Report: Melky Cabrera draws interest as free agent
Outfielder Melky Cabrera became persona non grata with the San Francisco Giants after he was suspended in August for a positive drug test, but apparently not every team feels the same way about this year's All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
Cabrera, 28, is now a free agent, and the New York Post reported that at least five teams have expressed interest in his services. The report didn't name the teams, though it did say the New York Yankees and New York Mets weren't among them.
If Cabrera hadn't taken his name out of consideration for the NL batting championship, he would have been the winner with a .346 mark. In 113 games for San Francisco this year, he had 11 homers, 60 RBI and 13 stolen bases. His .390 on-base percentage would have ranked sixth in the league, and his .516 slugging percentage would have tied for eighth.
The Giants had the option of activating Cabrera for the NL Championship Series and the World Series after he served his 50-game suspension issued by Major League Baseball. Instead, they decided the team's chemistry was better off without him, and it's hard to argue with the results. The Giants came back to beat the Cardinals in a seven-game NLCS, then swept the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.
Cabrera tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. He initially tried to cover his tracks with a fake website that purported to be selling a supplement that he claimed he used, but he later admitted it was a ruse.
