TORONTO -- The interpretation of his words didn’t result in ‘Come at me, Bro,’ but that’s pretty much what Melky Cabrera meant to say.
The White Sox outfielder earned his fourth assist of the season on Friday night as another unsuspecting base runner tested out Cabrera’s cannon of an arm.
Not only did he double, homer and drive in five runs, Cabrera got Jose Quintana out of the fifth inning with a perfect strike to catcher Omar Narvaez to cut down Steve Pearce on Darwin Barney’s two-out single to left. Cabrera averaged 9.27 assists per from 2007-16.
“He’s probably one of the most accurate and consistent,” manager Rick Renteria said. “I don’t know how many assists he has this year. Usually when he tries to eliminate a runner on the bases, he has been pretty accurate and knowing he has a feel for actually being able to do it. I know when he threw I thought ‘Oh nooo … that a way!’ But he’s done that a couple of times. He can throw out a runner in the middle of the diamond, at third, at the plate. He’s a very polished outfielder.”
“He’s an underrated outfielder to be honest, but we’ve seen it a lot, and he’s done a nice job.”
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Aside from his first two seasons, Cabrera’s defensive metrics have always been in the red. His career Defensive Runs Saved is minus-20 and his Ultimate Zone Rating is minus-60, according to Fangraphs.com. In two-plus seasons with the White Sox, Cabrera has minus-10 DRS and a minus-21.6 UZR. But Cabrera does enough to make it hard for Renteria to find a day off for the veteran.
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“We appreciate the value he brings to us in the field,” Renteria said. “He’s really grinding. He plays every day, he’s grinding. I’ve even talked about it, I’ve got to find this guy a day off, but I don’t want him out of the lineup. I do that with most of our guys anyway. But they do need a respite now and then, whether it’s DHing or just a day off. But he’s just a pretty solid professional.”
He’s also a professional at throwing out the clichés, which is why Cabrera didn’t throw the gauntlet down when asked about throwing out another base runner. Known for his sense of humor and outgoing personality, Cabrera often retreats when asked about himself and offers modest answers.
Instead of saying, “try me,” Cabrera smiled and said: “Every time I have the chance to throw someone out it’s good for me and it’s good for the team.”