OAKLAND, Calif. — Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons believes outfielder Melky Cabrera served his suspension and won’t be penalized by Major League Baseball for his ties to a Florida clinic accused of distributing performance-enhancing drugs.
Gibbons said Monday in Oakland he isn’t making contingency plans in the case that Cabrera receives another suspension.
“We don’t think anything’s going to happen,” Gibbons said. “Major League Baseball is handling all that, so we don’t know. We think, because he served his time, it’s over with. I haven’t given it much thought and the GM hasn’t talked much about it.”
Cabrera was handed a 50-game suspension on last Aug. 15 for a positive testosterone test. Athletics right-hander Bartolo Colon got the same suspension exactly one week later, also for testing positive for testosterone. The 40-year-old Colon, an All-Star and 14-game winner so far this year, has indicated he is staying focused on his game and not worried about a possible suspension.
Cabrera and Colon may have baseball’s Joint Drug Agreement on their side should MLB find the players received testosterone from the clinic.
Article 3 H of the agreement states “players shall not be subjected to multiple disciplines as a result of the same use of a prohibited substance.”
Cabrera, the 2012 All-Star game MVP while still with the San Francisco Giants, has shown no signs to Gibbons of being concerned about further punishment.
“Melky doesn’t say a whole lot,” Gibbons said. “We get along great. In passing we’ll talk. He doesn’t say a whole heck of a lot.”
Cabrera began the week batting .284 with three home runs and 30 RBIs for Toronto, which is in last place in the AL East.
