Asdrubal Cabrera is making it easy for the Mets to bring him back in 2018

Thanks to a torrid second half offensively, the decision to bring back Asdrubal Cabrera next season looks to be about as much of a sure thing as anything else

The one Mets player that asked to be traded somehow made it through the entire trade deadline without being shipped off to another team. What’s more, the odds of him being in a Mets uniform next year thanks to a team-friendly option in his contract, look to be rising on a daily basis.

We’re talking, of course, about 31-year-old Asdrubal Cabrera and his great second half of the season. The veteran infielder has been absolutely on fire in the month of September hitting for an insane line of .449/.491/.796 over the 15 games he’s appeared in.

Cabrera extended his 11-game hitting streak on Sunday afternoon when he came in as a pinch-hitter in the top of the 9th inning and hit a two-run bomb to seal the Mets’ victory in the rubber game in Atlanta.

Overall in the second half, Cabrera has hit .313/.369/.479 over 60 games. Comparing that to the first 63 games of the campaign and his .250/.332/.404 line and you can see why some of us are impressed at his improvement.

Should the Mets bring him back in 2018, Cabrera will definitely slide to the hot corner or man second base as a starter, shortstop should not even be up for discussion. At both of those positions, he’s been decent, so if the Mets are going to try to be cheap, you’ll see him play either or both positions in 2018.

The worry with Cabrera hasn’t really been his bat, however. It’s been his defense. After what looked like a solid defensive campaign last season, he looked way below average at shortstop in 2017. It was honestly painful to see him play out there before Amed Rosario was called up. The range just wasn’t there, and even Cabrera himself admitted later on that his playing days at short were likely done because of his mobility issues.

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Either way, Cabrera will likely be wearing blue and orange when his option gets picked up for next season. That’s what he originally wanted, and why he asked to be traded in the first place. Turns out all you need to do is hit like a maniac for a whole month for everyone else to be on board.