Mariners Rumors: Seattle Interested in Asdrubal Cabrera

The Mariners have been awful at the plate in July. Last night, a report surfaced that indicates the M’s are looking to fix their offensive woes externally.

Matt Ehalt, a Mets beat writer for USA Today subsidiaries The Record and NorthJersey.com, has reported that the Mariners are interested in acquiring Mets’ second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera.

Cabrera, the former Mariner farmhand-turned-All-Star, is currently slashing .280/.332/.487 (123 wRC+). After serving as a utility infielder in 2017, Cabrera has strictly played second base for the Mets this season.

Of course, with Dee Gordon manning second base and Robinson Cano on his way back from suspension, Cabrera wouldn’t have much of a place at his current position on this Mariners team.

At face value, Cabrera is a massive upgrade over current Mariners utilityman Andrew Romine. The problem is finding a way to get Cabrera consistent at-bats.

The clearest path is by slotting him at first base until Cano takes over that role from August 14 until season’s end. Cabrera would then revert back to first if the Mariners make the playoffs. However, Cabrera’s never played a single inning at first base in his career (neither has Cano).

After Cano returns, things get a little tricky. But Cabrera is 32-years-old and has dealt with injuries throughout his career, so a few days off here and there may not be such a bad thing.

In Colby’s Trade-a-Day article about Cabrera, he projected the Mariners sending outfielder Chuck Taylor to the Mets in a potential trade. That feels about right, though Cabrera could come as cheap as an unranked prospect plus international bonus pool money.

Cabrera is still owed ~$4 million for the remainder of the season. He becomes an unrestricted free agent this November, but he’s a low-risk, high-reward rental.

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The Mariners have a day off on Monday, so a deal for Cabrera could be ironed out then.