KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was a time this season when Ben Zobrist believed there was a decent shot he would end up trying to help a New York team into the playoffs.
Both the Yankees and Mets were interested in the uber-utility player before he landed with the Royals.
Now, he will face the Mets in the second World Series of his career.
“I heard rumors and I didn’t know,” Zobrist said of the possibility of a midseason trade to Citi Field. “You don’t want to start thinking too much about it till you actually get a phone call.”
Nevertheless, he admitted to being intrigued by the possibility of going to Queens while he was languishing with the A’s.
“When we were in Oakland, struggling to even get to the .500 mark and there was talk about getting traded to a contending team, of course I was interested,” Zobrist said at Kauffman Stadium on Monday before the Royals worked out.
The Mets and A’s never got close to making a trade and the Yankees weren’t interested in surrendering Rob Refsnyder and Adam Warren.
“But I think I ended up with the Royals for a good reason and fit in really well with this club,” Zobrist said. “Obviously, the Mets got some of the guys they needed, as well, to get to this point. I’m happy with how things ended up.”
So are his new teammates.
“He’s a solid baseball player and we knew that coming in,” Alex Gordon said. “There were probably a lot of teams that wanted him. We were pretty fortunate to get him.”
Not only has he given manager Ned Yost a better option at second base than Omar Infante, he also provided outfield depth when Gordon was out with a strained groin.
“We had Omar and it was tough to see Omar put on the back burner, but Zobrist is an all-around solid player,” Gordon said. “He could do really anything for us, especially at the time I went down with the injury and he went out to left field and filled that gap. … He did a lot for us to get us through a tough time.”
His services will be in high demand again after the World Series when he is due to hit free agency, and the Yankees could look to him as an option to upgrade second base.
In the meantime, Mike Moustakas will appreciate having him around.
“He does all the little things,” Moustakas said. “He can play nine different positions. He can probably pitch, if you needed him to. And he plays hard every single day. He’s fired up when things are going good and lets everybody know they’ve got to get going when things aren’t. He’s a huge addition to what we do here.”