If Oakland A's GM Billy Beane shifts into fire sale mode within the next month or so, there's already one team lined up for one of his key acquisitions from this offseason.
Here's RJ White of CBS Sports with the report:
The Cubs plan to make Athletics second baseman Ben Zobrist one of their biggest trade targets heading into June, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Zobrist, who played for Cubs manager Joe Maddon for nine years with the Rays, could man left field if acquired by the Cubs while providing flexibility to be moved around the field if needed. However, the A's have yet to make Zobrist available and are not ready to throw the towel in on the season, per the report.
"We're trying to balance short- and long-term interests," team president Theo Epstein said, when asked about making moves leading up to the July 31 trade deadline. "But we're in a situation [in which] we have a fairly competitive team right now, and we have some needs. So you don't ignore that. You keep it in mind. But at the same time you can't just go out and unilaterally add."
Zobirst has posted a .242/.301/.394 slash with one home run and 10 RBIs in 66 at-bats so far for the A's.
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