The Philadelphia Phillies' home ballpark, Citizens Bank Park, has been a house of horrors for many opposing pitchers, especially during the MLB Playoffs. But one former Miami Marlins pitcher may be glad to have fewer games in Philadelphia in the near future as Edward Cabrera was recently traded by the Marlins to the NL Central Chicago Cubs.
The Phillies will definitely miss seeing Cabrera at Citizens Bank Park. Despite a small sample size, Philadelphia actually hit him really well in their ballpark.
Edward Cabrera won't miss facing the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park
The Phillies have batted a strong .292 with an .863 OPS, with 11 runs scored, six doubles and three home runs in just 80 plate appearances at CBP against Cabrera. The newest Cubs pitcher holds a career 5.30 ERA, giving up 11 earned runs on 21 hits in just 18 2/3 innings pitched against the Phillies in Philadelphia.
Just for comparison, in four games against the Phillies in the Marlins' home stadium, LoanDepot Park, Cabrera has a 2.08 ERA while holding Phillies hitters to a .145 average and a .544 OPS.
For his career, Cabrera has a 4.07 ERA with 478 strikeouts in 431 2/3 innings while holding opponents to a .220 average and .699 OPS. Even when pitching in general on the road, the 27-year-old right-hander has held the opposition to a .230 batting average and .745 OPS. So you can see how much success the Phillies have actually had at home against a tough pitcher like Cabrera.
Now moving to the NL Central where the offensive threat is considerably less than what is seen in the NL East with the Phillies, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves wreaking havoc every single season, Cabrera could actually see his numbers further improve with the Cubs.
He should enjoy seeing less time spent at Citizens Bank Park, as the number of games will shrink from 13 against the Phillies to only three or four for the entire season playing for Chicago. If the Cubs are wise, they could even tinker with the rotation so that Cabrera doesn’t need to pitch in Philadelphia whenever they visit.
As a result, the Phillies may no longer be able to capitalize as much on hitting off Cabrera after the move. Nevertheless, with the way the Philadelphia offense is built, they shouldn’t really need to worry too much about pitching matchups at all.