Report: Cubs to target Athletics' Zobrist

Resolved to bolster a roster that could be destined for a playoff berth, Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein is reportedly keen to reunite manager Joe Maddon with one of his most talented and versatile soldiers from his days in Tampa Bay.

Amid disappointing production from their bench thus far, the Cubs will target Ben Zobrist of the Oakland Athletics, a superutility player who spent nine years with Maddon in Tampa Bay, according to Gordon Wittenmeyer of the Chicago Sun-Times

"We're trying to balance short- and long-term interests," Epstein said recently when asked about making moves between now and 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."

Though the non-waiver trade deadline is still roughly two months away, the Cubs have a history of brokering significant swaps weeks ahead of the deadline.

"We struck early in the trade market when we were sellers (the last three years), and I'm not here to say we wouldn't do the same thing if we're buyers," general manager Jed Hoyer said. “But I do think you have to be at a place in the season where you feel like, 'OK, we've established that we're going to be in the race, and we have clear weaknesses that you can address.'"

Zobrist, meanwhile, has considerable experience at both middle-infield positions as well as in the outfield, and could allow Maddon to offer more maintenance days for some of his regulars. A two-time All-Star, Zobrist is hitting .262/.324/.426 (109 OPS+) with one home run in 17 games this season, though he missed four weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in April.

Athletics general manager Billy Beane, however, isn't prepared to concede yet despite his club's 18-32 record, and thus hasn't made the 34-year-old available via trade.