Clayton McCullough excited for the Edward Cabrera project

DALLAS—The book on Edward Cabrera has been out for a couple of years. He has some of the best stuff in the game, but has severe control issues that chase him from games sooner than a manager would like.

Maybe new manager Clayton McCullough and his staff will be the ones to rewrite Cabrera’s story.

When asked at the MLB Winter Meetings on Monday about which player he’s most excited to see growth from, McCullough singled out the Dominican right-hander. During his time as first-base coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had a front-row seat to see what Cabrera could do (Cabrera has made four career starts against them).

“Those hitters weren’t fans of having to go up there and take that at-bat,” McCullough said. “He’s young, great stuff. There's so much more in the tank there. He's a really exciting one for me, just because the upside is so big.”

It’s not hard to see why McCullough is so bullish on the 26-year-old. When he’s feeling himself, he’s nearly unhittable with a changeup in the mid-90s and a wipeout curveball that had a 40 percent whiff rate in 2024.

But there's also the negative. Cabrera has been plagued by control issues his entire career. He had an 11.8 percent walk rate last year, which was in the bottom eighth percentile among MLB qualifiers. He showed flashes of brilliance last year with a couple of seven-inning shutouts. Those were often followed by a step back—he failed to complete three innings in either of his matchups vs. McCullough's former club.

“Not everybody's path to success is linear,” McCullough said. “But it's real ability that can win major league games.”

Former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said time and time again that Cabrera’s issues are between the ears. Former pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. echoed the same sentiments. McCullough knows getting Cabrera to be consistent is the obvious key. 

“He's not the only one that has walked that path, where the initial few years of your major career don’t go as planned,” McCullough said. “Whether that's health or inconsistency in performance. Everyone still believes big time in the arm.”

As well-regarded a coach as Stottlemyre was, perhaps having a new set of eyes on Cabrera will benefit him. 

“It’ll be great for (new pitching coach) Daniel Moskos and his crew to get a chance to get in there with Edward,” McCullough said. “Hopefully we're able to provide him the kind of support and some tangible things he can take and just lead us in more consistent performance. It’s real ability.”

Another thing to watch with Cabrera is his health. He went on the injured list twice last year, both times due to a right shoulder impingement. He also dealt with the same injury in 2023.