Jon Heyman tells us the not surprising at all news, that the Jays intend to give Melky Cabrera a qualifying offer and that they 'hope to keep him'.
After watching Kevin Pillar and Anthony Gose play the outfield for the last couple of weeks, I really really want the Jays to keep Melky too.
Word from someone familiar with the Blue Jays' thinking is that they are so pleased with Cabrera both on and off the field that it is an "easy decision" for them to make him a qualifying offer. Toronto actually hopes it leads to another multi-year arrangement with Cabrera, who should be one of the better hitters on a thin market.
I wonder who the 'someone familiar with the Blue Jays thinking' might be. I've followed the team closely for a long time now and I can honestly say I have no idea what their thinking is 90% of the time. I was worried that there wouldn't be any money for the guy.
Cabrera sounds like he wants to make it work on Toronto, too. "I love the city of Toronto, I have great teammates, a great club," Cabrera recently told Blue Jays writers. "This was the club that gave me the opportunity after I got in trouble [with a 50-game PED suspension] a few years ago and I want to stay."
That's nice to hear and he does seem to like his teammates and he seems to be popular with them too. Of course, he isn't going to say that he hates it in Toronto and wouldn't come back for love nor money. I'd like to think that he does have a soft spot for the team and all things being equal, would love to come back.
But then I'd imagine money talks and he'll likely go where he is offered the most money. There aren't many good outfielders on the market this year, and there will be a number of teams looking to improve their outfield. We might have to compete with a few teams to get him. He won't come cheap.
How much and how many years would you offer Melky?