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Asdrubal Cabrera

Reds Claim Asdrubal Cabrera

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1:45pm: The Reds and D-backs have officially announced the move.

12:44pm: The Reds have claimed veteran infielder Asdrubal Cabrera off waivers from the Diamondbacks, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). The teams have yet to announce the move. Cincinnati already has multiple vacancies on its 40-man roster, so the Reds will only need to open a spot on the active 26-man roster.

Cabrera, 35, will give the Reds a switch-hitting infield option off the bench for the final month-plus of the regular season — and for the postseason, should they qualify. Because Cabrera is being claimed prior to Sept. 1, he’ll be eligible for postseason play with his new club.

It hasn’t been a great year at the plate for Cabrera, but he’s posted a respectable .244/.324/.392 batting line in 321 plate appearances while splitting his time between the infield corners (in addition to one lone inning at shortstop). He’s playing out the season on a one-year, $1.75MM contract and is owed about $358K of that sum through season’s end. The Reds will be on the hook for the remainder of that salary.

The veteran Cabrera looked like an obvious trade candidate prior to the deadline, but the D-backs apparently didn’t find much interest. They’ll clear a bit of cash now that he’s been claimed, although the primary motivation here could simply have been to give a veteran player a chance to join a playoff contender.

Cincinnati doesn’t have everyday at-bats available for Cabrera — not with Joey Votto at first base, Jonathan India at second base and Mike Moustakas over at third base. However, Cabrera has been quite productive against left-handed pitching over the past two seasons and has slightly better numbers against lefties than against righties over the course of his lengthy career. And as potent as the Reds’ lineup can be, Cincinnati has quietly been one of the game’s least-productive groups against southpaws, hitting just .231/.313/.380 as a team. Their collective 86 wRC+ against lefties ranks 28th in the Majors. Cabrera gives them a slight upgrade in that regard and also gives manager David Bell some versatility for late-game maneuvering.

Diamondbacks Reinstate Asdrubal Cabrera, Place Josh Rojas On 10-Day Injured List

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The Diamondbacks have placed infielder Josh Rojas on the 10-day injured list with a left finger dislocation, retroactive to July 22nd, the team announced. In his place, Asdrubal Cabrera has been reinstated from the injured list.

Cabrera comes off the IL just in time for an important showcase ahead of the trade deadline. The veteran infielder offers cheap, reliable production as a switch-hitter capable of playing anywhere in the infield except shortstop, which he hasn’t handled in quite some time.

Still, Cabrera remains a tough out. With an 11.7 percent walk rate, Cabrera has posted a triple slash of .240/.332/.385 in 223 plate appearances. He won’t be a flashy get, but he’s been worth 1.0 fWAR thus far, and he helped the Nationals win the 2019 World Series with a monster second half, often serving as protection in the lineup for Juan Soto. That’s hardly the expectation for the 35-year-old Cabrera, but it does speak to his utility for a contender.

Rojas, 27, has seen more playing time this season than ever before in his young career. The versatile defender has hit .268/.356/.438 with 10 home runs in 366 plate appearances. He’s done so while covering second, short, left and right field.

Diamondbacks Place Asdrubal Cabrera On 10-Day IL

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Infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain, the Diamondbacks announced.  Utilityman Andrew Young was called up from Triple-A to take Cabrera’s spot on Arizona’s active roster.

Cabrera is hitting .240/.332/.385 with five homers over 223 plate appearances this season, and this is already his second IL trip of the year due to his bothersome right hamstring.  An earlier strain kept him out of action for three weeks in May and early June, and if this latest injury has a similar recovery timeline, it will greatly decrease Cabrera’s chances of being dealt prior to the July 30 trade deadline.  Reports from earlier this week indicated that the Mets had interest in a reunion with Cabrera, who played in New York from 2016-18.

It’s certainly possible the Mets or another team might still acquire Cabrera if they’re confident he’ll be back shortly after July 30, or if he has only played in a game or two prior to the deadline.  The injury factor would decrease Arizona’s return in a potential trade, though since Cabrera is a veteran rental player having a decent unspectacular season, the Diamondbacks likely weren’t expecting to net a huge return anyway.  Speculatively, the D’Backs could attempt to combine Cabrera with another veteran player in a multi-player swap, so the other team gets more than just Cabrera as a potential injury question mark, and Arizona gets more value back in a prospect package.

Cabrera has mostly played third base this season, though his ability to play all over the infield would make him an interesting bench addition for a number of contending teams.  There isn’t much to like about his Statcast numbers apart from a solid walk rate, yet Cabrera has still managed a respectable 96 wRC+ in his age-35 season.

Mets Interested In Asdrubal Cabrera

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The Mets have been scouting Diamondbacks infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports.  Cabrera would be a pure rental pickup for New York, as the veteran signed a one-year, $1.75MM contract with the D’Backs last winter.

This lack of long-term control makes Cabrera one of the likelier players to be dealt prior to the July 30 trade deadline, as the Diamondbacks are clearly in seller mode and are willing to move (almost) anyone on the roster.  Cabrera is also a known quantity for the Mets, having played in Queens from 2016 until July 2018, when he was sent to the Phillies as part of another deadline swap.

Cabrera enjoyed a lot of success in his previous stint in a Mets uniform, and he has continued to be an above-average player even in his age-35 season, despite missing three weeks due to a hamstring strain.  Entering today’s action, Cabrera has hit .251/.348/.402 with five homers over 210 plate appearances, good for a 106 wRC+ and OPS+.

However, the Statcast numbers are less appealing, as Cabrera isn’t making much hard contact and he has only a .304 xwOBA, well below his .322 wOBA.  Cabrera’s 12.4% walk rate is the largest of his 15-year MLB career, though that might have more to do with pitchers avoiding Cabrera within a lackluster D’Backs lineup than any particular newfound patience at the plate.

The Mets wouldn’t necessarily need Cabrera to be an everyday contributor, as their troubled third base picture will eventually start to get more clarity once Jonathan Villar and J.D. Davis return from the injured list.  Villar is expected to be activated tonight and Davis is on a minor league rehab assignment, though since Davis is a defensive question mark at best at third base, the Mets could prefer to deploy him in the outfield.  This would open the door for Cabrera and Villar to share time as a switch-hitting platoon at third base, and provide depth all over the infield.  A shortstop for much of his career, Cabrera has played all three other infield spots almost exclusively since the start of the 2019 season.

Diamondbacks Sign Asdrubal Cabrera

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The Diamondbacks have signed infielder Asdrubal Cabrera to a one-year, $1.75MM contract with $1.05MM in incentives, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

Cabrera has played for six teams since his career began with Cleveland in 2007, and he spent parts of the previous two years with the Nationals. While he performed quite well with the Nats during their World Series-winning campaign in 2019, hitting .323/.404/.565 in 146 plate appearances, Cabrera put together a less imposing line of .242/.305/.447 over 213 PA last season. That isn’t far from the switch-hitting 35-year-old’s lifetime offensive output, though, as he has batted .268/.330/.426 across 7,046 trips to the plate.

Cabrera has divided the majority of his career among the middle infield and third base, though he didn’t play any shortstop between 2019-20. Unless that changes, he’ll be a fallback option behind Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte and third baseman Eduardo Escobar.

Asdrubal Cabrera Changes Representation

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Nationals infielder Asdrubal Cabrera has changed representation and hired Gene Mato of Mato Sports Management, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. MLBTR has made note of the switch in our Agency Database.

The well-traveled Cabrera joined the Nationals last August after the Rangers released him. Texas signed Cabrera to a one-year, $3.4MM contract before 2019, but it cut ties with him after he managed a subpar .235/.318/.393 line across 368 plate appearances in its uniform. The switch-hitting Cabrera then came alive as a member of the Nationals, slashing .323/.404/.565 in 146 PA. Cabrera’s down-the-stretch production helped the Nationals to the playoffs, and though he struggled in the postseason, the club still won its first-ever World Series championship.

After Washington took home the title, Cabrera returned to free agency and sat on the open market for a couple months. However, the Nationals ultimately re-signed the 34-year-old to a $2.5MM pact for this season. The move has paid off for the Nationals, as Cabrera is off to a .326/.380/.674 start with three home runs over 50 trips to the plate.

Universal DH Would Allow Nationals To Reboot Their World Series Approach

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With the DH likely headed to the National League, at least for 2020, we’re going over each NL roster to find their best and most likely candidates to reap the rewards of the extra at-bats. We’ve already looked at the Cardinals and Reds from the Central, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks out West, as well as some free agent options still available. Let’s dip our toes into the NL East, and what better place to start than with the defending World Series champs: the Washington Nationals.

If there’s a team ready for post-coronavirus baseball, it’s the Nats. Last we saw of the Nationals, they were stomping the Astros on Houston’s turf en route to becoming the first team in history to win a World Series with four road wins. The Nats floundered with NL rules, scoring one run per game in front of their home crowd – but with Howie Kendrick at designated hitter, Dave Martinez’s club cannot be beat. They’ve proven they can win with their fans watching from home and their pitchers keeping a safe distance from the batters’ box.

Obviously, even the seven most high-pressure games in baseball is a poor stand-in for large sample data, and those games alone don’t suggest much of anything at all about how the Nats will actually transition to the universal DH. That said, Howie Kendrick remains their likeliest DH candidate, and that bodes well for Washington’s offense. Being able to let Kendrick DH most days should loosen Martinez’s strickly regimented rest schedule for his 36-year-old utility slugger. Given the discipline Martinez showed in limiting a healthy Kendrick to 70 starts last season – even as he put up a .344/.395/.572 line – it’s unlikely Kendrick suits up on an everyday basis. But two years removed from Achilles surgery in a shortened season with a DH: that might be the recipe for an everyday Howie Kendrick.

There could do a flip side to a shortened season, however, such as fewer rest days or stacked doubleheaders, so the Nats will need other options beyond Kendrick. Luckily, Washington has other options on the roster beyond its NLCS MVP, and if they want to station Kendrick in the field a time or two a week, he can capably man first, second, or even third.

In terms of alternative, Eric Thames should be liberally deployed against right-handers. Thames joins the roster in place of Matt Adams, who shouldered much of the first-base burden against tough righties last season. Beyond serving as injury insurance for Adam Eaton in right, that’s the role Thames should step into in Washington. With an extra bat in the lineup, the former KBO star ought to find himself in the lineup against right-handers most days, whether at first base, right field, or DH. Coming off a 25-homer season in which he slugged .529 against righties, he’s a weapon in the right spot.

As in 2019, the Nats will play a three-man game at first base, with no less than Mr. National himself taking up that third slot. Ryan Zimmerman should slot in for Thames or Kendrick on occasion against righties, but expect to find him in the lineup while Thames comes off the bench against lefties. Zim’s numbers last season could be construed as a vet nearing his last legs (.257/.314/.415), but the problem wasn’t his legs: it was his feet. Plantar fasciitis slowed Zimmerman for most of the season, but he came up with some big hits in the postseason, and the extra time to rest and recuperate this offseason should benefit the long-time National

The final consideration for the Nats’ DH spot is this: if top prospect Carter Kieboom starts the season in the minors, Asdrubal Cabrera will man third base.  But if the Nats deem Kieboom ready from the jump, then Cabrera could cycle through the DH role a bit as well. Cabrera was excellent after joining the Nats in 2019, finishing the year with a total line of .260/.342/.441 with 18 home runs and 91 driven in. For what it’s worth, Cabrera reached base at a higher rate while batting right-handed last year (.357 OBP to .337 OBP), but he slugged better while hitting from the left side (.452 SLG to .410 SLG).

If indeed the National League plays with a DH this season, Dave Martinez will juggle the role as he did with his veterans’ playing time in 2019. With the Kendrick/Thames/Zimmerman triumvirate time-sharing at-bats between first base and DH, the Nats may need the extra oomph from having two of the three in the lineup up every day to help offset the loss of Anthony Rendon. If nothing else, the Nats proved in the World Series they could thrive living the American League lifestyle. Soon, they may soon get the chance to prove it for a full (shortened) season.

Filing Day Reactions: NL East

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After a busy filing day, let’s see what’s in store for a couple of teams in the NL East…

  • Only Shane Greene remains from their arbitration pool. The Braves and Greene have a $500K gap in their filing numbers to reconcile lest the panel get the final say. Greene will figure in the back end mix no matter his price point. With Will Smith in tow and a full season of Mark Melancon, Greene should slot in somewhere closer to the 7th inning along with Chris Martin and Luke Jackson. Overall, the Braves payroll is already set to open at a franchise record $130MM for the 2020 season – and that’s without Josh Donaldson, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien. It certainly says something that the Braves are still trying to bring back Donaldson despite already setting a team record for payroll. Despite the Nationals’ World Series title, the Braves are the back-to-back defending NL East champs, and they’ve been aggressive this winter in their attempt to make it a turkey with a third consecutive division crown in 2020.
  • The Phillies came away from filing day with deals with all but two of their arbitration candidates: J.T. Realmuto and Hector Neris. Philadelphia would like to hammer out an extension for Realmuto, with Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer supposing Realmuto to desire “something in the neighborhood of five years and $100 million.” An extension could grant GM Matt Klentak important flexibility. Right now the Opening Day payroll figures to land around $202MM, giving the club about $6MM in wiggle room for in-season additions before exceeding the luxury tax. Phillies managing partner John Middleton is prepared to pay the tax, but not for a team that doesn’t figure for the playoffs. For the second consecutive year, it looks like the Phillies will wait to see where they are in the standings before deciding to pay the tax.
  • The Nationals settled with all their arbitration eligible players, but GM Mike Rizzo spoke with the media today, touching on a number of topics. They expect resolution on the Ryan Zimmerman front shortly, per MASN’s Mark Zuckerman. GM Mike Rizzo met with Zimmerman for 90 minutes on Friday, and it’s long been expected that the Nats would bring back Mr. National for the title defense. As for third base, Rizzo considers the position filled without totally shutting the door on a Donaldson signing, per The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli. Asdrubal Cabrera and Starlin Castro figure to get time at third, and speculatively speaking, Howie Kendrick saw a few innings at the hot corner last year as well. Bottom line, the Nats plan on creativity and flexibility for their whole infield this year, and they are okay not naming and everyday starter, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.

Nationals Re-Sign Asdrubal Cabrera

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The Nationals announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed infielder Asdrúbal Cabrera to a one-year contract. The Octagon client will reportedly be guaranteed $2.5MM and can earn an additional $500K via incentives.

Asdrubal Cabrera | Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Cabrera, 34, latched on with the Nats in August. He was fantastic for the eventual World Series champs down the stretch, putting up a .323/.404/.565 line over 146 plate appearances. Of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story of Cabrera’s season. He compiled a meager .235/.318/.393 slash in Texas. The Rangers released him the first week of August, presumably after finding nothing to their liking before the July 31 trade deadline. Cabrera’s .260/.342/.441 cumulative performance (98 wRC+) was almost exactly league average.

Coupled with still-solid defensive metrics at second and third, Cabrera was worth just under two wins above replacement (1.7 bWAR, 1.9 fWAR) in 131 games. If he can replicate that solid production in 2020, he’d be a bargain on such a low-cost deal. Of course, Cabrera’s age, slow start and the saturated free agent market for infielders combined to limit his earning power.

The signing is perhaps more interesting from a broader market perspective. Cabrera and Starlin Castro, who agreed to a two-year deal with Washington yesterday, are both solid players who now look to be in line to contribute on a more-or-less everyday basis. Yet they’re not the marquee players some Nats’ fans may have been hoping for once Anthony Rendon left.

Washington looks to be one of the finalists for Josh Donaldson. The top free agent still on the market, Donaldson is reportedly sitting on multiple four-year offers, waiting for someone to match his asking price. At one point, the Nats themselves put forth a four-year proposal. It isn’t clear whether that specific offer remains on the table following the club’s recent moves.

That said, neither Castro nor Cabrera should prevent the Nats from adding Donaldson from a financial perspective. And Washington could certainly push one or both into complimentary roles to fit a player of Donaldson’s caliber on the roster. Indeed, Jim Bowden of the Athletic hears that Washington isn’t necessarily out on Donaldson.

The club’s recent moves, however, at least give them a safety net should they miss out on the Bringer of Rain (or one of the trade market’s top options). Between Castro, Cabrera, Howie Kendrick and Carter Kieboom, Washington has myriad in-house options capable of manning second and third base. Perhaps that gives them a bit less urgency than other clubs searching for upgrades on the dirt- most notably, the Braves, Rangers, and Twins- to meet the lofty acquisition cost each player would certainly require.

Robert Murray first reported (via Twitter) that the two sides were close to a deal. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the agreement and the terms (all Twitter links).

MLBTR Polls: Washington Nationals’ Recent Additions

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The defending champion Washington Nationals began their offseason in a holding pattern, awaiting the fates of two of their brightest stars: Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg. What shook out couldn’t have been more on-brand for the pitching-focused Nats. Strasburg re-upped with the only professional organization he’s known, while Rendon joined Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and Joe Maddon on an Angels’ team frontrunning for Best Smiles in the AL West, if not the division crown.

Following those twining, superstar sagas, the Nats embarked on a period of relative calm throughout much of December. While waiting in the hallway with the Twins and Braves for Josh Donaldson to make his final contract demands, Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo contented himself with bringing back as much of the championship gang as he could manage. Living legend Howie Kendrick will be back for three-to-five starts per week somewhere in the infield, Yan Gomes returns to block Patrick Corbin sliders and share in the catching duties with Kurt Suzuki, and even mid-season bullpen stabilizer Javy Guerra will get another crack to stick in the bullpen on a minor league deal. Ryan Zimmerman continues to wait in the shadows, certain to re-sign at some point, though how regularly Mr. National will see the field in 2020 is entirely unclear.

This week, however, the Nats grew tired of waiting for Donaldson and moved to add a trio of free agents. Asdrubal Cabrera is the most familiar new/old face. The man most-often charged with protecting Juan Soto in the lineup during 2019’s second half returns to Washington on a one-year, $2.5MM guarantee. Cabrera put up insane numbers in August and September for the Nats (.323/.404/.565). While he bonded nicely with the club in his second stint in the District, the Nats’ can hardly expect Cabrera to put up anything close to the Rendonian line he boasted over the season’s final two months. Somewhere between Kendrick, (presumably) Zimmerman, and top prospect Carter Kieboom, Cabrera represents a capable option to gather loose change at-bats between first, second, and third base.

But the Nationals added a rival to that infield mix as well, inking Starlin Castro to a somewhat surprising two-year, $12MM deal. Ten years into his big league career, Castro turns just 30-years-old in March while carrying an uninspiring .280/.319/.414 career line. The Nats plan to let Castro have second base until Kieboom or somebody else takes it from him, and while he fits an organization ethos that trusts veteran contributors more than the average big league team, it’s hard to get too excited about a guy whose only real elite skill has been volume. He doesn’t strike out a ton, but he won’t take walks, and neither his speed nor power elicit much awe.

Castro did absolutely rip left-handed pitching in 2019, and in the right light, Castro’s home/road, left/right and 1sthalf/2ndhalf splits can all point to a player who deserves more credit than I’m giving him. For instance, he hit .302/.334/.558 in the second half and .286/.332/.447 away from Marlins Park. Together, Cabrera and Castro give the Nats two relatively similar players whose contributions will have to be monitored, like your favorite sublet, on a month-to-month basis.

Perhaps the most unassailable move made in this past week, funny enough, is the addition of spin-rate-savant Will Harris. Nats’ fans no doubt already hold a fondness for Harris after he surrendered the World Series winning home run to Kendrick late in game seven. Years of playoff disappointment prior to 2019 should have those in the District well-prepared to look beyond the volatility of playoff results and appreciate Harris for what he is: one of the best relievers in the league. After all, Astros’ manager AJ Hinch is hardly a doofus, and quibble if you will about his decision to let $324MM man Gerrit Cole languish away in the bullpen while Harris and Kendrick put the foul pole to work – but his decision to pitch Harris in that moment was entirely defensible. That he wanted Harris on the hill should further brighten the hearts of Nats’ fans, even if the three-year, $24MM deal given him at age-35 might cause some seat-squirming. Still, this is a guy with a 2.36 ERA/2.99 FIP over the last five seasons, and he insures the Nats’ bullpen against further wear-and-tear on Sean Doolittle or stagnation from hard-throwing righty Tanner Rainey.

Donaldson could still find himself suiting up next to Trea Turner on the left side of the Nats’ infield, but Rizzo has historically stuck to his number with position players, and if Donaldson’s demands have stretched beyond his comfortability, don’t expect the disciplined Rizzo to panic. Cabrera, Castro and Harris may not be the cavalry Nats’ fans expected to ride in to defend their first ever championship, but they’re here to help all the same. The question is, do they?

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