For years, Ben Zobrist was baseball's secret star, laboring in relative obscurity with the Tampa Bay Rays. He got on base, he hit for some power, he played good defense at multiple positions. While he made a couple All-Star teams with the Rays and they regularly reached the postseason, he still seemed underrated: From 2009 through 2014, he ranked third among position players in Baseball-Reference WAR, trailing only Robinson Cano and Miguel Cabrera, and ranked second in FanGraphs WAR, behind only Cabrera.
Then he ended up with the Kansas City Royals at the end of 2015 and hit .303 in the postseason with 15 runs in 16 games and delivered several key hits as the Royals won the World Series. Then he signed with the Chicago Cubs and won World Series MVP honors as he hit .357 and drove in the go-ahead in Game 7.
At the age of 35, Ben Zobrist was now a thing.
One thing that has never made sense to me: Why does a team's utility player have to be a shortstop who can play elsewhere in the infield but can't really hit? Why not groom a Zobrist kind of player in the minors, a guy who can provide the manager with more options while not hurting your offense at the same time. I get that most players want to focus on one position, but we've seen the value Joe Maddon extracted from Zobrist with the Rays and now with the Cubs.
Of course, we have to acknowledge that Zobrist is rare. In his career, he has started 664 games at second base, 378 at right field, 196 at shortstop and 82 in left field (plus a few more at center field, first base and third base). Here's the list of players who have played 150 games or more at shortstop, second base and right field since the 1961 expansion:
Zobrist, Tony Phillips, Bob Bailor.
Yep. Three guys.
If we change right field to left field we get Phillips and Alan Bannister.
That's the problem with finding the next Zobrist. If you can play shortstop or second base well enough and hit, they keep you in the infield. There have really been only two Ben Zobrists in the past 50 years and one of them is Ben Zobrist.
If we remove shortstop from the equation and change the requirement to third base, we get a few more good players: Pete Rose, Don Buford, Martin Prado, Cesar Tovar, Gregg Jefferies. Craig Biggio was a regular at catcher, second base and center field (although not in the same season). As Hanley Ramirez showed in 2015, however, it isn't that easy to transition from the infield to the outfield.
Still, in this age of the 13-man pitching staffs, it's invaluable to have a guy who can play all over the field and not hit like Danny Worth. Teams should be grooming more players to play all over, not simply as a shortstop/second baseman utility guy. So let's find a Ben Zobrist for every team.
AL East
Boston Red Sox, Marco Hernandez: He's a bit like Brock Holt, but with more upside. He has hit over .300 the past two seasons in the upper minors and looked good in a few at-bats with the Red Sox. He has been primarily a shortstop and has played just one game in the outfield, and he hass blocked for playing time right now, but he'd be a quality regular.
Baltimore Orioles, Corban Joseph: The minor league vet can hit a little and has played second and third. Maybe he's a stretch at shortstop, but Manny Machado can backup J.J. Hardy and Joseph would have a better stick than Buck Showalter favorite Ryan Flaherty.
Toronto Blue Jays, Steve Pearce: He has kind of filled this role already with the Orioles and Rays, shuttling between first base and corner outfield (and even a little second base). The Jays could set up a multi-position platoon with Pearce playing every day somewhere.
New York Yankees, Starlin Castro: He was a below-average shortstop in the field and he has proven to be a below-average second baseman, but just because he has signed through at least 2019 doesn't mean you have to lock him in at second. Think outside the box: For example, trade for Brian Dozier and turn Castro into a super-utility guy.
Tampa Bay Rays, Brad Miller: He doesn't have the range or reliability to play shortstop on a regular basis, so the Rays intend to make him their regular first baseman after he blasted 30 home runs. Unless he improves the .304 OBP, however, the bat isn't great for first base, so he could play some first, sub for Matt Duffy at shortstop against some tough right-handers and play a little outfield. Then you can carry another first-base bat on the bench (I hear there are lot of them out there in free agency).
AL Central
Cleveland Indians, Erik Gonzalez: He was blocked by Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis, but had a .779 OPS at Triple-A, so looks like a solid backup.
Detroit Tigers, Nick Castellanos: His glove is below-average at third, which is why the Tigers tried him in the outfield before. Try it again and he can play third, a corner and eventually first base when Miguel Cabrera transitions into full-time DH.
Kansas City Royals, Raul Mondesi: I don't think the bat plays at the major league level, so instead of making him their heir apparent to Alcides Escobar, the Royals should make him a glove-and-speed backup who can also play the outfield.
Chicago White Sox, Yoan Moncada: If there's a "Next Zobrist" out there, this is the guy. Signed as a shortstop, he moved to second base and was then groomed as Boston's future third baseman. Some believe he's best suited for outfield, to best utilize his speed. Maybe he can become the rare third base/center fielder All-Star hybrid.
Minnesota Twins, Eddie Rosario: He was a minor league second baseman, but the Twins have kept him in the outfield. Trouble is, the bat isn't really good enough to start there every day with a sub-.300 OBP. But the power makes him an upgrade from your typical utility player. It's all about perception: He's a bad starting left fielder, but a good reserve.
AL West
Texas Rangers, Joey Gallo: He's not going to play in the middle of the diamond, but he can be a four-corners super-sub (first, third, left, right).
Seattle Mariners, Taylor Motter: They acquired him from the Rays, where he started at six different positions, including shortstop. He's not really a potential regular, but could be a platoon starter against lefties.
Houston Astros, Tony Kemp: If I'm another team, I'd be looking to get Kemp, who doesn't really have a job in Houston. He has played second base and the outfield and has a career .304 average and .392 OBP in the minors. He's only 5-foot-6 so doesn't have Zobrist's power, but otherwise fits the profile.
Los Angeles Angels, Jefry Marte: He's already filling this role, having started 19 games at third, 22 in left field and 25 at first. Oh, and had a higher OPS than Albert Pujols.
Oakland Athletics, Chad Pinder: No team loves multi-position platoons more than A's. Pinder can play short and second, but should add some outfield to his versatility.
NL East
Washington Nationals, Trea Turner: When Bryce Harper signs with the Yankees in two years, they can shift Adam Eaton to right and use Turner as a shortstop/center fielder.
New York Mets, Wilmer Flores: Not enough glove for shortstop, not enough bat for first base. But a great bat against lefties as a platoon for Lucas Duda, and enough bat to play elsewhere against righties (I'd suggest grooming him to play outfield, but the Mets already have 46 corner outfielders).
Miami Marlins, Derek Dietrich: He's one of best guys in this role right now, hitting .279/.374/.425 last year while starting at three infield positions and left field.
Philadelphia Phillies, Freddy Galvis: With J.P. Crawford ready to take over at shortstop, turn Galvis into a super-sub, especially if you're buying into the power increase (20 home runs).
Atlanta Braves, Sean Rodriguez: The rare shortstop/first baseman with the Pirates, the Braves have both a shortstop (Dansby Swanson) and first baseman (Freddie Freeman), so Rodriguez will probably play a lot of third and second.
NL Central
Chicago Cubs, Ben Zobrist! With Javier Baez presumably getting the bulk of the action at second base this year and Kyle Schwarber returning to left field, it will be interesting to see how Maddon uses Zobrist. I wonder if we end up seeing a lot of Jason Heyward in center and Zobrist in right.
St. Louis Cardinals, Matt Carpenter: He has played first, second and third, and while the plan seems to be to play him at first, maybe having him play all over is the right move. Rotate Matt Adams, Kolten Wong, Jedd Gyorko and Jhonny Peralta as the matchups dictate, with Carpenter moving off first when Adams starts.
Pittsburgh Pirates, Alen Hanson: He's no longer the shortstop of the future, which is why they groomed him in the outfield in 2016.
Milwaukee Brewers, Mauricio Dubon: Acquired in the Tyler Thornburg trade, this kid can hit (.339/.371/.538 at Double-A) and run (30 steals). He has been a shortstop and can play the position, but the Brewers have Orlando Arcia there. A future Zobrist sleeper!
Cincinnati Reds, Jose Peraza: Maybe he's the replacement for Zack Cozart at shortstop, but I like the way the Reds used him last year, starting at four different positions (SS, 2B, CF, LF). Unless you see him as top-flight defensive shortstop, keep him in that super-sub utility role.
NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers, Willie Calhoun: In his first full season of pro ball, he hit 27 home runs at Double-A Tulsa. He doesn't strike out much. The glove at second isn't a sure thing (21 errors), however, so maybe he profiles as second baseman/third baseman/left fielder.
San Francisco Giants, Eduardo Nunez: Trade for Todd Frazier and make Nunez the fill-in all over the diamond.
Colorado Rockies, Ian Desmond: The $70 million Zobrist!
Arizona Diamondbacks, Jack Reinheimer: They got him from Seattle in the Mark Trumbo trade and he hit .288/.353/.384 at Triple-A, which sounds better than it is, but the D-backs love his gritty style. He's behind Domingo Leyba on the middle infield prospect depth chart, so he should add outfield to his resume.
San Diego Padres, Carlos Asuaje: He reached the majors for a few games after hitting .321/.378/.473 at Triple-A El Paso, where he played second base and a little left field. His arm is fringy for shortstop, but the bat looks like it will play at the major league level.