Melky Cabrera attracting interest from at least five teams

Drew Silva

Nov 10, 2012, 8:45 PM EDT

33 Comments

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You know the story by now. Melky Cabrera was busted for PED use this summer, tried to skirt his 50-game suspension by building a fake supplement supply website, and then walked out on his Giants teammates without apologizing or saying goodbye after his plan was foiled. But he’s very talented. And that’s all that really matters this winter to MLB clubs looking to improve their odds of success in 2013.

According to national baseball columnist Joel Sherman of the New York Post, “at least five teams” have expressed interest in the free agent outfielder over the past couple of weeks. The Phillies and Mets have already been suggested as potential suitors.

Carbera batted .346/.390/.516 with 11 home runs and 60 RBI in 113 testosterone-aided games this season for the eventual World Series champions. The 28-year-old Dominican owns a .284/.338/.414 career slash.

If the reported level of interest is real, Melky should do a little better than a one-year “prove-it” deal.

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33 Comments (Feed for Comments)

Brinke - Nov 10, 2012 at 9:32 PM

We don’t need him here in SF.
We ended up doing OK.

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- ptfu - Nov 11, 2012 at 10:58 AM
  
  You still need a LF, Melky or otherwise. Gregor Blanco is not the answer.
  
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  - Brinke - Nov 11, 2012 at 11:57 AM
    
    He looked pretty good in the playoffs to me. I’ll take a Blanco-Pagan-Pence OF next year.
thomas2727 - Nov 10, 2012 at 9:51 PM

Giants fans can look forward to Melky giving the same classless response he gave Braves fans when he played there in 2012.

Any games he plays for the rest of his career at AT&T Park will be spent in the visitors dugout.

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buffalomafia - Nov 10, 2012 at 10:48 PM

He stunk every year he played except when he took steroids!

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- hermie13 - Nov 12, 2012 at 10:39 AM
  
  Was pretty solid in 2011…
  
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- payperpeddler - Nov 12, 2012 at 2:17 PM
  
  1 of 5 players to have over 200 hits in 2011.
  
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btwicey - Nov 10, 2012 at 11:04 PM

Lol!!! At the steroid comment. You literally have NO idea.

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btwicey - Nov 10, 2012 at 11:06 PM

So he gets a one year deal, dominates for the 3rd year in a row, he’s still on roids – right? I mean, Braun must still be on them… Right? ….. LOL

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- jeffbbf - Nov 10, 2012 at 11:20 PM
  
  why are you laughing?
  
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  - Old Gator - Nov 11, 2012 at 11:42 AM
    
    I’m going to offer the theory that he’s laughing because the comments about Cabrera’s record on the field bespeak a profound ignorance of what kind of a ballplayer he has actually been.
    
    If I were the GM of a team in need of hitting – Teflon Larry, for example – I would have to pay attention to his numbers, even if I had to hold my nose in the process. Ultimately, the corporate culture (stupid phrase – I’m going to work on replacing it this weenter) of the team will depend on whether a GM thinks they need his offense badly enough to risk importing an ambulatory carcinogen into the clubhouse – but this guy’ stats have by an large been pretty good, especially considering what’s out there on the subprime free agent market this season.
- badintent - Nov 11, 2012 at 1:44 AM
  
  Melky was so damn inconsistent for my Yankees, one game he ‘d play lights out on the field and at bat, then fall off the radar for a week. Not sure if he had a drug problem, party problem , but he pulled this routine for 3 years. This guy has “suspect ” all over him.Send him to Boston. He’ll fit right in.
  
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  - theskinsman - Nov 12, 2012 at 1:57 PM
    
    badintent,actually he has a return ticket to the yanks written all over him…in needle marks,probably.Since the ‘Melkman’ hasn’t done roids so many years straight his bones are fracturing like some other roid ranger yanks has-beens,he should fit right in. maybe triple chins hanky will give him a deal like A-roids?
- protius - Nov 11, 2012 at 6:13 AM
  
  So, what’s it gonna be; dot’s…., or dashes-, right?
  
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btwicey - Nov 10, 2012 at 11:32 PM

Because the comment/thought/perception/notion that taking steroids is the reason that melky was awesome the past 2 years is quite laughable.

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- obpedmypants - Nov 11, 2012 at 12:07 AM
  
  …but not quite as funny as your inability to use a reply button.
  
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lew24 - Nov 10, 2012 at 11:49 PM

I’m sure the next rumor will be that the Dodgers are interested in signing him!

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illadelphiasphinest - Nov 11, 2012 at 12:50 AM

Red sox, tigers, phillies, reds, nationals, mets, braves Should all be interested. Not a bad signing for both parties at 2/14MM, n a 10MM team option for a third. If he kills it the next 2yrs he gets paid nice, n he sets himself up for 10MM at age 30. Hamilton made 13.75MM at age 31 last yr, n he’s lookin to get 100+MM at 32yrs old. Even Bourne wants 100MM. Your tellin me Melkey couldn’t look for 100MM in 2016@ age 31 Seems low risk, high reward to me…..

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jaybird22seven - Nov 11, 2012 at 7:52 AM

Why would anyone want this cheater ?

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- chill1184 - Nov 11, 2012 at 8:23 AM
  
  On a one year prove it type deal, Cabrera has motivation to maximize his value either for the team that signs him or in regards for a trade. Its a low risk, potentially high reward type situation
  
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  - SOBEIT - Nov 11, 2012 at 12:39 PM
    
    I too initially thought it would be a one year prove it deal. But now with multiple teams showing interest, it is more likely someone will outbid and give him multiple years. So I think the 1yr prove it deal is no longer the discussion. It’s who is bidding, how bad to they want him and then at how many years and $$$. I think the conservative package would be 2 yr + 3rd yr option. But if teams like the Dodgers (which does not make sense to me since they have too many players for the OF already…Ethier, Kemp, Crawford) get into it, who knows what Melky could negotiate.
- 49erod - Nov 11, 2012 at 3:44 PM
  
  why would anyone want Ryan Braun the cheater?
  
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  - obpedmypants - Nov 11, 2012 at 11:40 PM
    
    One of these players was dead-ass guilty, the other was tried in the media based on mishandled evidence and had his suspension overruled. One player looks like a human and has consistently put up great numbers throughout his career. The other a has a bloated head, and after being so terrible he was risked being let go of by the worst team in the league, came out of nowhere and started mashing the ball.
- obpedmypants - Nov 11, 2012 at 11:34 PM
  
  It’s not like teams have their wins rescinded if a player cheats. We know he has the willingness to cheat, so give him a fresh set of needles, and maybe a team a squeeze out another year and a half of glorious juice-filled ball mashing from him?
  
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pappageorgio - Nov 11, 2012 at 11:56 AM

What scares me about this guy is not the fact that he took PEDs. Players will do anything to gain and edge is a game that they give everything to. I don’t condone it, but I understand.

What scares me is the way he handled the whole situation when he was cooked. This guy is not only foolish but he thinks everyone else is an idiot too. To me it shows an attitude of entitlement and ego that I wouldn’t want on my team. Couple this with the fact that his team mates really didn’t want him back all that badly as they made their title run.

No thank you

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- Brinke - Nov 11, 2012 at 11:59 AM
  
  This is totally accurate. A fake website? Walking out w/o even speaking to the team?
  
  Classless fraud.
  
  Guess we didn’t need him in the end.
  
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  - marthayee1957 - Nov 13, 2012 at 7:55 PM
    
    Why does he have to be classless? Why can’t it be fear, stupidity and shame? He screwed up, knew it and out of fear did something stupid like try to cover it up. And no one has thought maybe he felt a deep shame and couldn’t face the teammates. And since when is it ok for us to be so judgmental and unforgiving? What about Braun? Bartolo and even Mota….TWICE? Come on. Melky is a great player. The steroids didn’t give him talent if he had none before he would have had none after taking them. Sorry I vented so much but so tired of the judgmental people being so hard on a man who made a mistake. Why not give him a chance? And those of you judging, may you never be in a place where you need that forgiveness and second chance. You may not get it.
- stex52 - Nov 11, 2012 at 4:57 PM
  
  Reading from fans in Atlanta and NY, I would say the biggest concern may be not so much any steroids fall-off as the clubhouse cancer stuff. I guess some GM’s will be willing to take that risk for solid performance.
  
  After all, Jeff Kent had a job for years.
  
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rhandome - Nov 11, 2012 at 12:00 PM

I’m a Giants fan and I love Melky. I wish the team was at least trying to bring him back. I also think they should’ve activated him for the NLCS. Yes, yes, team chemistry, but Ryan Freaking Theriot pinch hit multiple times in the playoffs. Anyway we ended up not needing him and I understand why the team wants to move on, but someone’s gonna get a very good player on the cheap. Also I have to laugh at the folks whining about steroids. You obviously don’t understand how steroids work. Even if it was proven that steroids boost a player’s power (and it isn’t), roids weren’t helping Melky hit all those triples and steal those bases.

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- 49erod - Nov 11, 2012 at 3:49 PM
  
  I don’t understand why there’s so much hate on Melky and Braun is given a free pass?
  
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  - marthayee1957 - Nov 13, 2012 at 7:59 PM
    
    As does Bartolo (sorry, not sure of spelling) and Mota who was caught not once, but twice.
beast2727 - Nov 11, 2012 at 8:06 PM

If the mets get melky they will win the World Series

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Kareem Azuma - Nov 12, 2012 at 9:48 PM

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