Toronto Blue Jays Melky Cabrera scores at home plate after a single from Maicer Izturis against Houston Astros during fifth inning AL baseball action in Toronto on Wednesday April 9, 2014.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
The ability of the Toronto Blue Jays to put a winning product on the field, not the makeup of the field itself, remains the biggest factor in attracting free agents to the baseball team.
So says Paul Beeston, the Blue Jays president and chief executive officer, after learning of a report that suggested that it would be the preference of Melky Cabrera not to re-sign with the Blue Jays as long as there is artificial turf at Rogers Centre.
"I think in some respects it's all about winning," Beeston said on Friday during an interview with the Globe and Mail. "If you've got to play on concrete they'll do that if you've got a better chance of winning.
"It [the artificial surface at Rogers Centre] didn't seem to hold us back in getting players before."
Cabrera, the Blue Jays starting left fielder last season where he was one of the game's most consistent hitters, became a free agent at the season's end and is one of the most potent bats on the open market.
The Blue Jays would dearly love to resign Cabrera to a new deal, but obviously not at any price. Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has said that he has been in discussion with Cabrera and his representatives, but that is about it.
"To be very honest with you, we're one of two teams that have turf," Beeston said. "And the game is played on grass. And that's why we'd like to get it.
"When we got in the game, back in 1977, I don't know how many teams had turf, but my bet is about half. It's not there anymore so it's played basically on grass. We think we'd like to be the same as everybody else."
Earlier on Friday, Buster Olney of ESPN, tweeted that Cabrera's "preference is to sign with a team other than the Blue Jays so he doesn't have to play his home games on artificial surface."
It is not exactly a ground-breaking revelation that an athlete, any athlete, would prefer to perform on a natural playing surface. And it is one of the reasons why the Blue Jays have said that they plan to install real grass in Rogers Centre in time for the 2018 season.
Currently, the Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays (Tropicana Field) remain the only two teams in MLB with artificial playing surfaces at their home stadiums.
Cabrera's agent Peter Greenberg said on Friday during an radio appearance on The FAN 590 that the playing surface at Rogers Centre is not an impediment to Cabrera resigning with the Blue Jays.
"I think Melky has said all along that he's enjoyed his time in Toronto, he enjoys it there," Greenberg said. "He enjoys the fans, the city, his teammates. I've worked with a lot of athletes and there's none who would prefer to play on artificial turf over natural turf. That's just kind of a general truism, I guess.
"But specifically with regards to Melky, he's never said that, never said anything but he's enjoyed his time in Toronto and he'd love to stay there if things work out."
Greenberg said he is still having discussions with the Blue Jays, along with a number of other MLB teams, regarding Cabrera but so far the player is not yet close to making any decision about where he might sign.
Greenberg said he spoke with Anthopoulos after the Blue Jays made a big splash in the free agent market with the signing of catcher Russell Martin to a five-year, $82-million (U.S.) deal.
"Obviously they've got their budget," Greenberg said. "When they signed Russell Martin his (Anthopoulos's) first call was to me to ask me what Melky thought about that.
"Melky wants to win. Anything that improves the team's chances to win is a positive. They're going to have to figure out the budget and so we're talking. And there's still mutual interest in both sides."
On his twitter account on Friday, Cabrera was also drawn in to comment on the matter.
"I want everyone to know that I am a baseball player and it doesn't matter to me what surface I play on," he tweeted. " I will be the best player I can be."