After yesterday’s unloading of Justin Masterson, this can’t be much of a surprise: The Indians have traded long-time shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to the Washington Nationals.
In return, the Indians reportedly will receive 24-year-old infielder Zach Walters. He was Washington’s ninth-rounder in the 2010 draft. In 223 games for Triple-A Syracuse, he has a .262/.304/.516 line with 45 home runs. He has just 40 games and 52 plate appearances in the majors.
Paul Hoynes was first to report that Cabrera was being traded. Jordan Bastian reported that he was off to Washington and Nick Camino chimed in first with the Walters return.
At first, it appears to be a relatively light load for Cabrera, the 28-year-old soon-to-be free agent. Of course, Cabrera is making $10 million this season, so the Nats will likely be responsible for the final third of that payment.
In 914 games with the Indians, Cabrera finishes with a .270/.331/.410 line. He had an above-average bat for a shorstop, but was annually regarded as one of the game’s worst defensively. He was a sparkplug in the team’s 2007 playoff run and had his best career offensive season in 2011.
More reaction to come shortly. For now, stay tuned for the likely Jose Ramirez and Mike Aviles platoon at short. I wouldn’t necessarily expect this to trigger Francisco Lindor’s promotion — he only recently got moved to Triple-A.
Asdrubal Cabrera sitting outside #Indians clubhouse after being traded to #Nationals. #MLB pic.twitter.com/SrwFVgpjmL
— Brian Dulik (@BrianDulik) July 31, 2014
The post Indians trade Asdrubal Cabrera to Washington for Zach Walters appeared first on Waiting For Next Year.