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Asdrubal Cabrera rumors extend to Arizona Diamondbacks as St. Louis Cardinals cool off

Asdrubal Cabrera, the Cleveland Indians shortstop to whom the St. Louis Cardinals have been linked, is now in trade rumors involving the Arizona Diamondbacks.

By Dan Moore
This is Asdrubal Cabrera's son. Weaker with the bat, but look at his range.
This is Asdrubal Cabrera's son. Weaker with the bat, but look at his range.
Jeff Gross

By Day 2 of the Winter Meetings it's become clear exactly which teams are interested in middle infielders—they keep showing up in all the trade rumors and free agent buzz. The St. Louis Cardinals are still among them, but the Adrubal Cabrera rumor mill shifted to perennial infield-watchers the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. (Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, looking for insurance on Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, continue to pursue Stephen Drew.)

MLB Daily Dish has the trade specifics—the Diamondbacks and the Indians were apparently working on a currently "dormant" four-team trade that would have sent Cabrera to Phoenix. The Diamondbacks have reportedly been shopping Justin Upton and Jason Kubel, but the original report offered no specifics about their package or the other teams in the deal.

Cabrera, the rare power-hitting shortstop on the current baseball landscape, is an interesting fit for any team without a lot of infield options, but questions about his defense and the Indians' asking price might be enough to turn the Cardinals away. The Diamondbacks had been tied to Japanese import (and Viva El Birdos favorite) Hiroyuki Nakajima in recent weeks, so it's not surprising to see they covet another bat-first infield tweener.

Of course, they're responsible for another bat-first infield tweener being on the market, having traded Drew away in the first place.