Cabrera's vet presence lost, but reps gained

PHILADELPHIA -- The D-backs lost a valuable veteran presence on Friday when infielder Asdrúbal Cabrera was claimed off waivers by the Reds.

The 35-year-old Cabrera slashed .244/.324/.392 with seven home runs over 90 games for the D-backs after signing a one-year, $1.75 million deal this offseason. More important than any numbers, though, were the immeasurable benefits of having a player with 15 years of big league experience on an otherwise mostly youthful roster.

Arizona selected the contract of outfielder Jake McCarthy -- the club's No. 23 prospect -- to take Cabrera's spot on the active roster.

"Cabby meant so much to this team. He brought such a stable at-bat and stable, steady defensive play," manager Torey Lovullo said. "And behind the scenes, inside the clubhouse, he was always teaching and searching out opportunities to help us get better. His conversations took him to veterans, to young players -- so he's going to be missed."

Though Cabrera was always willing to help the D-backs' younger players, his departure now helps them in another way: It opens up playing time. That's especially important this season, with rosters expanding only to 28 players in September, meaning the D-backs won't be able to simply promote everyone on their 40-man roster and plug them in however they see fit, as in years past.

Outside of a pair of stints on the IL, Cabrera had not sat out back-to-back games all season. That opens up everyday reps for someone else (or a combination of players), particularly at third base, where Cabrera had started 54 games this season.

An obvious candidate for increased time at third base will be Josh VanMeter, who made his third start of the season at the hot corner on Friday night. The 26-year-old has shown flashes in his brief career, including over the last 10 games -- a span during which he's hitting .320 with a .974 OPS and four extra-base hits.

All that has come while primarily playing second base. VanMeter has made 43 starts at second, while Friday marked just his seventh appearance at third base. VanMeter has also made one appearance each at first base, left and right field.

"Josh's defensive metrics at second base, for the month of August, have started to tick up considerably," Lovullo said. "So we feel like getting him to that point, and making sure that he had that good foundation, was an important part to moving him over to third base. We feel like this is a time -- since he does have that base and that foundation at second base -- to see what he can do over at third base. Defensive versatility is important to this organization."

Meanwhile, Drew Ellis, who had split hot-corner reps with Cabrera since Eduardo Escobar was traded to the Brewers on July 28, also figures to continue seeing his share of time. Ellis, the club's No. 15 prospect, entered Friday's game slashing .155/.290/.241 over 58 at-bats while appearing sporadically across 22 games. Ellis joined the big league club after hitting .286 with 13 home runs and a .950 OPS in 65 games this season with Triple-A Reno.

"It's an opportunity for us to evaluate and see what these guys can do. It's an extended look," Lovullo said. "It's something deeper than just a September callup where you're going to get six or seven starts as a position player and three or four outings as a reliever. ... We can evaluate them properly and make sure we're that much further ahead for the start of our 2022 Spring Training."

McCarthy is another player the club will be taking a long look at over the next month. The 39th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, the 24-year-old McCarthy began the season with Double-A Amarillo before making the jump to Reno on June 21.

McCarthy posted an .822 OPS to go with six home runs and 17 stolen bases over 35 games with Amarillo -- and the jump to Triple-A didn't slow him down a bit. He put up an .838 OPS with nine homers and 12 steals over 50 games before getting the call Friday.

Though McCarthy was plugged right into center field upon his arrival on Friday, it won't always be that easy. Ketel Marte was kept out of the lineup after leaving Thursday's game with right hip discomfort, but Lovullo called Marte "day to day" and said he hopes to have him back in the lineup on Saturday.

Still, Lovullo will find ways to get McCarthy reps down the stretch.

"Obviously, this is a very good player, because he's in the big leagues; very deserving of this opportunity," Lovullo said. "We want to be able to evaluate him. I'll find that sweet spot. What that balance is, I'm not sure -- but he's going to play."