Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Cabrera, 28, was in the midst of a career season in 2012 before being suspended. The outfielder hit .346/.390/.516 in 133 games for the Giants, and were it not for the suspension and subsequent controversy, he might have signed a contract for considerably more than the two years, $16 million he wound up getting from the Blue Jays. FanGraphs values Cabrera’s season at 4.6 WAR, a career best despite having played in so few games.

It’s not know exactly what Cabrera’s motivations for withdrawing are at this point, but the outfielder likely doesn’t want to be a distraction in the WBC tournament, and with his name continuing to come in PED conversations, that’s an understandable desire. Provided he manages to stay out of headlines for the wrong reasons, he has a very good chance of providing Toronto with a solid return on their investment, and perhaps in time he can begin to repair his reputation.

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Whatever you may think of Melky Cabrera, the Blue Jays were wise to get him so cheaply. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

There still seems to be one problem, however: free agents aren’t getting any cheaper. Already this off-season we’ve seen Brandon League and Jeremy Affeldt ink three-year deals out of the bullpen, heard rumors that Anibal Sanchez might want $90 million, and waited patiently for Josh Hamilton to get way more money for way too many years. The real problem is that there are still general managers willing to pay the prices these players are asking, and that doesn’t seem to be changing. Even teams that build largely from within need to depend on a free agent acquisition here and there, so the key is to approach the free agent crop a little differently.

We have a couple of excellent examples of intelligent signings that have materialized just in the past week. First, we have Theo Epstein of the Cubs picking up starting pitcher Scott Baker on a one-year deal worth between $5.5 million and  $7.5 million depending on incentives. Baker was cheap because he is coming off Tommy John surgery, but he’s always been a dependable guy who can slot into the middle of a rotation without issue. His strikeout rate has even become respectable, and he never walks anyone. That’s good news considering control is said to be a bit of an issue for a while once a pitcher returns from Tommy John.

Alex Anthopoulos followed up Epstein’s potential bargain with a nice complimentary move of his own, signing soiled outfielder Melky Cabrera to a two-year deal worth $16 million. Normally an outfielder coming off the seasons Cabrera had in 2011 and 2012 would be rather expensive, but a positive performance enhancer test left him tainted and unwanted for many clubs around the game. Cabrera’s numbers over the last two seasons are almost certainly inflated (though I would argue an unusually high BABIP is to blame rather than “the juice”), but he’s a dependable enough producer across the board that Double-A was able to find value in signing him for the Blue Jays.

The key here is that both Epstein and Anthopoulos showed there is a way to snag valuable pieces without having to pay through the nose. I have no doubt in my mind that both of them would scoff at the idea of handing three years to a middle reliever. Both saw value in players who were damaged goods. Baker is recovering from a severe injury, while Cabrera wears the scarlet letter that has brought the spit and venom from so many baseball writers and fans. Thing is, it’s the general manager’s job to put a quality product on the field. Epstein is trying to rebuild the Cubs into something special, while Anthopoulos is trying to take his Jays to the playoffs for the first time in forever. Both of them have furthered their cause without having to break the bank simply because they were able to find value where others didn’t.

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Cabrera served a 50 ban for testosterone. Image: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

For Cabrera, who missed the final 45 games plus the post-season with the Giants after testing positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2012, getting a multi-year deal is almost shocking as many figured his best bet would be to take a meager one-year contract and attempt to rebuild his value.

Obviously, the Blue Jays feel like the success Cabrera has had over the past two years is more Cabrera than it was the PEDs. By adding Cabrera, Toronto has basically completed their roster overhaul which started by adding five players from Miami via trade. That trade is yet to be official.

Cabrera was hitting .346 with a .909 OPS at the time of his suspension. Over his past two seasons, going back to a year in Kansas City in 2011, Cabrera has produced a .322/.360/.489 line over 1200 plate appearances. In that time he has averaged 56 extra-base hits per season.

Assuming Cabrera passes his physical, the Blue Jays will have their new starting left fielder, replacing Rajai Davis. A week after being a club that was without significant depth, GM Alex Anthopolous has added the likes of Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio and Cabrera to a lineup that already boasted Brett Lawrie, Edwin Encarnacion, and Jose Bautista.

If Cabrera is anything close to the player he was in San Francisco or even Kansas City, this move makes the Blue Jays a much better club.

While Cabrera’s mention was more speculative (Hoynes could see a fit but didn’t note any team interest), Bay was someone he referred to as being “on the radar” of Indians GM Chris Antonetti. In his season-and-a-half playing for new Indians manager Terry Francona in Boston, Bay produced an OPS of .915 and clubbed 45 home runs with 156 RBI. In the three seasons since, however, Bay has amassed a mere 26 long balls and 124 RBI while playing for the Mets at CitiField.

Cabrera could use a short-term contract to prove himself as a player without PEDs. Image: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Progressive Field in Cleveland isn’t a hitter’s haven like Boston, but it is much more hitter-friendly than CitiField has been, especially when allowing home runs. The Tribe has a very real need for a right handed bat, preferably one with power that can play left field. Bay fits all of those criteria and you’d think the familiarity with Francona would help. Of course, the Red Sox were none too interested in re-signing Bay when his contract ended following the 2009 season. It would stand to reason that Francona was at least consulted about that decision. So maybe the devil you know, in this situation, is not quite as attractive as the devil you don’t.

If there ever was a “devil you don’t” know, it’s Cabrera. Not only does he have no history playing for the Indians or any of their coaches,  Cabrera has been all over the map as a player in his career. When he first came up with New York, he looked like a guy that had a lot of talent and could develop into an everyday player. In Atlanta he was a mess on the field and wildly unpopular in the clubhouse. The Braves couldn’t dump him fast enough. Then he goes to Kansas City on a low-risk deal for the Royals and has a career year, which lead to the trade to San Francisco, the all-star game MVP, the too-good-to-be-true numbers and the fallout from the PED suspension.

Is Cabrera they player Atlanta couldn’t wait to unload or the guy who lead the league in hits and hitting while on the field with the Giants? Is he the guy who produced 200 hits and 44 doubles for the Royals in 2011? All this depends on how much stock you put into the effects of PEDs and how long you think Cabrera got away with using them. Keep in mind though that Cabrera will play next season at age 28, so if ever he was going to be the player the Braves had thought he was when they traded for him, he’ll be in his peak seasons over the next three years.

With either player, the risk is probably low. Bay needs a short-term deal to rebuild his value ahead of free agency next year. Cabrera might still land a multi-year deal as it seems he’s at least being discussed by several teams with outfield needs. A one-year deal for him might serve the player well also.

Cleveland gave almost 450 at bats to the likes of Shelley Duncan and Johnny Damon in left field last year and the reult was a collection on left fielders that combined to produce an OPS under .600. These type of buy-low players can use a team like the Indians to give them at bats while not investing large dollars. Adding one of the two seems a very wise move for Antonetti and the Tribe. If they decide to trade Shin-Soo Choo, they’d be smart to try to sign both.

I am one of those people who was annoyed to see Cabrera’s name atop the NL averages list every morning since he was serving a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s substance abuse policy. It seemed so wrong that he was eligible to win the title after being caught cheating and admitting it, too. (more…)

Image: US Presswire

According to Andrew Baggarly, San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera has reached out to Major League Baseball and asked to not have plate appearances added to his season total, thus leaving him one at bat short of being eligible for the batting title.

Cabrera, who was suspended by MLB for violation of the league’s performance enhancing drug policy, was leading the NL in hitting at the time of his suspension, and still currently holds a seven point lead on Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen. By the time the Giants have played their final game of the season, however, Cabrera will have fallen short of the needed plate appearances. Ordinarily, in these situations, a player who falls short of the needed number will have hitless at bats credited to him until he reached the threshold number and his numbers will be adjusted to reflect the phantom at bats. Rule 10.22 allows for this procedure, which has been used in the past to credit San Diego’s Tony Gwynn with a batting title during a season in which he missed time with injury.

As Craig Calcaterra pointed out this morning, Cabrera’s batting title wouldn’t have come as some sort of loophole, but as part and parcel of an actual rule used by MLB.

That said, the agreement between Cabrera and the league saves a heck of a lot of embarrassment for the league. It was bad enough that Cabrera won been named MVP of the All-Star game earlier in the season, and baseball didn’t want any part of celebrating any additional accomplishments gained via PEDs.

Cabrera began serving his suspension with 45 games left in the Giants’ season and theoretically could return to the team during the post-season, after the Giants play five playoff games. From the sounds of Baggarly, who appeared as a guest on MLB Network Friday afternoon, the Giants aren’t anticipating having Cabrera back on the active roster this season. He would have to be activated from the restricted list once the suspension expires, but nothing says he must be added to the post-season roster if the club chooses not to do so.

Cabrera was named MVP of the 2012 All-Star Game. Image: Scott Rovak/USA TODAY Sports via US PRESSWIRE

In the wake of Melky Cabrera‘s failed cover-up attempt following his positive testosterone test (you know, the one where his “associates” set-up a website selling a fake supplement so Cabrera could claim he had taken said fake supplement to explain away the positive test), MLB investigators have been looking into the role that the Levinson’s, who represent Cabrera and many other players through their ACES agency, may have played.

During the course of this investigation, former major league catcher Paul Lo Duca, who was a client of the Levinsons, has named his agents as the people who got him connected with Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant and steroid-supplier-to-the-stars. While the Levinsons have denied any role in performance-enhancing drugs, Radomski confirmed their involvement to USA Today. ”I will corroborate the relationship I had with Paul and the Levinsons,” Radomski, said in a telephone interview. “I met players through their agents. I met players through other players.”

The Levinsons, for their part, issued a statement denying any wrong doing, and they have been in the game for more than 27 years, so you’d like to believe them. At the same time, 27 years ago was the very early days of the Steroid Era (Jose Canseco burst onto the scene in 1986), so their entire career as agents has been co-existing with the rampant use of PEDs. Does that mean they were involved? Not by itself, it doesn’t.

But perhaps no single person, outside of the player himself, has more to gain by taking the risk of using PEDs. The better the player performs, the more money he makes. The more money he makes, the more his agents make. The difference is that while a player loses his reputation with a positive test (not to mention the suspension and resulting loss of salary), the agent loses nothing. Their reputation remain intact and they get paid no matter what. Given the nature of human beings, doesn’t it stand to reason that agents would not only be okay with their players juicing, but probably encouraging them to do so? After all, what’s the downside for the Levinsons if Cabrera gets caught? Really, nothing. But the rewards are potentially enormous if he doesn’t.

My guess here is that this investigation could wind up costing the Levinsons their careers. Where things go from there will all depend on how far MLB wants to dig. Radomski alluded to more agencies being involved in PEDs during his interview and he’s more than willing to talk. This has the feeling of a story that isn’t going to go away.

The next great steroid scandal could involve a whole bunch of men who never played the game at all.

If Beltre keeps up his current hot streak he may wind up with the best season of his career and given that he has had some very fine seasons, that would be impressive for the Dominican at age 33. Well, maybe not THE best since Beltre hit 48 home runs and drove in 121 runs for the Dodgers in 2004. He’s not going to reach those stratospheric numbers. But with 25 homers, 81 RBIs, and a .315 average going into Tuesday’s play, he is on pace to make this one of his other best seasons.

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That flip side is that if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. But that’s where our dilemma comes in. Baseball history is full of single-season performances that seemed outside the norm of a player’s career, loaded with comebacks by guys we were sure were wished up. We used to call one group one-year wonders. Now we wonder if they cheat. We nominated the other guys for Comeback Player of the Year. Now we have to wonder if the comeback is chemically aided.

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“All options are in play with this situation,” a source said regarding the question as to whether Cabrera could receive an additional penalty for trying to perpetrate a hoax on MLB.

-snip-

Even if Cabrera had somehow proved he ingested the PED inadvertently, it’s not clear he would have beaten the 50-game rap. But of course, that’s not how it happened, anyway.

I would venture a guess that it’s extremely unlikely that Cabrera would have skirted any penalty even if his fake supplement scheme had worked. That he and his associates went to such lengths to cover up his drug use removes any doubt about whether or not Cabrera knew that his actions were wrong. He knew, and he didn’t care.

Not only did Melky cheat, but he tried to cover it up. Image: Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE

In 2011, a season after getting non-tendered by the Atlanta Braves, Cabrera landed in Kansas City and turned in an outstanding season. The Royals didn’t seem like believers, however, as they dealt his to the Giants in the off-season for left hander Johnathan Sanchez, who has since been released by the Royals. Meanwhile, all Cabrera has done is hit .346 and be named MVP of the All-Star Game.

Now, both of those things sound fantastic to the average fan until you consider two things. One, the All-Star Game doesn’t matter, even if it counts. And Two, batting average is almost completely irrelevant. Especially when the hitter in question is enjoying a season where his batting average on balls in play (BABiP) is resting a full 70 points higher (.379) than his career number. PEDs might make you stronger, they might help you recovery from injury faster, but they don’t make you more lucky.

Regardless of the hard numbers, the issue of Cabrera’s attempt to cover up his blatant use of PEDs is something the commissioner simply cannot ignore. There have been times in the past when the commissioner’s office has failed to hand down a stiff enough penalty, but I hope Selig draws a line in the sand here. Not only has Cabrera’s case shown that perhaps the punishment as currently constituted is not enough of a deterrent for the players, but also that there may be a perception that the commissioner is soft.

Of course, it could just be that Cabrera is significantly more self-entitled than his peers, but that seems unlikely.

In my view, Selig can’t simply add  five or 10 games and think he’s done his job here. Cabrera should see an additional suspension of 25 games or more.

For more on the Giants, visit Around the Foghorn.

John Parent is the Senior Director of Human Resources for the FanSided Network. He can be reached at john.parent@fansided.com or via twitter @JohnJParent.