This is quite interesting. I would expect this kind of discussion to be happening on the board of the team that signed D-Cab. The fans in favor of it -- low risk, low cost signing of a player with a less then stellar history but lots of raw talent and potentia;, those claiming the team's pitching coach and a change of scenery could turn the guy around, and the fans on the other side, who look at his poor performance over the past few years and predict this won't work.
Funny, this very same debate is going on over at the White Sox Interactive message board. There are a group of Sox fans who are disappointed, even angry that Kenny Williams didn't sign D-Cab, while other fans debate that it would have been a stupid move.
D-Cab fits the Kenny Williams profile of a low-risk, high return contract. A young, talented guy with a poor or no track record. Kenny has captured lightening in a bottle more times than not (guys like Bobby Jenks, Alexei Ramirez, Tad Iguchi, AJ Pierczynski, Carlos Quentin, Gavin Floyd, and John Danks were all unknowns or their clubs had "given up" on them). Many of our fans view White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper as a miracle worker, and argued he could have turned the "head case" that Cabreara is thought to be into a proven starter.
Looking at it from that perspective, it is a low risk contract, although I think if you're willing to cut a guy in ST because he might not make the team, the price the Nats paid might be a bit too high. Perhaps that's what happened -- the Nats outbid the White Sox and everyone else. Needless to say, even if D-Cab turns out to be average, its a successful acquisition.
