Report: Mets willing to overpay for Athletics' Ben Zobrist

The New York Mets are in a tough position right now. At 41-40, they are second in the NL East, just 3.5 games behind the division leading Nationals and 2.5 games behind in the Wild Card. 

Their offensive struggles have been well noted, as the team has scored just 3.44 runs per game, good for second worst in the Majors.

In order to bolster their offense, the Mets are "willing to overpay" for Athletics' infielder and outfielder Ben Zobrist, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

However, Sherman notes, the Athletics have yet to make Zobrist available to teams in a trade, as they are not out of the playoff race themselves, sitting a mere 6.5 games behind in the tight AL Wild Card race.

Zobrist would make plenty of sense for the Mets, as he could potentially fill in at second base, shortstop, third base, and in the corner outfield, where help is needed. Zobrist also does an excellent job of getting on-base, which could spark a Mets offense that has been pretty stale as of late. 

On the season, the 34-year-old Zobrist has hit .260/.353/.445/.798 (123 OPS+) with five homers and 29 runs batted in over 201 plate appearances. 

--Devan Fink 

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