After his epic run at the end of the 2015 season, it is understandable how many view Yoenis Cespedes as the driving force of this Mets team.  However, if you look at the past few seasons, the person who has really been at the forefront of the Mets peaks and valleys has been Asdrubal Cabrera.

Looking over the past few seasons, Cabrera never really did get the credit Cespedes received for his propelling the Mets to the postseason in 2016.  Consider from August 19th until the end of the 2016 season, he hit .345/.406/.635 with 11 doubles, a triple, 10 homers, and 29 RBI.  Really, looking at that decimated team who was looking for an everyday second baseman at they entered September, it was Cabrera who carried that team to the postseason.

As the 2018 season began, it was once again Cabrera who was the driving force of this Mets team.

In April, Cabrera hit .340/.393/.580 with nine doubles, five homers, and 17 RBI.  For a Mets team who was in first place, Cabrera was in the all too early conversation for National League MVP.

That’s not a stretch either as Cabrera’s hot bat masked much of what was wrong with the Mets.  The Mets were winning despite Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard being the only Mets starters who would give the team credible starts.  Amed Rosario was struggling along with Cespedes, Jay Bruce, and countless other Mets.  The teams two catchers, Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki went down with injuries, and they were replaced by an underwhelming duo of Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido.

Through all of it, Cabrera got big hit after big hit after big hit, and the Mets were 17-9, and they led the Braves by 1.5 games in the National League East, and they lead the Nationals by 4.5 games.

Since that time, we have seen Cabrera get nicked up on more than one occasion, have seen his play fall off of a cliff, and we have seen the Mets go 10-21 while plummeting to fourth in the standings.

Since May 1st, Cabrera is hitting .252/.282/.445 with six doubles, a triple, five homers, and 17 RBI.  These are more befitting a hitter towards the end of the lineup than the second place hitter Cabrera has been for this team.

Cabrera isn’t just struggling at the plate.  He’s struggling mightily in the field as well.  In fact, with a -11 DRS, Cabrera is the worst defensive second baseman in all of baseball.  Expanding the worldview a bit more, Cabrera’s -11 DRS ranks worst among all Major League infielders.

Simply put, Cabrera is not hitting or fielding right now.  In a season where the was the driving force who bailed the Mets out of a number of situations, he has become one of the many liabilities on this team.

No, the current state of the Mets cannot be pinned on Cabrera. There are far more issues than his recent play.  However, when he struggles like this, with Cespedes on the disabled list, and Michael Conforto still trying to get back to form, you no longer have a bat in the lineup who can carry this Mets team and help mask some of those other issues.