{"id":14141,"date":"2018-07-27T22:50:01","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T02:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=14141"},"modified":"2018-07-27T22:50:01","modified_gmt":"2018-07-28T02:50:01","slug":"philadelphia-phillies-asdrubal-cabrera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2018\/07\/27\/philadelphia-phillies-asdrubal-cabrera\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Asdrubal Cabrera"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> have found their infield bat. In an effort to bolster their hitting production, the Phillies acquired infielder Asdrubal Cabrera<\/a><\/strong> from the New York Mets<\/a>, in exchange for RHP Franklyn Kilome<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Phillies Acquire Asdrubal Cabrera<\/h2>\n

At 32 years old, Cabrera is having a terrific season, hitting .277\/.329\/.488 with 18 home runs, 58 RBI and an OPS+ of 124. Phillies Manager Gabe Kapler<\/a><\/strong> has many options with Cabrera since he can play many positions in the infield. The infielder is used to playing shortstop, but he can also play second and third base.<\/p>\n

“He has a track record of proven success in the batter’s box,” Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said in a phone call Friday with Phillies beat reporters.<\/a> “He’s a switch-hitter, which means every time he is in the batter’s box, we will have the platoon advantage. When he’s not playing, I think he’ll be a very dangerous bat off the bench. He’s an excellent roster fit for this current group of Phillies, and notably, I think, his positional flexibility puts us in a position where we can continue to let our young players play. This acquisition doesn’t relegate any of our young players to a full-time bench role, and I think that is important, too.”<\/p>\n

The Mets receive a young pitching prospect in Kilome, who has a 4-6 record this season, with a 4.24 ERA for Double-A Reading.<\/p>\n

“He’s athletic. He’s got a power arm and he’s a starting pitcher, which is something in the last number of trades that we’ve made, we’ve been targeting more relievers. This gives us a starter that’s in Double-A and is fairly close to being ready for the big leagues,” said Mets assistant general manager John Ricco.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Last Word<\/h3>\n

The Phillies are on the precipice\u00a0of getting back to the postseason for the first time since 2011. For a team desperately seeking much-needed offense from their infield hitters, Cabrera is the perfect match, who could use his efficient hitting and versatile defending to take the Phillies deep into the postseason.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>