By now, the news about former Kansas City Royal outfielder Melky Cabrera's 50-game suspension due to testing positive for testosterone is old news. But for former teammates of the current San Francisco Giants, the news is still tough to take.
"I think everyone was pretty surprised," Royals second baseman Chris Getz said to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel Wednesday. "It was unfortunate for him, for the Giants, for baseball. He was a great teammate here, he worked hard and obviously had a great season last year, and he continued on over there. But it's still very shocking."
Manager Ned Yost expressed his sadness by talking about how players need to start making better decisions.
"It always surprises me now, knowing how strict the policy is and how thorough they test nowadays," Yost said. "There's no excuse for anybody to take anything that is not OK'd by our training staff. And that's what we do [for] any supplement. Because you can buy over-the-counter supplements and stuff now that can trigger these tests and get you in big trouble. So we tell our guys that you don't take anything unless the trainer gives it to you."
Meanwhile, outfielder Jeff Francoeur said most of Cabrera's former teammates respect him from telling the truth, but are disappointed with the overall result.
"I'm just disappointed for him because all of us in here pulled for him so much, and myself and Gordo [Alex Gordon] were in the outfield with him last year and were so proud of him to come back to the All-Star Game this year and hit the home run and do what he did, but obviously we're just real disappointed for him now."
For more coverage of the Royals, check out SB Nation Kansas City and Royals Review.Baseball Nation, meanwhile, has up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Cabrera story.