Report: Cubs among teams showing interest in Ben Zobrist

Zobrist is so popular that basically every contender but the Dodgers, Astros and Cardinals — three teams seeking pitching — is believed to have at least checked in at some point. There’s so much interest it may take awhile to sort out. The Royals haven’t gotten a great year out of Omar Infante at second base and could use some extra help in the outfield, while the Pirates suffered injuries to the whole left side of their infield, so both of those teams make sense. The Angels may be more interested in a left fielder but currently have David Freese out at third base, while the Yankees are considering a possible upgrade at second base (though Stephen Drew has shown both power and defense). Zobrist, as a rental player, will definitely go somewhere considering the extreme interest. His $7.5-million salary is reasonable, and he’s been especially productive the past two months (he’s hitting .268 overall) after an injury-affected start.