I seriously doubt that anyone would describe the Orioles off season as “active” or “aggressive,” but they did make one move that has me very intrigued – the signing of Everth Cabrera. I am very curious to see what Cabrera’s role will be over the course of the season. I believe he will certainly have a role but at this point I can’t say with any level of certainty what the extent of that role will be.
Many O’s fans would like to see Cabrera win the starting 2nd base job. These fans put a lot of stock into the fact that he was an All Star in 2013. The thought of having a starting infield in which every player has made at least one All Star appearance sounds very enticing on paper.
Well, the game is not played on paper and I am not buying into the fact that Carbrera was, is or ever will be an All Star-caliber player. When I look a little deeper into his “All Star” season I am honestly not very impressed.
At the absolute best he had an “All Star” half season. He only managed to log 381 at bats that year before testing positive for PEDs and serving a 50-game suspension, which ended his season. I am certainly not one to completely dismiss a player’s accomplishments based on a positive PED test, but when you look at Cabrera’s numbers for that year in comparison with his career numbers it is hard not to have some doubt.
Over his six-year major league career he has batted .255, .208, .125, .246, .283 & .232. When I look at those career numbers it is very difficult for me to convince myself that it is simply a coincidence that the year he hit .283 (28 points higher than any other season) and was voted into the All Star game was the year he tested positive for PEDs. The fact that he only hit .232 the year after the positive test further adds to my skepticism.
Another reason that I have serious doubt that Cabrera can be an everyday major league player is that at the age of 28 and with six years of big league experience under his belt, the most major league at bats he has ever logged in a season is 398. His low at bat totals were a direct result of his inability to hit his way into the big league lineup and thus being bounced back and forth between the major and minor leagues.
Despite playing solid defense at shortstop (an offensively forgiving position) and his ability to be one of the most prolific base stealers in the game, his bat was too much of a liability to be an everyday player for the Padres. Think about that for a second. He couldn’t hit his way into the PADRES lineup. The Padres were horrible offensively the entire time that he was part of their organization. That speaks volumes in my mind.
Cabrera has been given every opportunity to prove that he can be an everyday major league player and over six seasons he has repeatedly failed to do so. Entering the 2015 season at the age of 28 and coming off a season where he hit .232, I am not buying into him ever developing into anything more than what he is and has been. He has major league caliber talent and the potential to have a long big league career – just not as a regular starter in my opinion.
So, let’s get that out of the way – I have very little hope that Cabrera can be an All Star, or even an everyday starter, for the Orioles.
That said, I still think he’ll contribute in 2015.
I believe that the Orioles signed Cabrera to serve as a pinch runner in the later innings of games and provide some much needed middle infield depth, and I believe he offers tremendous value in that role. If Cabrera wanted to increase his value even further and potentially extend his career, he would learn how to play the outfield and become an ultra-utility man. With his skill set, I don’t believe that would be very difficult for him to accomplish.
Regardless of what Cabrera’s role ends up being, I believe he makes the Orioles a better team as a whole. He brings an element of speed and middle infield depth that the O’s have been lacking in recent years. I think Cabrera could turn into this year’s X-Factor and be that somewhat under-the-radar signing that takes this year’s team to the next level. He doesn’t have to play at an All Star level to have that type of major impact.
At the end of the day, I believe the acquisition of Cabrera was certainly a quality move made by the Orioles and I am very intrigued to see the extent of his contributions in 2015 and potentially beyond.
SIDE NOTE: For any O’s fan that has been to trying to run Ryan Flaherty out of town, you should be even more excited about the Cabrera signing. I can’t see the O’s keeping both players on the 25-man roster. I think with Cabrera’s skill set and the fact that he is a switch hitter, he brings more to the table than Flaherty. With both players having options left, I think Flaherty will stay with the organization, at least initially, but it is definitely put up or shut up time for Mr. Flaherty.
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