Mets sign former villain from fight with Cardinals and Nolan Arenado

On November 28, 2024By Littum

Early in the 2022 season, the New York Mets were hit by pitches at an absurd rate. JD Davis, who was stung by a pitch thrown by St. Louis Cardinals reliever Genesis Cabrera appeared to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Mets reliever Yoan Lopez appeared to retaliate, throwing a pitch up and in to Cardinals star third baseman Nolan Arenado, prompting the benches to clear and a full-on brawl to ensue. Both Arenado and Cabrera was suspended for their roles in the fight.

Here is the full bench clearing sequence. You can see Cardinals coach Stubby Clapp throw Pete Alonso to the ground around the 0:24 mark. pic.twitter.com/sTgo1hyvY4

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) 27 April 2022

Now, over two years later, things are changing. Lopez hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since the 2022 season, Arenado is on the trade block, and Cabrera has inked a minor league deal to join the team he feuded with.

LHP Genesis Cabrera has been signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

— New York Mets (@Mets) 27 November 2024

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work with Baseball Insider’s Podcastsubscribe to The moonshotour weekly MLB newsletter and join the fray to get the inside scoop on the MLB offseason.

It’s clear the Mets believe this signing won’t make things too difficult, and it’s hard to blame them for that opinion. Lopez is long gone, Davis was traded during the 2022 season, and even Pete Alonso — another key member of the fray — might be leaving in free agency.

Brawls aside, it looks like a great move made by David Stearns and Co. The Mets signed Cabrera, a six-year veteran who has had some good years with the Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays, to give the organization some much-needed bullpen depth.

Last season was a bit rough for the southpaw, as despite his 3.59 ERA coming out of the bullpen for Toronto, he had a 5.13 FIP and a 1.468 WHIP. Cabrera also saw his strikeout rate drop from 24.3 percent in 2023 to 18.5 percent in 2024. As his inflated FIP and his 4.38 xERA would indicate, he appeared to be more lucky than good, and that’s why he settled on the deal he made.

Still, Cabrera is a hard thrower who, despite his down year, has been a productive reliever in the past. For a Mets team without a clear-cut left-handed reliever in their bullpen right now, Cabrera figures to have a legitimate shot to make the team’s Opening Day roster. He should at least get the opportunity to compete with southpaw Danny Young for a spot.

Since this is a minor league deal, there is no risk and, as we saw this past season with Jose Iglesias, the chance for a very real reward. Cabrera’s history with New York makes the move all the more interesting. Cabrera have a story with New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone just makes the move that much better.