Flip-flopping Cabrera's position is problematic
The broader perspective is more troubling.
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| Maybe the Tigers should have found a position for Miguel Cabrera before they gave him a $152.3 million deal. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images) |
The Tigers committed $152.3 million to Cabrera through 2015 before discovering that he couldn't play third.
They committed $29 million to Dontrelle Willis through 2010 before determining whether he could succeed in the American League.
Now they're infuriating their best defensive third baseman, Brandon Inge — who is under contract though 2010 — by again layering over him at third.
Inge, who reluctantly accepted a utility role after the Tigers acquired Cabrera, is livid that he remains blocked at third even though Cabrera is moving to another position, major-league sources say.
A series of early season injuries created frequent opportunities for Inge, but the imminent returns of center fielder Curtis Granderson and designated hitter Gary Sheffield are expected to reduce Inge's playing time dramatically.
The Tigers' problem is that they can not clear third for Inge unless they keep Guillen at first and move Cabrera to left field — an impractical solution, according to general manager David Dombrowski.
"(Cabrera) doesn't run very well," Dombrowski says. "Our ballpark is really big in left field. If you put a heavy-legged left fielder in our ballpark, it's going to catch up to you."
Thus, first base makes the most sense for Cabrera, who committed five errors and showed limited range in his first 14 games at third with the Tigers.
His offensive value is just as high at first as it is at third. But if Cabrera can not handle third at age 25, then how long will he even last at first — a position he had not played until this season — before he needs to be a full-time DH?
The Tigers, who have Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Guillen ahead of Cabrera in their eventual DH pecking order, profess to be unconcerned.
They initially considered using Cabrera at first and Guillen at third after they acquired Cabrera from the Marlins in December. But the momentum for the switch only started to build after Guillen sat out with a right hamstring strain on April 12. Manager Jim Leyland gave Cabrera his first career start at first base, in part because Cabrera was suffering from a sore left quadriceps.
"We are not moving Cabrera," Leyland said then.
Well, injuries are the mother of necessity, necessity is the mother of invention and Cabrera looked much better at first than he did at third.
This move isn't about Guillen, who was adequate at first and started 96 games at third for the Mariners in 2000 and '03.
Nor is it about shortstop Edgar Renteria, whose range to his right is below-average, increasing the need for a mobile third baseman.
It's about Cabrera.
"You can see that he's a tremendous player, but he's still young — he has a lot of exuberance, a lot of vim," Dombrowski says. "Once in a while at third base, maybe his concentration wanes a bit. But at first base, it appeared that didn't happen at all. It can't — you're involved all the time."
The difficulty of playing first base is consistently underestimated, but Cabrera has a good arm and good hands. He once was a shortstop, and began his major-league career as a left fielder with the Marlins in '03.
Perhaps Cabrera will follow the example of the Cardinals' Albert Pujols, who moved to first base full-time in 2004 due to his elbow condition, only to evolve from a below-average defender into a Gold Glove winner through hard work and determination.
Then again, when Cabrera trimmed down for his first spring training with the Tigers, he seemed committed to improving his defense at third; his biggest problem last season was that he was overweight, limiting his ability to field slow rollers.
Turns out he was not much better than before.
He's only 25. And he's already restricted to first base.
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