The Phillies have officially agreed to acquire infielder Asdrubal Cabrera from the Mets, as first reported by Andy Martino of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Righty Franklyn Kilome is heading to New York in return, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter).
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the Phils decide to utilize Cabrera. The veteran has mostly played second base this year, grading quite poorly in the field, but that’s not likely where he’ll play in Philadelphia. It seems possible that Cabrera will slot in mostly at third base and shortstop. He played the latter position for much of his career and split his time between all three of those infield spots in 2017.
Having tried and failed to land Manny Machado, the Phillies seem to have settled on a strategy of mixing and matching on the left side of the infield. To this point, they have primarily utilized Maikel Franco and Scott Kingery, but the rehabbing J.P. Crawford will also ultimately factor in again as well. The current roster also includes infield reserves Jesmuel Valentin and Trevor Plouffe, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see one of those players moved off the active roster to make way for Cabrera.
Regardless of what patch of dirt Cabrera occupies, it is clear that the Phils will gladly put his bat in the lineup. Though Franco has turned it on of late, Kingery and Crawford have produced little offensively. As for Cabrera, he has been a solid offensive performer throughout his dozen seasons in the majors. But he has never been better than in New York. Since inking a two-year deal with an option (picked up last winter), Cabrera carries a .279/.339/.464 slash with 55 home runs.
The switch-hitting Cabrera destroyed opposing righties in 2018, posting a .285/.345/.535 slash. He hasn’t been as productive when facing southpaws this year, but had greater success against them in the prior campaign. For his career, Cabrera has very neutral splits, so there’s good reason to think he can succeed regardless of which side of the box he’s in.
For the Mets, there was no reason not to cash in the last two months of control over Cabrera, who’s earning a manageable $8.25MM salary this year. The New York organization is well out of the postseason hunt and had already begun moving expiring contracts for the second-straight summer.
In exchange for Cabrera, the Mets will add an intriguing hurler who still needs to iron some things out to make an impact in the big leagues. Kilome’s raw arsenal is impressive, led by an upper-nineties heater, and he’s said to be regarded as a hard worker. Even while ranking Kilome the tenth-best prospect in the Phillies system, though, MLB.com noted that “his command has been inconsistent.”
Thus far in 2018, the 23-year-old owns a 4.24 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 over 102 Double-A innings. Perhaps he’s not far from being ready for an opportunity in a major-league pen, but it seems doubtful he’ll receive a shot in the rotation until he has completed some further development. Kilome is already on the 40-man roster, which will increase the pressures to make him of use at the MLB level.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Good pickup for the Phils down the stretch. Bad for the Brewers though. I thought they’d push hard for both Cabrera or Escobar…
Both my teams are mostly sitting on their gabds and it hurts a ton. Don’t sell the farm but some cheap rentals like these could go a long way.
Uhhh, both? You only get one dude
That depends really. Some teams only qualify as half. Or as AAAA teams more than pro teams.
This is what you get when you’re in love with your farm system. Sit on it and watch other deadline deals go down.
Milwaukee doesn’t want to have to give anyone up
Very true. GM likes to publicly posture like he’s going to do deals only to keep fan base happy. But in reality… he doesn’t want to move his prospects which he overly loves. Lol. Go cubs
“Doesn’t want to move his prospects??”
Were you both comatose when they gave up Brinson and three other prospects for Yelich??
Nice to remember that ONE time they actually did give up a prospect. Otherwise, their rep year after year is to talk a good game but defer when it comes to hard decisions. Brewers are content to “try” but don’t have the cajones to go all out.
This is a troll statement. Sabathia, Grienke, Yelich. They deal top prospects every year they have good teams going. There are loads of teams that deal far less often than the Crew. Usually people rip them for dealing too much away during playoff years…..I haven’t seen the opinion of them not dealing enough yet…until now
picked up Moustakis.
Probably want Dozier
Brewers may need Iglesias from the D. He is an incredible fielder and is having a great season with the bat.
Solarte to the brewers
nice of reyes to stay with the mets
and help them out !
But why
OMG klentek your a Gdam fool..really Kilome for Cabrera wow
He’s their 10th ranked prospect in a farm that’s loaded with pitching
Are you kidding? Look at his stats from MiLB! Great deal for the Phils!!!
For Met fans, watch to see if Kilome learns a repeatable delivery. He’s got the arm; lacks the mechanics.
Stop
hes a reliever all the way now.
Bet you were upset when they traded Draybek for Halladay too.
Solid move for the Phillies.
Cant say that im too thrilled to lose Kilome to the Mets.
I wonder if they were gonna have trouble keeping him on the 40 man next year?
ha. hahahahaha. he sucks. 4.5 walks per 9 against batters who dont, as a whole, walk much. NEXT
The Moustakas market is drying up quick. Dayton Moore better get on the phone.
Brewers and Braves could both use him, I wouldn’t panic yet but Moore had not been great with prospect returns lately any way. So fingers crossed we do as good as the Mets on this deal
Brewers have no use for Moustakas.
And where would the Brewers play Shaw?
Shaw supposedly would move to 2b. Yeah, I don’t know if that’s a good idea either. I’ve read he has been logging some time there during infield practice lately, so it depends if the brass thinks he can do it or not.
moose isn’t worth anything.
The Braves have no use for him either.
Wheeler. Matz and Flores for Inciarte, Gohara and Allard. Flores platoons at 3B with Camargo, Julio to long man in BP. Bring up young guys for bullpen.
Please tell me which trades Dayton Moore lost? Maybe two players he’s traded away in his tenure that I wish we had back, and I can’t think of a single trade where he was fleeced. He’s not without flaws, I’m painfully aware of them, but he’s pretty solid with the trades he actually does.
I remind him every day.
– Alex Gordon
Don’t know the Phillies were really that into it. Franco’s been better this year.
Sorry to post this again but
Question: Why are mets fans on board with this front office trading any cotrollable players? We have no GM!!!. After the Familia trade and getting a questionable return, why would ANY met fan be comfortable with what they get in return for Wheeler or any player on their roster who is not a free agent this winter.
I get it people want a rebuild, but can’t you do the same in the offseason once a GM has been picked?
Just looking someone to possibly make me see another side to this.
What are the Brewers doing they didn’t get Escobar and now they lost out on Cabrera. we need a middle infielder so bad!
I could be wrong here, but a recent rumor post showed that Cabrera is like, not very good defensively. Maybe Stearns is hoping to sacrifice a little offense for better defense at 2b. Dozier seems to heat up after the break, so if he’s the target, perhaps they catch lightning in a bottle and upgrade on D and O.
Could be… I’m just frustrated cuz right now the offense and defense at second for the Brewers is awful.
“…rumor post showed that Cabrera is like, not very good…”
Were you born between the years of 1980-1995?
No.
Just trying to avoid silly arguments by calling him brutal, a butcher, or something along those lines. Now get off my lawn!
Yes, Cabrera is a butcher at 2nd.
A butcher, no I don’t think so. A very huge lack of range, absolutely.
-18 DRS in 90 games is pretty brutal.
pdubs2907 didn’t say brutal, they said butcher. Which to me implied bad with the hands. Again the range is a whole different story.
-18 DRS is a butcher. You’re splitting hairs.
Better than Reyes?
Without a doubt.
What do mets fans have to look forward to?
Reyes.
Lol
I can see someone looking at that number but,not looking at the plays and coming to that assumption. Seems to me like you’re hell bent on misusing the term butcher. So go ahead sunshine….
The Brewers MUST acquire Dozier now.
right unless we are willing to part with Hiura for Merrifield… which I’m not and I hope the Brewers aren’t.
@scottstots KC’s GM already said he has no plans for trading Merrifield because the team and the city need him in their future. So Dozier it is haha
Oh I had no idea… someone should tell MLB.com that because they just wrote a piece suggesting that the Royals may trade Duffy and Merrifield to the Brewers lol. I love when fans are more informed than actual writers.
Just because a writer suggests something doesn’t mean it’s actually something that’s being discussed by the teams’ execs
Translation means he wants their top prospect.
But the fan is right. He’s just quoting what the GM said.
truth
Yes etreuden
Yeah, priority for Brewers is now adding a solid .220 hitter! The gun-shy Crew continues to confound. They want quality but refuse to deal from a thin farm.
Or they refuse to empty the tank for a rental in a season which it’s unlikely they’d get past the first round, IF they manage to win the wildcats game, should it be necessary.
I’m sure if the Mets agreed to give up deGrom, Stearns would surely do what he had to to make that deal happen.
Other teams are making moves like the Cubs and it surely doesn’t seem like they’re emptying the tank for rentals.
Except they won’t give anyone up
You say that on every post as if “going for it” when they’re not even a real contender yet is a wise thing for a small market team. You don’t go for it until you’re actually a contender.
Do they really need another .228 hitter??
I’d guess Dozier to Brewers in the next trade
WOW… only one low-level pitcher? The Twins got THREE lottery tickets from the Diamondbacks. Another “fail” on the part of the Mets when they could have traded him to Arizona before the Twins swooped in.
Solid pickup for the Phillies, sad to say as a Nats fan. Was a matter of time before Philly or Atlanta made a move to add. Hoping it doesnt leave Rizzo feeling he needs to make a rash move in the next couple of days.
At this rate the Brewers will be forced to pay a kings ransom to bring Gennett back to town. That would be poetic justice from Scooter’s perspective.
Phillies just started their window and are already unloading top 100 proespects for rentals. Won’t end well.
Gennett isn’t getting moved.
He was probably going to fall out of top 100 lists. It is what it is. An overlay but they just upgraded the worst offenseive position on the field.
I really don’t see this as an overlay. Not exactly covering the surface of an object with a coating.
This guy is a top 10 prospect for the Phillies but has control issues… WHIP near 1.5
Don’t hate this as i was losing a little faith in Kilome. Would’ve liked to have Wheeler come back too though like I said in another post.
From Manny to Asdrubal. Ouch.
4 intra-division trades in the past week if I counted correctly. Very interesting
Lots this month so far. Pierce, Evoldi,JA Happ, Britten, this trade,
Sorry man but you managed to butcher 3 out of 4 names and for some reason that made me lol
Kilome was a top 100 preseason prospect but fell off pretty bad. He was a top 5 Phillies prospect and now is 10th. I don’t love giving him up but let’s not say they gave up a current top 100 prospect.
I don’t know about Kilome’s peripherals, but a quick look at his stats this year don’t show a tremendous talent. His WHIP has been north of 1.3 for several years, and his K/BB ratio is down this year.
I don’t think this was a huge lose for the Phillies, who have obviously shifted into win=now mode.
Hey, where’s that guy who insisted to me that “teams don’t trade within their division” and said “it’s a rule as old as the game”?
lmao that’s literally never been a rule, its just smart to not make the teams you play a far greater amount of game against better by giving them your players.
Don’t know who you’re talking about, but I highly doubt they were talking about rentals. If a controllable player is traded in division, it’s generally known that it has to be an overpay
I’ll take it. I don’t mind giving up Kilome. It is what it is.
Hopefully Asdrubal performs well.
I don’t see how this is a good pickup. He’s not as good a 2B as Hernandez ; Franco is better against RHP and Cabrera hasn’t hit LHP well this year, Franco’s weakness, and as a SS, he’s a defensive liability x 10. I can see this hurting them as much as it might help so as a Dodger fan, I like it. Maybe they could go get Danny Espinosa while they’re at it.
They already have terrible defender at SS. At least this one can hit.
When Crawford gets back, Cabrera makes a nice versatile bench guy.
Hey I’ve ripped on the Mets big time but this appears to be a decent return for Cabrera. The Mets weren’t going to re sign him and at least the return is breathing. Good deal for the Phils too who get a good ball player to add to their mix.
Glad teams are now trading within their own division, especially for rentals. I always found it dumb when a team is on pace to lose 90+ games will not take the best package possible because they do not deal with division rivals. Always take the best package you can get regardless it is your rival team.
IMO, taking a prospect away from a division rival can be just as satisfying. Like the Britton deal with the Yankees. He might help the Yanks win this season but then the O’s might get 6 years of control of a prospect the Yankees could have had in future.
What is going on with all these intra-division trades this year?!?!
Can Kilome hit? Because they’re in desperate need of hitting, especially without Cabrera.
Well, now they can play McNeill at 2nd, which I think is his better spot (although still not great, apparently).
I want to know if being a “hard worker” is like “plays well with others”?
this seems like a win for the Mets. Cabrera didn’t seem to have that much value but Kilome is a nice piece to add to the Mets system.
The Phils want to win the East….. the Braves just praying for the second wildcard. Tough as a Brave fan knowing ownership more interested in profits and saving a buck.
Try being a Jays fan
Try being a mets fan
That has absolutely nothing to do with why the Braves haven’t made a big trade yet.
So can somebody explain to me why the Mets will trade with the Phillies, yet won’t trade with the Yankees?
I thought with Altherr’s demotion maybe the Phillies could have looked to trade with the White Sox. Leury Garcia can basically line up anywhere and hits left hand pitching well. Sox also had a few lefty bullpen options that could have helped the Phillies. (Soria, Cedeno, Avilan)
That ship has sailed. Soria gone to Brewers and Phillies grab Cabrera.
Brewers needed Cabrera. Pressure’s on…
Dozier?
Meanwhile the brewers are just sitting back doing nothing ahhh I love it
Yet ANOTHER Milwaukee target going elsewhere, what the hell are they doing? No team needs an upgrade at 2B/SS than Milwaukee does.
This is what happens when you think like a small market team!
I wouldn’t call that slash line ‘destroying’
the peripheral stats make him the 3rd best bat in the Phils line up behind Hoskins and O Cabrera. Pop and good average. What did you want at the deadline without giving up the whole farm.
Pretty fair trade overall. If Kilome finds himself it would be like the proverbial blind squirrel finding his nut (Ricco & co being the squirrel, obviously)
IF I were Milwaukee, I’d ask the Rangers about Profar….
Not a bad idea, he has been slowly re-upping his value.
Asdrubal is good insurance for an injury, and a bat off the bench, and spot starter..but he’s going to want to play more than that; what you gain in offense over kingery you might lose in having him at shortstop. . Will be interesting to see how Gabe uses him.
Kilome was looking more and more like a future reliever, and was on the 40 man roster, so understand them dealing him.
what? Are you starting Kingery in front of him? Do you even watch baseball? Crawford? both totally overrated players that will likely never make a real contribution. Galvis was arguably better than both combined. AC is a huge upgrade there. Glove will not lose a lot of games. You probably remember that 17th inning homer that wins games at CBP
Kingery is overrated after 4 months in the big leagues? Give him some time. Not every players comes up and mashes.
He is hitting .234, playing below average defense and has 5 HR. What part of that looks appealing to you? I saw people fawning over his Spring. Looks like a 4A to me. Just my opinion. You can hang on to hope if you like.
A fair deal.
I don’t get this trade. The Phillies defense is terrible, and the only position in their starting lineup that needed an upgrade is shortstop. They acquired a guy who can’t play shortstop…. Who are you taking out of the lineup for Asdrubal. Cesar? Has to be. He’s really cooled off lately. But this just had the makings of another guy they shift between three different positions and plays all subpar or poor
They’ll have him play shortstop primarily, although Asdrubal has experience at second and third as well. Kingery hasn’t been great at short defensively, and Asdrubal brings more of a (power) bat. While I’m sure I’m going to shake my head on Asdrubal’s lack of range, he does do fine making routine plays from my experience watching him.
As far as who won’t be playing, it’ll primarily be Kingery, but the Phillies seem to have soured on Franco overall so he’ll also be out. Hernandez has a great obp, so unless he needs rest or has a nagging injury, I don’t expect Asdrubal to play much second.
I ask respectfully, what games are you watching??? Franco has the second best OPS on the team.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel Franco has been very solid this year. That said, his name has come up multiple times in trades this year, the Phillies often remove him on a doubleswitch (when trailing), and Kapler has had him bat 7th or later often in the past two months.
That has nothing to do with my feelings on Franco, which are actually fairly positive, but I don’t feel I’m in the wrong saying that the Phillies had soured on him a bit after his great rookie year.
they had soured on him but he’s responded when moved won in the lineup- they certainly don’t trust him so Cabrera is an option there if he returns to his old self at the plate. Imagine we will see Asdrubal at all three spots form time to time.
Asdrubal Cabrera and Odubel Herrera are on the same team? This is awesome.
Good catch! I love it!
Maybe the Mets use this power arm in the bullpen. He’s young with an explosive fastball. This was a good trade for the Mets. Not sure what people expected in return for a rental.this is a much better return than what they received from the A’s for Familia
Kind of a shame best farm in the league or at least near the top and can package up one with a couple aa players to get a quality arm under control for a couple of years. How many prospects become busts. I’m not saying get rid of the farm but we need to improve our staff and bullpen.
absolutely bad trade.
Wow. Another mediocre right handed pitching prospect in a rental deal. That has to be between 10-12 over the past two seasons. He’s actually listed as a prospect, and isn’t 24, both of which are a little different.
Like the A’s, the Phils have done well dealing with the 3-headed Met FO which is obviously under orders from Fred to save him some pennies. Cabrera is a great piece for anyone’s bench. Savvy veteran, switch hitter that can hit for average and some power from both sides, has played all IF positions fairly well and has been productive hitting in different spots in the lineup. He can backup an entire IF and be a good pinch hitter who can’t be neutralized by same side pitching.
For all the middle infielders on the move i still dont understand the lack of Starlin Castro trade talks
so.285 is destroying pitching now?
Why are you ignoring the more important parts of the triple slash line? And even though average isn’t that important, .285 is pretty good
Why are we helping the Phillies
“Utilize”, lol. Sad.
Good for the Phils. Cabrera was always a gamer for the Mets.
This is a good trade, tenth best prospect for solid player. I like it, Phillies defense hasn’t been great as a whole so he’ll fit right in. He’s passible at ss and to give up Kilome is good. Nowhere near a top 100 prospect
Theres been so many trades within the divisions. Happ, Eovaldi, zach Britton now this one. This doesn’t usually happen until then non waiver trade deadline is over.
Kilome instantly became the Mets #5 prospect. Which is better than the Player they got for Familia (Toffey)whose the Mets #25 prospect now. So cant’t complain about Kilome. Wheeler is next!
Kilome, more than likely will be in the bullpen. But Im sure the mets will have plenty of time to try and get him to figure out how to throw strikes. He has never been able to. The stuff is good, and he has a workhorse body. Perhaps best case scenario is Betances.
I’ll still never forget how Asdrubal ate his way out of a monster contract in 2012. The guy went into the offseason as one of the games too short stops and returned after the off season looking like he took the challenge of every “all you can eat” buffet in town. He literally cost himself tens of millions of dollars… hope that cheap prime rib was worth it.
I’ll still never forget how Asdrubal ate his way out of a monster contract in 2012. The guy went into the offseason as one of the games too short stops and returned after the off season looking like he took the challenge of every “all you can eat” buffet in town. He literally cost himself tens of millions of dollars… hope that cheap prime rib was worth it. Good times
Tonight Asbrubal will face Matt Harvey.