The Cubs believe they’ve found the right mix to getting the most bang for their buck out of Ben Zobrist.
The aging veteran is extremely valuable to the team given his positional flexibility, switch-hitting ability and polished plate approach, but the Cubs learned the hard way in 2017 that Zobrist needs rest to keep him healthy and spry throughout the long, grueling season.
Zobrist played in 128 games in 2017 but was plagued by a wrist injury for most of the year, hitting only .232 with a .693 OPS. But he returned to finish second on the 2018 Cubs in position-player WAR (Baseball Reference) behind only MVP runner-up Javy Baez.