Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Melky Cabrera said Friday that he is cooperating with Major League Baseball’s probe into a Miami clinic that allegedly gave players performance-enhancing drugs.
But the 28-year-old Dominican, banned 50 games for doping last year, was otherwise silent about ties to the Biogenesis clinic made public last month in a Miami New Times story based on records obtained from a former clinic worker.
“I am aware that in the past weeks, there have been news articles written about so-called patient files from a Miami clinic, and the MLB and others are investigating those allegations,” Cabrera said in a statement.
“I have told MLB I will cooperate in their investigation the best I can, just as my legal counsel has told federal investigators. I have been instructed by legal counsel not to answer questions relating to the pending investigations.”
Cabrera joined the Blue Jays after playing for World Series champion San Francisco last season but being dropped from the playoff roster after being banned for 50 games last August for a doping violation.
Cabrera was last year’s All-Star Game Most Valuable Player and led the National League in batting at .346 with 11 home runs and 60 runs batted in over 113 games before being hit with the ban.
“Last season ended for me when I admitted taking a banned substance and accepted and served my punishment of a 50-game suspension,” Cabrera said.
“Since that day, my goals have been to serve my punishment and to put that mistake behind me, and to work hard to be the best baseball player I can be.
“I also accepted the Giants’ decision not to bring me back for the playoffs after I served my punishment. Instead, I continued to work hard so I could be ready for the 2013 season. I hoped and expected that I would be allowed to put my mistake behind me and to start this season fresh.
“I have put my mistakes behind me, have learned my lesson, and have served my punishment. I am here to play the best baseball I can to help the Toronto Blue Jays win a world championship.”
Cabrera has a .284 career batting average with 69 homers and 417 runs batted in over 984 major-league games with the Giants, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals.
Cabrera working with MLB doping probe
