Free Agent Profile: Is Asdrubal Cabrera a Fit for the Blue Jays?

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We have all heard it and discussed it to death: Second base was the albatross of the infield in 2014. Ryan Goins couldn’t hit, Munenori Kawasaki is best suited as a utility infielder, Steve Tolleson is a bench player at best, Maicer Izturis was injured all season and Brett Lawrie‘s defense would seem to best serve the Blue Jays on the right side of the infield to help with Jose Reyes declining range.

A few names have been tossed around so far this off-season (Howie Kendrick, Gordon Beckham) but there is certainly no clear cut favourite that Alex Anthopoulos should pursue. With that being said, perhaps we should look at a player who has been an all-star, has a decent glove, hits for some power and has a bit of speed. That man is Asdrubal Cabrera.

Year Tm G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA OBP SLG OPS 2007 CLE 45 159 45 9 2 3 22 0 .283 .354 .421 .775 2008 CLE 114 352 91 20 0 6 47 4 .259 .346 .366 .713 2009 CLE 131 523 161 42 4 6 68 17 .308 .361 .438 .799 2010 CLE 97 381 105 16 1 3 29 6 .276 .326 .346 .673 2011 CLE 151 604 165 32 3 25 92 17 .273 .332 .460 .792 2012 CLE 143 555 150 35 1 16 68 9 .270 .338 .423 .762 2013 CLE 136 508 123 35 2 14 64 9 .242 .299 .402 .700 2014 TOT 146 553 133 31 4 14 61 10 .241 .307 .387 .694 2014 CLE 97 378 93 22 2 9 40 7 .246 .305 .386 .692 2014 WSN 49 175 40 9 2 5 21 3 .229 .312 .389 .700 8 Yrs 963 3635 973 220 17 87 451 72 .268 .330 .409 .740

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/6/2014.

His numbers may have taken a bit of a dip in the last couple years and it does say something that he was moved off shortstop to second due to a slight decline in range but he could be a good fit in the Blue Jays clubhouse. As recently as 2012 he clubbed 25 home runs and playing a year in the Rogers Centre could see him approach those numbers again. Sometimes it just takes a change of scenery.

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It appears that the options are pretty limited and each player AA may pursue has some upside and downside. There is no sleeper all-star in the lot but Cabrera’s track record and rather young age (28) means that it would make some sense to try and sign him to a short 3 year deal and see what they get. Then again AA may just stay put and let Maicer Izturis take back his position and put up numbers similar to Cabrera. With Danny Valencia in the wings it may be wise to stand pat and put the dollars towards the outfield and bullpen.

Do you think the Blue Jays should pursue Cabrera or other second basemen or do we have players just as good as those available already in house? Discuss below.