MLB

Mets reach out to Ben Zobrist — but Yankees likely scared off

Ben Zobrist will have his share of suitors this offseason — including the Mets — but early indications are the Yankees will not be among them.

According to industry sources, the Yankees aren’t willing to spend as much as Zobrist likely will receive on the market, even if he does fill a need in the infield and is a switch hitter.

Instead, it’s the Mets that figure to make a strong push for Zobrist, whose versatility would allow them to use him at second base and in the outfield. They are among the teams that already have formally reached out to Zobrist’s agent, Alan Nero.

With the likely departure of Daniel Murphy — who rejected the Mets’ $15.8 million qualifying offer Friday — the Mets have a hole of their own at second base.

They could attempt to fill the spot internally by moving Wilmer Flores to second and keeping Ruben Tejada at shortstop or give 21-year-old Dilson Herrera a shot. Matt Reynolds is another possibility at short if the Mets choose to move on from Tejada, who suffered a fractured right leg on Chase Utley’s take-out slide in the NLDS.

None of those options, though, would help a lineup that could not only be missing Murphy, but also Yoenis Cespedes, another free agent who is almost certainly headed for richer pastures.

That’s where Zobrist could fit in Queens, rather than in The Bronx. The Yankees’ plans, especially this early in the offseason, are subject to change, but they stuck to their pledge last year.

That figured to be tested since the Yankees are unsettled at second base. With the ineffectiveness of Stephen Drew a year ago and the questionable readiness of Rob Refsnyder and Dustin Ackley during brief stints in The Bronx, Zobrist would have seemed like a solid fit for the Yankees.

For a second straight offseason, they have at least started out with a plan to not go deep into their pockets and instead continue to improve via the trade market.

They still have high salaries locked up in aging players such as Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. And they have just $12.5 million coming off last season’s payroll with the departures of Drew, Chris Capuano and Chris Young.

Zobrist, who turns 35 in May, could get as much as a four-year deal worth over $60 million. He’s coming off another strong season and remained remarkably consistent since becoming an everyday player with Tampa Bay in 2009.

He split 2015 between Oakland and Kansas City, finishing with 13 homers and an .809 OPS. He then played a significant role in Kansas City’s World Series run. And since he was traded midseason, the team that signs him won’t have to surrender a draft pick.

Both the Yankees and Mets expressed interest in acquiring Zobrist before the trade deadline, but the Mets never got far in their pursuit and the Yankees balked at surrendering both Adam Warren and Refsnyder.

At the World Series last month, Zobrist said he thought there was a chance he would end up in New York during the season.

“I heard rumors and I didn’t know,” Zobrist said. “You don’t want to start thinking too much about it ’til you actually get a phone call.”

At the time, the idea seemed pretty good to a player on a bad Oakland team.

“When we were in Oakland, struggling to even get to the .500 mark and there was talk about getting traded to a contending team, of course I was interested,” Zobrist said. “But I think I ended up with the Royals for a good reason and fit in really well with this club.”

Now he’s got a chance to pick a team on his own.