Daniel Alberto Cabrera Cruz (born May 28, 1981) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

right-handed starting pitcher. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

and

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

. He is a tall pitcher, standing at 6' 7" and 225 lb.

Professional career

Minor league career

Cabrera was signed by the

as an amateur free agent in . He did not become a player in the Orioles minor league system until , at the age of 19. For his first two seasons as a minor leaguer, Cabrera played in the rookie leagues; first with the Gulf Coast League Orioles, then with the

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the ...

of the Appalachian League. In his first minor league season with GCL, Cabrera went 2–3 with a 5.49

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 12 games (seven starts). With Bluefield, he posted a 5–2 record and a 3.28 ERA in 12 starts. When he was 22, Cabrera became a part of the Single-A

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

, where he finished 5–9 with a 4.24 ERA in 26 starts. By the end of his third season in the minors, Cabrera was racking up the numbers one would expect from a power pitcher. He recorded 105 strikeouts over 101 innings of work in the rookie leagues between and , and added 120 strikeouts over 125.1 innings in Single-A Delmarva the following season. He was promoted to the Double-A Bowie Baysox before the season. While at Bowie, Cabrera began dominating; through five starts, he posted a 2.63 ERA and averaged over 11 strikeouts per nine innings.

Baltimore Orioles

On May 11, , Cabrera was called up to make his major league debut against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He did not disappoint, tossing six

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

innings while walking three and striking out three in Baltimore's 1–0 win on May 13. In June, he had a 2.83 ERA and held opponents to a mere .204

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. Though utterly dominating for the first few months, Cabrera's control slowly left him; by the end of the season, he was

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

far too many batters to be effective, and finished the season with an even 5.00 ERA and a 12–8 record in 28 games (27 starts). After the season, he finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting. At the start of the 2005 season, Cabrera was listed as the Orioles #2 starter, thanks to a dominating

Grapefruit League Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives establi ...

performance. His performance was extremely up-and-down, however. Though he had many utterly dominating performances, he had an equal number of disastrous outings. Cabrera finished the 2005 season with a 10–13 record and a 4.52 ERA in 29 starts. During 2005, Cabrera's name surfaced in trade rumors involving

A. J. Burnett Allan James Burnett (born January 3, 1977), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia ...

of the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

. These trade rumors never reached fruition, however, and Burnett and Cabrera both remained with their respective teams for the duration of the season. Cabrera once again demonstrated his potential in 2006 with some dominating performances against major-league caliber rosters while pitching in the WBC. Many baseball experts, including

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

analysts

Rob Neyer Rob Neyer (born June 22, 1966) is an American baseball writer known for his use of statistical analysis or sabermetrics. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist and blogger from 1996 to 2011. ...

and

Peter Gammons Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American sportswriter, media personality, and musician. He is a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Early ...

, predicted a breakout season for Cabrera in . However, on July 14, 2006, Cabrera, after showing inconsistency at the major league level (leading the majors in both walks (75) and

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es (13), was optioned to Triple-A Ottawa. To take his place in the starting rotation, left-hander

Adam Loewen Adam Alexander Loewen (born April 9, 1984) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and outfielder. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles from 2006 to 2008, before converting to a position player and playin ...

was recalled from Ottawa. Cabrera was recalled on August 7, 2006, and pitched a complete game shutout against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

on August 19, 2006, allowing only five hits while striking out 10 batters. On September 28, 2006, Cabrera took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

before surrendering a line drive single to

Robinson Canó Robinson José Canó Mercedes (; born October 22, 1982) is a Dominican-American professional baseball second baseman who is currently a free agent. He previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Die ...

. He completed the game, only giving up that one hit. Cabrera was the losing pitcher for the Orioles on August 22, . That day, the Orioles suffered the worst beating in baseball since , blowing a three-run lead and losing to the Texas Rangers 30–3. Cabrera was ejected in the fourth inning for throwing a

beanball "Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking them such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head (or "bean" in old-fashioned slang). A pitcher who thro ...

at the head of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

's second baseman,

Dustin Pedroia Dustin Luis Pedroia (born August 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball career for the Boston Red Sox, from 2006 to 2019. He was a four-time All-Star, and won the Americ ...

on September 7, 2007, after a

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball R ...

. MLB commentators have cited this as being another instance of Cabrera being a man of massive potential with poor major league career execution. On September 13, 2007, he was suspended six games by Major League Baseball for the incident. In 2007, he had the lowest range factor of all major league pitchers, 0.75. In , Cabrera was 5–1 with a 3.48 ERA through 10 starts, but fell off after that. He finished the year leading the majors in hit batters (18) and had the majors' worst strikeout:walk ratio (1.06), and led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

in wild pitches (15), and finished second in the AL with 90 walks. Overall, he finished the season 8–10 with a 5.25 ERA in 30 starts. On December 12, the Orioles declined to tender Cabrera a contract, making him a free agent.

Washington Nationals

On December 29, 2008, Cabrera signed a one-year deal with the

. On April 19, 2009, Cabrera reached base safely for the first time in his career with a four pitch walk issued by Hayden Penn. He struck out 18 times in a row beforehand. On May 26, 2009, Cabrera was designated for assignment, and once clearing waivers the Nationals announced that he would be released.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On August 3, 2009, the

signed Cabrera to a minor league contract. On November 4, 2009, Cabrera filed for free agency.

Chicago White Sox

On January 14, 2010, Cabrera signed a minor league contract with the

with an invitation to spring training. He was released on March 17, midway through spring training.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On June 10, 2010, Cabrera signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. He did not play in 2011 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Pittsburgh Pirates

In January 2012, Cabrera signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Return to the Arizona Diamondbacks

Cabrera was traded to the

in August 2012.

Cincinnati Reds

In February 2015, Cabrera signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. He was released on May 6.

Tigres de Quintana Roo

On May 27, 2015, Cabrera signed with the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Quintana Roo Tigers (), formerly known as the Mexico (City) Tigers () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve champio ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. He was released on March 28, 2016.

Pitching style

Cabrera throws three pitches: a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

, a curveball, and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

. His fastball is his strongest pitch—he is able to throw it consistently in the upper 90s, with significant sinking and tailing action. He throws two different curveballs. One is a sharp-breaking, hard curve that behaves like a

slurve The slurve is a baseball pitch in which the pitcher throws a curve ball as if it were a slider.

and tops out in the mid-upper 80s. He also throws a looping, 12–6 curveball that tops out in the high 70s. Cabrera's changeup is improving, though in it was extremely inconsistent. He featured this pitch with more effectiveness while representing the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

in the inaugural

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Lea ...

. Cabrera's mix of velocity and pitch movement have enabled him to rack up impressive strikeout numbers, as evidenced by his excellent K rate in 2005 (8.8 K/9). However, he has had difficulties with control, as is often the case with a

power pitcher Power pitcher is a term in baseball for a pitcher who relies on pitch velocity at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts, and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of ...

of his size and level of experience. His career walk rate is an extremely high 5.1 BB/9; his career high for walks in a single game is 9, most recently in a bizarre outing where in addition to his walks, which loaded the bases in three of his five innings, fanned 10 batters and allowed only one run to cross the plate, on a wild pitch. Though displaying tremendous potential for success, Cabrera is sometimes chastised for his perceived lack of mental toughness and overall inconsistency.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabrera, Daniel 1981 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Arkansas Travelers players Baltimore Orioles players Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Bradenton Marauders players Chunichi Dragons players Delmarva Shorebirds players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Estrellas Orientales players Gulf Coast Orioles players Indianapolis Indians players Leones del Escogido players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Ottawa Lynx players Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís Reno Aces players Salt Lake Bees players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Tigres del Licey players Washington Nationals players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players