For the first two months of the season, Asdrubal Cabrera was the Mets’ best hitter — no question. After hitting as high as .356 on April 16th, he hovered around .320 for a long time. On May 29th, Asdrubal Cabrera was hitting .315 and still riding high. It’s now June 6th and he’s hitting .286. He’s playing very poor second base and, recently, been dragging the team down on offense as well. What gives?

On May 26th, Cabrera “tweaked” his knee in a game against the Brewers. In the four games directly after that, he went 5-for-15 with three home runs and five RBIs. That’s great, but when you play through an injury, you risk making it worse.

In the seven games since then, Cabrera is 2-for-27 (.074) with only a single and a double. He is also playing atrocious second base, recording -11 DRS and -9.4 UZR/150 on the season. Did he make his knee worse by playing through it? Maybe. But even when 100% healthy, his range at second base was limited to say the least. That, paired with his sliding offense, is cause for concern.

While he’s physically not playing well, he is making mental mistakes as well. Down by one in the 8th inning of Wednesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Orioles, Brandon Nimmo led off the inning with a base hit. Then Cabrera came up and squared to bunt, popping it up to the pitcher who easily doubled off Nimmo.

“I saw the third baseman playing way back and I just tried to put the ball on the line,” Cabrera said after the game.

If the bunt had gotten down, it would have been a good decision. But it didn’t, so it wasn’t. That’s just how baseball works. After the game, though, it was revealed that the call was not given from the bench — it was Cabrera’s idea.

“Right idea, I think he was trying to get a runner in scoring position and maybe surprise them and be on base himself,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “The ball stayed up just enough for the pitcher to come and scoop it.”

It has been a struggle for Cabrera of late. When he was hitting over .330 for so long, it was obvious that the .271 career hitter wouldn’t be able to keep up that kind of production. Though, nobody expected such a dramatic and quick fall from grace. This offensive slump will pass, as all do, and his bat will be a welcomed addition to a struggling Mets offense.