Phillies acquire Asdrubal Cabrera from Mets

The Philadelphia Phillies added to their depth on Friday when they added infielder Asdrubal Cabrera

Disappointed with what has been mediocre production from their second base, third base, and shortstop positions this season offensively, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired Asdrubal Cabrera from their division rival New York Mets.

In spite of being in first place in the National League East, the Phillies have been disappointed with the production they’ve received from their top three middle infield guys, Cesar Hernandez (.269/.373/.375, 8 HR, 14 SB), Scott Kingery (.236/.278/.340, 5 HR, 8 SB), and J.P. Crawford (.194/.312/.333, 2 HR, 2 SB). Now they can turn to Asdrubal Cabrera, who owns a .277/.329/.488 line with 18 home runs on the 2018 season.

Defense will be the question, as Cabrera has absolutely lost a step (or four) since he was in his mid-20s with the Indians in the early 2010s, and he was even only an average shortstop at that point. Crawford is considered by many an elite defender, but that’s not shown up this year as he’s been rated a negative defender by most metrics. Otherwise, the Phillies have been playing with guys who are more average to above-average defensively anyway.

What the Phillies do have is manager Gabe Kapler. Kapler is one of the most aggressive managers in the entire league in shifting his infield. Currently, the Phillies have shifted the 8th most times in the league, one of just 9 teams to have more than 1,000 shifted batters on the season at this point.

That will mean that Kapler will put Cabrera into a shifted position frequently, so Cabrera’s ability to handle either up the middle position at an elite level defensively would not be a selling point for the Phillies.

Who the Phillies gave up

The Phillies ended up paying a fairly significant price to acquire Cabrera. Franklyn Kilome, a 6’6″ righty with incredibly impressive raw stuff was the player that went back to the Mets in the deal.

Kilome has been a top prospect in the game, rated #68 overall by Baseball Prospectus entering the 2018 season, but he’s struggled with his location this season in AA, a common issue with guys at Kilome’s height, and especially with his long levers. At his best, he works off a fastball that is at least plus, and can often receive double-plus grades, and Kilome is known for his dynamic power curve that can often get lost in its bite when he struggles with his consistency in his delivery.

In many eyes (including this evaluator’s), Kilome has a high floor as a very good reliever, but his raw stuff, developing feel, and a body that has just filled in leaves some thought that he could be a late-blooming starter, and the Mets may have gotten a very good one here, akin to Zack Wheeler for Carlos Beltran.

Even if they had to give up a solid arm to get him, the Phillies needed the offense out of their middle infield. What do you think? Did they overpay for Cabrera? Do you like the deal for the Phillies? Comment below!