Injury & Legal Issues Leave Cabrera in Limbo

This past Monday, Manager Bud Black indicated that starting shortstop Everth Cabrera could be back with the team as soon as this weekend with the team being in Arizona to start a series with the Diamondbacks. As of Wednesday though, Black had changed his tune on that possibility.

The Padres skipper went from being solid about Cabrera’s return to the team, to now being just hopeful he can be back at some point this season. That is a pretty dramatic shift in his stance in just two days’ time. It could be that Black was just going on a hunch that he was sure Cabrera was coming back or their was a shift in the information that he and the Padres organization as a whole received in those two days in between his comments. Either way, it is an unfortunate situation for Cabrera that still has hurdles for him to clear.

First, he is dealing with a second hamstring injury of the season that has completely stopped his season completely. Cabrera has missed 27 games with the second hamstring strain. It is an injury that can be very tricky in terms of how long it takes to fully heal, and how a player knows when to fully be confident that the hamstring is fully recovered and ready to take on the vigorous and hard wear and tear it will endure with a player who goes full speed at all times.

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Though a lot of rest is usually a remedy that works in this type of injury, but also all sorts of treatment can be done as well to speed up the healing process. Now no one has been privy to what exactly the treatment plan is for Cabrera, but it is one that is no question putting him in the best position to being the player he was before the injury.

The second and most damning thing Cabrera is facing on his way back to playing for the club is his legal situation stemming from the September 3rd incident when he was suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana. That case is still is playing out and will need to run the course through the legal system before any type of judgment can be handed down.

Cabrera will have to be cooperative and be prepared to answer a lot of questions that both the California Highway Patrol and MLB has for him. It will be a long process, but one that when a conclusion is reached on it, he and the Padres’ organization can move forward and start to plan for what next season will bring for both.