The Chicago Cubs have agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with Ben Zobrist according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
Source: Zobrist in agreement with #Cubs on four-year, $56M contract, pending a physical.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 9, 2015
The deal comes with a no-trade clause in the first three years reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Zobrist was said to be making a decision between the Cubs and the New York Mets but chose to reunite with his former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon.
He enjoyed another consistent year in 2015. Zobrist started the season on a new team, as the Oakland Athletics acquired the versatile infielder in a five-player deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. He was again traded in late July to the Kansas City Royals, whom he helped win the World Series. Zobrist ended up hitting 13 home runs, with 56 RBI and .276 average and a .359 OBP in 146 games split between the clubs.
The reason why Zobrist was such a hot commodity is his versatility. He’s got a decent bat, but he gives a manager a ton of lineup flexibility. He can be plugged pretty much anywhere on the diamond except behind the plate. Last year he prominently appeared at second base (69 games) and in the outfield (49 games), but he can also play some third base and shortstop when needed. The Cubs just traded Starlin Castro, so given the Cubs’ depth, Zobrist is most likely the every day second baseman.
At an average of $14 million per season, the contract is reasonable. Four years is a lot to give to a 34-year old, though Zobrist has aged quite well so far in his MLB career.
