Miguel Cabrera Placed on Tigers IL with Biceps Injury; Josh Lester Called Up

The Detroit Tigers announced Sunday that they placed designated hitter Miguel Cabrera on 10-day injured list with a biceps strain and called up infielder Josh Lester from Triple-A Toledo.

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported Saturday night that Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said the team hoped to have the future Hall of Famer back in 10-14 days.

Cabrera is one of the most decorated players of his generation, with 12 All-Star appearances, four American League batting titles, two AL MVP awards and a World Series title with the Florida Marlins in 2003.

The 39-year-old compiled a mediocre .701 OPS during the 2021 season. He's posted .256 average with four homers in 102 games in 2022, but he enjoyed a landmark moment when he recorded his 3,000th hit in April.

While the Venezuela native was highly durable for the vast majority of his career, injuries have started to become a bigger factor in recent years. He last played over 140 games in 2016, with his most extended absence coming in 2018 when he was limited to 38 games with a ruptured biceps tendon.

Last season, Cabrera missed 32 games, including time spent on the injured list with a biceps strain.

Detroit will likely use a committee approach to fill the void at designated hitter. Eric Haase, Kody Clemens and Willi Castro lead the club's reserve options.

Cabrera landing on the IL doesn't do much to impact the Tigers' outlook for the remainder of the season since they are last in the AL Central with a 51-82 record, but it could impact home attendance since seeing Cabrera at the tail end of his career is one of Detroit's biggest draws, although he plans to play next season.