The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are two teams
that baseball executives believe could target free agent outfielder Melky Cabrera,
reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post.
The Mets were one club that came up regularly as a potential landing spot for Cabrera, as were the outfield-needy Phillies.
Cabrera was suspended for 50 games this season after testing
positive for performance-enhancing drugs. One National League official told
Sherman that the “real Melky” was a fourth outfielder while the “fake Melky”
was the MVP of the All-Star Game.
The Phillies have several question marks in the outfield
entering next season. The club traded veteran starters Shane Victorino and
Hunter Pence this summer and Juan Pierre, who was a major contributor, is set
to become a free agent.
Sherman notes that the Mets need outfielders and “don’t have
a ton of money” to spend. He believes that if the club can sign Cabrera to an
inexpensive contract they may be willing to use him as “outfield insurance” against
Jason Bay and Lucas Duda.
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