RAPID FIRE

/ totallytigersblog

By:  Holly Horning & Kurt Snyder

The baseball season may be back, but Miguel Cabrera isn’t.   Despite some significant weight loss to take pressure off his back and knee, Miggy still hasn’t caught fire one month (27 games) into the 2020 season. He has just 5 extra base hits and is hitting .181 with a very mediocre .594 OPS (through Monday’s game).

Cabrera is now the Tigers’ longest-tenured player – and oldest at 37. He is untradeable given his long injury history and remaining contract. Is there still hope? Is this just an “off” year for him?

Do the Tigers have any solutions?

Our two bloggers tackle 5 questions surrounding Miggy – and have only 2 sentences each in which to explain their rationales.

How concerned are you about Miguel Cabrera?

HOLLY

Miggy and the Tigers have been trouble-shooting his issues, both physical and technical, now for almost 2 years with no real improvements to be seen. So yes, if we don’t see him pick it up in this last month, I’ll be very concerned about his – and the Tigers’ – future.

KURT

My biggest disappointment is that despite coming into the season in great shape, it hasn’t seemed to make a difference. He is still overmatched by good pitching, when too many times he flails at pitches out of the strike zone; an indication that his lower body health continues to be a problem for him.

Should the Tigers move him in the batting order?

HOLLY

He’s in that prime #3 slot generally reserved for a team’s best hitter but he’s anything but that currently. Yes, he needs to be moved but the Tigers won’t because they have never made him adhere to the rules that are imposed for the rest of the team like consistently running through stop signs.

KURT

I have to be careful not to waste my breath on this topic because we all know who the decision-makers are on this ball club. And the movement of Miguel Cabrera down in the order is not within Gardy’s pay grade. Miggy has support higher up in the food chain, starting with Jim Leyland.


What do you think is the biggest contributor to his struggles at the plate?

HOLLY

Analysts point to video that shows Miggy not using his legs at all but using his arms almost exclusively to power through his at-bats. It suggests that he’s still experiencing discomfort in his spine (2 herniated disks) and/or knee.

KURT

His knee may not be as painful, but I question how strong it is when a lack of quickness in the box all starts with lower body strength. And it is particularly evident again pitchers with good off-speed stuff, where he reaches unsuccessfully for pitches out of the strike zone.


Miggy’s contract goes through 2023 (with 2 additional years that now seem unlikely to vest) when he is 40. After this year, he is still owed $94 million. If Miggy continues this downward trend, will the Tigers keep him until the very end or will they buy him out?

HOLLY

Historically, the Tigers have been loath to terminate a contract while still having to pay as we’re now once again seeing with the imminent return of Jordan Zimmermann with one month left to go on his contract. So no, they won’t buy him out but will keep him as long as there is some level of production, historic offensive records to climb and marketing revenue and ticket sales to be made from his presence.

KURT

Knowing the Tigers, I really don’t see a situation where Miggy is bought out of his contract unless he is physically unable to play or get in the batter’s box. He is the franchise and regardless of the level of his effectiveness, he is going to be here.


If Miggy’s struggles continue next year, what should the Tigers do?

HOLLY

In all likelihood, the Tigers will acquiesce to Miggy’s preferences as they’ve always done but if I were the GM, I’d make him my hitting coach (maybe initially in tandem with his DH position). We saw him working with JaCoby Jones last year which immediately showed some promising results and have heard from a number of other teammates how they all go to him for advice on hitting.

KURT

It may be that the team will need to consider sitting him a couple times a week in order to keep him healthier. The best part about Miggy is he comes to play every day and he’s never going to say he can’t play, so it is up to the team to sit him and preserve him so he can still be a factor later in the season.

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17 thoughts on “RAPID FIRE”

  1. The Tigers supposedly/hopefully have a lot of pitching depth coming up. Not that Tiger leadership would think this way, but would you make a trade something like Manning, Turnbull, and Soto if you could include Miggy? Maybe you need to include $12M/yr but you save almost $60M that could be used on free agents.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Adjusting to a full-time DH role is probably affecting his mentality to be actively involved in the game. In my opinion, he NEEDS to play first base, even occasionally, if he is to be on top of his game. I know he could be at risk of injury if he plays the field, but otherwise, you’re asking the guy to take four 3-minute at-bats for a total of 12 minutes each game. It’s difficult not to become bored under such conditions, which is why a full-time DH isn’t for everyone, especially Miggy.

    Liked by 3 people

  3. Its sad to see the demise of such a great baseball talent. Miquel could do things with his bat that I had never seen before. They use to talk about him setting up pitchers early in a game by missing a pitch on purpose early in the game so that later in a big run situation, he knew that pitch would be thrown and whammo. RBI machine. As usual, the business side of the tiger organization is suspect in how best to deploy resources for a competitive team. Nothing new there.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. I’ve compared Miggy’s stats to many other legendary hitters. The numbers tell the story pretty loudly. When it’s over – it’s over. Most of the greats were really productive up until their last year or two where the numbers fell off a cliff. Father time catches up to everyone, and the injuries have definitely taken a toll. I don’t think I can bear watching another three years of him struggle to even look like a legit MLB player.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. He got 3 hits last night (I read box scores, not watching games now.) He’s getting that much closer to 3,000 hits. Let’s be content he’s getting base hits. It’s all he’s got now.

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    • Not silly at all. I think it’s a reasonable suggestion, and one I’ve called for, too. However, it should be done by an ophthalmologist that’s NOT connected with the team.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. It is true that the Tigers don’t save a penny if they cut him, but they don’t lose much money either, assuming he is replaced with a rookie (hypothetically Torkelson or Greene) next season. The minimum salary going to be roughly 550-600 K in 2021. To my mind it is a small price to pay for improving the team, moving to the future, and sending the message that a failure to perform will not be tolerated. I doubt it will cost them fans; I for one would much rather watch a talented kid than the desiccated corpse of a once great ballplayer.

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  8. When it’s over for Miggy (and no one knows when that will be), I’ll recall his time as a Tiger fondly. One of the best we’ve ever seen here, a first-ballot lock for the Hall, an upbeat presence on the field and in the clubhouse. I still laugh when I think of him swiping someones nacho chip along the rail. If we think this period of decline is tough, imagine how it feels to be in his shoes. (And please, don’t blame him for the money, you’d have taken the deal, too)

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Oh what a difference a few weeks makes. Miggy seems to be back, minus a little power. Plus they have no one with his potential in the wings. 70% of Miggy is worth 100% of any other DH candidate.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Well…he’s hitting a few singles. His OPS at the moment is .660, which would be below average for a catcher. It is not remotely acceptable for a DH. If the Tigers have no candidate who can improve on this, then the organization is even more inept that we fear.

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      • Considering his OPS had been down around .550, I hope the uptick is a sign that he’s coming around. I much prefer “Singuel” and “Walkguel” to “EasyOutguel”.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Holly, I am surprised you are ‘disappointed’ in his performance so far. I had zero expectations that he would perform well this year, zero. Good organizations prepare for these moments, it is why St. Louis allowed Albert Pujols to walk. All the signs were there, nagging injuries, lasiz-faire attitude, poor conditioning, family issues, guaranteed contract, poor organizational management, losing team. What are his incentives to compete? We tend to look at these things with rose colored glasses and not realistically.

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