Where does Asdrubal Cabrera fit into Phillies lineup?
By John Town
The Phillies finally made a move at the trade deadline, acquiring Asdrubal Cabrera from the Mets. Where does he fit into the team’s lineup?
After weeks of speculation and rumors, the Phillies have finally made a trade. The team announced that they acquired Asdrubal Cabrera from the Mets for prospect Franklyn Kilome.
Philadelphia was reportedly one of several teams interested in Cabrera earlier this week. They clearly won the bidding war for the 32-year-old.
Cabrera was the Mets’ best hitter not on the disabled list. In 98 games, Cabrera has a .277/.329/.488 line with 18 home runs, 58 runs batted in, and a 124 OPS+. He has been worth 3.0 oWAR per Baseball Reference.
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Cabrera’s bat will be a huge addition to a team with an inconsistent offense. They have been better since the All-Star Break, but adding Cabrera certainly doesn’t hurt. While he will be a welcome offensive addition, where he fits in the lineup is another matter.
The only position Cabrera has played this season is second base. It’s unlikely he becomes the starter at second here with Cesar Hernandez firmly entrenched there.
Cabrera also spent significant time at third base last year, starting 40 games there. He doesn’t fully fit at third in Philadelphia either with Maikel Franco heating up. Since June 23, he has a 1.055 OPS with eight home runs. He has the second-best batting average and OPS on the team thanks to this run.
The obvious place to put Cabrera in the infield would be at shortstop. Scott Kingery has disappointed in his rookie season with a .236 batting average and 24.5 percent strikeout rate. Cabrera is a huge upgrade offensively at the position.
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Where things get complicated is Cabrera’s defense at shortstop. His range is significantly decreased since his prime. In 45 games there last year, he made 11 errors, had -8 defensive runs saved, and posted a -13.9 UZR/150. Philadelphia is already bad enough on defense; having Cabrera play shortstop would only make things worse.
Instead, it appears that Cabrera will move all over the infield like Kingery was supposed to this season. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported as much, saying Cabrera “will play fairly regularly.” He may still be considered a bench player, but he is certainly better than anyone else on the team’s bench.
Next. Phillies trade rumors: What comes after Cabrera?. dark
Wherever Cabrera plays, he will be a huge offensive boost to the team. This is the kind of move the club needed to make, and they did exactly that.