Melky Cabrera, one of baseball’s most prolific hitters and all-star game MVP, tested positive for testosterone and was suspended for 50 games without pay, Major League Baseball announced.
The San Francisco Giants’ outfielder was in violation of the drug agreement between owners and the players’ association.
“My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used,” Cabrera said in a statement released by the union. “I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down.”
Cabrera leads the National League with 159 hits and is second in batting average behind Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen. NL MVP, Ryan Braun, had his suspension overturned by an arbitrator last winter.
Cabrera is batting .346 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs in his first season with San Francisco.
“Ultimately, it was just a bad decision,” catcher Buster Posey said.
He will miss the final 45 games of the regular season and serve the remainder of the suspension at the start of next season or during the postseason, depending on whether the Giants make the playoffs and how far they advance.
“We were extremely disappointed,” the Giants said. “We fully support Major League Baseball’s policy and its efforts to eliminate performance enhancing drugs from our game.”
If the Giants wanted him to become active in the middle of a playoff series, they would have to play a man short from the start of the series until the suspension ends because rosters can’t be altered mid-series.
“It happened, and now we move on,” right fielder Hunter Pence said. “I know the program and I know they test us, and if we test positive, we get a suspension. That’s what happened. And now we play with what we’ve got.”
It was not immediately known whether Cabrera’s positive test occurred before the All-Star Game. The union initially filed a grievance, which would have caused the case to go before an arbitrator, but then dropped it, a person familiar with the process said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced.
