Orlando Cabrera is officially an Indian. Now, the question is, can the veteran shortstop make the move to second base? Watch video
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Manager Manny Acta is not haunted by the spectre of Shawon Dunston when it comes to veteran shortstop Orlando Cabrera playing second base.
"He can play second base with his eyes closed," said Acta, confidently.
The Indians are going to find out if that's true.
They officially came to terms with Cabrera on Wednesday. He signed a one-year, $1 million deal and immediately became the favorite to win the second-base job. The lone concern is that in 14 big-league seasons, Cabrera has played only 33 games at second. The rest of the time he spent at shortstop, where he won two Gold Gloves.
Cabrera, 36, says the move will test him.
"Playing second base is a great challenge for me," said Cabrera. "I started as a second baseman professionally and moved to shortstop. It will be nice to go back there and play that position again.
"It's almost the same. It will be different turning double plays, but if I stay healthy, I don't think there will be a problem. Turning double plays is not something you forget."
Acta was the infield coach in Montreal from 2002-04 when Cabrera was the Expos' shortstop.
"When you play a premium position like shortstop or center field, the consensus opinion says it's always easier to move to your left or right," said Acta, who added that Cabrera is the favorite at second base where Jayson Nix, Luis Valbuena and prospects Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps will be competing for playing time.
"With his track record, he has a leg up," said Acta. "He brings a lot to the table."
He's a .274 career hitter with 946 runs, 443 doubles, 118 homers and 803 RBI in 1,855 games. He hit .263 (130-for-494) with 33 doubles in 123 games last year for Cincinnati.
Cabrera has spent majority of his career hitting in the first or second spot. Acta said that will not be the case with the Tribe. "He's the type of hitter who can bat anywhere in the lineup," said Acta. "He never changes his approach."
Cabrera passed his physical Wednesday and worked out with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and the Tribe's other infielders. The two Cabreras have known each other for the past four or five years.
"I call him nephew and he calls me uncle," said Orlando. "A few years ago, there were so many Cabreras in the big leagues, I started calling them all nephew.
"I have a lot of respect for Asdrubal. He's a little warrior. He's only 25. The kid is going to make the city of Cleveland very proud."
In 1998, the Indians signed Dunston, a fine shortstop for the Cubs, with the idea of moving him to second base. Dunston, however, could not adjust to the left side of the infield.
PECOTA results: The Indians will finish fourth in the AL Central this year at 72-90 according to Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA ratings, which rank every player in the big leagues and minors. By calculating playing time, PECOTA predicts the final standings.
PECOTA sees the AL Central like this: Twins 84-78, Tigers 82-80, White Sox 80-82, Indians 72-90 and Royals 70-92. Here are last year's predictions, along with the team's actual records (in brackets): Twins 82-80 (94-68), White Sox 79-83 (88-74), Tigers 79-83 (81-81), Indians 77-85 (69-93) and Royals 66-96 (67-95).
Good move: Kenny Lofton, the Indians' all-time leader in steals and a member of the team's Hall of Fame, will serve as a guest instructor Feb. 22-28. He will work on the Indians' base running and the outfielders.
During the season, Lofton will be an alumni ambassador for two weekends at Progressive Field. He'll also be involved in dealings with the community and business sector with a chance to expand his duties on the baseball side of things if his schedule permits.
New backstop: The Indians promoted catcher Chun Chen to big-league camp because they have 31 pitchers in camp. Chen, 22, hit for a combined .315 (123-for-390) last year at Class A Kinston and Lake County. He scored 58 runs with 38 doubles, three triples, 12 homers and 69 RBI in 110 games.
Slowly, but surely: Anthony Reyes, who didn't make it back last year from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, wasn't surprised at the roadblocks he encountered.
"I knew it was going to take some time," he said. "I've been pitching with my elbow like that since high school. That's about 10 years ago."
Reyes is competing with David Huff, Jeanmar Gomez, Josh Tomlin and Aaron Laffey for the fifth spot in the rotation.
Finally: Orlando Cabrera said his older brother, Jolbert, is still playing in Mexico. Jolbert played for the Indians from 1998 through 2002.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2011/02/kenny_lofton_will_be_guest_ins.html
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