Melky Cabrera tried to avoid a 50-game drug suspension by creating a fake website and product to support his claim that he inadvertently took the illegal substance, according to a newspaper report.
It was reported yesterday that Major League Baseball investigators quickly uncovered the scheme during the fact-finding phase of the case against the former Yankee in July. The incident has drawn the attention of federal investigators. Cabrera, the All-Star Game MVP now with the Giants, was suspended Wednesday.
In their search for the source of the drug that caused elevated levels of testosterone in Cabrera’s sample, investigators are looking into Juan Nunez, who is alleged to have paid for the website. Nunez is a consultant for Cabrera’s agents, Sam and Seth Levinson.
Nunez told the newspaper the Levinsons had no knowledge of the website scheme.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy would not discuss the allegations against Cabrera before yesterday’s game against the Padres in San Diego. He didn’t defend his player’s actions, either.
“You can be world-class parents and your kids can go south or have some issues. We can’t follow guys 24/7, and it comes down to choices. (Cabrera) is a grown man, he’s a veteran,” Bochy said. “These are unfortunate things and we’ll continue to work at cleaning out baseball.”