| Christopher Reina. 23rd April, 2010 - 12:28 pm
 An unquestioned late bloomer, Ben Zobrist finally became an everyday major leaguer in 2009 when he hit for an OPS of .948 (.405 OBP, .543 SLG) in 599 plate appearances with the Rays. His full-fledged breakout followed an auspicious 2008 in which he hit for an OPS of .844 in 227 plate appearances in 2008.
Zobrist's OBP predictably improved so significantly from 2008 to 2009 because of his jump in BAbip from .252 to .326. His walk rate also increased from 11% of his at bats to a little more than 15%.
After stints at Dallas Baptist and Olivet Nazarene, Zobrist was a 6th round selection by the Astros in 2004, but was eventually dealt to Tampa Bay in the Aubrey Huff trade in 2006.
The Rays have seen enough of Zobrist to lock him up with a five-year contract extension worth approximately $30 million that will eliminate his arbitration years and also extends into his first two seasons of free agency.
Because Zobrist is a switch-hitter capable of playing more than adequate defense all over the diamond like a slightly younger Mark DeRosa, the Rays don't need to worry about his potentially congesting a specific position to blockd a youngster positionally.
Zobrist has started slowly in 2010, hitting for an OPS of .717 (.313 OBP, .403 SLG) through his first 68 plate appearances. He hasn't hit for the same kind of power he did in 2009, still without a homer, but the bigger issue is his walk rate has been cut in half and his strikeouts are up.
Hitters are more than capable of having a fluke season, but the fluke usually rests in the .800 OPS range, not all the way up at .948 where the legitimate superstars reside annually. Since the Rays know him better than anyone, I have no legitimate concerns about the beginning of his 2010 season. Even in Zobrist's less productive months in 2009, his OPS was still at .878 (July) and .822 (August).
Zobrist ranked second in WAR during the 2009 season amongst hitters, sandwiched between the very deep pockets and immensely talented Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer. Unquestionably, Zobrist is not sustainably at that level of player, but he can drop by half and still be in very good company and deserve every dime of his new deal.
This is a continuation of deals Tampa Bay has done with Evan Longoria, James Shields, David Price and also Scott Kazmir before they traded him to the Angels last August. Unlike Longoria and Price, the Rays will absolutely own the entirety of Zobrist's prime since he is an older player that won't become a free agent until he's 33.
Grade for Rays: A-
This grade assumes the dollar amounts are favorable, as expected with a cost-conscious franchise like Tampa Bay. Most importantly for the franchise, it helps them set a budget over several years by writing down Zobrist's dollar amounts in ink instead of allowing so much to ride on unpredictable arbitration cases.
Grade for Ben Zobrist: B+
Zobrist absolutely cannot be faulted for cashing out on his 2009 with the security a multi-year deal brings both in terms of potential injury and also potential declination of his numbers. He could have retained the capacity to make more annually by going to arbitration with his 2009 resume and whatever he might do in terms of production in 2010 and beyond, but that of course would not have been financially prudent.
Chris Reina is the executive editor of RealGM. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cr_reina. |
