Versatility has been a big plus for Cabrera

Postseason-bound Nationals value his position flexibility

It was mid-August when manager Dave Martinez approached the newest Washington National, Asdrúbal Cabrera, and asked if he could play first base. Cabrera had manned shortstop, second base and third base before, but he’d never played first.

“People think it’s going to be easy to play first because you just take the throw,” Cabrera said. “But I don’t think it’s that easy.”

Yet Cabrera understood his role. The Texas Rangers had designated the utility player for assignment weeks earlier, and, before the Nationals officially signed him Martinez called. The manager stressed he needed a sure glove capable of playing multiple positions.

Cabrera was in; he wanted to play “no matter what.” He got a first baseman’s mitt.

The Nationals will play in Tuesday’s National League wild-card game in no small part due to the flexibility of their bench veterans, and their double-switch potential increases the organization’s options when constructing the 25-man roster for the game. Howie Kendrick, Gerardo Parra and “El Cabby” have all played all over the diamond, even at positions they’re not necessarily comfortable with, to spell a taxed teammate or stopgap a hole left by injury. They’ve delivered timely hits and steady gloves, and the coaching staff credits the team’s versatility as a key marginal advantage.

“You look at the teams that are really pushing [for the postseason] right now and making it, they can put numerous people in numerous positions,” bench coach Chip Hale said last week. “It’s really huge.”

The trio started in primarily one position — Parra in left field, Kendrick at second and Cabrera at short — but as the games piled up, as their bodies stopped being so cooperative, they were forced to confront reality. They all want to be the everyday players they once were but understand it’s impossible. So, like Cabrera, they evolved. Shortstop: Cabrera started playing short when he was 4 years old. His mother, Zunilde, played softball and taught Cabrera’s older brother to throw the ball against the wall of their home in a small port city on the northern coast of Venezuela. Cabrera watched the ball hit the wall over and over and, soon enough, began the practice himself.

The kid looked up to Omar Vizquel, a fellow Venezuelan shortstop who’d made it to the major leagues in 1989, and Cabrera later made a deal with his father that he would leave school for one year to try professional baseball. He and Vizquel had both signed with the Seattle Mariners, climbed the system and got traded to the Cleveland Indians. Cabrera debuted in 2007 and wore No. 13, a hallowed number among Venezuelan shortstops.

He spent eight seasons with the Indians, peaking in the early 2010s when he was a two-time All-Star, and got traded to the Nationals at the trade deadline in 2014.

His new team had a shortstop, Ian Desmond, so Cabrera shifted to second. The switch became permanent three seasons later when New York Mets brass told him they had a hot prospect named Amed Rosario coming to the majors.

Second base: Cabrera didn’t mind the swap because, for the rest of 2017 and the start of 2018, he was the Mets everyday second baseman. He settled into a rhythm and provided steady defense while maintaining his contributions at the plate with an on-base-plus-slugging-percentage of about .825.

Then the Mets dealt him to the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline and everything went haywire. Cabrera was still an everyday player, but he started at short for a week, played third for most of the next and bounced back and forth for the next month.

The unpredictability jarred Cabrera. His OBP dropped 50 points. But he looked around baseball and saw versatility and availability were becoming “part of the business.” He realized that, even when he stopped being an everyday player, this skill set might keep him in the game.

Third base: The Rangers had their middle infield set but needed someone at the hot corner.

They signed Cabrera and he played every day, so he still didn’t define himself as a utility player. But he knew this added another position to his repertoire.

“The more I play there the more I feel confident,” he said.

But the bat slipped. He hit .235 and the Rangers designated him for assignment. They replaced Cabrera with a young prospect and utility veteran just like him while, in early August, Cabrera signed with the Nationals.

First base: Now Cabrera is a man without a position.

He wants to stick around, so he plays wherever he’s needed, knowing he’s not the Nationals’ second baseman of the future. He navigated his first start at first base, in Chicago against the Cubs, without an error, and he’s shown a knack for the position in his two appearances since.

“Shortstop was my favorite position, but I mean, everything is in the past,” Cabrera said. “I’m thinking about what’s going to happen now and tomorrow.”