Giants open to retaining Melky

[SFrush90]

CHICAGO -- In what amounted to a paper move, the Giants reinstated Melky Cabrera to the 40-man roster on Friday, while reiterating that the left fielder won't play for the Giants at any point this postseason.

The Giants were required to reinstate Cabrera or release him once the 27-year-old switch-hitter completed his 50-game suspension for testing positive for testosterone in violation of the league's drug policy.

Cabrera satisfied terms of the suspension and was removed from MLB's restricted list after missing the final 45 games of the regular season, plus five games in the NL Division Series as the Giants staved off elimination three times and advanced past the Cincinnati Reds.

Cabrera hit .346 and was leading the majors in hits and runs scored when the suspension was announced Aug. 15, but the Giants decided in late September not to bring him back because the team was playing well in his absence and his controversial presence could be a major distraction.

The Giants did add right-hander Guillermo Mota to the playoff roster for the NLDS after he missed 100 games for testing positive for clenbuterol, a banned stimulant. But MLB officials believed Mota was telling the truth when he said he accidentally took the drug when he consumed some of his daughter's prescription cough syrup.

Cabrera's crime went beyond negligence. A handler employed by his agents created a phony product and Web site to try to explain away the positive testosterone result; Cabrera, once his appeals were denied and the penalties announced, admitted fault and issued an apology. He forfeited more than $1.5 million of his $6 million salary, too.

The Giants needed to create a 40-man roster space for Cabrera and they cleared two, outrighting right-hander Shane Loux and outfielder Justin Christian to Triple-A Fresno.

Why not just release Cabrera? Well, from what I've been told, there is more openness within the Giants organization to the idea of re-signing Cabrera after this season. It's hard to know how much the PED use fueled his incredible 4 1/2-month run, but many in the front office continue to view Cabrera as a talented two-way player coming into his prime. And now he'll be a relative bargain on the free-agent market, too.

Plus Cabrera and his agents scored points when they arranged for MLB and the union to amend a rule that would've allowed Cabrera to qualify for and win the batting title. At Cabrera's request, he will not qualify. It was a meaningful olive branch to the Giants, since it means the crown will go to Buster Posey -- someone near and dear to the club's heart, obviously.

By keeping Cabrera on the roster, the Giants retain their window of exclusivity to negotiate with him before he'd become a free agent after the World Series.

http://www.csnbayarea.com/baseball-s...medium=twitter

[rcs15]

Hell yeah! Great news.

I was afraid they'd be over emotional and not consider it even though he is going to be a huge bargain this offseason.

Love me some Melky. I can't be convinced this awesome year was 100% PED driven. I think you'll still see an .800+ OPS hitter next year

[SFGiants]

**** yeah. I'm all for re-signing him.

[lolPhillies]

Agreed x2.

[bchissie]

Great news! I would way rather sign Melky on a short-term contract then sign Bourn or Hamilton long-term. Then we would probably be able to keep Pagan and Scutaro too.

[Public Enemy #1]

Down for resigning him. Should come at a bargain

[Greedy22]

bring him back, 2-3 years $6-7 mil per?

[spliff(TONE)]

This is great news. Then sign Pagan or Bourn and the outfield is set.

[Alleyeson49]

Those crafty bastards . Non-PED Melky is better than anything we currently have in LF. Time to get him on the cheap!

[lincecum=future]

Glad we have most ppl on board here. Would be idiotic to try not to retain melky to a bargain price with something to prove

[Alleyeson49]

This is great news. Then sign Pagan or Bourn and the outfield is set.

I think Pagan has earned his stay. We'll see how the rest of the postseason plays out, but that Torres/Ramirez trade for him really started paying dividends in the last half of this season. I like his competitive edge and spirit too. Just an energetic, passionate dude, that loves to play the game and WIN. He's producing too, which is the most important part. Keep it up Angelic one!

[robbnen#31]

Am I the only person that wants the Giants to have nothing to do with Melky Cabrera?

[SFrush90]

You and downsos I think. Unless he changed his mind recently.

[Alleyeson49]

Am I the only person that wants the Giants to have nothing to do with Melky Cabrera?

I think we all have to understand that PED use is more rampant than we want to believe. I'm sure it's come down in recent years (Gagne said that at one point he believed 80% of the Dodgers roster were on some sort of PED's), but it's still prevalent on major league teams. Braun, Cabrera, Mota, Colon, etc, were not the only ones using that unfair advantage, so we shouldn't feel too scorned.

I feel that if Cabrera never touches it again and vows to clean up his act (which would be the obvious move, look at how much financially he's lost, plus his credibility), then why not give him a second chance and be the ones benefiting from him blindsiding/hurting us? It's the least he could do. We're owed as fans and as a franchise. None of us knew what he was doing, or he would have never been signed. He seems to be a solid player even without help, so maybe a good portion of that talent will surface again. If we can find out on a low cost deal, all the better. I completely disapprove of what he's done, but the rest of the league are no angels either.

Until the MLB really eradicates a solid amount of PED use out of the game, we have to accept it for what it is, and roll with the punches. It's a savvy business move by the Giants to see what he's got left on a bargain deal. It may pull at our moral fibers a bit, but don't feel too upset over it. A lot of rosters have some Melky's currently on the team, they just don't know about it. We caught ours, and he's trying to make amends. It would be a good redemption story, and I'm comfortable with them giving it a shot.

[rcs15]

Strictly from a baseball standpoint, there are a lot more pros to bringing him back than cons. He fills the biggest need we have, and for likely a bargain bin price. He is comfortable in this park and on this team, and he undoubtedly still has a lot of fans here. There is a legit question as to how he will perform in 2013 after this suspension, however unless you believe his rise was 100% PED driven it is probably overblown. Just as plausible an explanation is you had a guy for the first time in his life really start taking the sport seriously after the wake up call in 2010, and that coincided with him entering his prime. Melky was always highly regarded, so he had talent in him. Probably not AS Game MVP talent, but talent nonetheless.

If Melky even matches his 2011 season, forget this year, he is a 12 mil a year player. If you have the opportunity to get that kind of production for cheap it's a no brainer to take advantage of that. And there is a very real chance Melky does match that, if not exceed it, in 2013.