According to Dejan Kovacevic, the Pittsburgh Pirates have inquired on free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Dejan mentions that he doesn’t know the level of interest in Cabrera, just that the team inquired on him.
Cabrera, who just turned 36 last month, is on the downside of his career. In 2008 and 2009 he posted a .705 OPS in each season. In 2010 that dropped to a .657 OPS, despite playing in Cincinnati. Historically, he’s been a strong defender at shortstop, although his numbers have dropped in the last two years, with a -12.1 UZR/150 in 2009, and a 5.3 UZR/150 in 2010, compared to numbers in the 13 range in 2007-2008.
If the Pirates are looking to upgrade over Ronny Cedeno, Cabrera isn’t that upgrade. He doesn’t have a bat anymore, and his defensive numbers seem to be on the decline.
UPDATE 2:02 PM: Dejan updates us by saying the Pirates did inquire on Cabrera, but are not interested.
