The Tampa Bay Rays signed shortstop/second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera on Tuesday and the deal is pending a physical. Once everything is cleared, the Rays could trade Ben Zobrist to reduce payroll.
Zobrist will earn $7.5 million in 2015 after the Rays picked up his team option earlier in the offseason. They perhaps had a plan to trade him all along since owner Stuart Sternberg said it was a priority to reduce payroll for the upcoming season. The team could have declined his option, but it's known he has a lot of trade value, which is something that president of baseball operations Matt Silverman has likely kept in mind.
According to ESPN's Christina Kahrl, "The majority of the middle-infield at-bats should belong to Cabrera and Yunel Escobar, and the Rays' outfield already has Desmond Jennings, Kevin Kiermaier, David DeJesus, Steven Souza and Brandon Guyer in it (plus prospect Mike Mahtook on the way)."
Kahrl also notes it looks as if Yunel Escobar will remain at shortstop since he's under contract for the next two seasons (unless they also trade him) and Cabrera's defensive ability at the shortstop position is steadily declining. His defensive runs saved were minus-16 in 2013 and minus-7 in 2014 before he moved to second base with the Washington Nationals. This means Cabrera could remain at second base as Nick Franklin continues to develop.
Zobrist seems to be the odd man out and will likely be traded before spring training. It was believed the Seattle Mariners were interested in him to potentially play the outfield, but they acquired Seth Smith from the Padres and Justin Ruggiano from the Cubs. Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune writes the San Francisco Giants, who inquired about Zobrist last season, are interested in him again now.
"It's possible the Rays could receive a haul similar to the one they received in the three-team trade with the San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals that centered around right fielder Wil Myers," Mooney writes.
That's certainly something Silverman would be interested in. The Giants need a corner outfielder so it's possible they look to target Zobrist and move him to either right or left. Although Zobrist has spent most of his time over the past few seasons at second base, San Francisco's infield seems to be set with Joe Panik at second, Brandon Crawford at shortstop and Casey McGehee at third.
It's unknown what the Giants have in the event a trade was discussed, but a third team can always be thrown in to complete the transaction.