The Melkman is coming back to the AL East.
The Blue Jays have reached an agreement with former Yankees outfielder Melky Cabrera, The Post has learned.
The two-year deal is reportedly worth $16 million.
Cabrera, who spent the first five years of his career in New York, hit .346 with 11 home runs and 66 RBIs in 113 games with the Giants last season before getting suspended 50 games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Cabrera would have won the NL batting title, but took his name out of consideration to avoid further controversy.
The Giants could have brought Cabrera back for the NLCS, but opted not to activate him. The move paid off as the Giants won the World Series. Since being traded from the Yankees after the 2009 season, the 28-year-old will now be joining his fourth different team in as many seasons. Cabrera, who the Yankees dealt to Atlanta as part of the Javier Vazquez deal, has played for the Braves, Royals and Giants the past three years.
Cabrera becomes the latest big name acquisition for Toronto, which made a blockbuster deal earlier this week with the Miami Marlins to acquire Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio. That trade is one reason Cabrera’s camp liked the idea of signing with the Blue Jays, as the mega-deal will be the main focus around the team, and not Cabrera’s signing coming off the suspension. It will also give Cabrera an opportunity to rebuild his resume with him potentially hitting between Reyes and slugger Jose Bautista.
The addition of Cabrera to the mix puts Toronto in even better position to compete with the Yankees and others in the AL East.
“I would think [the Blue Jays] have to be the favorite, right now, in the American League East,” YES Network analyst and former Yankees pitcher David Cone told The Post on Thursday before Toronto signed Cabrera.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has also taken notice of the flurry of moves Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos has made early in the offseason.
“They’re certainly attempting to make a statement, no doubt about that,” Cashman said of the trade, which is under review by commissioner Bud Selig.
Cabrera is a career .279 hitter and has 54 home runs and 315 RBI in eight major league seasons.