Mets sign hard-throwing free agent southpaw to a minor league contract

The New York Mets have recently signed left-handed reliever Genesis Cabrera to a minor league contract. The Southpaw has spent his career with the St. Louis Cardinals, and parts of the last two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Mets announced the signing on their Twitter/X account, and the deal also comes with an invite to Spring Training. The Mets are familiar with Cabrera, as he was a catalyst in a brawl that took place in 2022 after hitting J.D. Davis when he was still with the Cardinals.

Last year, Cabrera pitched 62.2 innings out of the Blue Jays’ bullpen. His 3.59 ERA may look solid on the surface, but he has some worrying peripherals. Cabrera had just an 18.5% strikeout rate, along with a mediocre 10.7% walk rate. He was also prone to home runs with a 1.44 HR/9 rate. Cabrera had just a 4.58 SIERA, 4.74 xFIP, and a 4.31 xERA.

For what it’s worth, Cabrera has consistently been able to overperform his ERA estimator numbers. His career ERA is only 3.89, but he has a 4.70 xFIP, 4.37 SIERA, and 4.53 FIP across 275.2 innings pitched. Cabrera has consistently struggled with free passes throughout his career with an 11.4% BB%, along with a mediocre 22.4% strikeout rate.

Mets add some bullpen depth.

Cabrera is a hard-throwing lefty, as his four-seamer averaged out at 96 MPH this year (top 80th percentile). But his most used pitch this season was a cutter, which held opponents to a .246 wOBA and 34.1% whiff rate. He’ll also mix in a sinker and curveball, with his change-up only being deployed vs right-handed hitters.

The Mets are taking a low-risk deal on a pitcher who has induced solid results, even if the numbers under the hood don’t like his body of work. The Mets also only have one lefty reliever on their depth chart, that being Danny Young. Young had sort of the opposite effect Cabrera had, with a poor ERA, but good peripherals. As things currently stand, Cabrera will likely be given a chance to win a spot in the Mets’ bullpen during Spring Training.