Apex of A’s trades: Ben Zobrist dealt to Royals

LOS ANGELES — Oakland’s 2015 turnover hit its zenith Tuesday when the A’s traded super utility man Ben Zobrist to the Kansas City Royals.

The deal underscored the depth of the last-place club’s frustrations this year. Zobrist was Oakland’s prize acquisition last winter and the ultimate A’s player, given his versatility, while Kansas City is the team that snatched the wild-card game from the A’s last fall. The Royals also engaged in some ugly back and forth on the field with Oakland earlier in the season that included bench-clearing incidents in all three games at Kansas City. And the A’s also are sending more than $2 million to the Royals, essentially the remainder of Zobrist’s $7.5 million salary.