Should The Jays Be Willing To Sign Everth Cabrera?

A couple of days ago, Everth Cabrera (Utility man) was released by the Baltimore Orioles. Over the course of the 2015 season, Cabrera has has some major struggles, which aren't looking like they are going to get much better any time soon. So far this season Everth has a very disappointing .208 batting average, no home runs, and only four RBI with his worst fielding percentage since 2010 (.966). With these recent struggles, should the Jays look to sign the 2013 all-star? Can he regain his all star form at the age of 28? I think that it is worth the try.

Over the course of the 2015 season the Jays have seen more problems from their infield. First and most importantly, injuries... again. Reyes has been out for half of the season and now Travis is out and has been for the other half. In their place is Ryan Goins. This season he really hasn't been producing offensively at all with a .229 batting average, two home runs and 23 RBI in 170 at bats. His defense has also been weak this year as he only has a fielding percentage around .900. As it looks, Everth is a worse offensive option but better defense. But is that really all? Of coarse not!

Just like Goins, Cabrera plays 2B and SS with a little bit of 3B. So far, Goins might look like a good enough option to you, but really he isn't. In 2012 Cabrera lead the entire MLB in stolen bases. His IQ in base running is amazing. He is also very fast (as you would assume). In 2013 he also had a good 54 runs! On the Jays speed and base running is needed very badly. Lots of the players aren't fast anymore like the old Jays were (Rajai Davis, Anthony Gose, etc). Now there are less stolen bases, total bases and runs. This is very important for Toronto.

During the season Everth had batted horribly, but being the player and former all-star that he was, I truly believe that he can turn it around. Two years ago during his all-star season he had a .283 batting average, 54 runs and a stunning 37 stolen bases. Can he become the same player he was before? Probably not, but can he become at least most of the player he was? I definitely think so. I believe that he can get and maintain at least a .245 batting average with 35 runs and 25 stolen bases coming off the bench and taking on the starting roles of injured players. I am sure that he is capable of it.

Time to assemble the contract. This year he was supposed to make 2.4 million. With the struggles, Chances are that he is looking for a contract worth around 1.4-1.8 million a year. I say that the Jays sign him to a two year deal (until his prime is over at the age of 30-31) at 1.6 million a year (not much lower because he probably won't want to play on the turf). If he turns out to start playing better (which I am almost sure he will) then the Jays have made a great investment. He fits the jays needs on the base paths, even if he keeps struggling with the bat. He may continue to struggle on offence but he is a better defender and hitter then Goins. I believe that he could easily take the job from Goins and play better then him too. He would also want to take a two year deal in case he keeps struggling, to keep him safe financialy.

Overall I think that This would be a great investment for the Jays. He could help them in so many differnt ways.