For the last two months, the Mets have only seen their need for versatility, speed and offense increase, never more apparent than during their recent seven-game losing streak which was snapped on Thursday with a 2-0 win over the Brewers.
Sandy Alderson has said on several occasions the ideal player the club would look to acquire is someone who could play multiple positions, and not necessarily lock themselves down at third base in the event David Wright eventually returns in 2015, although recently Alderson said the club would consider acquiring a permanent fixture at third base.
The A’s have that kind of player in utility player Ben Zobrist, and yesterday, while a deal does not appear close, John Harper of the Daily News said on Wednesday the Mets have spoken to the A’s about a deal involving the soon-to-be free agent.
Zobrist checks all the boxes for the Mets. He could start at two positions on the infield right now for the Mets, arguably three. He could also arguably start in two outfield positions. He is a solid hitter who can hit for power, and has playoff experience which came during his years in Tampa Bay.
The A’s have had a difficult first half of the 2015 season overall, furthering speculation they might consider dealing some of their higher-priced assets, such as Zobrist, at some point during the season.
But that might not happen too quickly.
The A’s have suddenly won five games in a row and nine of their last 11, finding themselves out of the American League West gutter and just six games out of the second wild card.
It should come as no surprise Zobrist has been a huge part of their recent renaissance – he is hitting .395/.511/.789 in Oakland’s last 11 games.
As such, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the A’s are not rushing to deal Zobrist at the moment.
Instead, the Mets may have to wait a month or so for the trade markets to become more clearly defined, at which point Rosenthal writes, “there will be no acceptable excuses” for the Mets to stand pat.
The A’s were never likely to rush into a deal for Zobrist anyway. Demand is expected to soar for him as the trade deadline approaches (The Nationals, Yankees, and Cubs are among the teams to express interest in addition to the Mets), and they could expect to get one of those bidders to overpay in trade to acquire Zobrist, something the Mets have yet to prove they’re willing to do for Zobrist or anyone for that matter,
Still, if the Mets are serious about winning – as they’ve proclaimed themselves to be – they simply cannot sit on their hands, nor can they wait for Oakland’s fate to be determined. They’ve already fallen 3 1/2 games out of both the division and Wild Card, and their schedule does not get any easier with the Cubs coming in next week before they head out west to face the Dodgers and Giants.
That’s not to say they can’t hold out and wait to see if Zobrist eventually becomes available at an agreeable price.
But there are still other major holes to fill which need to be addressed now. Quite frankly, even with Daniel Murphy coming back in the next day or two they probably need another infielder, they need to consider acquiring a left-handed reliever since Jerry Blevins remains a month or more away and they don’t have a southpaw who can get left-handed hitters out at the moment.
Patching these problems together with minor leaguers on a daily basis is not a formula for success in the major leagues, nor is waiting and hoping other injured players return and can be productive.
So, it’s clear the club needs to go outside the organization and get big league replacements, sooner rather than later if they are to survive the summer.
Just Mets 