Report: Melky Cabrera not eager to play on artificial turf; prefers team other than Blue Jays

Melky Cabrera expressed during the final month of the 2014 campaign his desire to remain with the Toronto Blue Jays, but it appears the 30-year-old free agent would actually prefer to play elsewhere next season.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, the paunchy outfielder isn't enamored with the playing surface at Rogers Centre and prefers to sign with a team that doesn't play 81 games per season on artificial turf. Cabrera's distaste for artificial turf is hardly uncommon, and the unforgiving field in Toronto may have contributed to the bout of knee tendonitis that sidelined Cabrera for 23 days during the 2013 campaign.

Cabrera took to Twitter to clear the air after the story broke:

Though Cabrera has reportedly engaged in contract negotiations with the Blue Jays, the former All-Star has also received interest from the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles - two teams that boast stadiums with natural grass. Signing with a club whose stadium isn't as physically taxing as Rogers Centre, incidentally, could improve Cabrera's performance in left field, which wasn't particularly impressive over the last two seasons.