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3 Takeaways From Pittsburgh Pirates Being Swept In LA

By Marty Leap

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 26: Pitcher Chris Archer #24 of the Pittsburgh Pirates (L) is visited by teammates at the mound after Archer walked Max Muncy #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (not in photo) in the fourth inning during the MLB game at Dodger Stadium on April 26, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers defeated the Pirates 6-2. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 26: Pitcher Chris Archer #24 of the Pittsburgh Pirates (L) is visited by teammates at the mound after Archer walked Max Muncy #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (not in photo) in the fourth inning during the MLB game at Dodger Stadium on April 26, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers defeated the Pirates 6-2. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 28: Melky Cabrera #53 of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds second base after he hit a home run against Rich Hill #44 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning at Dodger Stadium on April 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 28: Melky Cabrera #53 of the Pittsburgh Pirates rounds second base after he hit a home run against Rich Hill #44 for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning at Dodger Stadium on April 28, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

Where would this team be without Melky Cabrera?

As a teacher, I have always been taught to start with a positive when talking to my student’s parents. So, let’s apply that to the takeaways from this series. We’ll start with a positive!

Melky Cabrera is proving to be one of the steals of the offseason. The team inked Cabrera to a minor league deal right before the start of spring training. Even though it was a minor league deal, barring an injury Cabrera was going to make the Opening Day roster.

Not only did Cabrera make the Opening Day roster, he has become one of the team’s most important players. Due to Corey Dickerson, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Starling Marte all currently being on the injured list and Gregory Polanco starting the season on the injured list, Cabrera has been an every day player from the get go this season.

After hitting a pair of home runs in his 24th career four hit game on Sunday afternoon, Cabrera is now slashing .333/.357/.506 this season. He owns a .173 ISO, 126 wRC+, and a 10% extra base hit rate. He’s also been better than expected in the outfield with an 11.0 UZR/150, while being worth -1 defensive runs saved. While a -1 DRS is just below the league average of 0, had you told me before the season Cabrera would be playing every day I would have gladly signed up for a -1 DRS.

12-14 is not where the Pittsburgh Pirates wanted to be 26 games into the season. However, without Cabrera, there is no telling where they would be. But it certainly would be a worse spot than 12-14.

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