PHILADELPHIA — Nobody is more surprised Asdrubal Cabrera is back playing shortstop than Cabrera.
“It’s not easy,” the veteran infielder said Thursday before facing his former team, the Mets, for the first time since his trade to the Phillies on July 27.
Cabrera has become the starting shortstop for a team that is 1 ¹/₂ games behind the Braves in the NL East. With the Mets, Cabrera was moved from shortstop to second base and then third base midway through the 2017 season. He played exclusively at second this season before the trade.
The Mets dealt Cabrera, who is headed to free agency after this season, for minor league pitcher Franklyn Kilome.
“When a team like this wants you on the team and you are trying to make the playoffs, that feels good,” Cabrera said before he went 1-for-4 in Game 1 of Thursday’s doubleheader, a 24-4 Mets rout. Cabrera didn’t play in Game 2, a 9-6 Phillies win.
The Phillies might be NL East rivals, but Mets manager Mickey Callaway is glad Cabrera is getting another chance at competing for the playoffs.
“You want all of these guys to play for something,” Callaway said. “When you have had a guy on your team — and I have been around him for multiple years — you always want them to go succeed and win, so, yeah, you get some gratification out of that.”
T.J. Rivera has not resumed his minor league rehab assignment since sustaining a setback last month, but the Mets expect to recall the infielder in September when rosters expand. Rivera is returning from Tommy John surgery last August.
Callaway, a former pitcher and pitching coach, provided his take on Jose Urena drilling Ronald Acuna Jr. a day earlier, after the Braves outfielder continued to torment the Marlins.
“I think you never punish anybody for having success against you, but you make adjustments and try to counteract their success,” Callaway said. “You have to establish that you can own that inside part of the plate. I don’t think you go and intentionally hit anybody. “But you have got to let them know we are going to pitch in, we are going to pitch down and away, we are going to pitch up and we are going to do the best we can to get you out.”
David Wright continued his rehab assignment for Single-A St. Lucie. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and is 0-for-10 with five strikeouts in four starts at third base. Jay Bruce took the day off from his own rehab.
The Mets have outhomered the Phillies 66-34 at Citizens Bank Park since 2012. Last year, the Mets outhomered the Phillies 23-10 in Philadelphia.
Bobby Wahl left Game 2 after tweaking his right hamstring fielding a bunt, Callaway said. The reliever will be examined Friday.