Toronto Blue Jays rumors: Melky Cabrera likely to receive qualifying offer?
By Hayden Kane
Toronto Blue Jays’ outfielder Melky Cabrera posted outstanding numbers over the course of the 2014 season. Unfortunately he had to be shut down this month due to a broken pinkie finger, but he still did more than enough to earn himself a nice payday in free agency this winter.
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Plenty of teams will be interested in signing Cabrera. He plays a solid outfield and was outstanding offensively this year, batting .301/.351/.458 with 16 home runs and 73 RBI in 139 games. That is certainly the kind of production that warrants a big deal for a free agent outfielder.
There’s just one problem for Cabrera, however, something about which he can contact Stephen Drew or Kendrys Morales if he needs to talk about his feelings: the qualifying offer.
Buster Olney notes that it might be an easy decision for the Blue Jays to extends a qualifying offer to Cabrera and thereby gain the protection of draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.
Wrote this the other day: It's a no-brainer for the Blue Jays to extend a qualifying offer (1 year, about $15m) to Melky Cabrera.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 10, 2014
From Toronto’s perspective, that would work out well for them either way. Even if Cabrera’s production regresses, he would be an excellent value at $15 million in the unlikely scenario he accepts the offer. If not, they can guarantee some protection.
It stands to be a problem for Cabrera, however, as teams are reluctant to give up that draft pick to sign somebody. That left a number of free agents out of work late into the off-season last year, not to mention Drew and Morales who did not sign until mid-season.
Cabrera will have to do his best to convince teams that he is valuable enough to get paid and cost his new team a draft pick, perhaps pointing to Nelson Cruz as an example.
Stay tuned to FanSided for all of the latest news, rumors, and analysis for the Toronto Blue Jays and the rest of Major League Baseball as the season races towards the postseason and the hot stove this off-season.