After strong finish to 2024, can Edward Cabrera take next step for Miami Marlins?
For oh so long, Edward Cabrera has flashed tantalizing talent with the Miami Marlins.
The problem: That talent was never on full display consistently. Every season, any chance of a full upward rise in trajectory has been stymied either by injury or a spell with command issues, handcuffing the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher from ever truly reaching his potential.
Cabrera is entering his fifth MLB season and coming off a strong finish to an otherwise disappointing 2024 season that saw him pitch to a 4.95 ERA over 20 starts and land on the injured list twice.
But the Marlins still have high hopes for Cabrera. First-year manager Clayton McCullough singled him out over the offseason as one of the main players he thinks can have a breakout season for a young Marlins team.
Given where things stand with the Marlins’ rotation, Cabrera is expected to be key. Assuming there are no injuries or roster additions, Cabrera figures to be part of a rotation to open the season that includes ace Sandy Alcantara, lefty Ryan Weathers, right Cal Quantrill and one of Max Meyer, Valente Bellozo or Adam Mazur.
Cabrera appreciates that type of confidence being given to him, but can’t let that get to his head. He knows he has to go out and produce.
“All I can do,” Cabrera said, “is just go out there and give all I got and let everybody judge what you can do.”
Cabrera on Tuesday made his first start of spring training to rough results. He gave up three runs on four hits and a wild pitch in his one inning of work against the Washington Nationals. Of 21 pitches, 15 landed for strikes. His fastball topped out at 98.4 mph.
But too many of his pitches caught too much of the plate, with three of the four hits against being to middle-middle pitches.
That said, it’s just one outing in spring training. The season is still a month away.
And Cabrera has a quality finish to the 2024 season to build upon.
Cabrera dealt with a pair of right shoulder impingements that took out three months of his season. Through his first seven starts, including the first two after returning to the rotation for good, his ERA was 8.26 and he only had one outing in which he pitched beyond the fifth inning.
Over his final 13 starts, he pitched to a 3.57 ERA, giving up 27 earned runs over 68 innings while striking out 65 batters and walking just 35. He held opponents to a .211 batting average against. Cabrera pitched at least five innings while allowing two earned runs or fewer in seven of those 13 games.
“It was a feeling of success,” Cabrera said, “because it was a tough process, a lot of ups and downs. It was like I was finding myself. So that’s why I felt so good just being able to be myself and finding who I know I am. It was a very rewarding, fulfilled moment.”
There are still strides Cabrera needs to make, though.
Staying healthy is paramount among them. He had yet to eclipse 100 innings or 20 starts in a single season.
And then there’s the walks. While Cabrera’s pure stuff has the potential to be dominant — a four-seam fastball and sinker that both average about 96.5 mph, a changeup in the low 90s plus a pair of breaking balls in a curveball and slider — he still has issues with his command. Cabrera has a career 13.2-percent walk rate, well above the MLB average of 8.4 percent. He did improve last year, cutting down from 15.2 percent in 2023 to 11.8 percent in 2024, but there’s still more work to be done.
He said he had conversations over the offseason with new pitching coach Daniel Moskos about mechanical adjustments and tweaking his grip. Those conversations continue throughout spring training.
“A positive outcome for the team is what we want,” Cabrera said. “Whatever extra I have to do out there, I’ll do for the positive outcome of the team.”
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