The date was June 23rd. After being activated off the disabled list, the Mets informed Asdrubal Cabrera he was no longer the Mets shortstop. Instead, he would be the Mets second baseman.
Cabrera responded by demanding a trade.
Given his play and the Mets trending towards being sellers, the Mets informed Cabrera they would be happy to oblige. The Mets seemed committed to trading Cabrera, who was due a $2 million buy out at the end of the year as part of a $8.5 option for 2018, but the team found no takers by the July 31st non-waiver deadline.
With the uncertainty surrounding Jason Kipnis‘ right hamstring, Addison Russell going on the disabled list, Carlos Correa dealing with a thumb injury, and whatever other issues teams may have with their infield, there was hope the Mets could move him by the August 31st waiver deadline. That went double when you consider Cabrera is a second half player. It didn’t work out that way.
Neil Walker and Brandon Phillips were the only two middle infielders traded. What happened?
Mostly, Cabrera happened. Since his trade demand, he’s only hitting .271/.340/.393 with 15 doubles, four homers, and 21 RBI.
In the field, he’s posted a -2 DRS at second, -1 DRS at third, and a -9 DRS at short. Fact is, he hasn’t even looked that good.
With the leg issues, he lacks mobility. As a result, he lacks range at all infield positions. He can’t run the bases.
The Mets will now have to decided this offseason whether to pay Cabrera $2 million to go away or add another $6.5 to that and keep him as infield depth. Multiple outlets have report the Mets see Cabrera as a cheap third base option for 2018.
