The Toronto Blue Jays suffered a big blow to their wild card hopes when they learned that outfielder Melky Cabrera will need season-ending surgery for the broken pinky finger he suffered on Friday.
Cabrera, who turned 30 in August, was having himself a solid season, batting .301/.351/.458 with 35 doubles, 16 home runs, 81 runs scored and 73 RBI. He posted a 125 OPS+ and 3.2 WAR this season, has moderate speed, and his strikeout rate is just 10.6 percent.
Suffice it to say that Melky will be one of the more attractive outfielders in what appears to be a very weak free agent class. Some speculate that the former Yankee will be looking for a four year deal as he looks to cash in on his solid season.
While with the San Francisco Giants in 2012, Cabrera was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for testosterone. He was leading the National League in hits and doubles at the time, but accepted responsibility, apologized and has since moved on.
Could the Mets be interested? Possibly. Cabrera would certainly be an upgrade over far too many seasons of dreadful production from left field. But given how the Chris Young and Curtis Granderson deals have worked out, I’m not so sure Sandy Alderson will be so quick to dive headlong into the free agent pool this Winter.
As I speculated on Friday, I have a hunch that most of this offseason will be spent talking up various internal options for both shortstop and left field. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, In fact I have no problem giving Wilmer Flores a full shot at short next season. But I’m not as sold on Matt den Dekker, Eric Campbell or Kirk Nieuwenhuis in left field. Neither of them are everyday players.
Getting back to Melky, one other thing to consider is that given his very productive season with the Blue Jays, there’s an excellent chance that Toronto will extend Cabrera a qualifying offer. Cabrera could accept the offer, but if he doesn’t, he will cost his new team a 1st round draft pick (or 2nd round if protected).
I don’t think the Mets have the money to address left field through free agency, and if they did have the resources I’m not that willing to shell out $50 million for four years of Cabrera.
In a perfect world, the Mets should be going all-out for 23-year old Cuban slugger Yasmani Tomas who defected from Cuba and is expected to be a free agent in November. But the world isn’t a perfect place and there’s no way the Mets will get into a bidding war with Yankees, Angels and Giants who are considered to be all-in on this kid.
