Melky Cabrera

Melky Cabrera
Cabrera playing for the Chicago White Sox in 2016
Chicago White Sox – No. 53
Left fielder
Born: (1984-08-11) August 11, 1984 (age 32) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch Throws: Left
MLB debut
July 7, 2005, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics (through 2016 season)
Batting average	.286
Hits	1,609
Home runs	114
Runs batted in	683
Stolen bases	97
Teams
New York Yankees (2005–2009) Atlanta Braves (2010) Kansas City Royals (2011) San Francisco Giants (2012) Toronto Blue Jays (2013–2014) Chicago White Sox (2015–present)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2009) All-Star (2012)

Melky Astacio Cabrera (born August 11, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball left fielder for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays. While primarily a left fielder throughout his career, Cabrera also spent a significant amount of his playing time as a center fielder for the Royals and Yankees.

Cabrera signed with the Yankees as an amateur free agent. He made his MLB debut for the Yankees in 2005. After playing as a fourth outfielder, the Yankees included him in a trade to the Braves after the 2009 season. Struggling with the Braves in 2010, he was released, and signed by the Royals in 2011. Recommitting himself to the game, Cabrera had a strong year with the Royals, and was traded to the Giants for the 2012 season. In 2012, Cabrera made his first All-Star Game appearance, winning the All-Star Game MVP Award. One month later, Cabrera received a 50-game suspension after testing positive for high levels of testosterone.

Cabrera was signed by the New York Yankees on November 14, 2001, at age 17, receiving a $175,000 signing bonus. He played for the Staten Island Yankees in the Class A Short-Season New York–Penn League in 2003, batting .283 with 31 runs batted in (RBI) in 67 games. In 2004, he was promoted to the Battle Creek Yankees of the Class A Midwest League, hitting .333 with 16 RBIs in 42 games. He was promoted to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, where he hit .288 with 51 RBIs in 85 games to finish the season.