Daniel Cabrera is a Nat!!!

[sportsfan882]

He'll be our Royals ace

Too bad we don't face KC this year (we've never faced KC actually). 

[DCFan]

Now let's move on to a couple minor league pitcher signings, get us some relief, see what else we can find in other teams' trash...

And we can really show guys like Tex how serious we are about wanting to be contenders, sooner rather than later. 

[Why Not?]

I think it's a good pickup. It's not crazy to think he could figure things out at 27.

Still, it wouldn't shock me to find out he's got an injury. The walks have always been a problem, but he lost the ability to overpower batters in 2008. He stopped striking guys out and getting pop-ups, started giving up homers and stopped throwing as many ground balls.

Contrary to his reputation, Cabrera is a decent guy. He's not crazy, he just can't throw the ball over the plate.

[Eddie the Expos fan]

I'm happy with this signing.   

[hammondsnats]

Something fishy went down towards the end of the season for D-Cab, his strikeout rate when down, he lost a couple miles per hour on his heater, he wasn't himself out there.

All reports are that he's healthy and good to go for this season. 

We dumped Tim Redding for a guy who is younger, has a better career W-L record, more strikeouts (of course more walks too) and more complete games. 

A lot of people fail to remember/are unaware that D-Cab has only been playing baseball for less than 10 years. 

[ronnynat]

Something fishy went down towards the end of the season for D-Cab, his strikeout rate when down, he lost a couple miles per hour on his heater, he wasn't himself out there.

Before the '08 season started, he was told to stop overthrowing his fastball. That's why it was slower and why his Ks were down. It was working for him earlier in the season, but then he lost control of the rest of his pitches.

[tomterp]

that he does. if he can overcome Bergmann-itis.

I gotta say he's a prime candidate for 5th starter.

Exactly.  He's got a ton up talent, and lord knows we need that.

[hammondsnats]

Before the '08 season started, he was told to stop overthrowing his fastball. That's why it was slower and why his Ks were down. It was working for him earlier in the season, but then he lost control of the rest of his pitches.

I'm aware of that, I'm talking about at the end of the season.  He used to throw 97 MPH on a regular basis, then last year he was in the 93-94 MPH range, because that was the plan (and it worked in some games), but toward the end of the season he was only throwing 90, topping out at 91.

[blue911]

Baltimore Sun baseball guy Dan Connolly just got off the phone with Mike Powers, the agent for just-released pitcher Daniel Cabrera, and Powers says he's been on the phone a lot since the Orioles chose to non-tender D-Cab on Friday night.

Powers says that 11 teams have expressed interest and one has offered a multi-year deal

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/2008/12/is_dcabrera_a_commodity.html

[blue911]

I think this is a ploy to make us stop calling Bergmann a candy-ass.

[PANatsFan]

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck/2008/12/is_dcabrera_a_commodity.html

Lodson said it was one year - we must have beat them in average payout

[UpperDec]

1 year deal absolutely worth a shot  He is only 27.  I'm not banking on his success, but a good move nonetheless.  I can't imagine that we paid too much for him.

[ronnynat]

1 year deal absolutely worth a shot  He is only 27.  I'm not banking on his success, but a good move nonetheless.  I can't imagine that we paid too much for him.

My guess is $4-$4.5 mil.

[sportsfan882]

My guess is $4-$4.5 mil.

Oh god I hope it's not that much. I was hoping somewhere around $2 million.

[hammondsnats]

Oh god I hope it's not that much. I was hoping somewhere around $2 million.

That sounds more like it.  The O's didn't want to give him $4 mil and I'm sure he got anywhere from $1.7-$3 million.

[hammondsnats]

The sun is reporting the contract as a 1yr/$2.6 million deal.  Aside from me being a huge lifelong D-Cab fan, I'm really liking this deal for the Nats.  Not that big of a risk, with potential of a very high reward.

[ronnynat]

The sun is reporting the contract as a 1yr/$2.6 million deal.  Aside from me being a huge lifelong D-Cab fan, I'm really liking this deal for the Nats.  Not that big of a risk, with potential of a very high reward.

That's not bad at all. I thought it'd be more b/c the Mets were also going after him.

[shoeshineboy]

That's not bad at all. I thought it'd be more b/c the Mets were also going after him.

That's about right. He was making 2.8M+ last season and was arbitration elligible for 2009. Given that the minimum offer would be 80% of the previous year's salary, he was cut loose. It was likely going to take between that and what he made last year to sign him. It's a one year deal. If they can get improvement, he'll be under club control for a while longer. This is a reasonable price tag for a flier like this. If they paid him 5M, I would have been mad about it.  As it stands this is better than say, WMP who we are stuck owing $2M after we basically told him we didn't want to exercise our club option.

In terms of Cabrera's issues, there is reason to think that the Saint could help where a Mazzone may have hurt. Those Braves pitchers were successful for years when the umps were giving strikes low and away. The bread and butter was to nibble. That kills pitchers in today's game. The Saint believes in first pitch strikes and pounding the K-zone. Cabrera may never pitch for the Nats, or he could end up turning over a new page in his career. Time will tell.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

I'll ride this train and see where it goes. Welcome to DC, DC.

[shoeshineboy]

I'll ride this train and see where it goes. Welcome to DC, DC.

LOL. Yeah, I wonder if the monogrammed hats and jerseys were a selling point.

[natsfan4evr]

I like the move. He isn't at the end of his career yet. He is worth taking a shot on.

I assume the rotation will be:
Lannan, Olsen, Zimmermann, Cabrera, and Martis or Balester?

[hammondsnats]

I like the move. He isn't at the end of his career yet. He is worth taking a shot on.

I assume the rotation will be:
Lannan, Olsen, Zimmermann, Cabrera, and Martis or Balester?

I just saw on Balester's blog that he thinks Lannan, Olsen, D-Cab are locks and that there are 5 or 6 guys competing for two spots.  I think Bally has a good chance at number four, with Zimmermann/Martis/Hill and others battling for the final spot.

[sportsfan882]

I hope to hell that "D-Cab" isn't a lock for the rotation. If he pitches anything like he has done in his career and more recently the last 2 years then he doesn't warrant a spot. I'm sorry but a 5.05 ERA is not going to cut it.

[hammondsnats]

I hope to hell that "D-Cab" isn't a lock for the rotation. If he pitches anything like he has done in his career and more recently the last 2 years then he doesn't warrant a spot. I'm sorry but a 5.05 ERA is not going to cut it.

Yeah but in a 5.05 ERA translates into a mid 4ish ERA when going to the NL. 

I'm cool for letting him compete for a spot, but I'm sure the Nats have in my mind that he's in the rotation. 

Also got this off of NJ:

I heard Leo Mazone being interviewed on XM a few weeks ago when the O's non-tendered Cabrera. Leo's take was essentially that the O's had ruined him by teaching him a new pitch and making him focus on it (I think it was the sinker). Leo maintained that Daniel's arm was far too live and his fastball far too good for him to be working off any other pitch. He also pointed out that Cabrera had never played baseball until late in his teens. He never payed another position other than Pitcher. And as a result he has not yet learned how to pitch to his fielder's strengths. He also said Cabrera is completely clueless as a hitter, so Bergmann is no longer the worst hitter on the team. (yikes). But, bottom line for Mazonne was that Cabrerra was healthy, capable, and raw. The O's could not afford to wait given that Cabrera was arbitration eligable. Cabrera could easily put up 200 innings with sub 5.00 ERA. But the Nats will need to teach him a few things (hit, run, pitch) before he can become a complete pitcher.

[sportsfan882]

We might as well have kept Perez or Redding if we wanted another pitcher with a 4.50-5.00 ERA.