Okay, now let's talk about Asdrubal Cabrera

[Ceetar]

I really don't like Cabrera much, but this deal is relatively low and I guess I get it. Depth is certainly important. I think this harkens back to the second half last year. They really seemed to enjoy the flexibility of guys playing multiple positions and able to rest and rotate guys. This definitely puts them in that category (And so would've Zobrist).

(It also speaks to Colon I think, who maybe they're pitching as a swing guy that they tested out in that role last year and can move around and pitch whenever)

Cabrera isn't great, but he is better than Flores in both defense and offense. Walker has better range too, and the Mets swapped out Niese, who had the highest GB rate on the staff, for likely more of Matz's strikeouts. So helps on the run prevention side too. Marginal, but Flores was straight up bad at times.

I expect to hear Flores/Tejada trade rumors all offseason, all spring, and with every Matt Reynolds or Dilson Herrera home run.

[Edgy MD]

The infield has more pop perhaps if you think about it from a depth perspective.

Less Campbell and less Muno expected. Perhaps less Herrera also. If Tejada is moved, that's certainly suggesting more pop.

The infield also gains more pop if you sign Bruno Mars or Drake or Pharrell Williams or somebody.

[Centerfield]

If depth and flexibility were what they were looking for, then Kelly Johnson could have provided it for a fraction of this price.

The offensive production is similar. They cal both play multiple positions. The only thing Cabrera can do that Johnson does not is play SS, and Cabrera plays it poorly. And as of now, the Mets have 3 guys (Tejada, Flores, Reynolds) that can all play SS, with Ceccini hopefully adding his name to the mix sometime in 2016.

If it turns out that the Mets sign Cabrera for $9 million, Will Venable for $8 Million, and Bartolo Colon for $5 million, while letting Heyward/Cespedes/Upton walk, I'll fucking lose my shit.

[Centerfield]

Edgy MD wrote: The infield has more pop perhaps if you think about it from a depth perspective. Less Campbell and less Muno expected. Perhaps less Herrera also. If Tejada is moved, that's certainly suggesting more pop. The infield also gains more pop if you sign Bruno Mars or Drake or Pharrell Williams or somebody.

If all you want is pop...

[Ceetar]

Yes, but Cabera DOES play SS better than everyone else on the Mets overall, and Kelly Johnson isn't really a much better hitter than he is. (and wasn't real good on defense either)

Just because YOU think the Mets have to sign a big-bopper outfielder, doesn't mean it's the right move. I imagine you've written off Cuddyer and Lagares as mostly worthless at this point where the Mets haven't.

[Edgy MD]

I know I haven't.

[TransMonk]

Ceetar wrote: Yes, but Cabera DOES play SS better than everyone else on the Mets overall...

Is this true? I have yet to find ANYONE saying that he's anything better than average recently. I just don't see the $9.25M per year difference from Wilmer either offensively or defensively.

01/02/15

Asdrubal Cabrera doesn’t have world beating defense, but that’s not an indictment. Most of the negative reports out there come from his days at short stop, which may not be his position in the future.

09/11/15

Meanwhile, Cabrera is no longer beloved by defensive metrics. On the season, Cabrera now rates as 3.1 runs below average by UZR (which puts him on pace for six runs below average over 150 games) and seven runs below average by DRS. Those numbers too are right in line with what a reasonable person should have expected, and they tell the story of Cabrera as a below-average (but not terrible) shortstop*, who would probably be a league-average second baseman.

10/19/15

Cabrera has never been a great defender and the second half of this season was the first time he had starred at the plate since 2012.

[metsmarathon]

At second base, walker is not rangey, but has a good glove and arm. an upgrade over murphy, who was not rangey and definitely not not a good glove.

At shortstop, Cabrera is somewhat not rangey, and has a fairly good glove and arm. an upgrade, possibly, over flores, who was somewhat rangey, but had an error-prone arm. he compares a bit with tejada who is also not terribly rangey, and was terribly not rangey last year, but has a good glove and arm.

flores, for the record, looks to be a better defender at second, with good range, and a good glove and arm. he's had no throwing errors there in 450 innings, and only one fielding error. yeah, I know - small sample size.

flores is probably our super-utility player, providing meaningful backup at three infield positions, and is a good bat to have on the bench in case you need to hit for Cabrera late in a game. he could even be used as a defensive replacement at second.

alternatively, Cabrera could be our super-utility player, leaving flores to mature as a hitter, but freeing him up to move to third if the need arises.

tejada is probably our backup shortstop, and would come in there as a defensive replacement.

I kinda like the flexibility, but don't fully understand the rush on it. unless tejada is more of a question mark than we thought, or if there's a move coming for flores.

[Edgy MD]

While Cabrera may well not be your guy, defensive metrics suggest Tejada fell off a lot last year. Demonstrably-worse-than-Flores bad. And Flores is nobody's idea of a long-term solution.

And they both now have broken wheels. The Mets probably think they need one more bridge to get them to Cecchini or whoever.

[Ceetar]

of qualifying SS last year, Asdrubal was 7th by fWAR and 4th by wRC+ so it's not like a better SS is out there. Crawford, Bogaerts, or Peralta are the ones that out run-created Asdrubal last year (Although Tulo may be getting too much of a park adjusted hit for Coors) and they're not particularly available anymore. (Should've signed Peralta when he was a FA)

[ashie62]

Love it. Two veterans that can hit and play everyday.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy MD wrote: The infield has more pop perhaps if you think about it from a depth perspective. Less Campbell and less Muno expected. Perhaps less Herrera also. If Tejada is moved, that's certainly suggesting more pop.

All almost certainly true. And they've got platoon-split options on both sides of the plate/against both sides of the rubber.

That's pretty much all I like about this particular deal, without knowing more about Ruben's and Crybaby's respective healing situations. It's a lot of money to throw at a depth signing. (Especially when there are more significant upgrades to be had out there for potentially cheaper, or where that budget slot would help.)

[MFS62]

Mets Named Asdrubal Asdrubal Beauchamp (1972, 1973) Asdrubal Bethke (1965) Asdrubal Dwyer (1976) Asdrubal Fregosi (1972, 1973) Asdrubal Gosger (1969, 1973, 1974) Asdrubal Hickman (1962 - 1966) Asdrubal Lindeman (1994) Asdrubal Mann (2000) Asdrubal Marshall (1962) Asdrubal McAndrew (1968 - 1973) Asdrubal Tatum (1998)

And don't the current Mets team doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery:

Asdrubal Altchek, MD and
Asdrubal Levinson, PT, CSCS

Later

[bmfc1]

Future NY Post back cover after Cabrera wins a game: "METS KICK ASD"

[A Boy Named Seo]

And when

bmfc1 wrote: Future NY Post back cover after Cabrera wins a game: "METS KICK ASD"

And when he boots a ball in the 9th and we lose:

"ASS DRIBBLE"

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

ASS TROUBLE?
Cabrera to reporters: "I just want to play"

SLAP DAT ASS
I make the lineup, sez Collins

SHAKEN, THAT ASS
Cabrera reels after closed-door meeting about hole-play

[Guest d'Kong76]

Kinda depressing watching the ticker this evening and the only
thing Mets is making Asdrubal official.

Mets 2016! And we still have some coupons left!

[Centerfield]

Now if only Cabrera would also retire. We could sign Cespedes.

[Edgy MD]

Another translation jobbie, this time from Venezuela's Ultimas Noticias. Asdrubal working out with former Met Jon Nunnaly.

Asdrubal Cabrera Comes to Margarita and Dons a Uniform Asdrubal Cabrera came to the Margarita Braves' park yesterday, grabbed his uniform, and began to practice. The creole player also took grounders at shortstop, was in one of the batting practice hitting groups and also made soft swings against the netting with coach Jon Nunnally looking on. "He came to practice, as he did in Puerto La Cruz," said Miguel Angel Garcia, who coaches the Caracas Lions. When asked about a possible debut, he replied, "We haven't talked about it. We have not raised that question. He simply came to train." The ballplayer and was going through stretching exercises with the Caracas Lions last month in Puerto La Cruz, where he said that once he signed his contract in the majors, could be in uniform with the longhairs (?) this season. Sources close to the ballplayer have stated that the shortstop would debut in January and has already started training seriously. However, the player himself has not confirmed a debut date. "I'm trying to secure permission. I have to have done three weeks training to be ready when once I'm allowed to play. That leaves open the very real possibility of having the big leaguer available for the postseason. Cabrera last played in LVBP in 2012-2013, when he hit .346 (13–47), with a homer and four RBIs.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I've been appreciating Asdrubal Cabrera lately, so I'm bumping this thread.

[Edgy MD]

Man, a lot of words.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

We grossly misjudged Cabrera. He has been far better than we collectively (with the exception of Ashie & Ceetar) gave him credit for being.

[Centerfield]

I'm appreciating Cabrera too. He's hitting much better than I thought he would for this year.

I think most of the backlash/confusion over the Cabrera signing was when we were under the impression that the Mets did not have the resources to bring back Yoenis. Once Yo was signed, much like the De Aza signing, a lot of that criticism became moot.

Still, the thinking behind the criticism was and remains valid. Cabrera does not give a significant upgrade over Flores offensively (.791 OPS vs. .789). And as far as defense, though he catches everything he gets too, it's been painfully obvious that he has very limited range.

But overall, very glad to have him on the team, and I hope he gets healthy soon.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

As I noted, he was better offensively than Tejada and better defensively than Flores, not that that was a particularly difficult combination for a MLB shortstop to pull off.

My concern with him was poor reports on his glove but he's been better than I expected there (eyewitness defense - don't know what the advanced metrics say).

[ashie62]

He had me when he went blond.