MESA, Ariz. — In terms of distance, Chris Coghlan was involved in one of the easier trades ever.

“Unbelievable. He was there like 10 minutes after the trade, seemed like,” manager Bob Melvin said.

“The great thing is, it was only a 5-mile drive,” said Coghlan, who left the Cubs’ camp on the other side of town right after going to the A’s in a deal for starter Aaron Brooks. “This was an easy transition.”

Coghlan sensed when he was summoned off the field Thursday that something was afoot. He’d already met with Cubs brass to map out a plan for the season.

“They pulled me off and I was like, ‘This ain’t good. I’ve only had that happen once and it didn’t turn out well.’ But I was sent down that year — this is a lot better,” he said. “It was surprising, a whirlwind of emotions: bitter because you love the guys over there and you’re like, ‘Man, we have a really good bunch,’ and then you get to come over here, which is sweet because the team wants you.”

Coghlan is a utility player and proud of it, following in the footsteps of onetime A’s player and current Cubs prize offseason addition Ben Zobrist, the super-utility man.

“When I was younger, my ego, I was like, ‘I want to play one positon,’ but as you grow, to be able to play different positions really helps the team, so I’ve learned to embrace it,” Coghlan said. “It’s funny, they always compare me to Zo, and finally playing with him ... that was the dude I always tried to model myself after because he helped the team in so many ways.

“It was cool to be able to play with him for about two days. I hope to come over here and fill that role.”

Zobrist, who spent the first half of last year with Oakland, signed a four-year, $56 million deal with the Cubs during the winter. Coghlan is a free agent after the season.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

“Zo set the bar,” Coghlan said. “There were people before, but Zo made it sexy and and cool to be the utility guy. Before, it meant you aren’t an everyday guy. Now it’s the cool thing. So mad props to him.”

Coghlan is known for a hard slide against the Pirates’ Jung Ho Kang last year that ended Kang’s season; on a similar play, he also ended Akinori Iwamura’s season in 2009. Slide rules were changed Thursday when MLB issued guidelines that “takeout slides” will not be allowed.

Will clarifying slide rules help?

“They need to, but it’s going to be gray,” Coghlan said. “The Buster Posey rule — I was on deck when Scott Cousins ran him over, and you’re sick to your stomach because you see it, but that’s the way the game is. There’s nothing malicious about it. If your star player gets hurt, that’s the culture we live in. They’re going to change the rules.

“Unfortunately, Kang got hurt. I hated that. But there’s a difference in slides. Everyone tries to compare me to (Chase) Utley, but I think you have to watch the video and everyone knows there’s a huge difference. … It’s a big-boy game. You’ve got to strap it on and be prepared, everyone knows the risks. I’m old school. You play the right way, you play hard, you take care of yourself.”

A’s manager Bob Melvin took a look at the new rules and said, “I think it’s going to be similar to the plays at the plate. You’re really going to have to feel them out and see which way they go with them.

“What stands out to me is that you can’t change directions once you slide. … The intent has to be going for the base. But there’s going to be a little gray area that’s going to have to be felt out during the season.”

As for Coghlan’s slide on Kang, Melvin agreed there was no comparison with Utley’s slide that injured the Mets’ Ruben Tejada in the postseason. “You’re taught to take the guy out,” he said. “That’s going to be the most difficult part for runners: Your instincts say, ‘I’m trying to take this guy out, break up the double play.’”

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser