CLEARWATER, Fla. — Génesis Cabrera posted a 6.54 ERA across 40 appearances for four different MLB teams in 2025, and yet, that wasn't the lowest moment of his MLB career to this point.
In a relief appearance for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Phillies on April 28, 2021, Cabrera hit Bryce Harper and Didi Gregorius in back-to-back at-bats, leading to the ejection of then-manager Joe Girardi. Cabrera clearly had no intent to hit either, but it nonetheless created a scary situation, particularly in the case of Harper, who was hit with a 97 mph fastball near his left eye:
Amazingly, Harper avoided a major injury to his orbital bone or anywhere on his face. He would later wind up on the injured list with a left wrist injury, which he initially sustained when the ball deflected off of his face on Cabrera's errant pitch. In the grand scheme of things, Harper could have ended up with a much more serious injury.
The entire thing was a scary incident, including for Cabrera, who revisited it in a conversation with OnPattison this week.
"I mean, the truth is, it affected me a lot at the moment," Cabrera admitted through translator Diego D'Aniello. "Obviously, you never want to do those kind of things. You never want to hit a batter. Obviously, it wasn't on purpose, I didn't want to do that at all. I felt terrible about it."
Phillies Nation's Destiny Lugardo noted at the time that Harper actually went out of his way to text Cabrera once the dust settled, a move that impressed then-Cardinals manager Mike Shildt.
“You want to talk about a first-class move,” Shildt said on Harper’s text to Cabrera. “Look, the guy is an excellent player. He’s got a trajectory that puts him in a pretty special place after this career, which is still going to be a long one.
“Whoever is a fan of Bryce Harper, or whoever has children that are fans of Bryce Harper, support that guy because what he sent over in a message today was completely a class act. He wanted to make sure that Génesis knew that he was aware it was unintentional and that if he needed to talk and make sure he was OK mentally about what took place, then he was free to have the conversation with him. He had empathy for the guy that hit him, so a lot of respect for Bryce Harper and a lot of respect for the kind of player he is, but even more respect now for the way he handled a tough situation.”
Nearly half a decade later, Cabrera echoed the sentiments of his former manager in terms of what it meant that Harper made sure to comfort him.
"But he reached out to me. We had a little talk," Cabrera said. "After that, I was able to keep my head up and keep doing what I knew how to do."
One of the more interesting Phillies spring storylines: Five years after he hit Bryce Harper in the face with an errant pitch, Génesis Cabrera is in camp as a non-roster invitee. @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/EMJ4D0Hoe2
As far as 2026, Cabrera is one of the most interesting non-roster invitees in camp. The Phillies have two lefties that are certain, barring injury, to be on their Opening Day roster in José Alvarado and Tanner Banks. Rob Thomson said earlier this week that, in an ideal world, the Phillies would carry three left-handed relievers in their bullpen to begin the season, though that isn't set in stone.
Cabrera — who posted a 3.81 ERA in 259 games between 2020 and 2024 — is competing with Kyle Backhus and Tim Mayza for that final lefty spot, again, assuming the Phillies decide to carry three southpaws in their arm barn.
The 29-year-old wasn't particularly interested in revisiting a 2025 campaign that saw him appear in games with the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins.
Cabrera, though, is excited about the opportunity he has in front of him with the Phillies.
"I like the trajectory that this team is going towards," Cabrera said. "Every team wants to win, but I actually think that this team can win it all and win the World Series. I just like that about it."
The Nuggets
Zack Wheeler throwing from approximately 120 feet for the second time this week. @OnPattison pic.twitter.com/RidUuLl86t
Brandon Marsh’s reaction when Jesús Luzardo strikes him out in a live at-bat pic.twitter.com/XxPrvqc1Jp
It’s Phillies season pic.twitter.com/pMyk2in8lq
