility role (provided he isn’t traded himself).
Zobrist, 35 next May, is coming off a season in which he batted a combined .276/.359/.450 in 535 plate appearances between Oakland and Kansas City. The switch-hitter handled both right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers well and delivered arguably his best offensive season in the past three years despite splitting most of his time between the pitcher-friendly O.Co Coliseum and Kauffman Stadium.
Defensive metrics were down on Zobrist this season, though one has to wonder whether or not knee surgery that he underwent early in the year sapped his range and led to the uncharacteristically low ratings placed upon his glove by Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating. Zobrist has typically graded out as a well-above-average defender in the outfield corners and at second base, and he also comes with big league experience at shortstop, third base and first base. That defensive versatility is one of the reasons that he was such a hot commodity on this winter’s free-agent market, with upwards of a dozen clubs connected to him at various times.
Zobrist was long tied to the Mets, Giants, Braves and Nationals, but the Cubs re-emerged as an apparent suitor in media reports earlier this afternoon. Zobrist’s priorities were said to be a winning team and a team that is relatively close to his Nashville home, and the Cubs check both of those boxes.
*Editor’s Note: A trade sending Castro to New York was reported later in the same evening.
Tommy Stokke of FanRag Sports tweeted that Zobrist would sign with the Cubs. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted the contract terms. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff reported details of the no-trade provision and annual breakdown.
come on mets 4 56 is very. Reasonable
I AM A CUB FAN THIS IS THE WORST NEWS EVER
I agree this is awful.
Zobrist is great at baseball and thrives under Maddon. He will most likely have a higher WAR than Castro and Baez put together next year.
I love seeing people say he “thrives under Maddon.” How about the fact that he was in the prime of his career when he was with Maddon? Maybe that had something to do with it too…
Willing to be he won’t have a higher WAR than Castro and Baez over the next four years though. This deal will be a bust. Typical Epstien move that he made in Boston, pay a player past his prime for his prime, that he promised he wouldn’t do here in Chicago.
Agreed why Theo break up the band
You’r an idiot and should also turn off the CAPS!
Don’t understand this move as a Cubs fan. We have a surplus of infielders, with a need for a CF. Although Zobrist can play center, he isn’t the guy we need in the outfield. Was really hoping we would get Heyward.
They want someone who is better at making contact and getting on base. Zobrist does that.
I get that, but so does Jason Heyward. Who is a better defender in a position we need, and won’t be 35 when the contract starts.
They need a rfer? Zobrist is also 4./56 vs. 10/200.
I like it. 10 years for Heyward at a way higher AAV is way worse than a 35 year old on a 4 year deal.
The amount counted against the cap is the AAV. Heyward’s AAV figures to be at probably $20 million. Cubs theoretically save $6 million a year. Also Heyward on a 10 year could come back to haunt them. Even if you threw in an opt-out, Heyward could choose not to opt-out and that’s money that could go to Arrieta, Bryant, Russell, etc.
At least one of Castro/Baez is gone, if not both.
This definitely allows a trade for one of the two. If two shortstop/ 2b type players need to be traded, I see Torres being traded as opposed to Baez and Castro.
Castro going to the Yankees now yus have Zobrist & Baez
Likely that they deal Castro now
This deal lets the Cubs deal Castro and it’s rumored that’s what they want to do.
Probably the beginning of getting heyward. Will trade Castro, frees up payroll and then will allow heyward signing. Also allows possibility of trading Baez/soler for frontline starter. I trust theo, has a track record of knowing what he is doing
I think Maddon pushed hard
What you don’t understand is that the offseason is only a month old and the Cubs will still address those needs through free agency and trades.
Can’t wait to see the years and dollars
As a Mets fan I can’t say I’m surprised. This happens every time you hear for weeks on end that a team is the favorite to sign a player. The early favorite almost never actually ends up winning the bidding.
Finally, some action!
Is this 80 mill for 4 years though
No way
Peace out to Javier Baez/Starlin Castro, Gleybar Torres, Jorge Soler, and Kyle Hendricks. Hello to Jose Fernandez and Ben Zobrist (prediction).
It’d be great if the Cubs can get Jose, but 3 mlb ready young guys for him?
Isn’t that a bit too steep?
No. It’s likely not enough to get the Marlins to pick up the phone.
They are asking a kings ransom.
No.
That’s not even close to enough for Fernandez. Try Schwarber Baez with some package of about 2 of McKinney, Torres, Alcantra, and a pitcher
this developed slowly.
that TB connection did the Mets in.
Hahahahahahahaha to the mets
Wtf cubs!!! We need a Gordon more.
What would the Cubs want for Baez or Castro? Padres need a SS
Cashner.
Haha
Baez sure. Castro no. I don’t get why people like Castro so much. Sure he’s young but he’s inconsistent and even in his best years only had a 115 ops .
at SS a 115 ops+ is beastly, at second its well above average.
Hopefully they can move one of their corner outfielders to center field and Zobrist can play LF or he will probably end up everyday 2B with Russell being SS once they move Castro or Baez to the Rays or Yankees. Zobrist adds a lot of contact and on base skills. He’ll do well for the clubhouse with Joe Maddon, too. I’m glad he’s a Cub and not with the Mets.
The Cubs are going to regret this & selling low Starlin Castro when Castro enters his prime and Zobrist becomes a bench player in 2 years.
You’re not wrong.
Gotta think Baez or some Castro package coming soon to get a pitcher
Braves should’ve tried harder to sign him
Wanted to play for a contender.
Probably an overpay.
4/56? Overpay by end of the deal.
I see Heyward going back to the Cardinals imo.
Castro for Gardner, Baez for Miller, let’s go
I like neither of these trades for the cubs. Pass on both. Gardner’s on the wrong side of 30 while Castro is entering his prime, and a decently expensive (although good) reliever for 5 years of a young power hitting ss. Definitely pass.
Still an overpay, but it’s much more reasonable than the 80M/4 he was rumored for
Not even remotely an overpay. If anything it’s a total bargain. Zobrist at $14M a year? That’s unbelievably low, even at his age.
I’d assume he’s gonna play 2nd. Inevitable that they trade Castro and or Baez for pitching or outfield help
Definitely think this means Baez and Castro are goners and they’re going with Russell and Zobrist as the MI, with Schwarber and Soler in the COF spots. Bet they’ll either sign or trade for a CF, along with pitching,
As a cub fan this is great news. 14 mil a year for a World Series champion. We can still get heyward or Gordon . Great player who can do anything but pitch or catch . Go Cubs!!
As a Cub fan this is awful news. Stalin Castro is traded to the Yankees for peanuts and obrist becomes a useless bench player in 2 years.
Yea theo and jed have go clue what they’re doing. You’re probably the same person that was bitching that they should have signed pujols and fielder.
Gordon, maybe. I highly doubt they pony up for Heyward now.
He might be the most overrated player in recent FA memory
He’s making $14M a year, its actually impossible to make that much and be overrated. He is a WAR machine and plays great defense, gets on base and is a veteran leader.
Look at his defensive war from last year dude.
He’s lost so much leg speed and range that he’s got a negative defensive war.
He was injured. If you actually read the article, it says he used to be graded out as an above-average defender. One bad year compared to multiple good years doesn’t completely say he’s lost it.
Daniel Murphy has that title.
Maybe all you cub fans should just have a little faith in theo and Jed. Look how far they have gotten us.
Worst signing ever.
We could have gotten a lights out bullpen arm for this kind of money.
If Jed and Theo can’t come up with a great arm from this I’d be pissed.
Having said so this will mean Castro being traded if they want to go after Heyward.
Probably due to financial reasons.
Worst?
Is this really worse than Edwin Jackson? Milton Bradley? Danny Jackson? Todd Hundley? Aaron Miles?
All of those guys should be on the top ten list of worst signings ever made by the Cubs. I think at the end of this 4 year deal we’ll look back and Zobrist won’t even be close to making the list.
Yanks Cubs getting on Castro deal via twitter
Fear for me as a Met fan is we’ll be running out Dilson Herrera next year. NL Champs can’t take that risk, and can’t lose out on Soria AND Zobrist. Very disappointed with my Mets…
Disappointed too as Met fan but I think this will work out well for us. We don’t want to pay a 38 yo middle IF 14 million …3 yrs from now …and he certainly won’t be covering much ground in OF at that age.. so this hurts today but will work out favorably in end. that said, we do need the Met FO the get us a middle IF
Glad the Mets didn’t pay that. Now let’s trade Wheeler for Baez.
met fan here — I don’t think cubs will do that. wheeler is untested following TJ surgery and about 30% of these guys don’t do well post surgery from what i’ve read.
Its kind of a wash – i think first 2 years of zobrist deal will get us better results than Castro would have but I would have to imagine Castros 2018/2019 stats are going to be similar if not better than a 38/39 yr old Zobrist. Win now mode I guess. Hoping its Castro and maybe a low level prospect for Hicks
Hicks? As in Aaron Hicks? The recently acquired, 4th outfielder Hicks? Castro in his worst year has more value than Hicks in his best. This isn’t a video game.
OK Mets,now what.Murphy knows that he wasn’t their first choice,so he will sign with another team.Do they dare give the 2b job to Dilson Herrara?Will their fan base take this news well?They better make a move to help the infield defense.Those pitchers deserve some help behind them.
agree, we don’t want dislon on day 1. plus tejada is recovering from utley injury and flores was injured in winter ball. so we really need the mets FO to get a middle IF before leaving nashville!
I hate this as a Red Sox fan bc the Yankees just got better I think Castro is going to be a stud for the Yankees
And I hate this as met fan — castrol will be stud for spankees and lose out on zobrist ,all in less than 30 min
Zobrist is a great signing. They need to keep looking to add veteran players. I can see Castro being traded for Gardner or Ellsbury. Maybe a pitching prospect to save money for other pickups.
Bleacher Report says Castro to Yankees is done. No deals though.
Well, now the Cubs have overpaid for a 35 year old utility guy so I reckon they will under value Castro for a CF. I’m really disappointed with the FO on this move. I hope that instead of Castro they move Baez plus a package of prospects for a CF and a SP. Or maybe Baez, Hammel and prospects for a front line SP and a serviceable CF until Almora is ready for the Cubs.
This is why the Reds are helplessly looking up from the bottom of the NL Central. The Cubs have been willing to make impact, big time moves over the past 3-4 years and the Reds can’t even trade Chapman before it blows up in their face. Until the Reds stop worrying about hurting Bruce’s feelings or upsetting the fans by trading Frazier, the organization is going nowhere.
What is wrong with you people. This why fans are not GM or President of MLB clubs. This great news. Don’t you guys see what happening. This fills the 2nd base void, it also fills if need be center field – The Cubs are not out of Heyward thing, or Gordon if need be. They have to make sure everything covered, before dumping people. The Cubs are getting ready to Move Castro, Baez, probably Sol, and even maybe a pitcher or two, – He will play 2nd base, Castro gone, Baez is probably next, if not already, and Sol will probably be the piece that get them that other pitcher. Watch what the Cubs now pull off in the next day. It’s not bad news and we got him at a good price. This is good news people. Were not blowing money.Plenty left boys.
Yes. Nice to hear from a sane Cubs fan. Trust in their front office. They got them into the postseason a year earlier than expected, they will get them to the World Series as soon as 2016.
Met fan here — Cub FO is awesome — envy of MLB no doubt. Mets may have beaten Cubs in playoffs but Cubs just beat the heck out of the Mets in Nashville
As a Cubs fan I agree. Basically just traded Castro for zobrist and warren. Still enough money left for another FA sign. More trades coming as well I’m sure. Sure 4 yrs for zobrist is more than I wanted but hes considerably more valuable right now to the Cubs than Castro. And if he falls off by year 3 the Cubs have Torres on the horizon.
Woof. What the hell are the Cubs doing? Not going after the top end talent in the rotation, instead settling for a guy closer to 40 than 30. Now they’re doing the same to fill their infield hole, but this time with a long term commitment.
It’s like they’re trying to mess this up.
People aren’t allowed to say Theo Epstein knows what he’s doing anymore. It’s obvious that he doesn’t.
Top end talent? So Arrieta? He’s not going to resign for a Cubbies hat and a deep dish pizza. You have to save money for him. You also have to save money for Bryant and possibly Russell. Theo is a proven front office executive, but obviously just because a fan (you) believe he is doing wrong must mean he is doing wrong. Lets just fire Theo and hire you. Then you can sign anyone you want but good luck trying to resign anyone.
Arrieta spent about 6 weeks being top end talent. I’m not convinced. Given his control problems in the playoffs, I’m downright doubtful.
I’m not a Cubs fan.
You’re an idiot.
Last season we were the worst team at scoring runs with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs. Why do you think that is? Well I can tell you why, we sucked at making contact. Zobrist will help in regards to moving runners and scoring runs from 3rd with less than two outs because he is very good at putting the ball in play when it is needed.
Also Lackey was probably the best mid-rotation starter on the market and it’s only a two year deal. He brings post season experience, and not just experience but success. He will be a great fit right in to the three spot. I’m willing to be you will consider him an upgrade of Dan Herren or Hammel in that spot.
Our rotation 1 through 3 is very solid.
Well, you’re a fan.
The entirety of major league history is not on you side. Guys generally don’t maintain bat speed after 35. And by generally I mean every player in history who has ever played beyond the age of 35. In fact, his contact ratios plummeted last year. He’s trending downward. I wouldn’t be surprised if he completely fell off next year.
1 – 3 very solid? Your #1 is a guy who pitched like a #1 for six weeks and then bombed come crunch time. Your #2 had huge command issues in the second half, the kind that generally spell doom for pitches as they advance in their 30’s. Your newly acquired 3 was never elite, and they’re paying him huge because of a career year AT 35. That’s not just bad baseball, that is an insane approach. If they added him to be the #5 it would be okay. But passing on bidding on Price because they think they’ll be alright is beyond a huge miscalculation. The Cubs rotation is probably worse next year, as 1-3 are probably all going to regress.
Are you claiming that Arrieta won the Cy Young because of 6 weeks of work? He had an entire season that was good. And a pitcher that plays well in the regular season and bombs in the playoffs. Reminds me of Kershaw before this year. Would you call him doubtful?
4 Years 56 mill is not to bad. It is a lot better than what they were saying 4 years 80 mill good to see that was not true or that would have sky rocketed Heywards Salary.
With the trade of castro this is a decent move. More years than I’d like but well below the $16M he was projected to get annually. Just worried about rapid decline at his age. Also he is only a $3M add for 2016 with castro going to the Yankees along with his $7+M owed in 2016. So not a major payroll hit. Cubs in castro deal also get an intriguing pitcher in Warren who could be a candidate for a starting gig. If that’s the plan for Warren then they only have one move left to make of any importance……. sign Heyward.
$14M/yr is “well below” $16M/yr?
It seems like every1 going up Mets going down…..sigh same old same old
as a mets fan all i can say is… THANK THE LORD. seems we dont learn from our mistakes. so soon we have forgotten the outcome of Michael Cuddyer. what I want to know is why Ian Desmond who is a better hitter. granted he had a down year and a better fielder (move flores to 2nd)… is not being seriously considered. Guys 1 of the 8 Five tool players and a Kevin Long away from reaching his full potential. oh and btw. hell be getting a similar type deal and is also almost 5 years younger. WAKE UP JOHN RICCO
Sooooo glad Mets didn’t make this move. Still can’t understand why they have so little interest in Desmond. Four yrs younger than Zobrist, middle of the order bat, and more of a need at SS since Flores is a better fit at 2B. Don’t want to hear about the kid who is still 2-3 yrs away. They are ready to win now
As a Braves fan, I am very glad we didn’t sign Zobrist. Great clubhouse guy, money can be locked up elsewhere though.
This is like the Wheeler and Flores deal for the Mets. Sometimes the best moves you make, are the ones you don’t. The Mets should now call the Dodgers and offer Harvey straight up for Corey Seager. Make a splash Sandy!!
The Cubs finally got Brian Roberts.