Inter-divisional trade alert! Asdrubal Cabrera sent to the Phillies

When Sandy Alderson made the move to bring in Asdrubal Cabrera in 2016, nobody imagined the impact he would actually have on the team. Now, one of the most consistent players on the Mets has been traded, to an NL East rival no less.

It was announced before yesterday’s game that the rebuilding Mets traded Cabrera to the contending Philadelphia Phillies. In return, the Mets received RHP Franklyn Kilome. This is the second player the Mets have lost before the Trade Deadline, as Jeurys Familia was shipped up to Oakland not too long ago.

Cabrera, 32, was hitting .277 with 18 home runs, 58 RBIs and a .488 slugging percentage in 2018 for the Mets. In his two+ years with the team, Cabrera hit 55 home runs and had a slash line of .279/.339/.464. It was reminiscent of his early days in Cleveland (2011-2012), where he became an All-Star for the first time in his career. For Mets fans, he is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run against his new teammates in 2016. That one hit propelled them towards a Wild Card game against the Giants.

In Cabrera, the Phillies will be gifted with a much-needed upgrade in the lineup. Scott Kingery and J.P. Crawford have been struggling, whether it is due to injuries or cold bats. With Cabrera, the infield is covered along with backup for hot bats like Rhys Hoskins and Jorge Alfaro.

Who exactly is Franklyn Kilome? The 23-year old was ranked the Phillies’ 10th-best prospect according to Baseball America. Kilome is known for his mid-to-upper 90’s fastball, but can be wild at times. This season for the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate, Kilome’s ERA was 4.24 with a 4-6 record. In 19 starts, Kilome struck out 83 batters while walking 51.

The Brewers were close to nabbing Cabrera as well, until the Phillies provided what Assistant GM John Ricco thought was a better return in Kilome. Addressing the move, Ricco had the following to say:

“We had several teams interested in Asdrúbal and we were committed to acquiring the most talent in return. In Franklyn, we were able to get a young starting pitcher in Double-A with tremendous upside potential.”

With talent like Zach Eflin and Aaron Nola, it would be exected that the pitching prospects of the Phillies would have tremendous upside. That is what the Mets see in Kilome. Whether that is as a starter or reliever is up in the air. They will have plenty of time after this season to address the situation.

A win for both teams, the Mets are looking to gain whatever they can get for their surging players, while the Phillies will look to march back towards their first World Series appearance since 2009.