Royals acquire Ben Zobrist from A's
— -- The Kansas City Royals have acquired Ben Zobrist from the Oakland Athletics for minor league pitchers Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks, the team announced Tuesday.
The deal comes on the heels of Kansas City acquiring star pitcher Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds for three minor-league pitchers on Sunday.
Zobrist is hitting .268/.354/.447 with six home runs in 67 games this season.
According to ESPN's Stats & Information, only three position players ( Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre) have accumulated more wins above replacement than Zobrist since 2009.
Zobrist missed a month following arthroscopic left knee surgery in late April for a torn meniscus.
He joins a Royals team that leads the AL Central a season after beating Oakland in the wild-card game on the way to its first World Series in 29 years and a seven-game loss to San Francisco.
Zobrist could fill a void in left field and play some second base. Left fielder Alex Gordon is likely sidelined until at least late September after the All-Star strained his groin tracking a fly ball just before the break. Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando were platooning at the position, but Moore sought an upgrade until Gordon's return.
Having Zobrist available to play so many spots also will give manager Ned Yost an opportunity to rotate players and rest others down the stretch to keep everybody healthy and fresh for what the Royals hope is another World Series run.
Manaea, 23, was selected by Kansas City with the 34th overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Indiana State. His professional debut was delayed by a torn labrum in his hip. Since his debut in 2014, the left-hander has gone 8-9 with a 3.23 ERA in 32 starts.
Brooks, a 25-year-old right-hander, was a ninth-round pick out of Cal State-San Bernadino in 2011. He's 42-32 with a 4.21 ERA in the minor leagues, and has a 20.57 ERA in seven innings with the Royals over the past two seasons.
Information from ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick and The Associated Press was used in this report.
