OT: Miguel Cabrera done for the season
Ruptured biceps tendon and has to have season-ending surgery.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23775735/miguel-cabrera-detroit-tigers-remainder-season-ruptured-biceps-tendon
Brutal.
He was "done" awhile ago.
Except...how much longer does that contract run?
5 more years after this one.
Get ready to PUKE:
Miguel Cabrera signed a 8 year / $248,000,000 contract with the Detroit Tigers, including $248,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $31,000,000. In 2018, Cabrera will earn a base salary of $30,000,000, while carrying a total salary of $30,000,000.
CONTRACT:8 yr(s) / $248,000,000SIGNING BONUS:-AVERAGE SALARY:$31,000,000FREE AGENT:2024 / UFA
http://www.spotrac.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/miguel-cabrera-285/
LOL
I'd rather take on Bobby Bonilla's contract
That was Mike Illitch Sr's call to make on offering that contract. When you're a billionaire and know you've only got a few years left to live, you can write (in retrospect, awful) contracts like that.
Unfortunately it didn't work out for the Tigers and Illitch never got to see them win a World Series before passing. Then again, it might be quite some time before anyone living today will see the Tigers win a World Series.
That’s no help, although it may cause some of the up and comers to step up. This team seems pretty resilient even if they’re not ready for prime time.
Bust
Miggy has sissy, girly man bicep tendons....
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Really wishing I could up-vote right now!
Sad to see this, as before the injuries started piling up on him, it looked like he might have a nice season at the plate.
I was watching the game for a bit tonight and happened to see the injury occur, not surprised to read now that it was pretty serious. Awkward follow-thru on the swing and immediately he grabbed for his elbow and headed for the tunnel.
Miggy is a big guy. More and more, the long career is taking a toll on his body. Too bad, because when Miggy was in his prime, he was the best hitter in baseball for most of a decade. At this point, I doubt he's going to be able to stay healthy enough to be able to play full seasons any more.
Yup. I suspect that this is the beginning of the end.
Thanks.... not sure if I am missing something obvious but I don't know how to edit my OP and make that a hyperlink.
Feeling sorry for Tigers fans among MGoBloggers. Just checking his stats, makes me realize that Miguel Cabrera has been one of Major League Baseball's greatest players of this millenium. A certain Hall of Famer.
Miggy's replacement is ready to go.
Sorry, I guess I don't know how to embed anymore.
That is too bad.
And so it begins. At least he's a hitter and is less likely to fall apart all at once.
Except, he is.
A great player for sure, but I never thought he took care of himself physically in the off seasons like he should. He hasn't looked "fit" in many years and now his body is breaking down.
Nothing but respect for what Miggy has accomplished in the past. One of the all-time great Tigers. But these past few injury plagued seasons for him underscore the folly of long-term contracts for stars over 30. Albert Pujols is another example. Was never the same after the Angels bet the ranch on him, although his problem doesn't seem injury related, just deteriorating skills with age. Much better IMO to spend these large amounts of capital developing your farm system.
I agree with this. But. When both Miggy and Pujols were signed to these enormous deals, they were at the top of the game and had 'earned' every penny they got. If the Tigers and Angels didn't pay up, somebody else would have.
I don't think these kinds of contracts will stop until the fundamental way of pricing them changes. So long as players are getting paid for what they did last year, there will be overpaid players. I'd like to see salaries based on potential and/or adjusted at the end of the year based on results. Maybe that means that baseball goes to a strict incentive laden pricing model? But the MLBPA will have something (negative) to say about that...
With Pujols too, it seems to be known that he liked about his age as well, so he's even further past his prime than the guy they thought they signed.
I don't mind guys getting paid. Unlike the other major sports, baseball teams can basically spend what they want without limitation, and so you wind up getting this weird massive contracts because there isn't as much a ceiling on offers to elite talent. And while not a star anymore, he was having a nice little bounceback this year. He's not going to age well with this contract, but I could see a contender in a year or two trading for him (if the Tigers eat a bunch of his contract) at the deadline to shore up an injury spot.
Miggy has been looking for a way off this team all season. I expect he is going to find his way to the DL for large chunks the remainder of this contract. Juan Gonzalez style.
Not buying that. Miggy loves to play baseball. I think people mistake his playful personality for a guy who is not serious. He's been playing through a lot of pain the last few years. He's a serious player and I'm sure it's killing him to not be able to live up to that contract. Jim Leyland always said Miggy was so smart that he could manage one day.
My guess is that this will be his rock bottom: the injury, the awful thing with his wife and mistress, etc. Holding out hope that this will all ultimately motivate him to come all the way back and get into top condition so he can put up the stats that will get him into the Hall.
Beginning of the end?!?!
They're going to have to ride out his contract regardless, so if there is a silver lining maybe this helps get some of the younger guys some at bats. And he's been having a fine year. He's not a superstar anymore, but compared to guys like Pujols and Felix Hernandez at least he wasn't a black hole on the team.
Unfortunately his "fine year" has been mostly as a singles hitter. There has been little to no power in his bat this year. 3 dingers, 11 doubles and 22 rbi's are alarming stats especially for someone with his credentials.
That eight year contract extension in 2016 is never going to get any viable ROI.
Edit - contract was signed in 2014, the year after his triple crown season.
BTW, the lack of ability to edit posts on this new platform really sucks.
The homers being down has been a trend for a bit, but the doubles were at a decent pace. He is never going to be worth the money they are paying him, but 300/400/450 aren't the black hole you see with some of the other aging sluiggers. It was always a bad contract, but he was coming of an MVP year and they had a window for a title. I don't blame them for paying him what the market demanded.
The thing is, he was still under contract for 2014 & 2015. There was no need to spend that kind of $$$ extending him eight more years at that point in Miarch 2014. If they could have waited a little while longer maybe the extension wouldn't have been for so many years.
I understand Illitch wanting a WS championship before passing, but man, this contract is a massive albatross to the team and their future.
On another note, when in the heck are they going to bring up Christian Stewart? He's one of the only players in their system that can hit for power. The Tigers are the worst team in the AL for HR's with only 54 on the entire season.
I forgot they upped him a little early, but I can see the argument that the guy just hit for the Triple Crown and you don't want to necessarily tell him "we'll pay you later." And yeah, that contract will be a drain, but I'm sure if Detroit wants to spend in a couple of years they'll just do it, correctly assuming that a better team will fill that stadium up and raise overall revenue. What I could see happen, though, is they just fart along for 4-5 years and Cabrera keeps sorta-playing himself into the lineup before getting hurt again.
I agree they gotta get some power in that lineup. Victor is a black hole as well. My guess is you see guys like Stewart up by the end of the year, though he's doing pretty well in Toledo and they not want to lose a year of control in a lost season.
Just trade his as soon as they can. Maybe next season. He could be a valuable DH for someone. The money though.
"him"
No one wants an aging 35-year old hitter with one of the worst contracts in baseball.
The best thing for the Tigers to do is see if they can somehow buy him out or something to reduce the strain of the contract. And when that is decided, bring up Christian Stewart and any other kids the team planned on using in the future and letting them develop.
Same with V-Mart. His time is done, he's been a very good Tiger, but they have to move on.
V-Mart is only signed through the end of this season. He’ll be gone soon enough.
Miggy, OTOH, we’re married to him. No team in their right mind is going to take on that contract. And we’re not going to get much in the terms of prospects for what is going to be an injury-prone 36 year old DH. The game is running away from guys like that these days.
I say let VMart hit, he is helping their draft position with every at bat....
That's how I felt about Miggy after he came back from the DL.
I doubt Miggy can be bought out considering how much money is on the table. The best they could hope is to trade him, when healthy, and eat 75% of the contract.
Also, Stewart won't be in Detroit until next year at the earliest. It makes fiscal sense not to start his MLB service clock until they're sure he's ready.
agree on stewart. i see him getting the Sept call-up and playing a lot after that.
Predictable.
Sucks for Miggy, but this is good for the Tigers. Hicks can play every day so Avila knows if he's the real deal or not.
Plus, they need all the help they can get to drop in the awful AL Central. It's best for them long-term to get another top 5 pick in the draft next season.
Let's have a real rebuild, and not whatever the heck the Red Wings are doing.
Sucks for Miggy & Tiger fans, but it also sucks that the young hitters on the team don't get the benefit of his wisdom as a hitter, and how he goes about his craft. I think many of them could progress a lot faster with his help. Losing him as a clubhouse guy, not simply on the field, is a big hit.