MLB Rumors: Latest on Gerardo Parra, Ben Zobrist and More

The MLB trade deadline is just around the corner, and the rumor mill is churning out some interesting bits of information practically every day.  

Big names on the block this year include players like Johnny Cueto, Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Papelbon and David Price, among others, and the deadline could feature an exciting flurry of moves. In this piece, we're going to look at a few players who, while their names don't carry the same notoriety as a Cueto or Papelbon, could have a huge impact on a team willing to bring them in.

The Giants Love Gerardo Parra

Gerardo Parra has done an impressive job of trying to shake the fourth-outfielder tag he was slapped with during his time in Arizona. Over 83 games played this year, Parra boasts a strong .309/.345/.487 batting line with eight home runs, 20 doubles, 26 RBI, 4- runs scored, six stolen bases and a 50-15 K/BB ratio.

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has watched Parra consistently over his seven-year career, and according to San Francisco Giants writer Andrew Baggarly, the Giants have liked Parra since his days with the D'backs, but they had no opportunity to acquire him from their division rival.

Conveniently enough, Parra is with a new team now—the Milwaukee Brewers—and according to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Giants have at least checked in on Parra, along with Atlanta Braves outfielder Cameron Maybin.

Parra's name has been showing up in rumors all over the league, and we should expect that trend to continue now that outfielder Khris Davis has returned from the DL. With Parra playing as well as he has been and their outfield at full strength, now would be a sensible time to sell high on him while teams like the Giants—they're playing with both Hunter Pence and Nori Aoki on the DL—are hurting for outfield help.

Whether he ends up playing his home games at AT&T Park or not remains to be seen, but the idea of the 28-year-old suiting up for the Giants has to be a welcome thought for fans who have seen the team's outfield suffer from more injuries than you can shake a stick at.

Mets in on Ben Zobrist

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets have interest in Oakland A's super-utility man Ben Zobrist. Sherman noted that the team's GM, Sandy Alderson, had "recently stated that he was willing to 'overpay' for the right hitter to help his lineup."

Alderson surely had at least one player in mind when making that statement, but according to Sherman, Zobrist is his man.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

The 34-year-old missed an entire month of the season between April 24 and May 26, but he has been solidly productive over 39 games since returning from the DL. In said 39 games, Zobrist has logged 157 plate appearances with a .261/.358/.442 batting line with 16 extra-base hits (four home runs), 23 RBI, 26 runs scored and a 16-22 K/BB ratio.

Zobrist would be a solid fit for the Mets, who could use any bit of offense they can get. 

Currently, the Mets rank second to last in the National League in runs per game (3.45). In addition, they're almost completely devoid of players who can get on base—their .297 team on-base percentage ranks second to last in the NL.

If there's two things Zobrist does well, it's get on base and score runs. Over his 10-year-career, he is the owner of a .354 on-base percentage, and while his speed has all but dried up, the veteran utility man is still smart on the basepaths and takes the extra base 47 percent of the time, per Baseball-Reference.

But so Are the Angels

According to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez, (h/t Ken Rosenthal), the Angels were rebuffed when they brought up Josh Reddick in trade discussions. Rosenthal expanded on that scenario, though, and noted that league sources also informed him the team inquired about Zobrist.

"The Angels, according to major-league sources, not only made a trade inquiry to the Athletics about outfielder Josh Reddick, as first reported by MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez, but also about Zobrist," Rosenthal said.

Zobrist would be a great fit for the Angels—honestly, he's a great fit for just about any team—as they rank 11th in the American League in runs scored, while their batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage marks rank 10th, eighth and 10th, respectively.

The Illinois native can play practically every position on the field—he's appeared at every position except first and third between 2014 and 2015—and would be a welcome upgrade over the struggling Matt Joyce in left field.

Unfortunately, as noted by David Lennon of Newsday, acquiring the 34-year-old is getting harder and harder, as he continues to excel with Oakland.

That's all good and well, but Zobrist is also slated to hit the free-agent market this offseason, and he may keep playing his way into a larger contract with a different team. If GM Billy Beane determines the team is unable to keep Zobrist in the fold long term, he may look to move him for more controllable assets.

All stats are current through play on July 8, and are courtesy of Fangraphs.com unless otherwise noted.

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