New York Mets Sign Asdrubal Cabrera To Bolster Infield

With the 2015 MLB Hot Stove season in full effect the New York Mets have provided their fan base with an early Christmas present in acquiring Neil Walker. 430 OBP while hitting 15 home runs and driving in 58 runs last season for the Rays while playing primarily shortstop. The acquisitions signaled the complete of Daniel Murphy’s long tenure with the Mets & gave the team two capable 30-year-old switch-hitters who ought to add stability to the center infield.

Free-agent shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and the New York Mets have agreed to a two-year, $18.5 million contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

Cabrera is a nice player. Bowman played for Triple-A Las Vegas last season.

With Cabrera and Walker, the Mets also brought in some power in the middle infield. The native of Venezuela was signed by the Seattle Mariners as an amateur free agent in 2002 and spent time with the Cleveland Indians (2007-2014), Washington Nationals (2014) and Rays (2015) over his nine-year career, which he has hit.

Asdrubal Cabrera is one of the only infielders in Major League Baseball history to record an unassisted triple play.

The Mets were able to get away with having the poorest middle-infield defense in baseball last season-as their second basemen and shortstops combined for -36 defensive runs saved, and often forced their pitchers to have to get a lot of extra outs. With Walker’s splits being more favorable against right-handed hitting, the Mets could use Flores as the second baseman against lefties. 269 with 16 homers and 71 RBIs last season for the Pirates, his hometown team.

Signing Cabrera isn’t an ideal move, but it’s easy to see what the Mets were thinking.

“It’s an exciting opportunity, obviously, with the success the Mets have had this past year”, Walker said on a conference call.