San Francisco, CA – San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera won't be part of the team's postseason plans if the club is still playing and he is eligible for reinstatement following his suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Cabrera's 50-game penalty will expire after the Giants' fifth postseason game. He was suspended in August with 45 games remaining in the regular season after testing positive for testosterone.
The NL West-champion Giants informed Cabrera of the decision on Thursday.
"While I am disappointed that I won't have the chance to join my team in the playoffs, I wish my teammates the best in the postseason and I'll be rooting hard for them to bring another world championship to San Francisco," Cabrera said Thursday in a statement.
Cabrera was having a career season with a .346 batting average, 11 homers and 60 runs batted in. He was the MVP of the All-Star Game in July and did not dispute the test results.
In addition to accepting the penalty, Cabrera also withdrew from consideration for the NL batting title earlier this month. He was one plate appearance shy of qualifying for the honor and an MLB rule allows for a player to be recognized as the batting champ if extra hitless at-bats are added to his average and it remains higher than any qualifying player.
Cabrera's status for next year also remains in question as he is set to become a free agent.
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