Andy Martino of the Daily News reports that while Sandy Alderson still views Ben Zobrist as a top target, the truth is that both teams are at a stalemate. And with Oakland now in obvious full sell-mode, the buzz around baseball is that Zobrist will likely be dealt by this weekend.
According to people familiar with the negotiations between the Mets and A’s, the reason Beane walked away from the bargaining table was because he had no interest in the likes of Brandon Nimmo, Gavin Cecchini and Michael Fulmer.
Any potential deal now looks dead in the water. Bob Klapisch says there’s no chance Mets get Zobrist, Ken Rosenthal says there’s no active talks, and Joel Sherman says it ain’t happening.
The Nationals and Yankees are currently viewed as the leaders of the pack for the versatile player’s services, which includes at least a half dozen other interested teams.
Martino added that the Mets also inquired about A’s outfielder Josh Reddick, but came away dubious that Beane would actually trade him.
July 22
Kristie Ackert of the Daily News, reported on Tuesday that the Mets have gotten as far as discussing pieces with the A’s for a possible deal for Ben Zobrist.
“The A’s have identified the prospects they would need to send the veteran utility man to New York, but nothing is imminent, the source said.”
However, a few hours after Ackert posted her report, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports shot it down, saying that there are no active talks between the Athletics and Mets regarding Zobrist.
Rosenthal also mentioned that the two teams did have lively talks about Zobrist up until last week, but once the discussion moved onto which prospects he would cost the Mets the talks were shelved and have not been resurrected.
From what Rosenthal understands, it’s unclear if the Mets are as serious about acquiring Zobrist as they say they are, despite the fact he’d be an ideal fit for the team.
Sandy Alderson told reporters a week ago that he’d be willing to overpay for the versatile infielder/outfielder without mentioning him by name.
And in fact, Jon Heyman reported the Mets tried to swap Rafael Montero for him before he landed on the DL, but the A’s declined.
Several reports say that with talks for Zobrist and the Mets now idle, plus the news that the A’s are now actively engaged with the Yankees, Nationals and Giants, Sandy Alderson has since moved on.
Eddie Coleman of WFAN reported that the reason talks died with Oakland was because the Mets were unwilling to take on the approximate $3 million dollars left on his contract.
Zobrist, 34, has become one of the hottest commodities on the trade block. After a slow start due to rust and coming back from injury, Zobrist is batting .320 with a .417 OBP and .520 slugging percentage in his last 120 plate appearances dating back to June 14.
