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In the coming weeks, one of the most impactful and controversial classes for the Hall of Fame will have judgment passed on them—at least for their first year of eligibility. One of those on the list is all-time home run leader Barry Bonds, whose career, despite being acquitted of any wrongdoing in a court of law, will forever be tied to the steroid era.

Bonds is certainly a huge part of the San Francisco Giants history and although not being part of the teams’ two recent (and only) World Series titles, his name and his actions still set off widespread debate amongst Bay Area faithful.

Should he get in, should he not.

An election to the Hall would also benefit the Giants’ brand, who could use that justification for even more business gains in an area where baseball is really rivaled only by the success of the 49ers in popularity. Will the Giants take a stand in the “should he or shouldn’t he go to the Hall” debate?

Team CEO Larry Baer talked about the possibility of Bonds getting into the Hall of Fame, as well as the benefits of the decline of the steroid era on Bloomberg Television’s “Money Moves” this weekend.

“We don’t have a vote; it’s the baseball writers who will make that call,” Baer said on the show. “You have to look at the accomplishments he had over the length of his career and then establish the criteria from the era which he played in. When that is set then we can make a fair judgment.”

Baer did go on to say that he thought MLB has done great work bringing the steroid era to an end and that the policies work, even though they did cost the team their star outfielder Melky Cabrera for the better part of the last two months of their surprising run to the 2012 title.

Will we see Barry Bonds Way adjacent to McCovey Cove any time soon? Apparently, the team will take a wait and see attitude with their star crossed home run king, and will let the writers make the decision for them in the coming months.

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The news of Melky Cabrera signing a two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays Friday—broken by ESPN Deportes’ Enrique Rojas—for $16 million should be seen as a relief for Cabrera and his fans.

Coming off last season’s 50-game suspension for PED use, Cabrera was left off the World Series champions San Francisco Giants’ playoff roster after his suspension finished.

At only 28, Cabrera should be coming into the prime of his career. A below-average hitter who could hit for doubles during his tenure with the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves, Cabrera started to pick up some offensive steam two years ago with the Kansas City Royals hitting .305 and collecting 201 hits before last season’s big asterisk by the bay.

The question for Cabrera in Toronto will be just how much of that was PED-induced and how much of that was turning raw talent into mature product.

Coming to a team that has just made the big splash as Toronto did in acquiring the nuts and bolts of the Miami Marlins’ lineup actually work in Cabrera’s favor.

While the folks that do the drug testing will be watching him carefully to see if he stays clean, he will blend in with the rest of the Blue Jays lineup and the pressure from fans and press will be focused elsewhere.

At $8 million per season, this contract is not quite in a flier category, but it is close.

He shows good speed and decent stealing ability and, along with Jose Reyes, should turn the long power alleys at Rogers Center into his own personal running track.

Cabrera can bunt and can draw a walk when needed as well.

It may not be clear what the Blue Jays’ scouts might have seen to justify giving Cabrera a $2 million raise after his failed test ended his 2012 season, and certainly that failed test cost him some big money in the short term, but they have given Melky a chance to show everyone that he really had picked up his game the last two seasons with the Royals and the Giants.

Considered to be a favorite now for at least a wild card spot, Cabrera qualifies as perhaps that last missing puzzle piece that all teams need to get to that next level.

The Blue Jays probably do not consider him a blue-chip free agent, but his knowledge of playing in the now ultra-competitive AL East certainly plays in his hands. If that gets Toronto an extra win or two, then that salary will be forgotten by the critics.

The Jays are gambling that their time is right now and Cabrera can re-establish himself on what Toronto hopes is their first playoff team in 20 years.

For the Jays, they understand those important puzzle pieces cost money. Obviously they are willing to spend money to build a winner and Cabrera’s past performances show he can do that.

More importantly for Cabrera, he now has two years to transform himself into the player he wants to be. He will not be the biggest name on the team when spring training rolls around and, if all goes well, he can turn a successful two years in Canada into a much bigger payday at 30 and show everyone that his talents were not fake after all.

*Statistics via Baseball Reference

Follow me on Twitter at @ronjuckett

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As hard as it may seem, put aside any thoughts you have regarding Melky Cabrera and his PED suspension at the end of the 2012 season.

Regardless of his indiscretions, Cabrera is a viable option to play the outfield at Fenway Park.

As a reminder, in his 113 games in 2012, Cabrera owned a .346/.390/.516/.906 batting line with 159 hits, 25 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home runs and 60 RBI while walking 36 times versus 63 strikeouts.

His power and swing were seemingly built for Fenway. Taking a closer look at his 11 home runs in 2012, eight of them would have been towering shots over the Green Monster onto Lansdowne Street, as reflected on ESPN’s Home Run Tracker website.

In his career, Cabrera has played in 39 games at Fenway Park, resulting in 141 total at-bats with 42 hits, seven doubles, a home run and 16 RBI while posting a .298/.348/.369/.717 batting line.

Additionally, against the Red Sox’s AL East opponents, Cabrera has played in 213 career games with 719 at-bats, 196 hits, 42 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs and 92 RBI on the heels of a .270/.345/.496/.841 batting line.

Not bad numbers for a guy facing one of the toughest divisions in all of Major League Baseball.

While there is complete uncertainty in the outfield heading into the 2013 season, Cabrera could likely be had for relatively short money.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman posted a blog whereby he and an “unnamed expert” take a shot at predicting what most free agents will end up signing for.

According to Heyman, Cabrera could possibly land a two-year deal, but both he and his anonymous expert foresee a one-year deal. The expert anticipates for $6 million while Heyman thinks $8 million.

Either figure would be one the Red Sox could easily afford and willingly embrace on a one-year deal.

As with the Adrian Beltre signing of 2010, the team could bring Cabrera to town to enhance his value and seek a larger contract after the 2013 season.

If Cody Ross should opt to go elsewhere, Cabrera could offer solid production at a fairly reasonable cost for a team that will still be in transition mode next season.

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The New York Mets will be looking to make a number of changes this offseason. Rumors about the players that the Mets are interested in pursuing this winter have already come to light, and there are certainly some interesting players mentioned.

New York has already made what will likely be their two biggest moves of the offseason. Both David Wright and R.A. Dickey had their options for the 2013 season picked up by the Mets (h/t Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports).

Pitching, outfield help and a catcher will be three of the Mets’ largest priorities this winter. The Mets have a number of pieces in place, and with the right moves, they could be a team that contends for the Wild Card in 2013 if things go right.

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With the 2012 World Series coming to an end, the offseason is now upon us. Ruben Amaro Jr. and his staff will begin the daunting task of trying to rebuild the Phillies into a championship team.

The Phillies have already cut ties with Placido Polanco, Ty Wigginton and Jose Contreras while picking up Carlos Ruiz’s 2013 option.

In order to compete for a title in 2013, the Phillies will have to fill most, if not all of their holes, which includes at least two outfield spots, third base, the bullpen and maybe even a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Here are five realistic offseason moves the Phillies should seriously consider. 

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Melky Cabrera has reportedly inquired whether the San Francisco Giants want him to report to their minor league complex to get ready for the playoffs, but there are indications that the Giants are done with the 28-year-old for good, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area.

Cabrera, who is currently serving a 50-game suspension for the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, would be eligible to be added to the Giants’ postseason roster down the line, but he would have to miss their first five playoff games.

If the Giants did ask Cabrera back, he would have to serve 40 games of the suspension before any “formal activities,” according to Baggarly.

Cabrera has hit .346 with 11 home runs, 60 RBI, 84 runs and 13 stolen bases this season. At the time of his suspension, he was leading baseball in hits and runs scored. He is also in position to win the National League batting title.

Before the 2012 campaign, Cabrera’s best year was last season with the Kansas City Royals. He hit .305 with 18 home runs, 87 RBI, 102 runs and 20 stolen bases.

But before that, Cabrera was largely considered an average hitter. In 2010, he hit .255 with four home runs, 42 RBI and 50 runs in 458 at-bats with the Atlanta Braves.

The Giants would have certainly liked Cabrera to have come along for the ride, but they appear to be doing rather well without him anyway.

Even with the Los Angeles Dodgers making their big trade for Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett, the Giants have been rolling along. They have a 7-4 record in September, and they’ve scored the seventh-most runs in the month (62).

The Giants are currently 7.5 games ahead of the Dodgers in the NL West.

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Almost two years ago, it was beginning to seem like steroids were becoming a part of Major League Baseball’s past. Commissioner Bud Selig had come out and said that the Steroid Era was coming to an end (h/t Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times).

It is clear that is nowhere close to the truth. Since Selig issued that statement, a number of big-name players have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

Manny Ramirez tested positive for the second time in his career and was given a 100-game suspension, which was later reduced to 50 games (h/t Tom Singer of MLB.com).

2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun found himself in the middle of some controversy when it was announced that he had tested positive for a PED. While Braun’s suspension was overturned, it was once again a reminder that performance-enhancing drugs are still very much a part of the game of baseball (h/t ESPN).

In 2012, four major-league players have been suspended for testing positive for PEDs. Guillermo Mota, Freddy Galvis, Bartolo Colon and Melky Cabrera have all been suspended by MLB this season.

After Cabrera’s positive test, Victor Conte, the head of BALCO, discussed how he believed that a significant number of players in the majors still use PEDs (h/t ESPN).

It is clear that this issue has not gone away.

Cabrera’s case presents MLB with a very interesting situation. He was in the middle of a career year this season when he was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for high levels of testosterone (h/t ESPN).

As it currently stands, Cabrera’s .346 batting average leads the National League. Andrew McCutchen is the only player that seems to be within striking distance of the mark as the 2012 MLB season winds to a close.

What this means is that Cabrera, whose performance this year was in some part fueled by performance-enhancing drugs, could end up taking home the National League batting title.

Bud Selig needs to step in to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Baseball cannot clean up its image when one of its prominent statistical leaders failed a drug test that year.

It could take a rule change to make sure that it doesn’t happen, but it is one that should easily be implemented. Selig could propose a rule that any player that tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs is ineligible to be counted as the statistical leader in any category during the same season in which the infraction occurs.

There would likely not be much opposition to such a proposal, as no player wants to be cheated out of something that is rightfully theirs.

Allowing Cabrera to win the title would help set a dangerous precedent. While a 50-game suspension is obviously tough, letting a player be named the season’s leader in a statistical category would show that the league is soft in some areas of its PED enforcement.

Last offseason, there was the debate about whether or not Braun should keep his NL MVP trophy as a result of his positive PED test. That decision did not have to be made, but it is one that should have been simple.

Any player that tests positive for a PED should lose any award or recognition that he received that season.

The performance-enhancing drug helped him put up better numbers in some capacity that year, and the award deserves to go to a player that was clean.

There is one simple solution that would make the whole issue with Cabrera and the batting title moot. If McCutchen finishes with his batting average above .346, then the batting title will end up in the hands of its rightful owner.

Even if that is the case, this issue shows that there are more areas that Major League Baseball needs to think about when it comes to punishments for violating its PED policy.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers dropped a half game behind the crippled San Francisco Giants with a gut-wrenching home game loss yesterday. The loss came despite another brilliant performance by Clayton Kershaw in which he only allowed six hits over eight innings with two earned runs and 10 strikeouts. 

However, in spite of blowing a chance at putting some distance between themselves and San Fran—with a pitch outing that the Dodgers’ hitters should have taken advantage of—the boys in blue will still win the NL West and make a run through the postseason.

The new-look Dodgers have already excited fans in the L.A. area by acquiring several solid pieces before the trade deadline, all which have shown up in games. Hanley Ramirez has been particularly good and is showing he just needed a change of scenery, and Shane Victorino has made his veteran presence at the top felt. Randy Choate and Brandon League have been solid additions to the bullpen. The only player that has seemed to struggle is Joe Blanton in the No. 5 pitching slot.

In addition, with the loss of Melky Cabrera for 50 games (and maybe more after his attempt at trickery), the Giants have lost their best contact hitter and and their tone-setter. While he wasn’t hitting for a ton of power, the loss of a .346 batter that had already scored 84 runs will definitely sting for a team that, at times, struggles to produce offense. The impact hasn’t been realized yet, but the loss of Melky will hurt the Giants overall.

However, neither of these are the reason the Dodgers will triumph in the NL West and make noise in the playoffs. That true reason is the resurrection of Chad Billingsley.

By failing to obtain a legitimate No. 2 starter behind Kershaw at the trade deadline, the Dodgers looked to be a piece short in moving forward in October. Some groaned when they didn’t pull the trigger on a a deal for Ryan Dempsey, knowing that the price (Allen Webster) would be too steep for a 34-year-old rental, who may sign with them in the offseason anyway (That is IF they want him and IF his feelings aren’t hurt).

However, Billingsley has made those thoughts all but disappear. The former All-Star, who has struggled mightily over the past couple of seasons after showing such promise early in his career, has reemerged as an ace, showcasing his skills over the last six contests. Billingsley is 6-0 over that period, while posting a jaw-dropping 1.30 ERA.

We have seen Billingsley shine before and then regress, but this time it appears that he’s healthy and ready to be the second starter needed for a successful October run. With Clayton catching fire again, the Dodgers now have a fairly formidable lineup, with two excellent pitchers at the top of their staff. If they can reach the playoffs and win the NL West, then the rest of the NL should watch out for this dark horse in blue come October.

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Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the chances of the San Francisco Giants re-signing the switch-hitting Melky Cabrera “are close to nil.”

Schulman also said that the anger from the “higher-ups” in Giants management would cause them to rescind any thoughts about taking on a contract, albeit likely a small one, to retain a once 200-hit outfielder. 

As has been talked about and analyzed ad nauseam for the past week, Cabrera was caught not only for elevated testosterone levels but also for trying to use a fake website in order to cover himself. 

It is impossible to determine whether elevated testosterone levels will actually help an already-accomplished major league hitter become a better hitter. The fact that he took the drugs, though, and compounded the mistake with the attempt at a fake website are not furthering his chances at a long-term deal in the Bay Area. 

With the recent happenings, there is probably no other team in all of Major League Baseball that will touch him. That seemingly foregone conclusion of a five–year, $100 million deal? Blown to smithereens. 

With that being said, Giants management doesn’t have much to lose by re-signing him. The next part is pure speculation as there is no report on whether Melky did or did not take steroids in 2011 or any year besides 2012. If San Francisco can get him for around three years, $18 million, they will have locked up a hitter who did hit 18 homers a year ago when he—once again, pure speculation but there has been no evidence to the contrary—hopefully was not under the influence of elevated testosterone levels. 

His OBP ranged from .360 in 2006 to .337 in 2011 when he had his “breakout” year of 18 homers. Only this season did his OBP jump all the way up to .390, so one could see the argument that he just started “juicing.” 

A cost-effective deal for a decent hitter—with a WAR (wins above replacement) of 4.1 before he took steroids—seems to be a logical step for this offseason. As for the moral side of the argument, there was nothing that management could do. Cabrera is a grown man, and he chose to do this. We can only hope he learns from his mistakes. 

This argument becomes superfluous if the Giants win the World Series without Melky taking a single at-bat. But if they cannot even make the playoffs, the offense will once again be the issue.

A starting outfield with only Hunter Pence under contract will ignite questions. And when GM Brian Sabean looks at his minor league options—and there are not many pending Gary Brown—he will be forced to revisit the idea of Cabrera in left again. 

We’ve seen this with another left fielder on the Giants before. If he produces again next year, most of the noise made in the stands at AT&T Park will be cheers. Winning doesn’t hurt either. 

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As everyone knows by now, Melky Cabrera‘s season (and probably career) with the San Francisco Giants is over. While he might make it back if the Giants last more than five games in the postseason, his 50-game ban will certainly keep him out for the rest of the pennant race.

What everyone probably doesn’t know is that Cabrera’s absence is almost statistically meaningless for the Giants. Here’s why:

Cabrera, until he was suspended, was worth approximately 4.5 wins above replacement (WAR) for the Giants. That’s an excellent figure, and was second among the team’s hitters—behind MVP candidate Buster Posey, of course. But based on Cabrera’s expected regression (which was probably a little more harsh than usual because of his disappointing early years), he was only projected to be worth 0.8 WAR the rest of the way (All WAR projections courtesy of Fangraphs.com). Keep that figure in mind.

Now, Gregor Blanco, who started the season as a world-beater—he hit .315 in May—is Cabrera’s primary replacement in the Giants’ lineup. And while Blanco hasn’t had a month anywhere near as good as his May performance, he’s still got some value. He’ll take a walk, as evidenced by his 12.1 percent walk rate, which is second on the team behind Brandon Belt. He’ll also steal a bag once he’s on base—he’s tied with Angel Pagan for the team lead with 19, despite inconsistent playing time.

And defensively, Blanco has been substantially better than Cabrera both this season, and during their careers.

But here’s the interesting part: Blanco is projected to be worth 0.3 WAR for the rest of the regular season. That’s only half a win less than Cabrera. So, all things being equal, the statistics indicate that there really won’t be a huge drop-off in expected win value from Cabrera to Blanco.

Of course, there are anecdotal arguments to be made that the difference will be more dramatic than the numbers show. You could argue that Cabrera’s presence in the lineup has a bigger effect on the rest of the Giants’ hitters or that pitchers will never be as afraid to face Blanco as they were when Cabrera was at bat.

But those sorts of arguments go both ways. Anecdotally, maybe the Giants lineup will be better than before because they’ll pull together and rally in the face of Cabrera’s suspension. Maybe Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence’s improvements (both are red-hot right now) will more than make up for the loss of Cabrera. And maybe Pablo Sandoval will be just as good as Cabrera was. After all, the Panda is projected to be worth one full win above replacement the rest of the way, more than Cabrera’s 0.8.

Even if those arguments balance out and the rest of the Giants’ lineup continues to perform as they have all season, the loss of Cabrera is far from devastating. Gregor Blanco is a solid replacement, despite how much he’s cooled off since the start of the season.

If the Giants lose the division by just a half-game, I guess that half-win difference between Cabrera and Blanco will matter after all. But for now, there’s no reason to worry about the missing Melk-Man.

In Gregor we trust.

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