Washington Nationals reportedly sign Asdrúbal Cabrera to major league deal

Asdrúbal Cabrera was designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers last week, after the 33-year-old infielder put up a .235/.318/.393 line with 15 doubles and 12 home runs over 93 games and 368 plate appearances.

Cabrera cleared waivers, was granted free agency, and according to a report by the MLB Network’s Jon Heyman today, signed a major league deal with the Washington Nationals.

Cabrera played in D.C. in late 2014, after he was acquired from the Cleveland Indians, with a .229/.312/.389 line, nine doubles and five home runs in 49 games and 200 PAs over the last two months of that season.

After signing with the Tampa Bay Rays the following winter, Cabrera played for the New York Mets (2016-18), and Philadelphia Phillies (‘18) before he signed a 1-year/$3.5M contract with the Rangers this past January.

He was released by Texas, GM Jon Daniels explained last week, to make room on the major league roster for some young players (Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jose Trevino) that the Rangers wanted to call up.

“We wanted the opportunity to play these young guys and there just wasn’t a lot of time for [Cabrera and Tim Federowicz],” Daniels said as quoted by Dallas Morning News beat writer Evan Grant.

“We feel like we can upgrade defensively at two positions,” Daniels continued, “and when you have that opportunity, we want to take it.”

Cabrera played third base exclusively with the Rangers, but has played second and short as recently as 2018, giving the Nationals a backup infielder at multiple positions.

The deal comes with Ryan Zimmerman already on the Injured List and Howie Kendrick just added to the IL over the weekend.

The signing hasn’t been officially announced by the Nationals yet, so we’ll have to wait for official word before we learn what the corresponding moves are to make room on the 40-Man roster if it is indeed a major league deal as Heyman is reporting...