Tigers Extend Cabrera
March 23, 2008 by Geoff Young
Filed under Transactions
According to ESPN, the Detroit Tigers have inked “third baseman” Miguel Cabrera to an 8-year, $153 million contract extension. With the understanding that the economics of baseball are inherently insane, this strikes me as pretty darned good value.
Cabrera was my dark horse candidate for MVP in 2007, and although it didn’t quite work out that way, the guy hit .320/.401/.565 for a franchise hell-bent on destroying itself and oh, by the way, did I mention he was only 24?
Sure, Cabrera got a little fat, but hey, who doesn’t?. Besides, just because the Marlins had no use for his talents doesn’t diminish the fact that he’s still an elite offensive performer.
Will Cabrera stay at the hot corner? Probably not. I mean, maybe for a while, but eventually he’ll move back to the outfield or maybe first base. You know how much it’ll matter? Not one bit. A bat like his will play anywhere. Seriously, his top comp by age every year since arriving in the big leagues is Hank Aaron.
Yeah, that’s kinda good.
Other Voices
Yeah, the idea of having Cabrera in the same line up as Ordonez should make Tigers fans feel warm and fuzzy about the coming season. Sure he’s been a little chubby, but so was Babe Ruth. I might question his work ethic a bit. Last season in Miami, when he was playing for the Fish, he wasn’t allowed to play the game I went to see against the Giants because he was late arriving to the game. The Tigers look like contenders, so maybe that will keep him interested and on time, but if the going gets tough he may not put any extra effort into a losing season.
I suspect that Cabrera’s effort won’t be an issue now that he’s with an organization that doesn’t concede the season months before it starts. Even if things go bad for the Tigers (unlikely), at least they’re trying.