SF Giants: Veteran Outfielder wants to Continue Career

Spring Training is about to get underway as pitchers and catchers report this week, but one former SF Giants outfielder is still looking for one more opportunity to play.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that former SF Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera is looking to continue his career after sitting out for the 2020 season. The switch-hitter appeared in the Dominican Winter League and the Caribbean Series this year and slashed .308/.344/.433 across 128 plate appearances.

Former SF Giants outfielder wants to continue career

The veteran outfielder has strung together a long and distinguished career that has spanned 15 seasons. Since he debuted way back in 2005 as a 20-year-old, Cabrera has posted a .285/.334/.417 line (103 OPS+) with 1,962 hits, 144 home runs, and 854 RBI. He has always been a tough out with an approach that relies on contact as evidenced by his 11.8 percent strikeout rate.

Perhaps, his best season came with the Giants in 2012. Cabrera came over to San Francisco in exchange for lefty Jonathan Sanchez and relief prospect Ryan Verdugo from the Kansas City Royals.

At the time, the Giants had a surplus of starting pitchers with Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, and Ryan Vogelsong, so trading Sanchez to address a need made sense.

Cabrera quickly endeared himself to the fanbase with his stellar play and energetic personality. In 501 plate appearances, the veteran outfielder registered a .346/.390/.516 line (157 OPS+) with 11 home runs and 60 RBI while earning a National League All-Star nod.

However, Cabrera was hit with a 50-game suspension for a failed PED test in August of that season. This ended his year as well as his Giants career. That said, the Giants did sweep the Detroit Tigers in four games in the 2012 World Series, so the former All-Star did receive some hardware.

Since then, Cabrera has made stops with the Toronto Blue Jays (2013-2014), Chicago White Sox (2015-2017), the Royals (2017), Cleveland Indians (2018), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (2019). In 2019, he continued to show off his knack for hitting as he registered a .280/.313/.399 line (87 OPS+) with seven home runs and 47 RBI, but he is best suited as a designated hitter at this stage in his career.

Many teams have finalized their Spring Training rosters with little room to make additions. However, injuries and ineffectiveness could open the door for Cabrera to join a new team as he looks to continue his career and reach that 2,000-hit threshold.