Cleveland Indians: Should Ben Zobrist be on the Radar?

Zobrist could be the answer for the Tribe..and every other team as well

We would all like to find a way to get a big bat in the middle of the Cleveland Indians’ lineup. Most of us are realistic enough to understand that it probably won’t happen this offseason. The best chance we had of a thirty homer guy was probably Brandon Moss, and he flopped. Maybe Carlos Santana can get close to that if we let him choose his position, where he hits in the batting order, where all the other players park their cars, and maybe how many breaking pitches he gets. But in reality, the best case scenario for the Indians is six or seven guys between 15 and 25 home runs.

So the best move is to add guys who will fit that strategy. Guys who will come for under ten million a year, for three years or less, but still make a real contribution to the offense. Preferably guys who are fundamentally sound and won’t go a month without making contact.

Let’s start off by making one thing clear:  there is no reason – and no excuse – for this team to sit out free agency. Look at the numbers:  there are seven players signed for next year, at a total salary of about 41 million. Assume Ryan Raburn gets his option for three million picked up. Then you have seven players eligible for arbitration. The only ones that are essential are Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw. Let’s assume they make ten million between them, give Chisenhall and Tomlin each three million, and McAllister and Hagadone each a million. Let’s even assume that Trevor Bauer and Danny Salazar sign long term deals over the winter that pay them each three million next year. At that point, you have sixteen players making a total of 68 million dollars. Fill out the roster with minimum salaries and you will be just over seventy million.

Assuming a budget of 85 million or so, that leaves you with room for at least one decent free agent.  Probably two. It’s reasonable to assume that some of that money will be used to upgrade center field.  Also, they will sign a couple of relievers, a situational lefty and someone who can help out Shaw as a setup man. They won’t break the bank on those guys, though. They may get some insurance for third base, but with Chisenhall, Chris Johnson, and Jose Ramirez on the roster they should be covered if Giovanny Urshela flops.  Even with all that, there should be room for one more guy.

Here’s a name that’s out of the box, but not too far: Ben Zobrist.

• Switch hitter, with slightly better numbers against left-handers, so he can work either side of a platoon.
• Has played seven positions in the major leagues, and hasn’t sucked at any of them. Also seems to not be a diva about bouncing around, so you could wait and see what doesn’t work out and stick him there. For a manager who sometimes leaves himself with a three-man bench, Zobrist would be a manager’s dream.
• Consistent:  has posted one OPS below .749 since 2009, and this year was the first time he played in fewer than 146 games.
• Went to the postseason four times with Tampa bay, plus this year with the Royals.  His postseason OPS is almost identical to his regular season OPS, so he doesn’t get swallowed up by the moment.
• Affordable:  Zobrist isn’t the type of high profile guy who will draw fifteen or twenty million a year, and at 34 he won’t get more than two or three years.  The Royals probably will try to keep him, but they also have to resign Alex Gordon and go to arbitration with Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakis, so they won’t go crazy to keep Zobrist.  I think two years for eighteen million with a vesting option for a third year would come close for Zobrist.  If it took ten or eleven million a year to get him, I would probably do it, although at that salary the third year is a little scary.

Signing Zobrist means the defending division champions don’t sign him.  That’s not a small thing.

Zobrist doesn’t fix the center field issue, but I could see him at first, third, right, or DH.  It does create something of a logjam, but let’s be realistic.  Chisenhall is a human crap shoot.  You would love to think he’ll give you four hundred at-bats in right field next year, but you don’t want to bet the season on it.  If either Johnson or Raburn gets more than three hundred at bats it means something went wrong.  Even if those three guys get a thousand plate appearances between them and Santana gets six hundred, you still have five hundred or so between right field, first base and DH.  If (when) anyone slumps or gets hurt, there will be more at bats available, and Zobrist is versatile enough to plug almost any hole.  If it turns out that finding a place to play Ben Zobrist is your biggest problem, things are going pretty well.

Let’s just say they don’t get a center fielder, because the list of free agent options isn’t that exciting.  That gives you this for a possible opening day lineup:

2B Kipnis

SS Lindor

1B Zobrist

LF Brantley

DH Santana

C Gomes

RF Chisenhall/Raburn

CF Almonte

3B Urshela/Johnson

Perez and Ramirez would be on the bench, leaving room for a twelve-man pitching staff. If you bring in a center fielder, Raburn and Almonte would be fighting for the last roster spot, or else you would try to dump Johnson’s salary. That’s a lineup that is solid through at least the seventh spot. The last two spots in the batting order averaged an OPS of .649 in the AL last year, so it doesn’t take a lot to be average or better at those spots. That means that if you emphasize defense when looking for your center fielder, you can hit him low in the order and not worry about it. It also gives you enough depth and flexibility that the season won’t be DOA if Chisenhall or Urshela flops, or if somebody gets hurt.

A full season of Lindor, a healthy Gomes, hitting as well with men on base as with the bases empty, and replacing the 727 at bats that Bourn, Swisher, and Moss got last year with almost anyone will substantially improve the offense. Most importantly, it leaves intact the rotation that led the Al in WHIP, FIP, and K/BB ratio. That is a formula that can win the AL Central.

Next: The Royals aren't that far ahead of the Indians