Melky Cabrera is officially back from a 50-game suspension after testing positive on a testosterone test, but the outfielder won’t be seeing the field this playoffs. The San Francisco Giants, which just came from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds and advance to the NLCS, have reiterated that they won’t be activating Cabrera for any round of the playoffs.
According to Giants vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans, “Cabrera’s status regarding the postseason remains unchanged” after the club announced September 27 that Melky Cabrera wouldn’t be playing for the team again this year, ESPN.com reported .
Melky Cabrera was suspended August 15, just a month after taking home MVP honors at the All-Star game.
Though he was hitting .346 with 11 home runs and 60 RBIs at the time of his suspension, Melky Cabrera withdrew his name from the running for the batting title . An unnamed ESPN source noted earlier in the season that Cabrera voluntarily decided to drop out of contention for the batting crown:
Cabrera asked the players’ association to convey his desire to the commissioner’s office and that an agreement to make him ineligible was reached Friday.
He would have been on the cusp of qualifying. Cabrera had 501 plate appearances, and the batting average winner generally needs 502 appearances over the course of 162 games to qualify, but a rule allows for “hitless at-bats” to be added to a player’s numbers to allow him to qualify if he is just on the cusp of that cut-off point.
The Giants open the NL Championship Series on Sunday, with Melky Cabrera watching from home.