The Mets announced Wednesday that they’ve signed left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.
Cabrera, 28, has spent his career to date with the Cardinals and Blue Jays. The hard-throwing southpaw turned in 62 2/3 innings of 3.59 ERA for Toronto in 2024 but did so with a below-average 18.5% strikeout rate and bloated 10.7% walk rate. Command has consistently been an issue for Cabrera, who’s never walked fewer than 10% of his opponents in a single season.
Even with clear sub-par command, however, Cabrera has typically remained effective. He carries a 3.89 ERA in 275 2/3 big league innings and has often found himself in leverage spots, compiling 67 holds and five saves to this point. His 2024 season in Toronto featured a career-low average velocity on his four-seamer (95.9 mph), though his 96 mph average sinker was up slightly from his 2022-23 levels (but down from a 97.7 mph peak). Last year’s strikeout rate was the second-worst of his career.
The track record and velocity with Cabrera are both intriguing, even if his command has always been poor and his 2024 had some notable red flags. There’s no risk for the Mets to bring him to camp as a non-roster player and see if he pitches his way into a bullpen spot. At the moment, the only left-handed reliever on the Mets’ 40-man roster is Danny Young, so there’s certainly room to add some depth and possibly some additional certainty in that regard as the offseason progresses.
If they could have gotten this guy taught control, he could have been something.
He was always a bit of drama on the Cardinals. Wasn’t too receptive to considering changes and didn’t seem like a team guy. Maybe a Toronto fan can comment on if he has grown up at all in the last 1.5 years.
Jays fan here. Genesis seemed fine in TOR. He was likely to get $2.5 M in arbitration and that was too much for a mid relief guy. Because he is wild that is all he likely can do at this point.
He likes to get excited after a K. That used to be frowned on but is pretty normal now.
Last trading deadline, the Jays front office made a statement about not trading anyone that was under contract for 2025 and beyond. Then they go and release Cabrera. Couldn’t they have traded him at the deadline for something?… He compiled a string of decent outings at one point during the season.
bucsfan: MLB front offices generally aren’t stupid, so it’s reasonable to think they tried but couldn’t.
He was also a bit of a head case in Toronto. Yelled at opposing dugouts a few times.
Can’t speak to how receptive he was to coaching.
Overall, though, his performance was solid. First part year was great. Last season was less impressive, yet was still ‘ok’ as a useful lefty reliever.
A little surprised he couldn’t get a small guaranteed contract somewhere. His flaws are his flaws, but his results felt worthy of a small contract, rather then an invite.
Him and Amir Garrett need to talk sometime.
Absolutely, was just going to post that I’m not sure how he was perceived in the clubhouse. But he definitely was a drama Queen on the field. Many touchy moments.
I don’t mind this move. Much rather would have a guy thats had success then a dude that hasn’t shown any results. Hes automatically our 3rd best reliever right now after Diaz and Nunez
If that’s true, that’s a very shallow bullpen.
Senga Genesis
I was going to break out an invisible touch joke, but seems anti-climactic at this point.
The lamb lies down on Broadway. Try the veal!
Maybe he can Turn it On Again with the Mets.
Stearns is going to get him in that Pitching Lab and hope to fix him. Low risk, good reward if he can fix him and get the control issues better.
What a surprise. David signed another pitcher with poor control.
@ AgeeHarrelsonJones Pointless reaction. Its a minor league signing. If he pans out, so be it. If not, nothing lost. And there’s always a chance, no matter how slight, that the pitching lab can find and fix something that another team’s didn’t find yet. And inconsistently successful is better than never been successful.
A reaction does not need to have a point, Geoff. My comment was an observation. I meant no offense to you or David or his many supporters. I think he’s been doing a fine job despite (or perhaps because of) his attraction to wild relievers
I believe it’s Geofft
Terrible name for a terrible character in the original (and better) Road House (1948).
He could become a revelation for the Mets. You never know. His career ERA isn’t bad.
Get this guy away from Bryce Harper please.
I remember this guys best two pitches when he was a Cardinal being the 96-mph bow tie and the 96-mph chin music to left handed hitters.
I just hope this is the first domino of many to fall this off season for them
Wow, I thought this thread would get No Reply At All…
If by intriguing track record, they mean wildly inconsistent, then yes. That 3..59 ERA last year was a career low save for the shortened 2020 season, and his peripherals are rarely encouraging.
Still, he’s a left-hander who has had limited periods of success, so make of that what you will.
Back to the Beginning. ABACAB
There Must Be Some Kind of Misunderstanding
You can never have too much pitching and especially Lefthanders
NOT in their Right Minds – like Tug, J. Franco, Wagner
YaGotta: The song was “There must be some misunderstanding.”
“Kind of” wasn’t part of the title.
Abacabrera
This is the perfect answer to the Dodgers getting Snell.
In the “big inning “ there’s Genesis!
The Book of Génesis
Chapter 1:
In the big inning, the visiting team created a rally. And the starter’s pitches were no longer with form and void; and darkness was upon the faces of the crowd. And the Manager moved upon the pitcher’s mound. And the Manager said, “Let there be left-handed heat.” And there was left-handed heat. And the Manager saw the left-handed heat, that it was good: but the heat was divided from control.
Same as you with your sentence structure.
It takes a village.
There was a Genesis of all this somewhere.
Actually, the G is pronounced with an H. So it is pronounced “Henesis”
I refuse.
Agreed, and a hard letter ‘g’ needs to be pronounced in the word ‘lasagna’.
Still haven’t learned their lesson. All Stearns knows is how to build a small market team. You have to court at least 3-4 top arms in the bullpen and that requires you to spend money. Not sign crap off the scrap heap and hope.
You mean all Stearns knows how to do is build playoff teams. Since his 2nd year as a gm with the brewers, his teams have been in the playoffs or 1 game away from the playoffs. So I think he knows what he is doing.
@icantstandyous You are 100% right. We were one of the worst teams in the first half of last year because Stearns thought he could be cheap with the bullpen. It wasn’t until the deadline when he made some moves to get some major league relievers that the team actually started to win (and I didn’t even like the relievers that he traded for in general). The playoffs exposed just how crappy our bullpen is. If Stearns doesn’t sign 2 of either Minter, Scott, Finnegan, or Treinen then this season is going to be a wash
@ icantstandyous Its only November. You have no idea what Stearns’ plan is for this off-season. He’s been here one year, and you want to jump to the conclusion that what happened last year is his one and only way of doing things. Thats short-sighted jump to conclusion. They were over the cap right from the jump last year, now they’re 70 million under. Last Nov, they were coming off of a debacle of a season which saw them dismantle their team at the trade deadline, now they’re coming off of a trip to the LCS. Let’s see what happens between now and March.
“found himself in leverage spots”
Every relief appearance is a leverage spot, so clarifying if it’s a high- or low-leverage spot would be useful.
There’s somethin in the air tonight.
He hopes it’s not Against All Odds he makes the club.