The 2015 Mets had just come off their best season since the year 2000, and had taken home a National League Pennant to vouch for it.
But after a monstrous season from Yoenis Cespedes and an even bigger postseason from Daniel Murphy, the front office knew that keeping both was an unrealistic dream.
It was even further cemented that the Mets did not intend on keeping Murphy, when they traded away Jon Niese to the Pirates in exchange for second baseman Neil Walker in early December of 2015.
With Murphy all but gone, and the health of Captain David Wright uncertain, the Mets knew they needed another infielder on the roster. That infielder was Asdrubal Cabrera.
Cabrera, who came up in the Mariners organization before being traded and establishing himself as an all-star caliber shortstop with the Cleveland Indians, was coming off a decent year down in Tampa Bay, in which he slashed .265/.315/.430 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs.
That 106 OPS+ was his best in two years, and prompted the New York front office to take action on him quickly following their pickup of Walker.
On Dec. 11, 2015, the Mets offered Cabrera a two-year, $18.5 million dollar contract that included a team option for a third year.
In 2016, the Mets played Cabrera primarily at shortstop, fielding a 1.2 UZR across the season on a 0.5 dWAR. At the plate, his 120 wRC+ set a new career high. His 3.6 WAR was the second highest of his career. The switch-hitter slashed .280/.336/.474 in 141 games. His 23 home runs were tied for third on the team and his 62 RBI’s were second only to Cespedes.
Cabrera’s most memorable moment in Queens came in September of 2016, in the heat of the NL Wildcard chase, when he stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the 11th against the Phillies with runners on first and second, and the team down by two. He absolutely smashed a 1-0 pitch into the right field stands, throwing his bat in the air to celebrate the dramatic win.
The walk-off ultimately helped the Mets hold on to one of the two NL Wildcard spots and make the 2016 playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Giants in the elimination game.
The 2017 season saw him perform well offensively again, from a much more diverse array of positions. He split his 135 games over three infield positions; third base, shortstop, and second. He hit .280/.351/.434 with 14 home runs, 59 RBIs, and had a 112 WRC+ on the season.
That offseason, the Mets exercised Cabrera’s team option for his third year, but the team performed poorly to start the 2018 season, finishing 39-55 in the first half. With Cabrera’s contract over at the end of the season, the Mets traded him to the Phillies for minor leaguer Franklyn Kilome.
Kilome has not yet shown his abilities at the Major League level, as he went in for Tommy John surgery in late 2018. Cabrera was traded around multiple times before finding a home in Washington in the second half of 2019, where he won a ring with the Nationals.
Cabrera ended up being a good pickup for a team that was looking to get offense from the middle infield, finishing his time with the Mets slashing .279/.339/.464 and posting a 7.0 fWAR over 374 games.
