Mets should not pursue Everth Cabrera

Shortstop Everth Cabrera became a free agent on Tuesday night when he was non-tendered by San Diego.
Cabrera, 28, was due to earn roughly $3 million through the arbitration process.
Padres GM AJ Preller said the club is not interested in bringing Cabrera back, noting that they’re “looking at going in a different direction.”
Cabrera hit .232/.272/.300 with three home runs and 20 RBI in just 90 games played for the Padres this past season.
In 2013, Cabrera was elected to the All-Star team, and finished the year with a .283/.355/.381 slash to go along with four home runs, 31 RBI and 37 stolen bases in 95 games. However, Cabrera’s season ended when he was suspended for 50 games due to his link to performance enhancing drugs through the Biogenesis scandal.
In addition to Cabrera’s suspension for PED’s, he was arrested in September and charged with suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana and resisting arrest.
Thoughts:
When an offensively-challenged team like the Padres cuts bait with a shortstop who is due to earn just $3 million, it should give every other team pause.
When that player has had just one good season in his career, but saw that season end due to a PED suspension, that pause should become alarm
Here’s what Everth Cabrera is: a 28-year-old shortstop with close to zero power whose career triple slash is .248/.319/.333.
On the defensive side of things, Cabrera has rated as a negative during three of his last four seasons, with his only positive season with the glove during that time coming in 2013 – the year he was suspended for performance enhancing drug use.
The one thing Cabrera has going for him is speed, which is impossible to use when you can’t get on base.
Cabrera is a name, but not much more. He doesn’t profile as a better offensive option than Wilmer Flores, and his defense is questionable as well.
The Mets, as they likely have been, should be targeting shortstops who would be upgrades or equal to Flores offensively, and who would be upgrades defensively. Everth Cabrera doesn’t fit that criteria.