3 Reasons Edward Cabrera’s low trade value is wrong

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The Miami Marlins are ripe with starting pitching but they lack a few big spots in the lineup and a trade is a likely source of quality to fill those holes. The Marlins have already been in trade conversations with at least two teams, the Orioles and Pirates, and Eddy Cabrera is one of the pieces discussed. The first round of trade discussions with the Orioles didn’t go through after they were able to acquire Corbin Burnes. Now the Pirates are up, maybe the Orioles again, and the return for Cabrera is likely the hold up.

Miami Marlins Pitcher Edward Cabrera is underrated

Reason 1 - Numbers

The Marlins need a starting shortstop or DH and that should be the start of any trade discussions. Cabrera should be able to improve any rotation in the MLB, and would likely be a number 2-4 starter based upon ERA. Cabrera can help any team, last season he started 20 games and posted a 4.24 ERA over 99 innings with a 1.44 WHIP. Cabrera improved his SO/9 and HR/9 numbers from the previous year but struggled with hits and walks. Cabrera had an improved ground ball rate this past year, and was really just unlucky with some of the hits.

Based upon a random look at teams across baseball he would be around a 2 or 3 starter. Teams with a better pitching staff he would still land around 3 or 4 at the lowest, but the Marlins staff is so good he is 5th in the rotation. A 4.24 ERA really is a solid stat and many teams would love to have that in their rotation. Let’s also not forget that his 14 start 2022 season was an absolute gem, where he posted a 3.01 ERA. If a team gets the 2022 Cabrera it’s a huge value.

Reason 2 - Age and Control

The Marlins 5th starter is 25 and will turn 26 this season which gives him plenty of future seasons to thrive as a starting pitcher in the league. The Marlins have one of the youngest rotations in baseball but Cabrera could help another team get younger in that category. He still is pre-arbitration eligible and isn’t arbitration eligible until 2026. This also gives the Marlins, or whatever team Cabrera is traded to years of control. Cabrera isn’t a free agent until 2029, which means teams will have several years of low payroll impact for a potential top tier starter. That is worth a lot, especially for teams with a bloated payroll, getting a quality pitcher for a small price.

Reason 3 - Shallow market

The starting pitching market is shallow, as the high dollar teams have added high dollar pitchers, the middling and lower pay teams are searching for any quality affordable pitcher. That’s where Cabrera comes in, he can be a solid pitcher for years for low payroll teams and not cost what someone like Snell is commanding, yet he might enable a team to afford a higher priced player since his salary is so low.

Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery are still out there as free agents for starting pitchers but Snell made $10 million a season for the past five years, and he wants a bigger multi-year deal. Teams simply cannot afford that if they are in a lower payroll realm. Snell was reportedly offered a 6 year $150 million dollar deal by the Yankees which is 25 million a year but he wants $200 million. He is simply out of reach for most teams. Jordan Montgomery similarly made $10 million last year, and certainly won’t garner the $150 million offer Snell got, but he will get paid more this coming season, and where that number is remains to be seen but several teams are interested.

If you are a team that can’t afford either of those players, there really isn’t anyone left of value like Cabrera and thus his value is high. This is likely why he hasn’t been traded yet, the Marlins asking price is linked to the shallow market and teams aren’t ready to jump just yet. This does give him great value for a player with a mid 3 ERA potential and years of team control for cheap compared to current market values. He is underrated for all those reasons, and probably more, so where will he be in 2024?

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Miami Marlins Pitcher Edward Cabrera is underrated

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