Last week, ESPN released an interesting piece on the Drug Enforcement Administration’s investigation into the drug operation that led former SF Giants star Melky Cabrera to be suspended for 50 games in the Giants’ 2012 championship season.
While his suspension ultimately ended his tenure with the Giants, Cabrera hit .346/.390/.516 with 25 doubles, ten triples, 11 home runs, and 13 stolen bases in 113 games with the team. The loss of Cabrera also prompted the Giants to acquire Hunter Pence at the trade deadline, a deal that worked out incredibly well. At the time of his suspension, Cabrera was leading the National League in hits, with 159, and was second in batting average. He had also just been selected as the MVP of the All-Star Game, helping secure the Giants home-field advantage in the World Series with a two-run homer.
Cabrera had been on performance-enhancing drugs for two seasons before the suspension, starting in 2010 after being cut by the Atlanta Braves. Cabrera was 26 when he began working with Tony Bosch, the founder of the unlicensed Biogenesis clinic that was at the center of many PED investigations, to try and rejuvenate his career. He quickly saw results in 2011 with the Kansas City Royals, but he took his performance to another level after he was traded to the Giants prior to the 2012 season for left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sánchez.
The federal investigation was focused on the drug suppliers, not the players themselves, so Cabrera and the other athletes were not targeted in the investigation.
"Our focus was on the distributors and the suppliers of the drugs," Mark Trouville, the DEA special agent in charge of the Florida office during the Biogenesis investigation, told ESPN. "The DEA doesn't work cases to go after users. ... We're looking for people who are distributing drugs. We're never concerned about the consumer."
However, Cabrera was at the center of the investigation. Per ESPN’s review, he spoke with authorities at length about the entire operation. ESPN’s report suggests that Cabrera was one of many players who Bosch and his associates targeted with their operation. While Cabrera obviously chose to participate, Yuri Sucart Sr. (Alex Rodriguez’s cousin) showed up with Bosch unannounced at Cabrera’s apartment after he had been released by Atlanta in November of 2016. They pitched Cabrera on joining Bosch’s program to revitalize his career.
Cabrera also told authorities that he had stopped using PEDs after the 2011 season but claimed Bosch and Sucart had persuaded him to continue because he was slated to become a free agent. Even after the suspension, Cabrera remained a slightly above-average hitter for the next seven seasons.
It’s perhaps also worth noting that Cabrera said his agent, Juan Carlos Nunez (who would be at the center of an investigation into the ACES Agency’s close ties with PEDs), encouraged him to fight the suspension. However, when Cabrera’s appeal failed, he publicly admitted to using drugs.
"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used," Cabrera said in a statement via the MLBPA at the time of his suspension. "I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down."
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