SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Giants loved everything about Gustavo Cabrera. He was a five-tool talent who sent baseballs over fences with the flick of his wrists, who ran the bases in a blur, who could throw from foul pole to foul pole.



He was special. He was considered the most talented position player among international free agents in 2012 — worth every cent of the $1.6 million bonus the Giants gave him to sign as a 16-year-old.



He arrived in minor league camp this spring.



He stayed for one day.



Cabrera nearly severed his right hand in a household accident in November 2013, and as I wrote for another publication two springs ago, it took a miraculous sequence of events, delicate surgeries and incredible teamwork to restore function to his hand, let alone give him a chance to resume his baseball career. But after 4 ½ years of follow-up procedures and countless hours of rehab work, his hand wasn’t able to perform near enough to...