KC Royals: Should Royals Make Attempt To Re Sign Ben Zobrist

The top of the KC Royals lineup has looked significantly better since the arrival of Ben Zobrist late last month. Should the Royals make an attempt to re sign the utility man after this season?

Ben Zobrist has been a great addition to the Kansas City Royals‘ roster so far. Zobrist was traded to the Royals on July 28th for pitchers Aaron Brooks and Sean Manaea, and has done wonders for his new team. Since arriving to Kansas City late last month, Zobrist has been batting .333 in the two spot in the lineup. He’s also smashed four home runs and six doubles.

To sum up, Zobrist has been terrific while donning a KC Royals uniform, but he’s scheduled to be a free agent next season. The Royals should strongly considering offering Zobrist some sort of deal to keep him in Kansas City, but it won’t be easy.

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The absolute biggest priority to the Royals this off season should be signing Alex Gordon to the biggest contract a Royal has ever seen. That right there will take a lot of the spending money the Royals have, but it’s still not entirely impossible to sign both guys to new deals.

If the Royals had to take one or the other, most would likely lean towards Gordon due to the fact that he’s the face of the franchise. He’s also younger than Zobrist.

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Zobrist, however, offers flexibility. The guy can play almost any position on the diamond and that ability has helped the Royals out immensely during this stretch without Gordon. Zobrist has seen most of his starting time in left field in Gordon’s absence, but also has spent time at second base in place of the struggling Omar Infante.

Not only do the fans love Zobrist during his brief time as a Royal, but the Z-Man himself has expressed his love for the city and for the team.

"“Certainly, this had been one of the teams I liked the look of. And now, since I’ve been here, it’s a place I want to stay longer. Being here has certainly done nothing but make this [team] go up on my list.” – Zobrist’s thoughts on the Royals, courtesy of Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com"

Now obviously most guys say things like this. You rarely see guys be like, “No! I hate it here! I’m going to sign somewhere else.” Still though, Zobrist brings up good points in the interview, stating that he has family near the Kansas City area and that the team has a good thing going.

"“They have a lot of guys who are young who’ve come together in the last few years,” Zobrist said. “They’ve got a bullpen — playing against them I thought was the toughest bullpen in the league.“The way the front office runs things and the way the coaching staff runs things, it’s loose and fun but also structured. It’s very professional. The way they go about everything is really good.“It’s fun to be assimilated into a culture like that, because they’re already good. I don’t need to change anything. They’re already headed in the right direction. I just have to be a part of it.”"

Personally, I’d love to see the Royals bring Zobrist back, but a large part of it will depend on what happens with Gordon. If Gordon signs a huge deal with the Royals, then it’ll be hard to offer Zobrist a contract that he feels he’s worthy of. If, however, Gordon goes elsewhere, then Zobrist should then become the main priority of this team heading into next season.

It’s rare to find a guy like Ben Zobrist, who can play just about any position, and the Kansas City Royals should most definitely keep that in mind when making decisions for next year’s team.

Next: Is Yordano Ventura Back to his 2014 Form?

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