Last night Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reported that the current market price for Ben Zobrist stands at four years and $60 million and it may increase. While that's fairly ridiculous in itself, what's even more ridiculous is that there are multiple MLB teams lining up to potentially pay that price, if not more.
The latest rumors indicate there are many "in the mix" for Zobrist, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals and New York Mets, while Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs remain interested, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
(By the way, check out our Top 3 Destinations for Zobrist piece here.)
Crasnick also said it appears the Royals are "priced out" on the veteran and that the Braves have "dabbled" on him, but Zobrist prefers to play for a contender and Atlanta would not fit his desires.
If you ask me, $60 million is ridiculous for a 34-year-old utility player (who, by the way, turns 35 in May). It's not that I don't think Zobrist is talented or a difference maker - both of which he is - but he has clearly began the back nine of his career and there's no way he will live up to the value of a four-year, $60 million deal.
That means he'll be 38 in the final year of his contract. Based on his steadily decent offensive numbers from 2013-2015, Zobrist is not worth $15 million per season at his age. He was certainly worth that much and probably more during his stint with the Tampa Bay Rays from 2009-2012. But here are his cumulative totals from 2013-2015:
Batting average - .274
Runs scored - 236
Home runs - 35
RBI - 179
WAR - 11.32
Compare that to 2009-2012:
Batting average - .268
Runs scored - 355
Home runs - 77
RBI - 331
WAR - 27.6
Yes, there's an extra season to account for in there, but the numbers are still significantly different with the exception of batting average. Zobrist sacrificed a few batting average points to bolster his run production, which was a good reason he finished in the top-18 of the MVP voting three out of those four seasons.
In fact, during one of those campaigns he batted just .238/.346/.353 with 77 runs scored, 10 home runs and 75 RBI, which brought all of the averages down.
Over the last three seasons (although keep in mind he was injured for a good portion of 2015), Zobrist averaged 78 runs scored, 11.6 home runs, 59.6 RBI and a WAR of 3.77. His defensive versatility and team-oriented attitude are also aspects of his case in negotiating his next contract, but in my mind it's hard to envision paying Zobrist as much as I'd be paying David Ortiz, Adam Jones, Mike Trout, Russell Martin, Max Scherzer, Nelson Cruz, Jose Bautista and others, all of whom are set to earn between $14 million and $16 million next year. Granted, there are a lot of other players earning that type of money that arguably don't deserve it, such as Melvin Upton, Elvis Andrus, Carlos Beltran, Nick Swisher, John Danks, Michael Bourn and Melky Cabrera, but that's the exact reason such ridiculous contracts need to stop being handed out.
Crasnick said it's a "good bet" Zobrist will sign during the Winter Meetings, which begin on Monday. At this point, based on the rumors and reports, it's clear the market will dictate yet another instance of overpaying a player. The Red Sox paid David Price $217 million yesterday, which can be considered an overpay since the Boston was desperate to land a top starter and also because Price has historically been awful in the postseason (2-7, 5.12 ERA in 14 games).
Again, I'm not knocking Price or Zobrist. Both are great players who have done great things throughout their careers, but the game of baseball has gotten out of hand with its contracts as well as the negotiating process. Here's another example: just because Daniel Murphy hit seven home runs in the postseason shouldn't mean he's worth $20 million more than his price tag would have been if the Mets didn't make the playoffs. Murphy has never hit more than 14 home runs in a single season or batted in more than 78 runs, yet the market is going to potentially pay him like he hits 20 homers and 100 RBI because of a nine-game run in the playoffs?
Murphy, who, again, is another good player, has only generated a WAR higher than 1.9 once in a single season, and that was back in 2011. Now, all of a sudden, some are projecting him to possibly earn $60 million over four years or perhaps more?
It just doesn't make sense how a contract season or even a few playoff games play such an impactful role in the next four, five or six years of one's future.
But I guess that's just the way it is. Just know Zobrist can sign soon and the Dodgers, Giants, Nationals and Mets seem to be the main clubs in the running right now.
