Reliever from 2024 Blue Jays finds new home in the NL East on MiLB deal

As we close in on the month of December, which is sure to be a busy one around the league, one of the first notable Toronto Blue Jays-centric transactions has come down the pipeline. Of course, this is not a tale of the Blue Jays acquiring a player, but rather one of them losing their most often used reliever to the Mets via the free-agent market.

According to The Athletic's Will Sammon, the New York Mets are signing left-hander Genesis Cabrera to a minor league contract. Cabrera will receive an invite to big-league camp in spring training for the upcoming season.

The Mets are in a spot where they could use a piece or two in their bullpen to help make up some ground on the Phillies in the NL East. It's a bit surprising to see Cabrera settle for a deal as a non-roster invitee, especially after how much mileage he's put on his arm over the past two seasons.

Mets sign Genesis Cabrera to minor league contract

When the Blue Jays first acquired Cabrera at the 2023 trade deadline, he had experienced quite a bit of inconsistencies across a five-year stint on the Cardinals. He promptly turned in a 2.66 ERA through 29 second-half appearances for the Blue Jays and appeared to be a trustworthy reliever the club could lean on for another season.

While they certainly did lean on him, Cabrera was "okay" at best for the 2024 Blue Jays. He led the club with 69 relief appearances and his 3.59 ERA is encouraging, but Cabrera's 5.13 FIP suggests that he's a prime candidate to regress.

Cabrera saw a dip in his strikeout rate while also allowing more hits, home runs and walks than he did in his first go-round on the Blue Jays last season, hence the high FIP. This likely played a role in why the Jays were okay with cutting bait at the conclusion of this past season.

Ultimately Cabrera's departure is not going to leave much of a hole on the Blue Jays' roster for next year, but you can now cross any potential reunion off the list. The Jays are going to need to bring in three or four new faces to their 2025 bullpen, but Cabrera for another stint is not going to be one of them.