The Melky Cabrera Back and Forth

And so the long, slow dance between Melky Cabrera and the Toronto Blue Jays continues. What slow dance exactly? Probably “I’d Do Anything For Love” … that song is like 12 minutes long.

In recent weeks, it only seemed like a foregone conclusion that Melky Cabrera would sign somewhere other than Toronto. But in light of recent developments, that may not be the case.

Most of the whirlwind surrounding Melky Cabrera stemmed from this tweet by Buster Olney, indicating the Rogers Centre turf was weighing heavily in his decision-making process.

Melky Cabrera’s preference is to sign with a team other than the Blue Jays so he doesn’t have to play his home games on artificial surface.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 28, 2014

Not even five hours later, Melky’s agent Peter Greenberg appeared on Jeff Blair’s show and pretty much shot down the report entirely.

To me, that’s indicative of either one of two things; one, it’s in fact a false report and there’s no truth to it at all. Or two, Melky and his agent don’t want to make it seem like they’re trying to posture or use this as a tactic to milk more money out of the Blue Jays.

Even Melky Cabrera took it upon himself to vehemently deny Buster Olney’s previous report.

I want everyone to know that I am a baseball player and it doesn’t matter to me what surface I play on. I will be the best player I can be.
— Melky Cabrera (@TheMelkman53) November 28, 2014

Of course, who wouldn’t want to play on a team that had a natural grass field, but if the only significant offer on the table is from a team like the Blue Jays or Rays who play on artificial turf, then it behooves the player to sign that deal.

It was interesting to hear both camps have been in constant communication and Peter Greenberg noted he’s been in touch with Alex Anthopoulos just two days ago. So it’s not like Melky and the Blue Jays are at a complete stalemate.

All this news seems to bode very well for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The fact that Melky’s camp and the Blue Jays still have ongoing talks is very encouraging. This indicates the Blue Jays may actually have the best offer on the table right now to Melky Cabrera. But like any good agent, Greenberg wants to get the best deal for his client.

It’s also interesting that Melky and his agent very quickly and firmly denied any reports of him not wanting to play on turf. In the past, free agents have actually used the turf as a reason not to sign with the Blue Jays (Carlos Beltran comes to mind).

Of course, it was an astute move by Melky and Peter Greenberg to come out and so quickly squash any of these rumours. Frankly, it would be bad business to write off the Blue Jays as a potential suitor this early in the offseason.

That’s especially the case if the Blue Jays are currently the highest (and perhaps the only) bidder for Melky’s services.

At this point, the Toronto Blue Jays are still very much in play to bring Melky Cabrera back. The question is whether it will be on the club’s terms, Melky’s, or somewhere in the middle.

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