Would Asdrubal Cabrera Be Better Off at Second Base?
It’s not easy to play shortstop in Cleveland. When Jacobs Field was inaugurated in 1994, the Indians’ starting shortstop was named Omar Vizquel, and he’s made life very difficult for his successors.
For those of you who have never heard of baseball, “Manos de Seda” (“Hands of Silk”) is one of the greatest fielders of all time. His graceful athleticism and quiet charm made him a fan favorite in Cleveland, and everyone else who has taken the field just to the right of second base since he left town has been standing in the shadow of Omar and his glove.
To the subjective eye, Asdrubal Cabrera’s glove finally seems to have filled the void left from Vizquel’s departure. He’s got good speed, he rarely makes errors, and he’s made more than his share of web gems.
After a particularly impressive diving catch on a sharp grounder off Justin Masterson’s foot last season, I remember the chant that rang through Progressive Field: “Omar! Omar! Omar!” It was a sign that maybe Indians fans had learned to move on.
But there’s more to defense than meets the eye, and the numbers suggest that Cabrera might not be a good fit at shortstop.
So far this year, Ultimate Zone Rating has Cabrera’s glove at -4.4 runs, with a UZR/150 of -21.0. Defensive metrics are notoriously unreliable this early in the year, but this fits alarmingly well with previous trends.
Last year, Cabrera’s defense at shortstop was worth -7.7 runs with a UZR/150 of -13.4. In his career, A-Cab has cost the Indians 17.9 runs while playing short, for a UZR/150 of -11.1. Total Zone is slightly more generous, but still has him at -10 runs for his career and has him getting progressively worse every year.
The problem, according to the metrics, is Cabrera’s lack of range. UZR has his inability to get to balls as costing his team 6.3 runs so far this year—the worst in the league. Again, one shouldn’t read too much into defensive stats this early, but Droobs’ -8.6 range runs last year was third-worst among AL shortstops even though he played just 825 defensive innings.
These numbers come as something of a surprise—seems like every other game, Cabrera lays out for a hard-hit grounder to rob a hit. It’s possible that the numbers are wrong, but I would posit that maybe the reason A-Cab makes so many web gems is that he has trouble getting to the ball in time otherwise.
Cabrera is at the very least a decent fielder otherwise—when he gets to the ball, he can usually make the play—but the most important quality for a shortstop to have is good range. With that in mind, perhaps both Droobs and the Indians would both benefit from him moving back to his old position: second base.
The problem is, both the current and future Indians teams are built around A-Cab playing short. Second baseman Orlando Cabrera, who spent his entire career at shortstop before this season, might be a better option for now, but at -5.9 UZR his defense to date has been even worse than Asdrubal’s. To be fair, though, Orlando has a 3.1 career UZR/150 at shortstop and might feel more comfortable at his older position, even if it is more difficult.
In the long term, too, there is a problem: second base is supposed to be Jason Kipnis’ spot for the foreseeable future. Even if the Cabreras swapped places now, unless the organization tried to teach Kipnis how to play on the other side of second base, he’d be back at shortstop next year.
Asdrubal Cabrera probably is the Tribe’s best option at shortstop for now, but unless the front office really distrusts UZR, the team should at least consider sliding him over to second—either by having him trade positions with O-Cab or acquiring another shortstop at the Trade Deadline—if the Indians want to maximize their chances of playing into October.
Want to have Wahoo Blues updates sent directly to your news feed? Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
Buy Cleveland Indians Tickets | Buy Cleveland Indians Apparel
Check out what others are saying about this post...
-
[...] as we saw yesterday, it might not be in the Indians’ best interest to keep Cabrera at shortstop for the stretch [...]
-
[...] all the results came out as I would have expected. Asdrubal Cabrera, a speedy shortstop with a reputation for good defense? Not gritty. Shelley Duncan and Jack Hannahan, veteran journeymen? Not gritty. Grady Sizemore, a [...]
Leave a Rant
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
FEATURED PARTNERS
2 Rants to “Would Asdrubal Cabrera Be Better Off at Second Bas...”