Report: Ben Zobrist agrees to four-year, $56M deal with Cubs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ben Zobrist has reportedly made up his mind. He’s reunited with his old manager Joe Maddon and signing with the Chicago Cubs.

The deal, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, pays $56 million over four years and gives the Cubs as a versatile veteran to add to their youthful lineup.

The decision ends a competition for Zobrist that had been one of the Winter Meetings’ top stories so far, as reports of three-year offers turned into four and contract values rose until he agreed to this deal with an annual average value of $14 million. The New York Mets were reportedly the other finalist for Zobrist.

The MLB Hot Stove season has mostly been about pitching thus far, with Zobrist the first big position player off the board. He ranked No. 9 on our own Jeff Passan’s Ultimate Free-Agent Tracker. The belief in the industry is that Zobrist’s decision was holding up others in the outfield market. Insiders believe we could see more movement now on the other top outfielders in free agency, including Jason Hayward, Justin Upton, Yoenis Cespedes and Alex Gordon.

Zobrist has been one of the more curious cases of the winter thus far. He’s coming off a World Series win with the Kansas City Royals and has a reputation as one of those most versatile players in the game, able to play almost any infield or outfielder position. Teams looking for second basemen were interested, as were teams looking for outfielders. But Zobrist is also 34 and he was looking for a four-year contract, so there was reason for some teams to be hesitant.

What ensued was something of a bidding war that involved the division rival New York Mets and Washington Nationals, as well as the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were said to be in varying degrees of interest. The Mets were believed to the favorite most of the day Tuesday, until the Cubs jumped back into the conversation. Meanwhile, anonymous reports coming out of the Winter Meetings made it sound like Zobrist wanted to wrap up his deal before everyone in baseball scattered back home.

Zobrist figures to give Cubs a big boost, because frankly, he’d give anyone a big boost. The offensive numbers aren’t stunning — .265 batting average, 17 homers and 77 RBIs are his career averages per 162 games — but his versatility is his No. 1 trait. He lessens the impact of position-player injuries and gives managers flexibility. He’s also a dependable bat and regarded as a good clubhouse guy.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz