Melky Cabrera Fantasy: What Questions Surround OF with Blue Jays?

The Jays are at it again. Coming off of a huge trade that brought them Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio, Mark Buehrle, and John Buck, the Blue Jays have signed outfielder Melky Cabrera (per Enrique Rojas, ESPN Deportes). I first wrote about Melky’s 2013 value after his suspension, then explored the possibility of him going to the Tigers so I am not going to go number-heavy. Instead, I want to take a look at a few question marks that have come to my mind. 1. Where will he bat in the lineup? This is not an insignificant question. In Detroit, he would likely have hit second, right before Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Translation: He’d see a lot of fastballs over the plate. If he bats second in the Toronto order, that likely puts him in front of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion and after Reyes. He’d see plenty of good pitches there too and with Reyes leading off, he’d have plenty of RBI opportunities as well, especially when a very deep Toronto lineup turns over. But t...