The offseason signing of Asdrubal Cabrera hardly drew a reaction from the Mets fan base.
Looking back at the move now, it should’ve elicited some sort of celebration.
Forty-two games into his career in Queens, the shortstop has by far surpassed expectations, playing mostly stellar defense — if you ignore his costly error in Wednesday’s Matt Harvey debacle against the Nationals — and providing the kind of clutch production at the plate he exhibited on Sunday afternoon.
Cabrera’s two-out, fourth-inning single provided the difference in the Mets’ 3-1 victory that capped a series sweep of the Brewers at Citi Field, a significant bounce-back series after Cabrera and Co. dropped two of three to the Nationals last week.
“He’s meant a lot to us,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I’ve hit this guy in the two-hole. He’s come up big. He’s getting on base. He’s been great on both sides of the ball.”
The single extended Cabrera’s hit streak to five games, and he has hit safely in eight of his last 10. He also had a key two-out, run-scoring single to begin Saturday’s comeback from a three-run deficit.
Cabrera, 30, made sure the Mets didn’t waste one of their few scoring opportunities Sunday. In the fourth, after Michael Conforto walked and Yoenis Cespedes reached on a gift double — Ryan Braun misplayed his soft fly ball in shallow left field — Neil Walker struck out. But on a 3-2 curveball from Brewers starter Chase Anderson, Cabrera laced a line drive into right field, plating both Conforto and Cespedes.
“That situation, what I’m trying to do is put the ball in play,” he said. “The last thing I want to do is strike out.”
Because of the left hamstring strain that sent Wilmer Flores to the 15-day disabled list and a lack of depth at shortstop, Cabrera has appeared in 42 of the Mets’ 43 games. Collins even admitted he would like to give the veteran a day off at some point, perhaps after Flores returns. But Cabrera said he feels fine, and his play has backed up those words.
“I’m not that old yet, I feel really good,” he said with a smile. “I love to play every day. I know someday I’m going to need a day off, but I feel good now.
“We got an off day in four days, so I’m fine.”