Melky Cabrera rumors: Mets, Phillies interested?

The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies may be in the market for outfielder Melky Cabrera this winter, reports Joel Sherman of the NY Post:

The Mets were one club that came up regularly as a potential landing spot for Cabrera, as were the outfield-needy Phillies. The Mets need outfielders and don’t have a ton of money to address their severe needs there...

Probably at his worst, Cabrera would be a motivated fourth outfielder who always could hit righties well.

The performance of former Mets outfielder Angel Pagan -- who filled in for Cabrera during his suspension -- in the second half of the season may very well push Melky out of San Francisco. Sherman speculates that the Mets could bring Cabrera on as "corner outfield insurance" if Jason Bay continues to struggle and Lucas Duda does not improve.

Fresh off a fifty-game suspension for PED use -- not to mention the attempts to cover up the major infraction -- Cabrera is a bit of a wild card for any team interested. Teams have no way of knowing to what extent the steroids improved the 28-year-old's numbers, or what kind of performance to expect in the future.

Rival executives speculate that Cabrera could receive everything from a one-year, $2 million deal to a two-year,