In the spirit of trying all things, I tried to repair the damaged end first, instead of replacing the cable from the antenna base.

It was a different style of PL 259 connector that LOOKED like I could take it apart and simply rework the end, but that was not to be. The outer braid was secured by a press-fit, and I could not replicate the re-assembly. So I will go with a new cable, and re-solder the connections at the antenna base, which looked easiest to begin with, since I don't have any PL-259 connectors or RG8 reducers.