SARASOTA, FLA. — Newly signed infielder Everth Cabrera arrived Wednesday at the Ed Smith Stadium spring training complex looking very fit and ready to begin competing for a place on the Orioles' Opening Day roster, but first things first.
There were a few things that had to be resolved before the team finalized a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the slick-fielding, base-stealing 28-year-old from Nicaragua, and there were a few questions he had to address about the issues — both on the field and off of it — that left him twisting in the free-agent market all winter.
Much of that has been well-documented during the week since news broke that the Orioles were close to adding him to their middle-infield mix. Cabrera was one of the players suspended for involvement in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drugs scandal in 2013, and he just reached a plea deal after being cited for marijuana possession and charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest in California.
So, he met the media Wednesday afternoon — standing alongside Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette — took responsibility for his bad acts and said all the right things about his desire to help the Orioles get back to the playoffs this year.
"For sure," Cabrera said, "[It was] just back to back, making mistakes. Like I said before, we all learn from that part and I've got my mind fresh and all that in the past is [behind me]. Now I'm a new guy. I'm going to do work every single day."
Of course, talk is cheap, and Cabrera conceded that he has a lot to prove to his new teammates. He was a PED guy, and he has been dogged by leg problems that have kept him from using his terrific speed and base-running savvy to full effect over the past few years.
Duquette and manager Buck Showalter also had some explaining to do, since there is risk here and it is being taken at a time when Baltimore is coming off a year of unprecedented athlete misbehavior.
Maybe so, but the Orioles took similar risks last year with baggage-laden free agents Nelson Cruz and Delmon Young, and those gambles paid off handsomely. Both were on their best behavior, and the Orioles would not have reached the American League Championship Series without them.
If those signings had gone south, it's probably fair to assume this one might not have happened. But Cruz and Young provided the Orioles with cover to give another talented player an opportunity to redeem his career.
"I think timing is everything," Showalter said. "I've said many times that we all do things we wish we hadn't. We don't want our lives judged by our worst mistake, all of us here included."
Cabrera signed for a relatively modest base salary (plus incentives), and he can be optioned to the minor leagues if he is not an immediate fit at the major league level. That's not a lot of money for a player who stole 99 bases over the past three seasons playing part-time, but the Orioles are not assuming anything.
"You've got to take some chances now and then, especially in our situation," Showalter said. "It's kind of who we are. We've got to stay true to it. There's a lot of upside here, especially when you bring somebody into a division that nobody in the division is very familiar with. … He could bring a dynamic that could help us in a lot of ways."
Duquette is known for his unorthodox roster choices, but there is little question that Cabrera has a ton of potential if he has his head on straight. That's why the front office considers him a "low-risk" acquisition in spite of his checkered past.
"He's young, he's hungry, he made the All-Star team in 2013," Duquette said. "He can play a premium skilled defensive position. He's a switch-hitter. He's an outstanding base runner and a premium base stealer.
"So, he's got a lot of assets that could help the ballclub, and I'm sure we will find some spots to help us win some ballgames."
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Read more from columnist Peter Schmuck on his blog, "The Schmuck Stops Here," at baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog.