Melky Cabrera And The Giants’ Postseason Roster
On August 15, Major League Baseball suspended San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera 50 games after Cabrera tested positive for testosterone, a substance banned under MLB’s Joint Drug Policy. The suspended began immediately. Including the Giants’ game that day against the Washington Nationals, San Francisco would play 45 games from the time of Cabrera’s suspension through the end of the regular season.
Now that the Giants have clinched the National League West title, they are guaranteed to play at least another three, and as many as five, postseason games in the Division Series. These games will count as part of Cabrera’s suspension. Under the Joint Drug Policy (Section 7.H.), a suspension for a certain number of games includes all regular season and post-season games the player would have been eligible to play. “A player shall be deemed to have been eligible for a post-season game if he was on the Club’s active roster . . . immediately preceeding his suspension.”
If the Giants’ Division Series goes the full five games, Cabrera would be eligible for the team’s Championship Series roster. In fact, the Joint Drug Policy (Section 7. I.) requires the Giants to reinstate Cabrera from the Restricted List “immediately at the conclusion of the specified period of ineligibility” — meaning the Giants must add Cabrera to their 40-man roster. San Francisco currently has 40 players on the 40-man roster so the team will have to make a corresponding move to make room for Cabrera. One possible move is for the Giants to release infielder Emmanuel Burriss, again. San Francisco released Burriss in late July. When Burriss cleared waivers, he reported to Triple-A, and re-joined the team after Cabrera was suspended and rosters expanded in September.
The big question looming over the Giants is whether they would activate Cabrera and include him on the NLCS roster. Neither general manager Brian Sabean nor manager Bruce Bochy has made any comment on the record about the Giants’ plans. When news broke last week that Cabrera had agreed with MLB and the Players’ Association to make himself ineligible for the batting title, some (including this author) suggested that Cabrera was trying to put himself in the best possible position with the Giants and the league, in effort to smooth the way for his return to the team in the postseason.
But beat writers and columnists who cover the Giants regularly have reported that the Giants are not likely to add Cabrera to the NLCS roster. Without quoting any Giants officials, Andrew Baggerly of CSNBayArea wrote: “The Giants are not keen on bringing back Cabrera for the postseason, citing the distraction factor as well as his questionable readiness following a 50-game ban.” Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle put it this way: “The organization is so angry with Cabrera, his chance of wearing a Giants uniform again in 2012 falls into the “fat” category.”
The Giants are 25-11 since Cabrera’s suspension. Most analysts saw his departure, coupled with the Dodgers big trade with the Red Sox, as the death knell for the Giants in the NL West race. Instead, the Giants quickly put the suspension behind them and played their best baseball of the season.
A decision to proceed into the NLCS without Cabrera could raise issues under another provision of the Joint Drug Policy. Section 7.M. prohibits a team from imposing additional discipline on a player after his suspension is completed. “No Club may take any disciplinary or adverse action against a Player (including, but not limited to, a fine, suspension, or any adverse action pursuant to a Uniform Player’s Contract) because of a Player’s violation of the Program.” If the Giants reinstate Cabrera from the Restricted List but do not include him on the NLCS or World Series roster, Cabrera could pursue a grievance against the Giants and argue that he is being additionally punished for his violation of the Joint Drug Policy. The Giants are likely to counter that Cabrera — after nearly two months away from organized baseball — is in no condition to play for the team in the postseason and that the 25 players chosen to represent the Giants in the NLCS were better prepared to do so.
If the Giants have no plans to play Cabrera in the postseason, and want to avoid the possibility that he will pursue a grievance, they could simply designate him for assignment when he becomes eligible to come off the Restrict List. Such a move would not be without consequences, however. Cabrera is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of this season. If he’s not on the 40-man roster at the time he becomes a free agent, then the Giants would lose the right to make Cabrera a “Qualifying Offer” — the process that replaced Type A and Type B free agents under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. A Qualifying Offer this offseason is likely to be in the range of $13 million. Absent the drug suspension, the Giants almost certainly would have made such an offer to Cabrera, and been compensated with a draft pick had Cabrera declined.
If the Giants lose the Division Series, none of these issues arise. The same might be true if they win the Division Series in fewer than five games. That’s because Cabrera wouldn’t then be eligible for the NLCS roster but only, potentially, for the World Series. At that point, the Giants would likely feel very comfortable taking the position that Cabrera’s time away from organized baseball makes him a hindrance, and not a help, on the World Series roster.
Interesting issues all. We’ll keep an eye on how this plays out as the Giants take move onto the Division Series, mostly likely against the Cincinnati Reds or the Washington Nationals.
The team already unwittingly benefitted from Mr Cabrera’s embarrassing use of PEDs. Since those wins can’t be returned to opponents, giving up the draft pick is the least the team can do to settle accounts.
That is probably the stupidest reasoning anyone could come up with. Congrats.
The issue is moot, the Giants have already decided to give up the draft choice, because there is no way in hell they will make a qualifying offer “in the range of $13 million”.
Because if Cabrera gets such an offer he will surely accept it, and the Giants have made it clear they don’t want him back.
Cabrera will be lucky if he gets a one year offer in the range of 5-6m, given his suspension and performance in his prior years. Cabrera averaged .5 WAR from 2006-2010, ranging from 1.7 in 2006 to -1.1 in 2010. So he wasn’t getting better over that span, he was getting worse, and that was averaging over 500PA a year over that 5 year span, so you can be pretty sure its an accurate measure of his true talent level.
I don’t think that there will be
a lot ofany teams that are going to pony up a > 10m contract hoping the post PEDs Melky is going to retain his PED era performance in 2012 and presumably 2011, and not revert to his pre-PED performance.Must be a Dodgers’ fan.
i love baseball
I’m very disappointed there’s been no coverage of Bartolo Colon declaring himself ineligible for the Cy Young.
First of all, I find it highly unlikely that the Giants would make him a qualifying offer. Cabrera’s suspension cost him a ton of $ and there’s no way he’s going to make $13 M per year, even on a 1 year deal, this offseason. Maybe $13M or something like that. So if the Giants wanted to DFA him, they’re not likely to be worried about the inability to make him the offer.
Second, it’s a legitimate question as to whether or not he’s going to be able to swing the bat against playoff pitching after returning from a 50 game suspension. The Giants won’t be able to afford him taking a week to get his timing back while trying to win the pennant. It seems vindictive and petulant for them to not put him on the roster simply b/c they’re mad at him for the suspension but I’m honestly not sure they’d be better off with him on the roster. Still, he is one of their better hitters — even w/o the PEDs — and if I were a Giants’ fan I would feel better with him pinch hitting than I would Aubrey Huff or Xavier Nady.
It seems vindictive and petulant for them to not put him on the roster simply b/c they’re mad at him
That’s like saying it was vindictive and petulant for Tiger’s wife not to take him back because she’s mad at him because he slept with about 100 hookers.
I think there are some trust issues involved, both with the team and his teammates.
Kazinski, it’s not like that at all. That’s a terrible analogy.
Welcome to united states of america
not sure about that. I could see him getting 2-3 yrs at 8-10 mill per.
“The Giants are likely to counter that Cabrera — after nearly two months away from organized baseball — is in no condition to play for the team . . .”
Fortunately for SF, it’s not just theory — they’ve got empirical evidence. You know, since this is just like they handled Guillermo Mota when he was away from organized baseball for nearly THREE months.
Wait a minute, what?
I’m being told in his first five days after reinstatement, Mota pitched in four different high leverage (three very high) situations. So much for the organizational philosophy. If the Giants really are “so angry” (there is no attribution in Schulman’s piece) then the organization is sending a very clear message to its players: There’s a right way to cheat boys and we will not tolerate anyone who acts otherwise.
First of all, you can’t compare using Mota, generally a mop up reliever, to using Cabrera, a starting position player. Mota’s impact in a playoff game could quite possibly be nil. An out of practice Mota would have a lot smaller impact than an out of practice Melky.
Second of all, Mota’s failed test was a result of something in some prescription cough syrup he had for his daughter. The same people who investigated the whole Melky deal looked into Mota’s story and felt he was telling the truth, so I’ll buy what he was saying.
Also, what you failed to realize was that Mota was able to go to the minor leagues to get himself in baseball shape before his suspension was up (I believe 10 games before), and even when he came up he wasn’t all that sharp to begin with.
Melky, on the other hand, doesn’t have that option since the minor league seasons are done. The best he could do is work in the instructional league, which hardly qualifies as much of a work out to get ready for major league pitching after a 50 game layoff.
lol lol lol lol lol
Please. Clenbuterol, for which Mota was suspended not once, but TWICE, is not an ingredient in any FDA approved drug. Generally when caught using it, cyclists/swimmers et al use the “contaminated meat” argument as in less developed countries it is still used to increase the muscle-to-fat ratio in cattle. Mota’s agent advanced the “children’s medicine” theory. There is zero indication it has any credibility.
Your point about minor league work for Mota is correct and relevant. Mota completed 6.1 innings of work across 4 games before being called up. I leave it to scouts and front office personnel as to whether a major league hitter of Melky’s caliber can adequately prepare for a game after 50 games off mid-season with instructional league work.
My point is, the Giants come off like hypocrites if they decide to take a stand on Cabrera. They have already demonstrated with Mota – a 2 time violator! – that they will welcome back a player post-suspension. And they did not use Mota in mop up roles when he came back. He immediately was placed in 4 high-to-very high leverage situations upon return. (See baseball-ref game logs.) For the Giants to take the moral high road with Cabrera because different levels of the organization feel betrayed, reeks of hypocrisy.
A large majority of these issues here and across most of the comments here were actually covered by both Baggarly’s and Schulman’s excellent coverage of this situation.
Regarding Mota, the Giants were basically forced by the CBA to take him back. To just dump him without giving him a chance to show that he’s back to normal would have been considered additional penalties being imposed by the team on the player when he paid his penalty with his 100 game suspension. And if you haven’t noticed, the MLBPA has been particularly litigious and onerous with the MLB when it comes to giving players a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chance (the Dodgers had this drugged out closer who kept on getting chances, 7 that I recall).
And that applies to his usage as well. If the Giants just brought him back to avoid an MLBPA greivance filing, but then didn’t use him, that would also be obvious and grounds for a lawsuit as well. The Giants were required to treat him as if that suspension never happened. And previously, the Giants used him in a lot of different and high leverage situations.
Since there was still time in the season, the Giants did what they had to, give Mota a chance to get into shape in the minors, and bring him back when he appeared ready. If you want to berate the Giants for not taking on the MLBPA, sure, but at least know what you are angry about.
Cabrera is a totally different situation. During the playoffs, he will not have any opportunity to show that he is in baseball playing shape because there is no minor leagues going on then. That most players returning from a long layout (usually due to injury) are usually required to go through rehab starts to get their batting stroke back or pitching mechanics in tune, it should be relatively easy for the Giants to cite his lack of in-game sharpness that they will need during the crucial playoffs for it to make sense to include him on the playoff roster.
Regarding Clenbuterol, you have to remember that we are talking about players from different countries where the FDA has no control. Perhaps that drug is available in Mota’s home country. I would think so based on the accounts by both Baggarly and Schulman noting that the panel investigated Mota’s assertions and decided that he was telling the truth. Again, if you want to get angry about that, then put the blame on the panel who accepted Mota’s explanation as sincere, whereas they went ahead and investigated and exposed Melky’s poor attempts to excuse his violation with a fake website.
Everybody, even MLB itself, agrees that Mota’s testimony that he used an OTC med for children which contained the banned substance is most likely true. It was probably an accident, he didn’t create some tangled web to get himself out of it, he just accepted it and moved on. Give me a fucking break.
Joe, it seems like you’re making the opposite point that you’re trying to make. If they gave Mota high leverage situations, then that means they’re not a spiteful organization and they’re willing to set aside their differences if it means they’ll win more games. By benching Cabrera in the playoffs, that means that they don’t think that he can help them. If he was able to help them, they’d let him play – as they did with Mota.
In case anybody else is anal about spelling, “proceeding” is a typo. The actual document has it spelled correctly. http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/pdf/jda.pdf
Fixed. Thanks.
Didn’t Jesus say forgiveness is divine? Giants should A. forgive B. place on roster C. win WS with him D. Not touch him afterwards
I am pretty sure the story that Giants could only win with PED fueled player went out the window when the Giants tore up the league post suspension. This is Buster Posey’s team. I want a ring and a trophy. Melky only disgraced himself.
A reverse of that seems more probable – it’s unlikely Cabrera will make any starts in the postseason, but I wouldn’t put it past San Francisco to try and bring him back come next season if the Giants win the World Series. The numbing effect of a Championship tends to make FOs and fanbases more tolerant toward roster decisions where they would normally be averse.
If Cabrera’s true talent level is still All-Star level, but below MVP caliber like he performed this year, the Giants have an edge in signing an in-prime player desperate to rehabilitate his image for a fraction of what he’s worth. The Giants will see Buster Posey in arbitration, so some cost control for elite talent will help stabilize the San Francisco lineup since they have no slam dunk elite prospects in the minor leagues.
Even if the Giants don’t win a championship, I can’t imagine the Giants not finding a way to turn Cabrera into positive PR. You could use spin any narrative – the Bay Area and West Coast are more forgiving, San Francisco has been a place where old and/or discarded players have been reborn, etc.
In retrospect, the suspension has benefited the team by giving them immense leverage against Cabrera, and also giving them the momentum to do well in his absence. Given the Dodgers situation, specifically the addition of Carl Crawford – a similar player Cabrera with a longer history of success, and better individual seasons – buying day old Melk makes a lot of sense.
Jesus also said love your neighbor…. A’s fans would disagree with that one.
Well, the A’s never thought much of Jesus anyway, they released him. He eventually ended up with the Padres, after a brief stay with San Francisco. The Friars apparently love Jesus.
Actually, that sentiment was never attributed to JC. I believe it was actually Michaelangelo, of the Turtles Teenage Mutant Ninja:
Wise man say forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.
The Giants will not have to pay full price, nor will any other team.
In addition, it is probably unlikely that Melky would file a grievance if the Giants add him to their 40 man roster but don’t activate him for the latter stages of the playoffs (assuming they make it that far), because:
a). leaving him off the active playoff roster would be justified by the Giants since Melky hadn’t played in two months without proper practice and
b). Melky would look selfish in filing a grievance as he would want to right his public image in order to get the best possible contract for next season. His agent would likely recommend that he not file a grievance.
This was another point made by Schulman/Baggarly, that Melky is looking to rehab his future image and lay the groundwork towards signing to be a starter for an MLB team. If the Giants should leave him off the roster, other teams would not look favorably upon signing him if he then filed a lawsuit against the Giants about not being on the roster.
Funny how teams are wary of signing players that file lawsuits against an MLB team.
Melky may want to come back to the Giants, but hopefully his agent is advising him that no matter what the Giants do, filing a lawsuit would not be in his best long-term interests right now. Because a lawsuit would only yield him the money he would have earned had he played.
However, since the players are not salaried but given full or partial shares, as voted by their teammates, his playing in the playoffs could have zero effect on the income he would have earned. At best, he might argue that he would have gotten a full share, instead of, say, a half share (if the players ended up voting that for him), which amounts to around $150-200K, should they make it all the way to the World Series. But according to an article by Schulman, the players are split on him right now, and he might end up with a full share, in which case, while he might win his grievance against the Giants, the judge would then say that his economic damage is zero, since he earned a full share anyway, and thus award him no additional money from the Giants. Meanwhile, such a grievance filing would leave a bad taste in the mouths of any team even thinking of giving him another chance.
So, if I were his agent, I would tell him to suck it up, accept whatever the Giants decide to do with him, play nice and present a good public image, in hopes that he can still get a $6M contract in 2013 from somebody. Heck, with his history before the 2010 season, he could have earned at least a $3M contract from somebody. A lawsuit would not get him anywhere near that, but it would certainly poison the waters for any such deal for 2013. And who knows, Cabrera was certainly good enough from his 2009 season to justify a 2-year, $6M per season contract, it was not like he wasn’t of value before, maybe a team is desperate enough for a good fielding LF with some pop and speed who, while not a core anchor for a team, could be a good complementary piece.
He would jeopardize all that with any negative moves on his part. And given his olive branch regarding the batting title, one would think that he is trying to move on, whether with the Giants or his next team, whatever happens, happens.
Well, it’s not like he has to file a grievance immediately. He can always sign with another team, and then file a grievance if he’s still ticked off.
Either way though, there’s no chance he’d win a grievance after a 2 month layoff.
If they made him a qualifying offer it would probably be pretty hard for him not to accept. He’s unlikely to get a higher AAV then the one year tender and the draft picks would suppress his value even more.
they could also just flat release him when 40-man time comes if they a) have no plans to add him to the NLCS/WS roster and b) have no plans tender a qualifying offer.
*when suspension ends that is
Melky is a dumb ass, he got caught. Would he seriously make a stink about playing in the post season when the rest of his future is on the line? I doubt it. The Giants are running a business and will make a business decision about how best to win in the playoffs, Melky is only a PR distraction at this point.
No he wouldn’t, whoever is telling him what to say since this debacle is very bright. Forgoing the appeal, admitting guilt and apologizing made him look classier than any of the other guys who’ve been caught. Dropping out of the batting title was another smart move. He would not risk the bad PR going into FA.
Wendy is my favorite here at Fangraphs, she’s a Giants fan!
You quoted Henry Schulman already, but he brought up an interesting point the other day in another piece. In essence, he said that teams don’t have the same obligation to their players in the postseason as they do in the regular season. Barry Zito wouldn’t have been able to file a successful grievance after the 2010 postseason, for example.
(He contrasted that with Mota, by the way–releasing him could have been considered a second punishment because his suspension ended in the regular season and he could rehab in the minors. The Giants wouldn’t really be able to say it was a baseball decision because they didn’t significantly bolster their bullpen in his absence.)
Melky likely stayed in shape during his suspension and probably hit every day. I’d say add him to the roster and have one of the best hitters in the NL in your line-up. He would be especially useful in the WS when you need a DH.
Melky served his time so let him rake. I mean, right now their outfield consists of Blanco, Pence, Pagan, Peguero, Christian and 4 of those guys are hitting less than .243. Do you think fans are going to boycott playoff games? Not a chance.
Nady has hit pretty decently since coming to the Giants. A platoon of Nady and Blanco in left field is actually fairly effective.
And Pence has been a good addition, people focus too much on his BA, when they should be looking at his hitting in RISP situations, over .900 OPS, which is much closer to his career norms than his poor hitting with the bases empty or with a runner on first, which are nowhere near his career norms. If he’s going to have bad luck or screwing up, at least he does it in non-RISP situations.
Melky as a hitter is probably better than a Blanco/Nady platoon in LF. But if the team is not unified on whether to include him or not, adding him when the team is against it would do more harm overall. While Romo has been open about bringing him back, I think it says more that only Blanco among the position players has openly been supportive of Melky, particularly Angel Pagan, who was Melky’s BFF it seemed until the suspension.
http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2012/09/25/sf-giants-to-announce-melky-cabrera-plans-today/
We’ve been reporting or a while that there is little sentiment to bring Cabrera back this year. Bochy apparently made a baseball and clubhouse case during his weekly appearance on SiriusXM’s “Inside Pitch” program.
I didn’t hear it, but one of the hosts, Jim Bowden, Tweeted, “Bochy explained how difficult it would be for Cabrera to get ready for playoffs & pointed out the fairness to the players that are here now.
“Based on our conversation with Bruce Bochy … without a decision being made … it definitely sounds like Cabrera will not be on the playoff roster.” (Elipses are Bowden’s, not mine.)
Yes, I understand that clenbuterol is a substance that Barry Bonds used as a cream or something like that…but just a bit of humor here…the JOINT DRUG POLICY that MLB uses, couldn’t they call it something else???
Guillermo Reynoso Mota must be one sweetheart of a guy.