Miguel Cabrera Injury: Updates on Tigers Star's Hamstring and Return

Updates from Monday, June 9

The Detroit Tigers confirmed Miguel Cabrera's return to the lineup on Monday:

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Detroit Tigers star Miguel Cabrera was forced to leave Sunday night's game against the Boston Red Sox after injuring his hamstring. He was replaced in the lineup by Don Kelly, per MLB.com's Jason Beck:

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Cabrera singled, but as he began his run out of the box, he was visibly in pain, per Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe:

The Tigers announced that he was suffering from left hamstring tightness and would be day-to-day:

Matthew B. Mowery of The Oakland Press confirmed it wasn't the same hamstring that Cabrera had issues with last season: 

After struggling a bit out of the gate, the two-time reigning American League MVP has returned to top form. Cabrera is currently hitting .326 with 11 home runs and 51 runs batted in.

Since the injury is considered day-to-day, the first baseman shouldn't miss much time, which is reassuring for Detroit. John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press made the point that the team could put Cabrera at designated hitter for the time being to avoid aggravating the injury:

The Cleveland Indians are surging up the standings, but as long as Cabrera makes a speedy return, the Tigers should remain atop the AL Central. They're still far and away the best team in the division.

Cabrera's MVP defense shouldn't be in serious trouble, either. If he can pull it off, it would be the first time somebody won three MVP awards in a row since Barry Bonds took home the honor four consecutive years from 2001 through 2004.