The Cleveland Indians and Washington Nationals agreed on a deal that will send infielder Asdrubal Cabrera and cash from the Indians in exchange for minor-league shortstop Zach Walters.
Cabrera, 28, is batting .246/.305/.386 (96 OPS+) in 97 games for the Indians this season. Across parts of eight big-league seasons, the two-time All-Star owns a slash line of .270/.331/.410 and is in the final year of a three year $21.05 million contract.
Walters, 24, has an OPS of .797 in 52 major-league plate appearances. In the minors, Walters has hit .280/.327/.479 in 2,101 plate appearances.
“He’s battle-tested,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said of Cabrera. “He’s been in the playoffs before. He’s been through pennant races. He’s a terrific two-way player. He’s a great defensive middle infielder.”
Nationals manager Matt Williams called Cabrera an “everyday player” who’ll see the majority of his time at second.
For Cleveland the trade opens the door for top prospect Francisco Lindor at Triple-A to make the move to the big leagues
